This Thai Beef Salad with Crispy Noodles is quick to make in 20 minutes. With a tangy dressing, fresh herbs, crunchy veggies and cooling mango, this summer salad is healthy eating on a plate, perfect for lunch or dinner.
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Its a perfect quick and healthy asian salad just like this Thai Prawn Salad with homemade Chilli Lime Dressing and this Vietnamese Beef salad. Or for a more traditional salad, try my Summer Sausage Salad.
Recipe Highlights
- Flavor-packed Asian beef salad that is tangy, spicy, sweet, and savory
- Easily adjustable spiciness by adding or omitting chili
- Easily swap beef for chicken, salmon of thinly sliced pork
- A quick 3-ingredient dressing ready in under 1 minute
- Simple and fuss-free with supermarket ingredients
- Texture and crunch from noodles, cucumber, red onion, lettuce, tomato, and mango
- Ultimate low-carb, low-calorie salad bowl full of vibrant color and flavor
- Perfect for lunch or dinner for two; easily scalable for larger servings
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- Steak: Good quality steak is a must. Rib fillet, eye fillet, skirt steak, flat iron steak, flank steak, sirloin steak are all good options. Slicing the strips the same size will ensure it cooks evenly.
- Fried Noodles: I used Changs fried noodles 100 gram packet, however there are several different varieties of fried noodles available in the Asian aisle of the supermarket.
- Garlic, ginger and soy sauce: these act as a marinade and seasoning for the steak and add to the flavor of the dish. This step can be skipped, but you'll be missing out on extra flavor and taste in the salad
- Lettuce Leaves: Butter lettuce, Gem lettuce, are the best. I find that the packets of loose lettuce leaves from the supermarket are ideal. Failing that use whatever lettuce you have on hand.
- Mango: Make sure the mango you use is ripe and sweet as it will counteract the heat of the chili in the dressing, like in this Asian Salmon with Mango Salsa
- Tomatoes: I love using mini cherry tomatoes, however regular cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered are great, and alternatively you could also use a regular tomato chopped into small chunks
- Red Onion: provides a savory note to the dish as well as some crunch
- Cucumber: provides crunch and freshness. I like to use Lebanese cucumber as it has a softer skin than most.
- Mint: fresh mint leaves roughly chopped add freshness, and color
- Coriander/Cilantro: fresh and roughly chopped, both in the salad, and to garnish
- Thai Basil: this adds a peppery note to the salad and additional flavor, however if you can't find it, you could use regular basil or leave it out and the salad will still taste great.
- Sweet chili Sauce: I like to use "Light Sweet Chilli Sauce" which is a lower calorie option that the regular varieties as it has a lot less sugar. Its available usually along side the Asian sauces at supermarkets.
- Lime: nothing beats fresh lime juice in a Thai salad dressing. A squeeze over the salad to serve is also great.
How To Make
- Quick Steak Marinade: Add steak strips, garlic, ginger and soy sauce to a bowl and mix together
- Cook Steak: Heat a non stick wok on high heat. (use a little spray oil if using a regular wok). Add beef strips and cook quickly, moving beef around the wok until its brown and cooked to your liking, then remove from heat for steak to rest.
- Prepare Salad: Add salad ingredients to a large mixing bowl and toss to combine
- Prepare dressing: add dressing ingredients to a small bowl or jug and whisk with a fork to mix together. (Don't pour directly over salad. Serve on the side)
- Prepare serving bowls: Evenly divide salad between two plates. Drain excess steak juices and place steak strips on top on top of salad, adding a couple tablespoons of dressing. Garnish with additional fried noodles and coriander/cilantro.
Recipe Tips
- Steak Marinade: you can marinate the steak ahead of time, but its really not necessary as there is already so much flavor going on.
- Asian Salad Dressing: Make sure to spoon over the salad dressing, rather than pour it directly on as too much dressing will make the noodles go soggy.
- Leftover Dressing: store leftovers in a jar with lid for upto a week and its great to use as a stir fry sauce and over grilled fish or salmon
- Noodles: Swap fried noodles for thin rice noodles, cooked according to the packet instructions
Add Ins
- Peanuts: for added crunch and texture, add a sprinkling of granulated peanuts on top
- Extra Chili: for lovers of Thai steak salad bowls additional spice is a must with finely diced chili or red pepper flakes sprinkled on top to serve
- Fried Shallots: you can these in packets or jars from the asian aisle of the supermarket and a few sprinkled on top to serve adds additional texture and crunch
- Fresh Bean Sprouts: to help bulk out the salad and for extra crunch
- A side of rice: if you really need something extra to go with the salad, a servings of steamed jasmine, or brown rice could be an option
This Crunchy Thai Beef Salad is loaded with lively fresh citrus flavours, with hints of mild chilli to give it just a bit of a spicy edge without being hot or overpowering.
