East meets West with this delicious recipe, which combines Vietnamese methods with crunchy, peppery British radishes.
Ingredients
- 250g beef fillet steak
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 50g fine rice noodles or vermicelli
- 4 fat pink radishes, trimmed and very finely sliced
- 3 spring onions, finely shredded
- Handful of fresh mint leaves, torn
- Small bunch of fresh Thai basil leaves (from oriental shops) or basil, torn
- Juice of ½ lime
- 1 tbsp Thai fish sauce (nam pla)
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 12 x 16cm rice paper wrappers (from oriental shops and selected Tesco)
For the dipping sauce
- 1 mild green chilli, finely chopped
- Juice of ½ lime
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
Method
- 1. Heat a frying pan over a medium heat. Rub the beef with the oil, season with salt and sear all over for 4 minutes for medium-rare. Set aside on a plate to rest and cool.
- 2. Meanwhile, cook the rice noodles according to the pack instructions, refresh in cold water and drain well. Put in a bowl and, with scissors, snip into shorter lengths. Thinly slice the beef and add to the bowl with the remaining ingredients (except the rice paper wrappers). Mix well.
- 3. Dampen a clean tea towel and lay on a work surface. Fill a large bowl with just-tepid water, add 3 wrappers and keep submerged for 1 minute, until soft. Lay each on the tea towel and place a spoonful of beef filling on each. Fold in the sides by 2cm, then roll up tightly from the filling end – dampen the top end to seal the roll. Cover with another damp tea towel while you make the rest.
- 4. Mix the dipping ingredients together and serve with the rolls.
Nutritional info
Per serving: 240kcals, 5.6g fat (1.5g saturated), 16.5g protein, 30.4g carbs, 9g sugar, 2.9g salt
Wine Recommendation
The meat may be beef, but don’t overpower the other light ingredients. Australian Riesling is good or a juicy New World Pinot Noir.