Thai Beef Noodle Salad

I absolutely adore this salad, it's vibrant, fresh and combines all the bold flavours of Thai cuisine. The tasty seared beef elevates this dish to a main course balanced by light noodles, crunchy vegetables, fragrant herbs and umami rich dressing.

Serves 4
For the beef
2 rib-eye or sirloin steaks
2 tablespoons Asian fish sauce
1 teaspoon palm sugar, finely grated (or caster sugar)
1 teaspoon light soy sauce

For the dressing
2 tablespoons Asian Fish Sauce
3 tablespoons palm sugar, finely grated (or caster sugar)
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1-2 birds-eye chillies, finely diced (you decide how much chilli heat you want)
1 clove garlic, finely grated or minced

For the salad
125g rice vermicelli noodles, soaked for 10 minutes in boiling water
2 carrots, peeled and cut into julienne pieces
½ cucumber, deseeded and cut into small chunks
12 radishes, sliced
2 tablespoons unsalted, roasted peanuts, lightly crushed
A few handfuls of mixed leaves
A small handful of fresh mint, torn up
A small handful of fresh basil. torn up
A handful of fresh coriander, roughly chopped, stalks and all

1. Start by mixing the ingredients for the beef marinade together, then massage it into each of the steaks. Set aside at room temperature for around 20 minutes.

2. Boil a kettle and in a large bowl, pour boiling water over the vermicelli noodles and leave to soak according to the packet instructions, before draining and rinsing under cold running water to cool them down completely and stop them cooking any further.

3. To make the dressing, mix all the ingredients together and set to one side, some of the small birds-eye chillies can be pretty hot, so be careful if you are sensitive to chilli heat.

4. Now is a good time to prepare the rest of the salad ingredients, chop up the carrots, cucumber, radishes and coriander, tear up the herbs and crush the peanuts.

5. Heat up a heavy-bottom frying pan or griddle pan to smoking point. Add a small amount of cooking oil and fry the steaks for 2½ minutes on both sides, making sure you don't move them around - this will ensure a beautiful crust develops on each side. Once the steaks are cooked, remove from the heat and allow them to rest for at least 5 minutes.

6. In a large serving bowl, lay the cooked noodles in at the bottom and drizzle some of the dressing over the top. In a separate mixing bowl, toss together the rest of the salad ingredients (reserving a few herbs and peanuts) with the remaining dressing and arrange of the top of the noodles.

7. Once the beef has rested, slice it across the grain into strips and lay over the top. Finish with the reserved herbs and peanuts.

Enjoy! Foodies, don't forge to tag us in socials when you make this at home and leave us a review for this recipe if you enjoyed it. Ben