Warm beef and watercress salad (bo xao sa lat song)

Luke Nguyen's quick and easy recipe for a beautifully fresh Vietnamese salad, with peppery watercress, stir-fried garlicky beef, and a lovely vinaigrette dressing - garnished with as much chilli as you like.

• serves

  2

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  5 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

1 bunch watercress, trimmed, washed

1 small onion, thinly sliced

1 tomato, thinly sliced

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tbsp garlic, finely diced

300 g lean beef, finely sliced

pinch salt

½ tsp cracked black pepper

2 tbsp nuoc mam cham

1 chilli, sliced, to garnish

Vinaigrette dressing

100 ml white vinegar

2 tsp garlic oil (or vegetable oil)

1 tbsp sugar

Instructions

To make the vinaigrette, place the vinegar, garlic oil and sugar in a bowl and mix well.

In a mixing bowl, add watercress, onion and tomato, and dress with vinaigrette. Set aside.

In a hot wok or pan, add oil and garlic, and cook until fragrant.

Turn heat to high. Add the beef and stir-fry for 1 minute until browned, then season with salt and pepper.

Add the beef to the salad, then dress with nuoc cham. Mix well, then transfer to a plate and garnish with chilli.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.