Vietnamese Style Beef Salad

Vietnamese style beef salad is thinly sliced steak served over a bed of healthy rice noodles with an aromatic, zesty salad dressing and colourful fresh veggies. With its nutritious ingredients and bright flavours, including a pop of mint, this Asian style beef salad recipe is guaranteed to put a smile on your face. It will be your new favourite steak salad recipe!

Salads are always so much better with the addition of a few vibrant, fresh ingredients. Asian flavours tend to be aromatic and spicy, like in this spicy Chinese chicken recipe and this Keto Beef and Broccoli, which makes for the best green salads!

My favourite salads always have a pop of flavour that sets them apart. This flavour is usually from herbs or salad dressings. Like the fragrant basil in this Italian pasta salad, the sweet fennel in orange and fennel salad or the fresh coriander and chilli in this mango and avocado salad. In the case of this Vietnamese beef salad recipe those zesty Asian style flavours work perfectly in a simple, zesty marinade for the beef and in an easy salad dressing with fresh lime for drizzling on top!

🥘 What you will need to make this recipe

To make rice noodle salad for 4 people you will need the following ingredients:

Salad ingredients

• 2 rump steaks 2 x 8oz
• 2 medium carrots peeled and cut into julienne strips
• 1 large cucumber sliced into ribbons with a veg peeler
• 2 baby gem lettuce roughly chopped
• Handful of fresh coriander roughly chopped
• 10-15 fresh mint leaves torn
• Red chilli finely sliced with seeds left in
• 1 cup dried rice noodles

Beef marinade ingredients

• Juice of 2 limes
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp garlic ginger paste

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.

Salad dressing ingredients

• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp honey

🔪 Step by step instructions

1. Make marinade: Mix together the juice of 2 limes, 1 teaspoon fish sauce and 1 teaspoon of garlic ginger paste.
2. Marinade steak: Pour the marinade over room temp steaks, cover and soak for at least 20 minutes.
3. Cook noodles: Place the noodles in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave to sit for 1 minute then drain and rinse under the cold water tap.
4. Prepare salad: Peel, slice and chop the salad, herbs and chilli and place in a large bowl along with cooled noodles. Cover and place in the fridge.
5. Cook steaks: Pan fry in a hot griddle pan for 3-4 minutes on each side (for pink in the middle). Guidance on steak cooking times. Loosely wrap cooked steaks in foil and rest for 3-5 minutes.
6. Make salad dressing: Mix together 2 tablespoon sesame oil, juice of 1 lime, 1 teaspoon fish sauce and 1 tablespoon honey. Mix well.
7. Serve: Toss together the chopped salad and noodles and divide between 4 bowls. Thinly slice the steak and place on top of the salad in each bowl. Pour over the Asian salad dressing and serve.

🥄 Asian salad dressing

The Asian salad dressing for this Vietnamese beef noodle salad uses just four ingredients. For that classic sweet and sour Asian flare simply combine sesame oil, lime juice, fish sauce and honey. Mix well into an emulsion.

🥒 How to cut cucumber 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.

🐄 What is the best cut of beef to use?

Rump or sirloin steaks that can be pan fried in minutes will provide delicious pink strips of beef to top this Vietnamese noodle salad (cook for longer if you prefer your steak medium-well done).

Easy Asian recipes tend to be quick and simple to make due to the short cooking time and easy preparation. This Asian beef salad can be made and served up in next to no time by using beef steaks, either rump or sirloin, which are quick to cook, tender and juicy, and easy to slice and serve.

💭 Recipe tips

🥗 What to serve with this recipe

Vietnamese beef salad goes deliciously with other easy Asian recipes like Blistered Shishito Peppers and Shrimp Shumai. Sushi Rolls and Thai Sausage Rolls are a delicious choice to pair it with, too!

This particular Vietnamese beef salad recipe is served with rice noodles. However, you can swap these for other varieties of noodles such as Chinese egg noodles or Japanese ramen noodles. The lighter, thinner noodles tend to work best.

If you prefer you can leave the noodles out all together and instead add extra vegetables like bean sprouts or extra herbs like parsley or Thai basil. You could even make it a rice bowl and serve it over a bed of perfect fluffy rice.

No matter how you put this easy beef salad recipe together, it’s going to be delicious!

