Vietnamese Beef Salad

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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.

Jump to:

• Beef Salad
• Vietnamese Beef Salad Ingredients
• Beef Salad Marinade Ingredients
• Vietnamese Salad Dressing
• How to Make Beef Salad
• Beef Salad Tips
• Beef Salad Recipes FAQs
• How to Cut Cucumbers into Ribbons
• Garlic Ginger Paste Substitute
• Asian Beef Recipes
• 📌 Pin it for later!
• 📋 Recipe
• 💬 Reviews

Beef Salad

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

Beef Salad 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

1. In a small dish, make the steak marinade by mixing together the juice of limes, fish sauce, and garlic ginger paste.
2. Pour the steak marinade over the steaks. Cover, and allow to soak for at least 20 minutes up to overnight.
3. 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.
4. Peel and cut 2 medium carrots into strips.
5. Slice 1 large cucumber into ribbons using a vegetable peeler.
6. Roughly chop 2 baby gem lettuce heads, a handful of fresh coriander, and 10 to 15 fresh mint leaves.
7. Finely slice a red chili with the seeds left in.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. Remove the steaks from the pan and wrap them loosely in foil to rest for at least 8 minutes before slicing and serving.
11. In the meantime, prepare the Asian salad dressing.
12. Mix together sesame oil, the juice of 1 lime, fish sauce, and honey. Mix well.
13. 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.
14. 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.
15. Pour over the Vietnamese salad dressing, serve, and enjoy!

Beef Salad Tips

• 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

How to Cut Cucumbers into Ribbons

1. Using a knife, cut off both ends of a whole cucumber. Discard the ends.
2. Carefully slice the length of the cucumber into long, thin ribbons using a vegetable peeler.
3. 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

• Keto Beef and Broccoli
• Instant Pot Beef Pho
• Easy Pepper Steak Stir Fry Recipe
• Korean Short Ribs

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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