Vietnamese Beef Salad

I'll admit it: I've never been to Vietnam, or even to a Vietnamese restaurant, so frankly I don't know how authentic this is. Possibly not very. But the recipe comes from a Vietnamese cookbook, that came out earlier this year in Sweden: "Kök i Hanoi". Very nice cookbook, with a lot of information about the country. And this salad? Very, very nice. I changed a few tiny things, but nothing major. I couldn't find purple thai basil in my grocery store, so I used the normal kind - but if you can get something more exciting, by all means, do.

This is a really tasty salad - easy to make, and easy to eat. Don't worry if you're scared of celeriac and daikon - the dressing really helps to make them flavorful and juicy. And I don't know about you, but if you had a weekend full of excesses (like me), it's nice to know that this salad is almost fat-free!



Vietnamese Beef Salad
Serves 2

200 g beef
2 small yellow onions, fresh - or just one, regular. Thinly sliced.
200 ml shredded daikon
200 ml shredded celeriac
2 carrots, thinly sliced
3 tbsp fresh basil
3 tbsp fresh coriander
4 tbsp toasted and unsalted peanuts, crushed

For the dressing:
4 tbsp rice vinegar
4 tbsp water
2 tbsp sugar

Boiling liquid:
300 ml strong beef stock
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 bay leaf

Start with the dressing, and pour it over the daikon, onion, celeriac and carrots. Leave it to infuse for about an hour, and then divide the vegetables onto plates.

Slice the meat thinly. Mix everything for the boiling liquid, bring to boil and let it simmer for a few minutes. Gently add the meat and let it simmer for just a few seconds - it should be warm, but not completely cooked through. Place the meat on top of the vegetables.

Finish with a liberal scattering of basil, coriander and crushed peanuts.

Recipe in Swedish:
Vietnamesisk biffsallad