MICHAEL
VOUMARD'S
THAI RARE
BEEF
SALAD

go straight to the recipe

FOR THE RARE BEEF and some background and updates about Michael Voumard, who many of you will remember from The Botanic Dining Room and later The Rockford Stonewall Table click here

This is a favourite with all my friends and it was my friend Traci Ayris who pointed out that this had been missed in the Galaxy Guides transfer…thanks Traci!

FIRST PUBLISHED 2007, MISSED IN THE TRANSFER FROM GALAXY GUIDES…REPUBLISHED AO 25 JANUARY 2025
Yes there is some knife work required but everyone loves this salad and vegos are pretty happy with the salad component and some rice stick noodles.

for the
DRESSING PASTE

100g palm sugar finely grated or powdered in a Thermomix
6 stems of lemon grass, peeled back to the very soft inner part and very finely chopped
4 to 6 Thai chillies, finely chopped
10g ginger garlic paste
6 Kaffir lime leaves, very finely chopped
5g sesame oil

the day before
pound everything to a paste and refrigerate overnight.

if you are not lucky enough to grow your own tomatoes, or go to a Farmers’ Market cherry tomatoes are your best flavour option in a supermarket. Unfortunately they sometimes have unpleasant thick skins.

for the salad

this is another version of Michael’s wonderful salad topping which includes finely sliced shallots, crispy shallots and rau ram. Don’t be limited by what you can buy, but what you have at hand!,/h6>

1 bunch of spring onions, washed, cleaned up and finely shredded

1 bunch of mint, washed and plucked
1 bunch of coriander, washed, roots removed and roughly chopped

½ small bunch watercress, washed and leafed….optional

12 small ripe tomatoes (or punnet cherry tomatoes cut in half), cored and cut into largish chunks

6 Lebanese cucumbers, cut into chunks

6 lemon grass stems, peeled back and very finely sliced

1 large mild red chilli, finely sliced

1 small red onion very, finely sliced

1 bunch sacred (purple basil), plucked


150ml fresh squeezed lime juice, done at the last minute possible 

the day before
Put the spring onions, mint, coriander and watercress into a colander with a double layer of paper towel at the bottom. Place it in a freezer bag, twist the top and refrigerate overnight.

plated salad…let everyone take their portion size

finishing the salad

Try to time your beef so that it is rested for at least thirty minutes. it does not need to be hot, this is a salad. Slicing across the grain cut the beef into 10-15 mm slices. Properly rested there should not be blood but if there is, mop it with paper towel before plating.

Prepare the tomatoes, cucumber, lemon grass and chilli. Slice the onion and carefully pluck the sacred basil.

Put the tomato, cucumber and onion into a large bowl and gently toss over. Add the lime juice to the paste and mix well. Add the dressing to the tomatoes and cucumber and gently toss over. Plate next to the beef and scatter the remaining salad ingredients over the top.

cook’s note
I never individually plate this marvellous salad. It’s also a good idea to keep the few, inevitable slices that are a bit more cooked together for those who aren’t made on medium-rare and rare.

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