PREPARATION TIME: 25 MINUTES (PLUS 30 MINUTES MARINATING TIME)

COOKING TIME: 6–8 MINUTES

SERVES: 4

CHARRED BEEF WITH A THAI SALAD AND NAHM JIM

This is a fresh and simple alternative to eating one big lump of steak, although there is nothing wrong with that. Nahm jim is a zingy Thai dressing that has a wonderful balance of hot, salty, sweet and sour flavours. As a garnish, try grinding roasted rice as an alternative to peanuts — it’s an interesting trick I learnt from a Filipino friend’s mum.

4 thick sirloin steaks, about 250 g (9 oz) each, trimmed

2 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil

1 red onion, thinly sliced

1 Lebanese (short) cucumber, halved, seeded and thinly sliced

1 large nashi pear, julienned

½ cup (firmly packed) mint leaves

½ cup (firmly packed) Thai basil leaves

2 long red chillies, seeded and thinly sliced on the diagonal

chopped peanuts, to serve

roasted rice, ground (optional, see note)

NAHM JIM

1 bunch coriander (cilantro)

3 cm (1¼ inch) piece ginger, finely grated

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 long red chillies, seeded and finely chopped

zest and juice of 2 limes

2 tablespoons fish sauce

70 g (2½ oz/½ cup) grated palm sugar (jaggery)

To make the nahm jim, trim the roots from the coriander and wash well. Pick and reserve the leaves and discard the stems. Place all the remaining ingredients except the coriander leaves in a food processor and process until finely chopped.

Place the steaks, peanut oil and half the nahm jim in a large bowl. Turn to coat well, then stand at room temperature for 30 minutes to marinate.

Preheat a lightly greased chargrill pan or barbecue chargrill plate to high heat.

Cook the steaks for 3–4 minutes on each side for medium-rare, or until cooked to your liking. Rest the steaks for 5 minutes (to retain the juices) before slicing to serve.

Combine the onion, cucumber, pear, herbs, chilli and remaining nahm jim in a large bowl. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste, then divide the salad between four bowls, top with the sliced sirloin and scatter with the chopped peanuts or the roasted rice, if using.

NOTES

∎   To make and grind roasted rice, roast 2 tablespoons of white rice in a pan until golden and roasted. Transfer to an empty pepper grinder and grind over salads. When ground, roasted rice is sometimes added to curries to thicken the sauce.