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You are going to love this easy rice noodle salad! Vietnamese Beef Salad is made with delicious thinly sliced steak over a bed of healthy rice noodles with an aromatic, zesty lime Asian salad dressing and colorful fresh veggies.
With its nutritious ingredients and bright flavors, including a pop of mint, this Asian beef salad is guaranteed to become a healthy favorite weeknight meal or even a perfect Sunday dinner.
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Best Beef Salad Recipe
Salads are so much better when you add a little extra "something, something" with vibrant, fresh ingredients. Asian flavors tend to be aromatic and spicy, like our Keto Beef and Broccoli.
For this vermicelli bowl with steak, the zesty flavors work perfectly in a simple Asian marinade for thinly sliced beef. Plus, an easy Asian dressing with fresh lime for drizzling on top! What could be better?
Vietnamese Beef Salad Ingredients
- Sirloin steaks
- Carrots, peeled and cut into julienne strips
- Cucumber, sliced into ribbons with a vegetable peeler
- Butter lettuce or gem lettuce*, roughly chopped
- A handful of fresh coriander, roughly chopped
- Fresh mint leaves, torn
- Red chili, finely sliced with seeds left in
- Rice noodles
Asian Beef Marinade Ingredients
- Juice of limes
- Fish sauce
- Garlic ginger paste
You can follow my step-by-step instructions for making the perfect Asian Marinade.
Vietnamese Salad Dressing
- sesame oil
- Juice of lime
- fish sauce
- honey
Our Asian salad dressing uses just four ingredients. For that classic sweet and sour flavor, simply combine sesame oil, lime juice, fish sauce, and honey. Stir well until well blended.
Asian salad dressing tip: The dressing will separate if left to sit - so remember to give it a final stir before pouring.
How to Make Beef Salad
- In a small dish, make the steak marinade by mixing together the juice of limes, fish sauce, and garlic ginger paste.
- Pour the steak marinade over the steaks. Cover, and allow to soak for at least 20 minutes up to overnight.
- Cook rice noodles by placing them in a bowl and covering them with boiling water. Let them sit for 1 minute, then carefully drain and rinse under cold water.
- Peel and cut 2 medium carrots into strips.
- Slice 1 large cucumber into ribbons using a vegetable peeler.
- Roughly chop 2 baby gem lettuce heads, a handful of fresh coriander, and 10 to 15 fresh mint leaves.
- Finely slice a red chili with the seeds left in.
- Finally, place these salad ingredients in a large bowl. Add the cooked rice noodles to the bowl with the salad ingredients, cover them, and place them in the fridge.
- Place a griddle pan or skillet over medium heat. (the steak can also be grilled) When the pan is hot, carefully add the marinated steaks. Cook on each side for 3 to 4 minutes for a pink middle.
- Remove the steaks from the pan and wrap them loosely in foil to rest for at least 8 minutes before slicing and serving.
- In the meantime, prepare the Asian salad dressing.
- Mix together sesame oil, the juice of 1 lime, fish sauce, and honey. Mix well.
- Assemble the salad by removing the salad bowl from the fridge and tossing it together to mix with the noodles. Divide it even between four bowls, if feeding four.
- Unwrap the steak from the foil and transfer it to a cutting board. Thinly slice the steak and place the beef strips on top of the salad in each bowl.
- Pour over the Vietnamese salad dressing, serve, and enjoy!
Tips for Making Asian Beef Salad
- Remove the steaks from the fridge and place them in a bowl at least a half an hour before you plan to cook them. This allows time for the marinade to soak in and for the steaks to come up to room temperature.
- Don't move the steaks or flip them during the 4 minutes on each side cooking time. If they begin to smoke a lot, reduce the heat slightly.
- It is very important to let your steaks rest after pan frying. Keep them loosely wrapped in foil for the 8 minutes of resting time. This will keep them hot but allow them to rest as necessary.
- The Asian salad dressing will separate if left to sit. Give it a stir before pouring it over your salad.
Beef Salad Recipes FAQs
Gem lettuce, also known as Little Gem Lettuce and Baby Gems Lettuce, is a miniature variety of Romaine lettuce. It is like a mix of Romaine lettuce and butter lettuce in texture and flavor. You can find it in the produce section of your grocery store, and it looks like a tiny version of Romaine lettuce. It's sweet like butter lettuce but crisp like Romaine, and so delicious!
Tender, juicy beefsteaks like sirloin steaks pan-fry in minutes. They're perfect for delicious strips of beef to top Vietnamese vermicelli salad! But honestly, any type of steak works well in this recipe. I have even made it using inexpensive cuts of beef like London broil.
Use rice or rice noodles in this zesty Asian dish and it is entirely gluten-free.
How to Cut Cucumbers into Ribbons
- Using a knife, cut off both ends of a whole cucumber. Discard the ends.
