Vietnamese Beef Noodles

Ingredient

1/3 cup finely grated palm sugar or brown sugar
¼ cup fish sauce
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1 long red chilli, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
3cm piece fresh ginger, finely grated
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
300g Graze beef fillet, trimmed, finely sliced
2 Tablespoons Sunflower or peanut oil
1/3 cup salted peanuts, crushed
Lime wedges, to serve

Noodle Salad:
125g dried rice vermicelli noodles
1 large carrot, grated
2 Lebanese cucumber, seeded, sliced
2 cups iceberg lettuce, shredded
1/3 cup fresh mint, chopped
1/3 cup fresh coriander, chopped

Method

Combine sugar, fish sauce, lime juice, chilli, garlic, ginger and sesame oil in a large jug. Stir until sugar dissolves. Reserve half of the dressing and transfer the other half of dressing mixture to a shallow glass or ceramic dish.

Add Beef to the marinade mixture, cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes to infuse.

Place noodles in a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Stand for 5 minutes or until tender. Using a fork, separate noodles, drain and rinse under cold water. Transfer to a large bowl. Using kitchen scissors, cut noodles into 5cm lengths.

Add carrot, cucumber, lettuce, mint, coriander and reserved dressing to the noodles. Heat oil in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Cook the beef, in batches, for 2 minutes, or until just cooked.

Toss the dressing through the salad and place onto a serving platter. Serve the beef on top of the noodle salad with crushed peanuts and extra lime wedges.

Recipe by Courtney Roulston