Vietnamese herb salad with tamarind and honey glazed beef

Method

1. To make the marinade for the beef, combine all the ingredients (except the meat and oil) in a mixing bowl. Add the beef and stir to coat, then cover and chill for 1-2 hours.
2. About an hour before you want to eat (or the night before), put the fish sauce, vinegar and sugar from the dressing ingredients in a small pan with 3 tbsp water over a medium heat. Heat until steaming, allow the sugar to melt (don’t let the mixture boil), then turn off the heat, transfer to a bowl and leave to cool.
3. Once cool, pour half the dressing into a wide dish. Add the onion and carrots to the dish, stir to coat in the liquid, then spread out, making sure everything is covered in the liquid. Set aside, moving it around now and then, so the veg absorbs the flavours.
4. Stir the juice of 1 lime, the garlic and chilli into the remaining dressing in the pan. Taste and add the second lime if you think it needs it – the dressing should be sharp, salty and sweet.
5. Cook the noodles according to the pack instructions, draining them a couple of minutes before you’re supposed to. Rinse thoroughly in a colander with warm water to wash off the starch, then drain again, shake dry and generously drizzle over oil to coat the noodles evenly. Snip the noodles roughly into shorter lengths – this will make them easier to mix into the salad.
6. Put the cucumber, radishes and herbs in a large bowl with half the peanuts. Once the onion and carrot have taken on the dressing flavours, drain and squeeze out well, then add to the bowl (discard the liquid they were in). Add the noodles.
7. Heat a large frying pan with a splash of sunflower oil until smoking hot. Reduce the heat slightly, then add the marinated beef strips without crowding the pan (work in batches if necessary). Cook for 1 minute or until the undersides have blackened, then flip and cook for 30 seconds on the other side. Tip into the salad bowl along with the meat juices.
8. Add the dressing from the pan to the salad and toss. Put on a serving platter, scatter with the remaining peanuts and plenty of crispy onions, then serve immediately.