If you're after a fresh, flavour-packed meal that comes together quickly, this Thai Beef Noodle Salad is a great recipe to try. Packed with crunchy vegetables, tender steak and a zingy, tangy dressing, it's finished off with fragrant herbs for a bowlful of bold, bright flavours. Perfect for warm days or when you're craving something lighter but satisfying.
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30 Minute Meal To Rave About
This Thai steak salad is a great meal for when you want something quick, fresh and full of flavour. It's naturally gluten-free, light on calories, and easy to customise with whatever crunchy veg you've got in the fridge.
You can cook the steak to your liking and adjust the spice levels too. A quick midweek fix that feels like a treat.
Ingredients and Substitutes
Here's everything you will need for this Thai beef noodle salad recipe:
For Thai Salad Dressing
- bird's eye chilli: may be replaced with other red chilli that you have at home, but bird's eye chillies are traditional in Thai cooking.
- garlic clove.
- fresh coriander (cilantro): you can use finely chopped stalks, and reserve the leaves for the salad itself.
- dark brown sugar: or honey.
- fish sauce.
- lime juice.
- vegetable oil: also known as canola oil, but you may use other neutral oil, like sunflower or avocado oil.
For The Steak
- good quality steak: we used sirloin steak, but other cuts of steak, like skirt steak or rump steak, will work too.
- salt and black pepper: to season
- a drop of olive oil.
For Thai Noodle Salad
- fine rice noodles: also known as rice vermicelli (thin rice noodles). If you only have ramen noodles, they will taste beautiful too.
- cherry tomatoes: or baby plump tomatoes.
- cucumber: cut into semi-circles.
- gem lettuce: or shredded iceberg lettuce.
- spring onions: also known as green onions. You may replace them with thinly sliced red onion.
- fresh herbs: we used fresh mint leaves and coriander, but Thai basil will go well too.
- roasted peanuts: if you don't want nuts, try it with Crispy Fried Shallots!
Find the ingredient quantities, detailed instructions and nutritional information in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Step-By-Step Method
Step 1: Prepare Thai Salad Dressing
1. Place finely chopped chilli, garlic, sugar and coriander in a pestle and mortar and grind them into a paste.
2. Scoop everything into a small bowl. Add the fish sauce, fresh lime juice and oil and stir for a minute until the sugar completely dissolves. Taste and add a little bit more lime juice, sugar or fish sauce to taste. Set it aside.
Step 2: Cook The Steak
1. Take the steak out of the fridge about 20-30 minutes before cooking. Dab it with paper towels to remove surface moisture. Rub a drop of oil onto the steak. Season with salt and black pepper.
2. Heat a frying pan on medium heat. Once hot, add the steak and cook it on both sides to your liking of doneness. The cooking times will depend on the thickness of the steak, so it's convenient to check the internal temperature using an instant-read thermometer.
We take the steak out of the pan when the thickest part of each steak reaches 52°C (126°F) for medium rare or 56°C (135°F) for medium steak (the internal temperature will increase as the steak rests).
3. Place the steak on a cutting board, tent it with foil, and let the steak rest for 10 minutes.
Step 3: Rice Noodles
1. In the meantime, cook the rice noodles following the package directions (it typically takes no longer than 5 minutes). Rinse them with cold water, drain well and let them air dry in a colander for a few minutes.
Step 4: Assemble Thai Beef Salad
1. In a large bowl, combine the rice noodles, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, spring onions, coriander and mint leaves.
2. Toss the salad with half of the tangy sauce.
3. Place the gem lettuce on the base of each bowl. Top them with the Thai noodle salad.
4. Once the steak has rested, slice it into thin strips, cutting against the muscle fibres.
5. Place the beef on top of the noodles, scatter the peanuts and drizzle the remaining dressing on top.
Serving Suggestions
We typically serve Thai Beef Noodle Salad as a main course on its own - no sides needed. For gatherings, pile it onto a large platter so everyone can help themselves, or split it into six smaller portions to serve as a fresh, zingy starter.
Recipe FAQs
Many Thai beef salad recipes I've seen use soy sauce (which contains gluten), but our recipe is gluten-free, given that you use a gluten-free brand of fish sauce and noodles.
Yes, you can get a head start by cooking the noodles and making the dressing a day ahead - just store them in an airtight container in the fridge. For the best texture and flavour, prep the vegetables and steak fresh, and assemble everything shortly before serving.
More Thai recipes
Here are a few more Thai recipes for you to try next time:
Thai Beef Noodle Salad
Ingredients
For Thai Salad Dressing:
- 1 small bird's eye chilli deseeded and finely chopped
- 1 small garlic clove finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh coriander cilantro, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoon dark brown sugar or honey
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 3-4 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
For The Steak:
- 200 g (7.05 oz) sirloin steak at room temperature
- salt and black pepper to season
- a drop of olive oil
For Thai Noodle Salad:
- 80 g (2.82 oz) fine rice noodles dried weight
- 150 g (5.29 oz) cherry tomatoes halved
- 80 g (2.82 oz) cucumber cut into semi-circles
- 1 gem lettuce
- 2 spring onions thinly sliced
- 5 g (a handful) corinader (cilantro) leaves
- 5 g (a handful) mint leaves
- 20 g (2 tablespoon) roasted peanuts
Instructions
- Place finely chopped chilli, garlic, sugar and coriander in a pestle and mortar and grind them into a paste.
- Add the fish sauce, lime juice and oil and stir for a minute until sugar completely dissolves. Set it aside.
- Rub a drop of oil onto the steak. Season with salt and black pepper.
- Heat a frying pan on medium heat. Once hot, add the steak and cook it on both sides to your liking of doneness. The cooking times will depend on the thickness of the steak, so it's convenient to check the internal temperature. We take the steak out of the pan when it reaches 52 (126) for medium rare or 56 (135) for medium steak (the internal temperature will increase as the steak rests).
- Place the steak on a chopping board, tent it with foil, and let it rest for 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, cook the rice noodles following the instructions on the packet (it typically takes no longer than 5 minutes). Rinse them with cold water, drain well and let them air dry in a colander for a few minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the rice noodles, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, spring onions, coriander and mint leaves.
- Toss the salad with half of the dressing.
- Place the gem lettuce on the base of each bowl. Top them with the Thai noodle salad.
- Once the steak has rested, slice it into thin strips, cutting against the muscle fibres.
- Top the salad with the beef, scatter the peanuts on top and drizzle the remaining dressing on top.
Nutrition
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