Classic Thai Beef Salad (Larb Neua) So Easy And Flavorful
Thinly sliced steak tossed in onion, cilantro, pepper flakes, lime juice, fish sauce, and toasted rice. Eaten with rice or as a lettuce wrap.
Equipment
- Cast iron pan or medium size skillet for the steak
- Coffee grinder or food processor for the toasted rice
- Large size mixing bowl
- Spatulas for tossing the salad
Ingredients
- 1-1½ lbs sirloin or your favorite tender cut. My sirloin was a 1 inch thick cut.
- ½ medium red onion, sliced
- handful cilantro, chopped
- 1 lime or 2 tbsp lime juice
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tbsp toasted rice
- 2 tsp sugar
- salt for the steaks
- romaine lettuce optional
- 1 tbsp red pepper flakes more or less to your liking
Instructions
Steak
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ and heat up a cast iron pan or a skillet on the stove. You can go ahead and disregard the below steps and cook your steak to your preference.
- While the pan is heating up on a medium-high heat, pat the steak dry with paper towels then lightly salt both sides of the steaks. No need to be generous with salt since we don't need a crispy sear with these steaks. We'll be slicing them thin for the salad. Plus, the fish sauce is providing the salad with umami saltiness.
- Sear both sides of the steaks on a hot skillet/cast iron pan for 2 minutes. Once done, pop the steaks into the oven to finish cooking for about 10 minutes. The cooking time will depend on how thick your steak is. My 1 inch sirloin took 10 minutes in the oven to achieve medium well. Alternatively, you can leave the steaks in the oven shorter or longer depending on how you like your steak.
- While the steaks are in the oven, slice up some red onion and chop handful of cilantro. Set aside until the steaks are done.
- Pull the steaks out of the oven after 10 minutes. Let them sit for another 10 minutes in room temperature. Here, you can start preparing for the toasted rice while waiting.
Toasted rice
- In a small pan. Toast 1/4 cup white rice until golden brown on a medium heat. Make sure to stir occasionally to ensure the rice doesn't burn. The toasted rice should have a deep golden brown color once done. Ground up the rice in a blender until it's course and close to powder. I used a coffee grinder to achieve the coffee ground like texture.
Assembling the salad
- Slice the steaks thin against the grain. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients; sliced steak, cilantro, onion, lime juice, pepper flakes, fish sauce, sugar, and toasted rice. Toss together. Feel free to add more fish sauce, lime, pepper flakes to your liking.
- Enjoy with a bowl of rice or with lettuce as a lettuce wrap!