Chrissy Teigen Pepper's Thai Beef Salad Recipe
When Chrissy Teigen released her new book Cravings, I went to three different stores to get a copy. Target lied to me twice when they said they would hold it for me (don't worry, we're BFFs again!). When I got to the third store, I threw 'bows for the last book.
She's one of my favorite people on this planet. I've never met her, but we were MySpace friends. Now I sound like an older loser, but seriously, her love for food, quirkiness and lack of filter makes her relatable. When I read her IG comments, multiple females call Chrissy their BFFs. It's pretty cute.
Chrissy is mixed like myself, so I can relate to this book. I love how she added American classics with a twist, featured her mom's Thai recipes, threw in some healthy dishes and even cocktails (the cocktail recipes are a bonus, only books bought from Target have them.).
I've already made Jok Moo (Thai Pork and Rice Porridge) and Pepper's Pork-Stuffed Cucumber Soup. Both were incredibly delicious but I didn't have time for pictures. I'm not sure if you guys realize the time and effort it takes to photograph food as you cook. I give credit to full time food bloggers, because it's a bit tedious. One of these days I'll share the recipe on here because they're both so good and will be part of my comfort food staples.
Thai Beef Salad (Yum Nua) is my go to dish at Thai restaurants. Most of their dishes are an explosion of flavor, with spicy, savory and sweet in the mix, but I'm a weirdo that loves fresh veggies and orders a salad when I'm out.
Prep time: 25 minutes Total Time: 35 minutes
Start of by making Toasted rice (makes about 1/4 cup)
Do not skip this step. I almost skipped because I've never made it before, but I want to make all her recipes exactly the way she does.
1/2 cup jasmine rice
In a dry skillet, toast the rice over medium heat, stirring and tossing often. Watch it closely so it doesn't burn. Seriously. I was kind of scared as I stirred the rice because it got color so quickly. You toast this until it becomes deep brown. She suggests 12-14 minutes, but I think my rice was toasted at about 8 minutes.
Transfer to a plate to cool completely. Do not leave this in the pan or it will continue to cook the rice. Pound in a mortar and pestle to powder, the consistency of fine bread crumbs. You may also do this in a blender on high speed for 10-15 seconds.
Thai Beef Salad
Dressing:
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons ground Thai chili powder (or 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper)
2 tablespoons Toasted Rice
6 fresh mint leaves, sliced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 scallions, thinly sliced
10 grape tomatoes, halved
Directions:
Combine lime juice, fish sauce and chili powder. Add the rest of the ingredients when steak is ready to be served.
SIDE NOTE: Don't be a baby and skip fish sauce. Some of you people really irk the hell out of me with this. I hope you realize that most of the Chinese food and other Asian dishes you eat are full of fish and oyster sauce. This dish does NOT have a fishy taste at all because you combine ingredients together. End of rant. Bye.
Beef:
2 well-marbled New York strip or boneless rib-eye steaks (1 inch thick, 1 3/4 pounds total)
Freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons light soy sauce 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
Directions:
Generously season steaks rolled in black pepper, coat in soy sauce.
In a cast-iron skillet, heat the oil over high heat until smoking. Sear steaks until medium rare, about 4-5 minutes per side. Let the steaks rest on a plate for 10 minutes, then thinly slice against the grain.
Add the dressing to the steaks, combine mint, cilantro, scallions, tomatoes. I like to have the flavors absorb for two minutes. Serve with jasmine rice, add toasted rice at the end.
I enjoyed this dish a lot, thumbs up!
My Thai Beef Salad is made a bit different at home and when I go out. I'm not sure if I eat an Americanized version or what, but I usually eat it on a bed of lettuce and my dressing is a little sweet. I usually add 1 1/2 teaspoon of palm sugar and 2 tablespoons of lemon grass.
I just googled a bunch of Thai Salad recipes. They were all different, so that makes me feel better. Some were super spicy, others were sweet. Chrissy's is on the savory side.
Don't forget to grab her book here !
Do you have Chrissy's book? If so, what dishes have you tried?
Source: https://www.annieatoz.com/2016/04/cravings-chrissy-teigens-thai-beef-salad.html