🍖 Other steak recipes

• Steak and Ale Pie
• Steak and Chips
• Steak and veggie BBQ skewers
• Tuna Steak Recipe
• Chimichurri Steak Platter

Let me know what you think of this recipe by leaving a comment and rating below! You can also save this recipe on pinterest. Or if you prefer you can pin the video!

📖 Recipe

📋 Vietnamese Style Beef Salad

By: Debbie Jones

Vietnamese beef salad with healthy rice noodles and a lime, Asian salad dressing. This aromatic and zesty Beef salad recipe will surely bring out many a smile with its nutritious ingredients and satisfying Asian flavours.

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course main meal, starter or main

Cuisine Asian, Vietnamese

Servings 4 people

Calories 272 kcal

Equipment

• ▢
  Large mixing bowl
• ▢
  Griddle pan

Ingredients

 

1x2x3x

For the salad:

• ▢ 2 rump steaks 2 x 8oz
• ▢ 2 medium carrots peeled and cut into julienne strips
• ▢ 1 large cucumber sliced into ribbons with a veg peeler
• ▢ 2 baby gem lettuce roughly chopped
• ▢ Handful of fresh coriander roughly chopped
• ▢ 10-15 fresh mint leaves torn
• ▢ Red chilli finely sliced with seeds left in
• ▢ 1 cup dried rice noodles

For the beef marinade:

• ▢ Juice of 2 limes
• ▢ 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• ▢ 1 teaspoon garlic ginger paste

For the Asian salad dressing:

• ▢ 2 tablespoon sesame oil
• ▢ Juice of 1 lime
• ▢ 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• ▢ 1 tablespoon honey

Instructions

 

• Remove steaks from fridge and bring up to room temperature. In a small dish make up the marinade by mixing together the juice of 2 limes, 1 teaspoon fish sauce and 1 teaspoon of garlic ginger paste. Pour the marinade over the steaks, cover and allow to soak for at least 20 minutes.
  
• Peel slice and chop the carrots, cucumber, lettuce leaves, fresh coriander, mint leaves and red chilli. Chop and slice these to your liking or as directed in the above ingredients list.
  Place the prepared salad in a large bowl.
  
• Cooking rice noodles is so, so simple. Just place the noodles in a bowl and cover with boiling water from the kettle. Leave to sit for 1 minute then drain and rinse under the cold water tap.

  Add the cooked noodles to the bowl with the rest of the salad, then cover and place in the fridge.
  
• Place a griddle pan on a medium heat. When the pan is hot, carefully place in the steaks. Cook on each side for 3-4 minutes (for pink in the middle). Guidance on steak cooking times.
  TIP: Don't be tempted to move the steaks during each of the 4 minutes. If they begin to smoke a lot, reduce the heat slightly.
  
• Its really important to rest your steak once its been pan fried.
  Remove from the pan and loosely wrap in foil. Leave on the side for at least 3 minutes before slicing and serving.
  
• In a small bowl mix together 2 tablespoon sesame oil, juice of 1 lime, 1 teaspoon fish sauce and 1 tablespoon honey. Mix well into an emulsion.
  TIP: The dressing will separate if left to sit - so remember to give it a final stir before pouring over your Asian salad.
  
• Remove the salad bowl from the fridge. Toss and mix together the chopped salad and noodles. Divide the noodle salad between 4 bowls. 
  
• Next, unwrap the steak and transfer to a chopping board. Thinly slice the steak and place the beef strips on top of the salad in each bowl.
  Finally, pour over the Asian salad dressing and serve. 
  

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 305g | Calories: 272kcal | Carbohydrates: 12.4g | Protein: 29.7g | Fat: 11.8g | Saturated Fat: 3.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4.4g | Sodium: 120mg | Potassium: 763.1mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6.7g | Vitamin A: 855.2IU | Vitamin C: 14.6mg | Calcium: 52.2mg | Iron: 3.2mg

Notes

• 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 3-5 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.
• Best cut of beef to use: Rump or sirloin steaks that can be pan fried in minutes will provide delicious pink strips of beef to top this Vietnamese noodle salad (cook for longer if you prefer your steak medium-well done).

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I first shared this Beef Noodle Salad recipe on the Best Beef Recipes site where I am a contributor.