Recipes: Thai Beef Salad and Minced Pork and Noodle Salad

Apr 12 2008 by Sheila Benson and Sean Millar, Liverpool Daily Post

THE term "fusion cooking" often causes a bit of controversy amongst chefs and restaurateurs. On the one hand, you have those that embrace the borrowing of different flavours from world cuisines and on the other, you have those that believe we should stick to our native recipes and not rely on other flavours to breathe life into our food.

This quarrel should be an unfounded one however, as for centuries we have been borrowing flavours and ingredients from other cuisines, that’s how cookery works and how recipes evolve. Every cuisine borrows from another, it wasn’t so long ago that the common spud was a rarity, now, they’re a British staple.

Fusion cookery combines ingredients, techniques and seasonings from across the world with the influence of South East Asia particularly prevalent. The trick is to combine your favourite ingredients with something more unfamiliar, and you’ll see your western plate transformed.

Fusion ingredients can be a little wild and wonderful, and therefore a rarity on your average supermarket shelf, but we’re lucky that Liverpool is graced with several well stocked oriental and Chinese supermarkets where you can purchase the more obscure ingredient.

Firstly try a Thai Beef Salad. To serve four take: 600g (1½ lb) beef fillet trimmed, 125ml (4 fl oz) Thai fish sauce, 1tbsp peanut oil, 1 small dried red chilli, 4 Asian shallots finely sliced, 2 spring onions finely chopped at an angle, 4 tbsp of mint leaves, 4 tbsp coriander leaves, 1 crushed garlic clove, 100ml (3 fl oz) lime juice, 2 tsp grated palm sugar (or soft brown sugar), 2 vine ripened tomatoes, cut into eight wedges each and 100g (4oz) of small baby web or gem lettuce, shredded.

Place the beef fillet in a bowl with 2tbsp of the fish sauce. Cover and chill for three hours, turning the meat occasionally. Preheat your oven to 220°C (425°F, gas mark 7). Heat the peanut oil in a frying pan over high heat. When the oil begins to smoke sear the beef fillet for approximately one minute on each side and then roast for a further10-15 minutes until it’s cooked medium-rare. Remove from the oven and allow the meat to rest for at least 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the chilli in a small non-stick frying pan over a medium to high heat and dry fry it for one-two minutes until the chilli is dark but not burnt. Transfer it to a mortar and grind with a pestle. To form your dressing, mix the ground chilli in a bowl with the shallots, spring onion, mint, coriander, garlic, lime juice, palm sugar and remaining fish sauce, stirring to dissolve the sugar if necessary.

Cut the beef into thin strips and place in a bowl with the dressing and tomato. Toss well. Arrange the lettuce on a serving platter and pile the beef salad on top.

Next, try a Minced Pork and Noodle Salad. Again for four you will need: 1tbsp of peanut oil (plus 3 tsp for the dressing), 500g (1lb 4oz) minced pork, 2 garlic cloves finely chopped, 1 stalk of lemon grass trimmed and finely chopped, 2-3 red Asian shallots thinly sliced, 3 tsp grated fresh root ginger, 1 small red chilli finely chopped, 5 fresh kaffir lime leaves finely shredded, 170g (7oz) glass noodles, 60g (2oz) baby spinach leaves, 50g (2oz) roughly chopped coriander leaves, 170g (7oz) fresh peeled and chopped pineapple, 10g (½ oz) mint leaves, 1 ½ tbsp soft brown sugar, 2 tbsp fish sauce, 80ml (3 fl oz) lime juice and 2 tsp sesame oil.

Heat a wok until very hot, add the peanut oil and stir fry the pork over a high heat for five minutes. Add the garlic, lemon grass, shallots, grated ginger, chilli and lime leaves and stir fry for a further one to two minutes.

Place the noodles in a large bowl and cover with boiling water for 30 seconds until softened. Rinse under cold water and drain well. Break them up slightly and toss them in a bowl with the baby spinach, coriander, pineapple, mint, and the pork mixture.

To make the dressing mix together the sugar, fish sauce, and lime juice. Add the sesame oil and extra peanut oil and whisk to combine. Toss through the salad and season with some freshly ground black pepper. Fusion at it’s best.

* Sheila Benson and Sean Millar are at The Side Door, 29a Hope Street, Liverpool. Tel: 0151 707 7888.