Vietnamese spicy beef and mango salad

Name: Vietnamese spicy beef and mango salad
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 3 h
Total time: 3 h 45 min
Yield: Serves 4 as lunch or light supper.
Cuisine: Vietnamese recipes
Ingredients: 500g British beef topside, sliced along the grain in 1cm-wide strips; For the marinade; 5 tbsp soy sauce; 5 tbsp fish sauce; 1 tbsp chilli flakes; 1 tbsp hot/mild chilli powder; ½ tbsp Chinese five-spice powder; 4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped; 3 tbsp brown sugar or palm sugar; For the dressing; 3 tbsp fish sauce; 3 tbsp rice vinegar; 1 tbsp caster sugar; Juice 1 lime; ½-1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped; 1 garlic clove, crushed; For the salad; 2 ripe mangoes, sliced into strips; 500g carrots, very finely sliced or julienned; ½ red onion, very finely sliced; 2 large handfuls salted peanuts, finely chopped (use a food processor); 50g fresh mint, leaves picked; 50g coriander, leaves picked; 30g Thai basil (or extra mint or coriander if unavailable), leaves picked; Handful crispy fried onions to garnish (available from large supermarkets)

Published: 13 Dec 16
Updated: 14 Nov 24

Test kitchen approved

Transport yourself to Vietnam with every bite of this spicy beef salad. The sweetness from the mango and the crunch from the carrots help combat the heat from the marinade.

Serves 4 as lunch or light supper.
Hands-on time 45 min, oven time 3 hours, plus at least 12 hours marinating

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Ingredients

500g British beef topside, sliced along the grain in 1cm-wide strips

For the marinade

5 tbsp soy sauce
5 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp chilli flakes
1 tbsp hot/mild chilli powder
½ tbsp Chinese five-spice powder
4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
3 tbsp brown sugar or palm sugar

For the dressing

3 tbsp fish sauce
3 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp caster sugar
Juice 1 lime
½-1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed

For the salad

2 ripe mangoes, sliced into strips
500g carrots, very finely sliced or julienned
½ red onion, very finely sliced
2 large handfuls salted peanuts, finely chopped (use a food processor)
50g fresh mint, leaves picked
50g coriander, leaves picked
30g Thai basil (or extra mint or coriander if unavailable), leaves picked
Handful crispy fried onions to garnish (available from large supermarkets)

Method

Mix all the marinade ingredients in a large bowl, then add the beef, turning it until well coated. Cover the bowl with cling film and chill for 12-24 hours, or overnight, turning occasionally.
Once the beef has marinated, heat the oven to 130°C/110°C fan/gas ½. Lay the beef strips on a large baking tray lined with baking paper, then bake for 3 hours, turning a couple of times. Don’t worry if they look wizened and dry – they’re supposed to! Set aside to cool.
For the dressing, put the fish sauce, rice vinegar, sugar and 3 tbsp water into a small saucepan and heat gently until steaming and the sugar has dissolved. When this happens, remove from the heat and stir through the lime juice, chilli and garlic, then leave to cool.
Once the beef is cool enough to handle, shred it with your hands, then toss in a bowl with the mangoes, carrots, red onion, half the peanuts and most of the herbs. Pour over half the dressing and toss together. Tip onto a platter, scatter with the remaining herbs and peanuts and the crispy onions, then drizzle over the remaining dressing. Serve immediately.

Recipe from November 2016 Issue

Nutrition

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 406kcals
Fat: 11.6g (2.9g saturated)
Protein: 36.2g
Carbohydrates: 33.9 (31g sugars)
Fibre: 10.6g
Salt: 4.2g

delicious. tips

This dish is meant to be spicy but if you’d prefer it less hot, reduce the chilli flakes, use mild chilli powder, or leave out the chilli.

Use a very sharp knife to slice the beef along the grain (opposite to how you’d carve it), or it won’t shred when cooked.
The cooked beef will keep, covered, in the fridge for up to 4 days. Bring back to room temperature before shredding.

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Vietnamese spicy beef and mango salad

Ingredients

Method

Nutrition

delicious. tips

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