Name: Pepper Beef and Pineapple Salad
Yield: Serves 4–6
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: 4 coriander roots, chopped; ½ teaspoon chopped galangal; 2 tablespoons Asian or Thai basil leaves, torn; 2 tablespoons long-grain rice, roasted and coarsely ground; 1 punnet tatsoi cress, snipped; 1 small clove garlic; 1 small red chilli; 15 ml fish sauce; 2 coriander roots; 2 teaspoons palm sugar; 600 g blade or skirt (or onglet) beef, sliced into thin strips; 40 ml Tamarind Liquid; 40 ml fresh lime juice, strained; 1 tablespoon finely shredded fresh ginger; 20 ml oyster sauce; 4 makrut lime leaves, finely shredded; ½ small cucumber, finely sliced; 20 ml light soy sauce; 2 tablespoons mint leaves, shredded; 50 ml vegetable oil; 2 red shallots, finely sliced; 1 teaspoon white peppercorns; 1 teaspoon fresh green peppercorns; 3 teaspoons castor sugar; 1 teaspoon sea salt; ½ long red chilli, sliced into fine rounds; 200 g fresh pineapple, finely diced; 4 large betel leaves; 60 ml fresh pineapple juice; 20 ml Sugar Syrup

Preparation info

Serves
4–6

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Fire

By Christine Manfield

Published 2008

About

This dish immediately transports me back to Thailand and to the street vendors where I buy my neua sawan, or ‘heavenly beef’. Its marinade is a classic Thai paste that is also used for stir-fries. When we used to prepare the beef like this in the restaurant, it was hard work keeping everyone’s hands off it, the flavour and texture are so incredibly addictive. If you don’t have time to dry the beef beforehand, you can always season it with the same paste and quickly stir-fry it instead.