Thai beef salad (nam tok) with jim jaew dressing
Jim jaew is a versatile dipping sauce originating from the Northeastern part of Thailand. It is sweet, sour and a little spicy and crunchy. It is often eaten as a condiment with grilled beef, chicken or fish. But I love having it with just sticky rice and vegetables.
Ingredients
For the beef salad
- 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
- 200g/7oz prime thick-cut tenderloin fillet steak, at room temperature
- 1 large garlic clove, crushed
- small handful fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped
- ½ tsp maple syrup
- 40²µ/1½´Ç³ú Little Gem lettuce, leaves separated
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the jim jaew dressing
- 15g/½oz uncooked glutinous rice
- 1 lime, juice only
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- ¾ tbsp dried red chilli flakes
- 1 tsp sugar
- ½ shallot, finely sliced
- 1 spring onion, finely sliced
- small handful fresh coriander, roughly chopped
Method
Rub the rapeseed oil, some salt and black pepper all over the steak.
To cook the steak, place a frying pan over a high heat until hot. Add the fillet steak and then, once the first side is starting to caramelise, turn the heat down to medium. Cook each side for 5 minutes for medium-rare, or vary the cooking time depending on your preference and the type, size and thickness of your steak. Add the garlic to the pan halfway through cooking and baste the steak with the hot garlic oil.
Once cooked, remove the steak from the pan, cover and allow to rest for around 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the jim jaew dressing. Put the uncooked glutinous rice into a shallow frying pan over a medium-high heat and toast until the rice turns golden in colour, about 7–8 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
Use a food processor to grind the toasted rice, or pound it with a pestle and mortar, until it reaches a fine, sand-like texture.
Mix 1 tablespoon of the ground rice with 2 tablespoons of the lime juice, the fish sauce, chilli flakes and sugar in a small mixing bowl. Taste and adjust for flavour by adding more fish sauce, sugar, chilli or lime to your liking.
Thinly slice the steak and transfer it to the jim jaew bowl. Add the shallot, spring onion, coriander and maple syrup then mix to combine and serve on a bed of Little Gem lettuce.