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Welcome to Huber's
RECIPES
Thai beef salad using Margaret River Wagyu Rump
This is one of my favourite Thai-inspired dishes which pairs perfectly with crisp, tangy whites, and reinforces throwing out the ‘old school’ rules of red wine with red meat moreover, being adventurous when it comes to pairing wine with Asian cuisines.
For our recommended white wine for this salad, click here.
I am sure many of you have tried beef salad, ubiquitous on Thai restaurant menus. Unfortunately it is invariably quite ordinary or poorly executed - mouth-scorching chilli, overcooked miserable pieces of the absolutely cheapest-toughest cut of beef, chunky raw onion and tomato and a token few garden mint leaves all drowned in lime juice. Indeed, I have yet to encounter a version as good as mine – well actually it is my wife who has perfected this recipe which I have subsequently plagiarised!
My/our version is an adaption of the northern Thai beef salad nahm dtok, referring to the juice running from a piece of meat grilled medium rare. It is precisely the quality of the cut of meat you use and how it is cooked that makes (or breaks) this dish. Before you rush off and order up a prime tenderloin or sirloin, it does actually require a cut that has a little crunchiness or firmer texture, namely rump, to work with the textures of the salad.
Having experimented with rump from all number of different breeds, feed-types (grass feed vs. grain feed) and different countries, I believe we have found the ultimate beast/cut; Margaret River Wagyu rump, available from Huber’s of course!
Wagyu is known worldwide for its intense fat marbling with many people associating it to the black Tajima-ushi breed of Kobe, Japan, and served up raw in divine, mouth-melting fine slices or seared for a few seconds in small chunks, all at eye-watering prices! It is normally so rich and intense in its creamy fattiness that only a small serve will saturate even the most carnivorous palate.
There are however many grades of Wagyu, in the sense of marbling content, and the different parts of the animal have less fat than others, the rump being relatively the leanest. And before you start thinking this is not going to be a healthy dish, the intramuscular fat in Wagyu cows is different to that found in other cattle breeds. Apart from being a great source of vitamins and nutrients, Wagyu beef contains higher levels of oleates, that is mono unsaturated acids (good fatty acids) including Omega 6 and Omega 3 oils, which protect the human body from heart disease, high blood pressure, arthritis, depression and Alzheimer’s disease...so there you go, now where was I...?
Ah, just a word on the meat supplier, quality and provenance; it is from Margaret River Farms, which have 70,000 hectares of land spread across four properties in pristine environment in the far south of Western Australia. The cows are raised free range, grazing on natural pastures totally free of any genetically modified feeds or any antibiotic-hormone growth nasties. Essentially, this is about as natural as it gets, grass fed, roaming free in one of the cleanest environments in the world; a stress free, very happy cow. Well, as happy as a cow can be.
Huber’s have whole Wagyu rumps which are not on display, so you will need to ask them to bring a piece out from the fridge. It is a dauntingly colossal chunk of beef as a whole piece weighing around 7 to 8 kgs, however they will carve off a piece of any proportion/weight to suit your needs. I will be going in to the merits of doing a whole rare-roasted rump in my next instalment. For the purpose of this exercise, you need a slice or two, depending on how many mouths you are feeding, about 3cm or just over an inch thick. Laying it down flat cut again to widths of about 5cm or divide evenly depending on the width of the slab of meat, also discarding the outside layer of fat.
These strips need to be marinated, preferably overnight although for 4 or 5 hours is ok. See preparation.