- Carefully slice the length of the cucumber into long, thin ribbons using a vegetable peeler.
- When you reach the seeds, turn the cucumber a quarter of the way and repeat. Do this as many times as necessary to cut the cucumber entirely into ribbons.
You can use a straight vegetable peeler or a Y-peeler, whichever you have on hand. Cucumber ribbons make every dish look prettier!
Garlic Ginger Paste Substitute
If you have trouble finding garlic ginger paste, you can make your own by mixing equal parts minced garlic and ginger. Add a little olive oil if the paste is too thick and there you go!
Easy Asian recipes like this are quick and simple to make thanks to the short cooking time and prep! This simple salad with beef is great for serving up a quick and easy meal.
Asian Beef Recipes
What to Do with Leftover Steak
This is one of my favorite recipes to make using leftover steak! Try making more of our best Leftover Steak Recipes.
Try more of the best beef cuts according to your needs and budget by following my guide on the Best Cuts of Beef and our popular Beef Dishes!
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Best Beef Salad Recipe
Equipment
- Skillet
Ingredients
For the salad
- 2 sirloin steaks 8oz. each
- 2 medium carrots peeled and cut into julienne strips
- 1 large cucumber sliced into ribbons with a veg peeler
- 1 butter lettuce roughly chopped, or 2 baby gem lettuce
- A handful of fresh coriander roughly chopped
- 10-15 fresh mint leaves torn
- Red chili finely sliced with seeds left in
- 1 cup dried rice noodles
For the beef marinade
- Juice of 2 limes
- 1 tsp. fish sauce
- 1 tsp. garlic ginger paste
For the Asian salad dressing
- 2 Tbsp. sesame oil
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 tsp. fish sauce
- 1 Tbsp. honey
Instructions
- In a small dish, make the steak marinade by mixing together the juice of 2 limes, 1 tsp. fish sauce, and 1 tsp. garlic ginger paste.Pour the steak marinade over 2 room temperature 8 oz. rump or sirloin steaks. Cover, and allow to soak for at least 20 minutes.
- Cook 1 cup dried rice noodles by placing them in a bowl and covering them with boiling water. Let them sit for 1 minute, then carefully drain and rinse under cold water.Peel and cut 2 medium carrots into strips. Slice 1 large cucumber into ribbons using a vegetable peeler. Roughly chop 2 baby gem lettuce heads, a handful of fresh coriander, and 10 to 15 fresh mint leaves. Finely slice a red chili with the seeds left in. Finally, place these salad ingredients in a large bowl.Add the cooked rice noodles to the bowl with the salad ingredients, cover, and place in the fridge.
- Place a griddle pan or skillet over medium heat. When the pan is hot, carefully add the marinated steaks. Cook on each side for 3 to 4 minutes for a pink middle. Remove the steaks from the pan and wrap them loosely in foil to rest for at least 8 minutes before slicing and serving.
- In the meantime, prepare the Asian salad dressing. Mix together 2 Tbsp. sesame oil, the juice of 1 lime, 1 tsp. fish sauce, and 1 Tbsp. honey. Mix well.
- Assemble the salad by removing the salad bowl from the fridge and tossing it together to mix with the noodles. Divide it even between four bowls, if feeding four.Unwrap the steak from foil and transfer to a cutting board. Thinly slice the steak and place the beef strips on top of the salad in each bowl.Pour over the Vietnamese salad dressing, serve, and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Remove the steaks from the fridge and place them in a bowl a half an hour before cooking them.
- Don't move the steaks while they're cooking until they're ready to flip. If they begin to smoke a lot, reduce the heat slightly.
- For a less pink middle, cook steaks an additional minute on each side.
- Let your steaks rest after pan-frying. Keep them loosely wrapped in foil while resting.
- Asian salad dressing will separate if left to sit. Give it a stir before pouring it over your salad.
Jenn says
What a delicious looking salad - this is going on my must-try list. I love the idea of marinating the beef, first. It'll add so much flavor!
Em Beitel says
Thank you so much, Jenn! It really gives it so much flavor to let it marinate first. Along with the dressing, it's just delicious!
Kushigalu says
How delicious and flavorful is this salad recipe. Must try!
Em Beitel says
Thank you so much! We hope you love it!
Tara says
The salad dressing is fabulous -- really ties everything together!
Em Beitel says
Thank you, Tara! It really is yummy.
Rebecca says
I love a good Vietnamese salad! Yours looks so good, and your photos are gorgeous!
Em Beitel says
Thank you very much, Rebecca!
Erika says
This salad looks so light and flavorful, yum!
Em Beitel says
Thank you so much, Erika! It's one of my personal favorites.
Cynthia King says
What can I use in place of fish sauce im allergic to seafood and anything seafood based products
Em Beitel says
Hi Cynthia! You can use soy sauce in place of fish sauce! Thank you for asking, and please enjoy.