Tamarind Beef and Cucumber Salad

Tamarind Beef and Cucumber Salad (Bò Thấu Me Dưa Leo)

Serving: 4-6 as part of a shared meal or 2-3 as a meal on its own
Measurements: Just for this recipe, I’m using Australian 20ml-sized tablespoons.

Ingredients

• 300g telegraph cucumber – finely shaved with a vege peeler
• 1 large carrot – peeled then finely shaved with a vege peeler (or you could mandolin or julienne the veges)
• 2 Tbl of caster sugar
• 2 Tbl of vege or peanut oil
• 2 large cloves of garlic – finely chopped
• 350g beef eye fillet – trimmed and sliced thinly into strips
• 2 Tbl of Tamarind Water (recipe below)
• Handful of Vietnamese mint
• Handful of Vietnamese or Thai basil
• Handful of Sawtooth herb (Ngò Gai) – leaves sliced (optional if you could find it)
• 2 Tbl of fried garlic (finely chopped garlic fried in hot vege oil at 180°C for a minute or until golden)
• 2 Tbl of “Aunty Nine’s salad dressing” (recipe below)
• 50g roasted chopped peanuts
• 2 bird’s eye chillis – finely chopped and deseeded

Method

Place, the cucumber, carrot and sugar in a bowl, toss to combine and sit for 10 minutes. Drain well and set aside.

Heat a wok with the oil over high heat until smoking. Working fast, toss in the garlic, sauté until fragrant then add the beef, season to taste with sea salt and ground black pepper and fry for no more than 3 minutes. Remove from wok then add 1 tablespoon of Tamarind Water. Mix and set aside. (Note – make sure you do not over crowd your wok with beef other the temperature goes down and it’ll stew instead of stir fry. If necessary, fry beef in small batches).

In another bowl, combine the cucumber, carrot, Vietnamese mint and basil, sawtooth herb, fried garlic and tamarind beef. Add remaining tablespoon of tamarind water and the salad dressing then toss to combine. Pile the salad on serving plate and garnish with peanuts and chilli.

“Aunty Nine’s Salad Dressing” (Dấu Dấm Dì Chín)

Serving: 125ml of dressing.
Measurements: Just for this recipe, I’m using Australian 20ml-sized tablespoons.

Ingredients

• 4 Tbl of lemon juice
• 2 Tbl of caster sugar (I added a little for extra sweetness)
• 1 Tbl fish sauce
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 small bird’s eye chilli – finely chopped (and deseeded if you wish)

Method

Whisk all ingredients together until combined and sugar has dissolved. This can be made in advance and stored in a clean jar in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Tamarind Water (Nước Me)

Serving: Makes about 300ml.

Ingredients

• 100g seedless tamarind pulp (available in Asian grocers)
• 300ml boiling water

Method

Place the pulp in a heatproof bowl and pour over the water. Once it’s cool enough to handle, break up and squeeze the pulp with your hands then strain the mixture to make a smooth paste.

This can be done in advance and will store up to a month in an airtight container in the fridge. Add to soups, curries, sauces and stir fries.

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All recipes adapted from Songs of Sapa by Luke Nguyen (published by Murdoch Books)