Yum Neua Yahng Nahm Toke (Fiery Thai Grilled Beef Salad)
This is one of my family's favorite Thai Salads. One of the few savory dishes that the Thais traditionally do not eat with rice, rather the rice comes from added roasted rice powder (Kao Kua). With that being said, I serve it with rice and enjoy the combination immensely.
This is one of my family's favorite Thai Salads. One of the few savory dishes that the Thais traditionally do not eat with rice, rather the rice comes from added roasted rice powder (Kao Kua). With that being said, I serve it with rice and enjoy the combination immensely.
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- salad
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- seua rong hai (grilled beef)
- 1 pound beef rib-eye or lean flank steak
- 1/3 cup chicken stock
- 2 green onions coarsely chopped white & green
- 1/4 cup shallots julienned very thin
- 1 handful fresh cilantro coarsely chopped
- 1 tablespoon kao kua (roasted rice powder)
- 1 asian red chili pepper thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup asian fish sauce
- 3 :leaves lettuce leafy lettuce, like endive or boston
- 2 cucumbers sliced crosswise on the diagonal into thin ovals
- 5 cherry tomatoes halved lengthwise
- 1 handful fresh mint
- kao kua
- 1/4 cup rice sticky rice preferred, but can use long or short grain
- Carbohydrate 29.72162725 g
- Cholesterol 70.263425 mg
- Fat 8.05218575 g
- Fiber 4.44312007974088 g
- Protein 40.6980765 g
- Saturated Fat 2.866930175 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (757g)
- Sodium 2021.144225 mg
- Sugar 25.2785071702591 g
- Trans Fat 1.5114727 g
- Calories 346 calories
Step-by-step
- Combine the soy sauce, fish sauce, and sugar in a glass or ceramic bowl, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the beef and marinate for about 1 hour, turning occasionally.
- Prepare a very hot fire in a charcoal grill, preheat a gas grill, or your oven broiler. The coals should be white-hot before you put the meat on and grill rack should be several inches above the glowing coals, so that the meat will cook slowly enough to remain juicy and not burn.
- Place the meat on the rack and cook, turning occasionally, until it is pink at the center but dark and moist outside, 5 to 10 minutes. As the meat cooks, fat should drip onto the coals and flare up now and then.
- Using a small skillet, dry-fry raw rice grains over high heat until they are a wheat-gold brown. Takes about 3 to 5 minutes. Shake the pan frequently to turn the grains and color them evenly. Remove from heat and set aside. When rice is cool store in a jar sealed tightly and kept at room temperature.
- Transfer roasted rice to a spice grinder and grind to a fine powder, resembling sand. Kao Kua adds a subtle "nutty" flavor to the dish.
- Thinly slice the cooked beef crosswise into 2-inch strips and set aside. In a small saucepan, bring the chicken stock to a gently boil over medium heat. Add the beef and warm it in the stock for 1 minute, turning occasionally. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
- Add the green onions, shallot, cilantro, rice powder, chili, sugar, fish sauce, and lime juice to the beef. Toss well. Taste the dressing and adjust it to your liking with additional fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, or chilies.
- Arrange the lettuce leaves on a serving platter. With a slotted spoon, transfer the beef to the platter, mounding it on the lettuce. Drizzle the beef with some additional sauce from the pan and garnish with the cucumber, tomatoes, and mint. Serve with rice as soon as possible, warm or at room temperature
Did you forget to marinate the flank steak for the full hour? Shortening the marinade time requires scoring the meat deeply across the grain with a sharp knife to let the soy and fish sauce penetrate the muscle fibers quickly before cooking over high heat. High heat creates the essential char on rib-eye or flank steak, but pull the beef when the internal temperature registers 130 degrees Fahrenheit for medium-rare. Letting the beef rest for ten minutes allows the proteins to relax so the juices remain inside the slices rather than pooling on the cutting board.
The Science of Kao Kua
Grinding your own roasted rice powder transforms this salad by introducing a nutty aroma and a gritty texture that thickens the dressing. Dry-frying raw rice grains over high heat for four minutes requires constant agitation of the pan to achieve a uniform wheat-gold brown color. Storing excess kao kua in a sealed glass jar preserves its volatile aromatic compounds for up to two weeks, whereas pre-ground store-bought varieties lose their punch rapidly.Balancing Acid, Salt, and Heat
Building the dressing directly with the warm beef stock creates a rich emulsion that coats each slice of meat evenly. Fresh lime juice provides the primary acid, but substitution requires caution; bottled lime juice contains preservatives that introduce a metallic bitterness. Whisking the fish sauce, sugar, and sliced Asian red chilies vigorously ensures the granules dissolve completely before the greens are added. Tossing delicate herbs like mint and cilantro at the very last second prevents bruising, maintaining crisp leaves against the tender background of the warm protein.
