Thai Beef Salad with Crunchy Vegetables

Ingredients

• 2 sirloin steaks (approx. 250g each)
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 tbsp fish sauce
• 3 tbsp lime juice (about 2 limes)
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 2 red chillies, finely sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, finely grated
• 300g white cabbage, finely shredded
• 2 carrots, peeled and julienned
• 1 cucumber, halved lengthways, seeds scraped, thinly sliced
• 4 spring onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
• 20g fresh mint leaves
• 20g fresh coriander, roughly torn
• 15g Thai basil leaves
• 2 tbsp toasted rice powder (see method), to serve
• 300g jasmine rice, cooked to packet instructions, to serve
• 2 limes, cut into wedges, to serve
• 3 tbsp crispy shallots, to serve

Method

1. Toasted rice powder first: tip 2 tbsp uncooked jasmine rice into a dry frying pan over medium heat. Toast for 4–5 minutes, shaking the pan, until the grains turn deep golden and smell nutty — that toasty aroma is the whole point, so don't pull it pale. Grind to a coarse, sandy powder in a pestle and mortar and set aside.
2. Whisk the fish sauce, lime juice, caster sugar, sliced chillies and grated garlic in a small bowl until the sugar fully dissolves. The garlic goes in raw here and the lime juice tames it — no cooking needed, but use it within the hour so the garlic stays bright and doesn't turn harsh. Taste: it should hit sharp, salty, sweet and hot in that order. Adjust now — more lime if it's flat, more sugar if it's biting.
3. Combine the cabbage, carrot, cucumber and spring onions in a large bowl. Pour over two-thirds of the dressing and toss thoroughly. Leave for 10 minutes — the salt in the fish sauce softens the cabbage just enough to lose its squeak while keeping the snap.
4. Pat the steaks bone-dry with kitchen paper. Water means steam, and steam means no crust. Season generously with sea salt and black pepper on both sides, pressing it in.
5. Heat the vegetable oil in a heavy stainless or cast iron pan over high heat until it shimmers and the first wisp of smoke rises. Lay the steaks in away from you — one at a time if your pan is small. Don't crowd them: two steaks need a 28cm pan minimum, otherwise cook in batches. Crowded steaks steam in their own juices and you'll never get the crust.
6. Sear undisturbed for 2 minutes a side for rare, 3 minutes for medium-rare — you're after a deep mahogany crust, not grey. Press the centre: it should feel like the pad below your thumb when your hand is relaxed (rare) or lightly clenched (medium-rare). Transfer to a board and rest for a full 5 minutes — cut early and the juices run onto the board instead of through the meat.
7. Slice the rested beef thinly against the grain at a slight angle. Pour any board juices back over the slices along with a spoonful of the remaining dressing — that's pure flavour, don't waste it.
8. Taste the dressed salad one more time. The fish sauce carries most of the salt, but a final pinch of sea salt and a squeeze of lime over the leaves ties it together. Fold the mint, coriander and Thai basil through and pile onto a large platter.
9. Lay the sliced beef over the herb tangle, drizzle with the last of the dressing and the resting juices, then shower with the toasted rice powder and crispy shallots. Tuck the lime wedges alongside and serve straight away with the jasmine rice — the rice powder loses its crunch within minutes once it hits the dressing.