Beef and Water Dropwort Salad

Name: Beef and Water Dropwort Salad (Gỏi Bò Cần Nước)
Yield: Serves 4-6 as part of a Shared Meal
Cuisine: Vietnam
Ingredients: 250 ml (9 fl oz/1 cup) Mum’s vinaigrette dressing; 1 onion, thinly sliced; 350 g (12 oz) beef eye fillet, trimmed and sliced into strips; 1 bunch water dropwort, washed and cut into 5 cm (2 inch) lengths; 2 tablespoons vegetable oil; 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped; ½ teaspoon roasted sesame seeds; 4 tablespoons Aunty Nine’s salad dressing

Gỏi Bò Cần Nước

Preparation info

Serves
4-6
as part of a Shared Meal

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Songs of Sapa

By Luke Nguyen

Published 2009

About

DON’T BE ALARMED, THIS VARIETY OF WATER DROPWORT IS THE EDIBLE KIND, NOT THE POISONOUS KIND. IT IS ALSO KNOWN AS WATER CELERY, AS THE PLANT’S LEAVES HAVE A SIMILAR SHAPE TO CELERY. THE FLAVOUR CAN BE COMPARED TO THAT OF WATERCRESS AND PARSLEY COMBINED. YOU CAN BUY WATER DROPWORT FROM ASIAN MARKETS.

Ingredients

1 bunch water dropwort, washed and cut into 5 cm (2 inch) lengths

Asia
Vietnam
Mekong
Dinner
Gluten-free
Southeast Asia

Method

Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and blanch the water dropwort for 1 minute, then refresh in iced water and drain. Transfer to a bowl and add the onion, then pour over Mum’s vinaigrette dressing, tossing the salad every few minutes for 10 minutes. Drain, then transfer to a large salad bowl.

Place a frying pan over high heat. Add the oil and fry the garlic until fragrant, then add t