Yum Neua ยำเนี้อ Beef Salad

There are so many Thai restaurants in Melbourne, you are more likely to get injured by one of their falling signs than hit by a drunken driver these days. Sadly most of them won't nurse you back to good health with their uninspiring and indentical menus and decor. Unless sugar laden, carrot centric, deepfried satay and roti with peanut sauce in a purple room with cheap artifacts is what you like :(. So until you next visit the "land of thousand smiles" or head north to Sydney, spending a few hours cooking Thai food is the only way to go.

It was the eve of the one month anniversary of 3hungrytummies and my dear friend H is here to see me before going for a 3 month holiday. I decided to do a Thai dinner as I really missed the whole ritual of cooking Thai food and also I have promised my friends to start posting some Thai recipes. A very last minute effort but I'm rather happy with what I managed to produce in 2 hours ( I don't cook on Friday remember ??? hope the other tummies are reading)

The result- 3 hungry tummies had a wonderful time yet again with the honourary hungry tummy.

P.S vary the amount of chilies and garlic according to your taste but please forget about making Thai salad if you think limes are too expensive and substitute with lemon instead!!! NO! NO! NO! and don't even think about using spanish onions to replace the shallots for the same reason!

serves 4 as part of a Thai meal

you'll need;

1 green mango, shredded

3 shallots, sliced

1/2 cup of mint

1/2 cup of vietnamese mint

1 chili, sliced

500g rump steak; marinated with dash of soy, fish sauce and sweet soy, grilled to your liking, sliced thinly (we like it rare!)

4 tbs of rice, toasted and pounded

for the dressing;

3 tbs of palm sugar

1 tbs of white sugar

5 tbs of fish sauce

juice of 1 lime

3 bird chilies, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

In a saucepan, melt sugars with fish sauce. cooled and add lime juice, chopped chili and garlic

Have your shredded mango ready....

Arrange the sliced beef over the mango as a Thai person would (very neatly and rather slowly)

Again in a Thai manner, scatter herbs chilies and sliced shallot very beautifully with a broad smile :)

Sprinkle the toasted rice powder and pour the dressing over..

One of the tummy was so hungry he offered to toss the salad

You'll love me a very long time after eating this :)

Another wonderful dinner in progress :) I served the salad with son in-law eggs , spicy calamari and plenty of steam rice! AROY MAAK MAAK!

H brought me flowers (taken from the parents' garden)

And a beautiful huntsman came all the way from the bush with the flowers.