VIETNAMESE GRILLED BEEF SALAD

Tangy Vietnamese flavours and juicy steak make for a moreish salad

Serves: 4-6

Preparation: 15 minutes Cooking: 10 minutes 4 x 200g Australian sirloin steaks, trimmed of fat 2 carrots, made into ribbons using a peeler 1 tablespoon rice vinegar 125g vermicelli noodles ¼ wombok (Chinese cabbage), finely shredded 1 cucumber, made into ribbons using a peeler 150g snow peas, sliced diagonally ½ cup mint leaves ¼ cup peanuts (plain, unsalted), chopped, to serve

DRESSING

1 small red chilli, finely chopped 3 tbsp lime juice 3 tbsp sugar 1 tbsp fish sauce 1 clove garlic, crushed 1 tsp finely grated ginger

1 Brush steaks with oil and season with pepper. Cook steak for 3 minutes each side for medium rare, or to your own preference, in a chargrill pan on high heat. Allow to rest.

2 Toss carrot ribbons with the rice vinegar. Leave to pickle for 10 minutes.

3 Cover vermicelli in boiling water for 5 minutes or until tender, drain and rinse with cold water, drain again. Combine the dressing ingredients.

4 Combine cabbage, carrots plus pickling liquid, vermicelli, cucumber, snow peas and mint leaves and toss with dressing. Top salad with sliced beef and peanuts.

Chef Tarek’s top tips

1. Taste the seasoning of the dressing after you’ve added it to the rest of the salad and adjust depending on your preference.

2. Sirloin steaks are sometimes called New York steaks.

Challenge Chef Tarek

You can email us a physical challenge for Chef Tarek – would you like him to kite surf or try an exercise class? Write to us at friday@gulfnews.com with Chef Tarek in the subject line.