Lady Dash's Thai Beef Salad Cups

Spring is fast approaching and so is the need to be in swimwear, trying to get heavy winter meals out of our systems i thought i would mix things up a little and turn our "Asian Stir Fry Night" into a lighter more interactive dish.

This recipes is for 2 people:

Stir Fry Mix:
2 Porterhouse Steaks (fat trimmed & sliced into strips)
1 Capsicum (sliced)
1 Zucchini (sliced)
1 Carrot (peeled)
100g Green Beans (diced)

Thai Dressing: (You can also just buy a Thai Dressing)
2 Long Red Chillies (seeded, deveined & sliced)
1 Large Garlic Clove (minced)
1 TBS Coriander (paste)
1 TBS Ginger (minced)
1/2 Cup Caster Sugar
1/3 Cup Soy Sauce
1/3 Sweet Soy Sauce
1 TBS Mirin
1 TBS Sake
1 TBS Fish Sauce

1 Bundle Organic Udon Noodles

Iceberg Lettuce (whole leaves)

1/3 Cup Stone's Green Ginger Wine (From the Bottle Shop)

2 TBS Peanut Oil

I hate washing up so i like to have as little dishes as possible, so it might sound like i am working backwards but its purely to save on excess dishes.

Start by preparing all the vegetables and put aside, the different ways of cutting the vegetables ensures they are all cooked the same.

Next prepare the Thai Dressing, place all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk together, make sure the sugar has dissolved. Remember to taste and adjust to your liking, if you want more heat throw in some more Chilli.

Slice the beef to your desired thickness place in the dressing bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 20mins. (If you don't care about dishes or you don't have as much time as i do start with the dressing and the beef, by the time you chop and cook the veggies 20mins would have past).

Bring a small pot of water to the boil, leave boiling until needed.

If you have a wok use it, if not a large fry pan is fine.  Get your pan very hot and add 1TBS of Peanut Oil, add you Veggie Mix and toss around the pan until you see that they are all coated with oil, add 1/3 Cup Stones Green Ginger Wine and stir fry for a further 3mins, take Veggies out of the pan and put aside.

Place your Udon Noodles into the boiling water, keep an eye on them as they tend to boil over. If you blow on the frothy layer it should stop it.

Reheat the pan and add another 1TBS Peanut Oil, use a pair of tongs or a spoon with slits in it to transfer the meat to the pan. You don't want to much liquid in the pan or the meat will poach, not fry. I like my meat medium, so that is about 3mins. After 2 minutes add your vegetables and spoon in extra sauce as it evaporates, turn the pan off.

To prepare the lettuce cups, cut the bottom of the stem/core off so each leaf peels off into the shape of a cup-BE GENTLE, drain the noodles, mix through stir fry, add some more sauce if you like.

To serve, place the lettuce cups in a round ball neatly stacked on top of each other, put the stir fry in a large bowl with serving spoons, grab a plate, a lettuce cup and a spoonful of thai goodness, pop it inside the lettuce cup, wrap it up and eat.

Lady Dash's Thai Beef Salad Cups

The flavours in this dish are so amazing and fragrant, don't be scared to taste and adjust to your liking... I am so looking forward to having this dish again next week.

Score 10/10