Shopping for the salad leaves and mints may well take some extra effort, quite likely not available from the one source. Huber’s have an excellent mixed leaf salad, and fresh garden mint, as do most supermarkets. Laksa leaves are also generally available; perhaps try the wet markets or local Chinese suppliers. Vietnamese mint is not easy to find here and can be substituted with sisho leaf or any other exotic mint you can get your hands on. There are a myriad of mints and exotic herbs you can use to liven up salads, visit this link to explore the world of mints http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perilla
Ingredients for 4 servings:
Ø 500g Wagyu Beef Rump – cut in strips 3cm thick and 5cm width
Ø Thai fish sauce (for marinating and available at most supermarkets)
Ø Bag mixed leaf salad, mesclun is good
Ø Vietnamese mint - tía tô (optional as not easy to find, try Golden Mile)
Ø Common garden mint – a good bunch or two
Ø Laksa leaf (optional) in most supermarkets
Ø Japanese sisho leaf (as a substitute for tía tô – Japanese supermarket)
Ø 4 large red shallots, sliced fine (more if they are small)
Ø 1 Tablespoon Sambal (I use the Malaysian style – Sambal Belacan)
Ø 2 Teaspoons brown sugar
Ø Several limes and lemons, squeeze for about 3 tablespoons of each – to taste
Preparation:
Marinating the beef: Place the strips of Wagyu on a board patting out flat and with a table fork liberally puncture the meat with holes, turning the meat over and repeating until sufficiently perforated. Now, you don’t need to do an Anthony Perkins on the meat and murder it, just enough perforations to allow the marinade to permeate the meat. Place in a flat dish and liberally saturate with Thai fish sauce rubbing it in to the meat, turning over a few times. Cover with cling-wrap and return to fridge. Ideally this would be done the day before however the same day is fine but the longer it marinades the better, as it is almost like semi-curing the meat. Remove from the fridge well in advance of cooking so the meat comes up to room temperature.
The salad: Wash the salad and mints in advance, but not too well ahead as the mints will start to wilt. The mixed salad leaves is the easy bit however plucking the mints is time-consuming so make sure you start on this in good time, or enlist help. How much mints you add is a matter of personal preference/taste. My wife tends to be judicious whereas I like to add in heaps and love the edgy bite and lift they impart. Ensure everything is well washed and spun dry, returning to the fridge.
Peel and slice the shallots. In a large wok or frying pan, slowly cook the shallots in oil so they are soft and transparent, watching not to brown/burn. Add in the tablespoon of sambal and brown sugar stirring in for a few minutes so the sambal is cooked through and turn of the heat, allowing this to cool.
Cooking the meat: You should only do this about 20 minutes before serving, as you want the meat to be lukewarm, but also adequately rested. The important facet here is to sear the meat quickly in a very hot pan or even better on the BBQ, but it is strategic that you sear, not stew the meat. Pat the meat dry with a paper towel, as excess marinade will induce stewing. It should only take a few minutes each side to achieve this. Remember, you are serving this medium rare and the slices are relatively thin. If using a pan, do not crowd as the juices and marinade will make it difficult to sear effectively. What you are looking for is nicely browned meat on the outside and rare-ish inside with a certain amount of the juices retained. This is where the Wagyu is superior, in retaining the juiciness and texture with the fat now melted in to the meat. Like all meat, allow to rest after cooking but make sure you retain the juices and pour this in to the onion/sambal mixture.
Squeeze the lemons and limes whilst the meat is resting. Then slice the meat across the width in to desirable pieces, that is not too thin, not too think - maybe half a centimetre – up to you.
Mixing the salad: Add the salad leaves to the wok or pan with your onion/sambal mixture then roughly chop the mints (use a large chef’s knife and literally just few chops) as this helps release their scents and flavour, add in to the salad. Now add the lemon and lime juice gently tossing/working this all through and taste for saltiness and tanginess, adding more Thai fish sauce or lemon/lime juice accordingly. Finally add the sliced meat and then transfer to a large serving bowl. Voila!
Don’t be put of by the longwinded instructions; it is actually a very straightforward dish but as always the devil is in the detail and with a little forward planning and practice/technique you will find this an excellent one-bowl dish that can be served as entree or a casual main course for a weekend lunch or light meal sitting outside on an evening.
Cheers!
Curtis Marsh – The Wandering Palate
“Curtis Marsh is a fully independent wine, food and travel writer with over 30 years experience in hospitality, wine and media industries.”
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