Love Thai Food you can make at home? this this easy Slow Cooker Thai Green Beef Curry or Lemon Chicken Stirfry that are simple to make, big on flavour, but without all the added sugars.
Seriously, this has to be one of the best summer salads ever!
More Healthy Thai Dinners
Thai Beef Salad with Crispy Noodles
Kim Morris
This Thai Beef Salad with Crispy Noodles is quick to make in 20 minutes. With a tangy dressing, fresh herbs, crunchy veggies and cooling mango.
Ingredients
Meat
- 300 grams steak thinly sliced into strips
- 1 teaspoon crushed garlic
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
Salad
- 4 handfuls lettuce leaves
- ½ medium red onion thinly sliced
- 12 cherry tomatoes quartered
- 1 medium lebanese cucumber (cut into small chunks)
- 1 large mango (2 cheeks) cut into chunks
- 100 grams crunchy fried noodles - (1 packet)
- handful of mnt leaves
- handful of thai basil leaves, or corriander/cilantro
Dressing
- ½ long red chilli (diced with seeds removed)
- 2 tablespoons light sweet chilli sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons lime Juice
- 1 teaspoon monkfruit sweetener
Instructions
- Season Steak: Add 300 grams steak thinly sliced into strips, 1 teaspoon crushed garlic, 1 teaspoon minced ginger and 1 tablespoon soy sauce to a bowl and mix together
- Cook Steak: Heat a non stick wok on high heat. (use a little spray oil if using a regular wok). Add beef strips and cook quickly, moving beef around the wok until its brown and cooked to your liking, then remove from heat and set aside.
- Prepare Salad: Add to a large bowl 4 handfuls lettuce leaves, ½ medium red onion thinly sliced, 12 cherry tomatoes quartered, 1 medium lebanese cucumber (cut into small chunks), 1 large mango (2 cheeks) cut into chunks, handful of mnt leaves, handful of thai basil leaves, or corriander/cilantro, 100 grams crunchy fried noodles. Toss to combine.
- Prepare dressing: add 2 tablespoons light sweet chilli sauce, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoons lime Juice, 1 teaspoon monkfruit sweetener, and ½ long red chilli (diced with seeds removed) to a small bowl and whisk to combine together.(Don't pour directly over salad yet)
- Prepare serving bowls: Evenly divide salad between two plates. Drain excess steak juices and place steak strips on top on top of salad, and spoon over the dressing. You may like to give it a gently toss with hands or two forks.
Notes
- Quality Steak Selection: Opt for rib fillet, eye fillet, skirt steak, flat iron steak, flank steak, or sirloin steak. Uniformly slicing strips ensures even cooking.
- Marinating the steak is not essential for this recipe, however if you have the time, marinating the steak for 60 minutes will enhance the flavor
- Noodle Options: Use 100g of Chang's fried noodles or explore various Asian aisle options at the supermarket for fried noodle varieties.
- Ideal Lettuce Choices: Butter lettuce or Gem lettuce, preferably from loose leaf packets, work best. Any available lettuce can be used as a substitute.
- Ripe Mango: Choose a ripe and sweet mango to balance the dressing's heat, similar to the approach in Asian Salmon with Mango Salsa.
- Tomato Variety: Opt for mini cherry tomatoes or regular cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered. Regular tomatoes, chopped into small chunks, are also suitable.
- Fresh Herbs: Fresh Mint, Coriander or Cilantro and Thai Basil bring this Asian salad bowl to life. Regular Basil can be used in place of Thai Basil
- Light Sweet Chili Sauce: I use a sugar free sweet chili sauce, also sometimes called "Light Sweet Chili Sauce".
Nutrition
Calories: 452kcalCarbohydrates: 53gProtein: 40gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 2gFiber: 10gSugar: 11g
Note: Sugars contained in this recipe are from naturally occurring sugars in fruits, vegetables or other natural sweeteners. Calories have been calculated for your convenience using My Fitness Pal and are based on the ingredients listed in the recipe card.
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Trevor G.. says
Thai beef salad is always a winner with me. Love all the different variations you can make as well. I like to marinate my meet first before cooking, I find it really intensifies the flavor.