Servings: 4

Prep: 2 hours

Total: 2 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

for the spicy beef:

4 steaks, thinly sliced

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 tablespoon honey

¼ teaspoon Chinese five spice

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 stalks of lemongrass, finely chopped

1 shallot, finely chopped

1 red bird’s eye chili, minced

for the fish dip sauce:

100 ml white vinegar

10 tablespoons cane sugar

200 ml fish sauce

2 garlic cloves, minced

1-2 red bird’s eye chilies, stemmed and minced

½ large red chili (not too spicy), stemmed and minced

juice from 1 lime

for the noodle salad:

400 grams thin rice noodles

2 tablespoons crispy onions

2 tablespoons ground peanuts

½ cucumber, peeled, seeded, and thinly sliced

100 grams bean sprouts

300 grams mixed herbs and salads

Directions

1. Prepare the beef: In a small bowl, combine the beef with the soy sauce, fish sauce, honey, five spice, garlic, lemongrass, shallot, and chili, tossing to coat. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over high. Working in batches, add the meat and cook, turning once, until cooked, about 4 minutes.

3. Prepare the fish dip sauce: In a medium saucepan, combine the vinegar, sugar, and 400 ml water and bring to a boil. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until the sugar has dissolved, then cool. Stir in the garlic, chilies, and lime juice and let the sauce rest for 10 minutes before serving.

4. Make the noodle salad: Submerge the noodles in water for approximately 20 minutes. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil and cook the noodles for about 10 seconds. Drain the noodles and run under cold water.

5. Divide the noodles between 4 soup bowls and top with the bean sprouts and cucumber. Add the grilled beef and sprinkle with the crispy onions and peanuts. Let your dinner guests add the herbs, salad and fish dip sauce themselves as they please.

From Dirty Work: How to Turn a Garden into Vietnamese Beef Noodle Salad