Vietnamese Lemongrass Beef And Noodle Salad Recipes

Steps:

• In a small bowl combine sugar, rice vinegar and lime juice and stir to dissolve. Add fish sauce, garlic, ginger, chiles and 1/2 cup water and stir together. Let sit for 15 minutes for flavors to meld. (May be prepared a day ahead and refrigerated.)
• Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Add rice noodles, stir and turn off heat. Let noodles soften (5 to 8 minutes, depending on brand), then drain and rinse with cold water. Leave in colander at room temperature.
• Meanwhile, combine beef, fish sauce, sugar, garlic and lemon grass in a bowl. Massage seasoning into beef and let sit for 15 minutes.
• Line a serving bowl or four individual large wide soup bowls with a few lettuce leaves and top with noodles.
• Heat the oil in a wok over high heat. When wok is nearly smoking, add beef and quickly stir-fry until lightly browned and just cooked, about 2 minutes. Work in batches if necessary so meat browns and doesn't steam. (If you do not have a wok, you may use a cast iron skillet and work in batches.)
• Top noodles with cooked beef, scallions, carrot, cucumber and daikon. Sprinkle with herbs, crushed peanuts and fried shallots (add sprouts if using). Drizzle lightly with dipping sauce and pass remaining sauce at table.

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add vermicelli noodles and cook until softened, 12 minutes. Drain noodles and rinse with cold water, stirring to separate the noodles. Set aside.
• Combine lemongrass, soy-based seasoning, sherry, brown sugar, and garlic in a bowl. Marinate flank steak in mixture, tossing evenly, and let sit for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make sweetened fish sauce. Pour warm water into a small bowl; add sugar and lemon juice. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Stir in fish sauce, Thai peppers, and garlic. Adjust to taste. Set aside.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook sliced flank steak until firm but slightly pink in the center, 5 to 6 minutes per side. Arrange cooked vermicelli noodles in bowls for serving. Place steak on top and garnish with Thai basil leaves, cilantro, and bean sprouts. Pour sweetened fish sauce over the top.

Steps:

• To make the dipping sauce: In a mortar, pound together the garlic and red chili with a pestle until pureed (or pass the garlic clove through a garlic press). Mix in the lime juice, fish sauce, sugar and water and add the carrot. Set aside.
• Noodles: Drain the noodles in a colander, then pour boiling water over them. Let them sit in the hot water for about 5 minutes until tender. Drain, rinse thoroughly with cold running water and drain again. Set aside.
• Salad: To make the salad, in a large bowl, toss together the lettuce, cucumber, bean sprouts, carrot, basil and mint.
• Beef and onions: In a mortar and pestle, pound together the lemongrass, 3 garlic cloves and sugar until it is well combined. Add fish sauce and pepper to produce a paste. Add one tablespoon of the oil, mix well and add the meat; cover and set aside to marinate for at least 30 minutes.
• Preheat a wok or deep-fry pan over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the remaining 2 Tbs. oil and the remaining 3 garlic cloves and stir-fry until light golden brown, about 30 seconds. Add the onion and stir-fry until the layers separate, about 30 seconds more. Remove the onion and garlic from the pan.
• Add additional oil if the pan is dry (it shouldn't be). When the oil is hot, add a batch of the beef mixture and spread it over the bottom of the pan. Cook until the beef is nicely seared on the bottom, about 1 minute. Turn the beef over and sear the other side, about 1 minute more. Transfer the beef and onion to a plate. Fry the remaining beef mixture in batches.
• When all of the beef is seared, return the beef and onion to the wok and toss for a few seconds to reheat if required.
• To assemble: Divide the salad and noodles evenly among 4 shallow bowls or plates. Spoon one quarter of the beef-onion mixture over each salad. Garnish with the peanuts and fried shallots. Pour the dipping sauce into individual bowls and encourage diners to toss the salad to their liking, and add their own nuoc cham to taste.

Steps:

• Make marinade:
• Thinly slice lower 6 inches of lemongrass stalks, discarding remainder of stalks. In a food processor or blender finely grind together sliced lemongrass and garlic. Add remaining marinade ingredients and blend well.
• In a large resealable plastic bag combine marinade and steak and seal bag, pressing out excess air. Marinate steak, chilled, turning bag once or twice, at least 4 hours or overnight.
• In a large bowl soak noodles in hot water to cover 15 minutes, or until softened and pliable.
• Prepare grill (or preheat broiler). Bring a kettle of salted water to a boil for noodles.
• Discard marinade and grill steak on an oiled rack set 5 to 6 inches over glowing coals 3 to 5 minutes on each side for medium-rare. (Alternatively, steak may be broiled on rack of a broiler pan about 3 inches from heat about same amount of time.) Transfer steak to a cutting board and let stand 5 minutes.
• While steak is cooking, drain noodles in a colander and cook in boiling water 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until just tender. In a colander drain noodles and rinse under cold water to stop cooking. Drain noodles well.
• In a large bowl toss noodles with herbs and half of nuoc cham. Divide cucumber among 4 bowls or plates and top with noodles. Sprinkle each serving with 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons rice powder. Thinly slice steak on the diagonal and divide among noodles, mounding it. Sprinkle chilies over each serving and garnish with herb sprigs. Serve remaining nuoc cham on the side.