Recipes

Nam Tok (Thai Beef Salad)

Serves 4

| Prep Time: 20 mins

| Cook Time: 15 mins

| Total Time: 35 mins

You may need: Laotian Larb

Discover The Recipe

In Southeast Asian Cuisine, fresh herbs and aromatics like mint, shallot, garlic, and ginger are paired with sweet and sour sauces to transform humble ingredients into spectacularly flavorful bites. Our recipe for Nam Tok (Thai Beef Salad) is a rich, satisfying dish. Tender, marinated steak bites provide juicy bursts of flavor, mixed with a fresh salad of shallots, green onions, cilantro, and mint. Add some optional fresh sliced chili peppers for an authentic Thai-style heat. You can layer the meat and salad mixture over fragrant Jasmine rice, resulting in a hearty main dish your entire family will love.

The phrase ‘Nam Tok’ means waterfall in both Thai and Lao languages and can refer to either a soup dish or meat salad. Most Thai and other Southeast Asia meat salads are mostly made with meat! Feel free to add in more greens for a western touch. In our recipe, we develop fabulous flavor from the fresh herbs, shallots, fish sauce, lime juice, and our proprietary Laotian Larb spice blend. Toasted rice that is then freshly-ground is a key ingredient of this spice and adds a nutty flavor. Larb (pronounced "lawp") is a stir-fry usually made with ground meat and is the unofficial national dish of Laos. Use our Laotian Larb blend to make the authentic Lao dish by the same name or a plant based version and both recipes are on our website.

Ingredients

1 lb steak (sirloin, flank or skirt steak suggested)
2 Tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp ground pepper
½ stalk lemongrass, sliced into 1 inch pieces
1 Tbsp canola oil (or grapeseed or vegetable oil)
Thai Beef Salad Sauce:
1 Tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice (~2 limes juiced)
1-2 tsp chili flakes (optional)
1 Tbsp Piquant Post Laotian Larb spice
For serving:
1 shallot, thinly sliced
2 green onions, thinly sliced
Handful cilantro leaves, chopped
Handful mint leaves, chopped
Toasted sesame seeds (optional)
Cooked Jasmine rice (optional)

Notes

We recommend marinating the steak overnight, if possible. It will yield even more flavor!

Don’t skip resting the steak. This allows the temperature of the meat to go down, the juices to redistribute into the meat and become reabsorbed into the fibers.

Optional ingredients add a little character and flavor but don’t sweat it if you don’t have them.

Instructions

In a large shallow bowl, combine the soy sauce, pepper and lemongrass. Marinate the steak for 20 minutes or up to overnight.

Heat canola oil in a cast iron skillet over Med-High heat. Once hot, place the steak on the skillet. Cook and sear, about 3 minutes per side (for Medium Rare). Remove from the cast iron and place on a cutting board. Rest for 5 minutes. Cook longer to desired doneness.

Meanwhile, make the sauce. Whisk together the fish sauce, sugar, lime, chili flakes, and 1 Tbsp Piquant Post Laotian Larb in a large bowl. Cut the steak, against the grain, in ¼-½ inch slices. Add the steak slices to the sauce and toss to coat.

Add fresh shallots, green onions, cilantro and mint to the bowl with steak. Toss well to combine. Serve salad on plates and garnish with sesame seeds and serve with fresh Jasmine rice!

Alternatives & Substitutions

If you don’t have fish sauce in your market you can order online with major retailers. Or, try these fish sauce substitutes.
Make the unofficial dish of Laos, a traditional Laotian Larb or our Vegan Laotian Larb. Or try using the Larb to make our Vegan Bahn Mi with Walnut Paté (Vietnamese style sandwich), or our Pineapple Fried Rice with Larb Tofu.
Add a pop to your next burger with these Thai Larb Burgers or make this Spicy Dipping Sauce. If you love beef, try our Crying Tiger Steak with Thai Dipping Sauce, too!
Warm up with this Thai Herb Chicken Soup on a cold evening.
Be sure to leave comments and feedback on your meals and experiments in the comments for others to read.
Post pictures of your masterpiece meal on social media and tag us. We repost!