The Orange Kitchen

Thai Beef(less) Salad.

I love Thai food. Hands down, the best cuisine that there is. So tasty. So delicious. So many noodles. All of the herbs. 

In actual fact, I love Thai food so much that I even took my mum to Thailand in 2015 under the guise of cultural enrichment though really I was just there for the culinary experience. I mean, I did get kissed by a baby elephant, which was obviously amazing, so it wasn't all just food, but still, food was the whole reason I found myself there in the first place and I have zero regrets about that reality. 

Fortunately, a lot of Thai food can very easily be made vegan. But, one of my all-time favourite Thai dishes has always been the classic Thai Beef Salad and I've always felt somewhat troubled by the fact that if I take the beef out of it, and thereby make it vegan, can I really call it a Thai Beef Salad anymore...? But, I am not easily deterred nor was I about to abandon being able to enjoy of my my favourite dishes ever, so for a while now I've been working on creating my own interpretation of a vegan Thai Beef Salad and delightfully I've come up with this mighty fine dish, which goes down absolutely perfectly for lunch, dinner, as a dish to share at a party and also as a very random pre-breakfast snack on a Sunday morning, as it has just been for me...

It may not have any beef, but alas, in my opinion it perfectly captures the flavours of the famous original!

Ingredients;

The Salad

9 large Cos lettuce leaves, roughly chopped

Handful mixed coloured salad leaves (I use a baby spinach and baby red beetroot leaf mix)

3 shallots, thinly sliced

1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced

Handful Thai basil, roughly chopped

Handful fresh coriander leaves

Handful fresh mint leaves

1 cup bean shoots

1/2 continental cucumber, thinly sliced into strips 

1/2 avocado, thinly sliced (optional, non-traditional, though nevertheless a tasty addition)

125gm tofu
4 tbsp tamari (or reduced salt soy sauce - but use tamari if you're gluten intolerant)
Approx. 4 tbsp cornflower

The Dressing

1 tbsp tamari/soy sauce

1 tbsp water

1/2 lime, juiced

1 clove of crushed garlic

1 tsp minced chilli

2 tsp sesame seed oil

1 tbsp hoisin sauce (optional, though a very tasty addition)

1. Remove the tofu from the packaging. Use a sharp knife to slice the tofu into pieces approx. 0.5cm thick and 1cm wide. Take a plate and lay some absorbent paper towel on the plate. Lay the pieces of tofu onto the towel and cover with another piece of absorbent towel. Place this in the fridge for about two hours with something heavy sitting on the top (i.e. a skillet or bottle of milk, etc.). Using something heavy is important in helping to drain the tofu of any excess water which will inevitably be stored in the tofu from its packaging. Soggy tofu will never go crispy and will not absorb flavour as well as properly drained tofu.
2. After two hours retrieve the tofu from under previously mentioned heavy object. Grab a container that has a lid and lay the tofu strips into the container, then pour the tamari over the top. Depending on how large your container is you may need more tamari, because you should use enough to cover all the pieces so that they all absorb some of the sauce. Place the lid on and put the container in the fridge for at least 2 hours. 
3. When the tofu has properly marinated, remove it from the fridge. On a chopping board, sprinkle the cornflower generously. Taking one strip of tofu at a time, cover it well in the cornflower, before gently dusting off any excess. Repeat for all the strips.
4. Take a fry pan and place it over the heat. You want quite a hot pan, so turn the heat towards the higher end of the spectrum. Pour approx. 2 tbsp sesame oil into the pan and allow to heat. To check whether the pan is hot enough, flick some water into the pan and if the water sizzles and spits, then you're good to go! Do not use olive oil as it doesn't handle such hot temperatures as well as sesame oil (coconut oil is also another option that will work well, although you will end up with quite a different flavour). Carefully place all of the strips into the pan and cook for a minute or two on each side until they are a light golden brown. When cooked, remove from the heat and place on a new sheet of absorbent towel to remove any excess oil.

5. In a large bowl, combine the salad ingredients and mix through together. 

6. In a small bowl/glass, combine the dressing ingredients and whisk together using a fork. 

7. Plate up the salad as per desired servings size and top with a generous drizzle of the dressing. Enjoy!