Yam nua
In Thai “yam” is a salad with a bold sour-hot dressing, and “nua” is beef. Juicy, briefly grilled beef sliced and tossed with cucumber, cherry tomatoes, shallot and a handful of mint and coriander, in a dressing of fish sauce, lime juice, palm sugar and chilli. Every bite is at once salty, sour, sweet and hot, as is typical of Thai salads. In this version toasted rice ground to a powder (khao khua), known from larb and nam tok salads, also goes on top — for crunch and a nutty aroma.
Your own work in that: 10 min.
- Tempering the meat 20 min
- Dressing 5 min
- Grilling 10 min
- Resting the meat 5 min
- Slicing and tossing 10 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneTemper the meat
Take the steak out of the fridge 20 minutes before grilling (make the rice powder and dressing meanwhile). Pat it thoroughly dry with kitchen paper and rub with oil — a dry steak sears faster instead of steaming.
Ingredients: 400 g sirloin or rib-eye steak · 1 tbsp oil · 1 pcs cucumber · 150 g cherry tomatoes · 3 pcs shallots · 2 pcs spring onions · ½ bunch mint leaves · ½ bunch coriander · 6 pcs lettuce leaves to serve · 1 tbsp glutinous rice for toasted rice powder
Toast the rice
Toast the rice in a dry pan, shaking, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Cool and grind in a mortar to a coarse powder.
Ingredients: 400 g sirloin or rib-eye steak · 1 tbsp oil · 1 pcs cucumber · 150 g cherry tomatoes · 3 pcs shallots · 2 pcs spring onions · ½ bunch mint leaves · ½ bunch coriander · 6 pcs lettuce leaves to serve · 1 tbsp glutinous rice for toasted rice powder
Make the dressing
Chop the garlic and chillies. Mix with the fish sauce, lime juice and palm sugar until the sugar dissolves. Taste — it should be clearly sour, salty and hot, with a little sweetness.
Ingredients: 3 tbsp fish sauce · 2 pcs limes, juice (about 4 tablespoons) · 1 tbsp palm or brown sugar · 1 clove garlic · 2 pcs hot bird's eye chillies
Sour, salty, hot and sweet — in that order.Grill the steak
Heat a griddle pan until smoking. Cook the steak 3–4 minutes per side for medium-rare (about 55°C in the centre, if you have a thermometer) — the beef in yam nua should be pink inside.
Ingredients: 400 g sirloin or rib-eye steak · 1 tbsp oil · 1 pcs cucumber · 150 g cherry tomatoes · 3 pcs shallots · 2 pcs spring onions · ½ bunch mint leaves · ½ bunch coriander · 6 pcs lettuce leaves to serve · 1 tbsp glutinous rice for toasted rice powder
The pan must smoke — a crust outside, pink within.Rest the meat
Move the steak to a board and rest 5 minutes so the juices settle and do not run out when sliced.
Ingredients: 400 g sirloin or rib-eye steak · 1 tbsp oil · 1 pcs cucumber · 150 g cherry tomatoes · 3 pcs shallots · 2 pcs spring onions · ½ bunch mint leaves · ½ bunch coriander · 6 pcs lettuce leaves to serve · 1 tbsp glutinous rice for toasted rice powder
Cut the vegetables
Halve the cucumber lengthwise and slice on the diagonal, halve the tomatoes, slice the shallots thinly and cut the spring onions into 3 cm lengths. Pick the mint and coriander leaves.
Ingredients: 400 g sirloin or rib-eye steak · 1 tbsp oil · 1 pcs cucumber · 150 g cherry tomatoes · 3 pcs shallots · 2 pcs spring onions · ½ bunch mint leaves · ½ bunch coriander · 6 pcs lettuce leaves to serve · 1 tbsp glutinous rice for toasted rice powder
Slice the beef and toss
Slice the steak thinly across the grain. Toss the still-warm meat with the dressing — warm beef absorbs it better — then with the vegetables and herbs.
Ingredients: 400 g sirloin or rib-eye steak · 1 tbsp oil · 1 pcs cucumber · 150 g cherry tomatoes · 3 pcs shallots · 2 pcs spring onions · ½ bunch mint leaves · ½ bunch coriander · 6 pcs lettuce leaves to serve · 1 tbsp glutinous rice for toasted rice powder
Across the grain — the slices stay tender.Serve
Pile the salad on the lettuce leaves, sprinkle with the toasted rice and serve at once. To make it a main course, add cooked sticky or jasmine rice.
Ingredients: 400 g sirloin or rib-eye steak · 1 tbsp oil · 1 pcs cucumber · 150 g cherry tomatoes · 3 pcs shallots · 2 pcs spring onions · ½ bunch mint leaves · ½ bunch coriander · 6 pcs lettuce leaves to serve · 1 tbsp glutinous rice for toasted rice powder
Before you start
Doneness
A steak in one piece can be pink inside — bacteria sit on its surface, which gets well seared. This does not apply to minced beef, meat cut up before cooking or pierced (e.g. tenderised) meat. For children, pregnant women, older people and anyone with weakened immunity serve the beef well done — grill it longer, though it will be tougher.
Less heat
The heat depends on the chillies. Remove their seeds or use one milder chilli — the other flavours stay in balance.
Storage
The salad is best eaten at once — herbs wilt and vegetables release juice. The dressing and grilled meat can be made a day ahead and kept separately in the fridge.
