Thai Beef Salad & Pad Thai

After all that angmoh food the past few days, I was ready to switch back to Asian. It was time to do some Thai food. I love Thai food. I love the flavors & how they balance sweet, sour, salty & spicy in every dish. Bangkok is food heaven for me - I've been there so often that I have a list of must eat places ranging from road side stalls to fancy restaurants.

For lunch, I decided to stick to the tried, tested & tasty Thai beef salad & Pad Thai - 2 of my favorite Thai dishes. I checked & thankfully I have all the ingredients I needed. But yikes, I just realised that I was down to my last block of tamarind. Time to stock up on my Asian groceries. Hmm maybe a trip to Nice is in order. Can you believe that I have to go all the way to Nice, which is a 4 hour drive, to buy Asian food stuff ? Be thankful, all of you who live in Asia or near a Chinatown.

Anyway sorry I digressed. So where was I. Ah Thai beef salad. This was one of the first Thai dishes that I attempted at home. It's so easy to make & everybody loves it. I have served this as a starter or as a main course with rice.

It really should be done with grilled beef but since I don't have a grill plate (I'm still looking for one that works on our induction stove), I just fry it on the pan.

Thai Beef Salad
serves 2

2 beef steak
2 large clove garlic, sliced thinly
1 Tbsp sugar
5 Tbsp fish sauce
5 Tbsp lime juice (about 2 limes)
1/2 cucumber, peeled & sliced thinly
2 shallots, sliced
red chillies, sliced

1. Fry or grill beef depending on how you like yours done
2. Set aside & then cut to strips
3. Mix garlic, chilli, fish sauce, lime juice & sugar in a bowl
4. Toss the dressing with beef, cucumber & shallots
5. Serve over bed of lettuce




Pad Thai

If you have not seen Pim's wildly popular entry on Pad Thai for Beginners, go read it now. It has all you need to know about making Pad Thai. Over the years, I've tried making it many times & never quite got it right. Either the noodles become all sticky or it doesn't taste like it should.

Pim's entry is a little lengthy but definitely worth reading through. She leaves nothing out even including a description of how to extract tamarind juice. I follow everything to a tee. I've already done this half a dozen times & it has never failed me.

I just re-read her entry again & really like her idea of a Pad Thai party. I can imagine our French friends having a blast with the wok & making their own Pad Thai. Something to bear this in mind next time we plan a dinner party. X will be pleased cos for a change, the guests will do their own cooking.