Ingredients
Serves 4-6600g piece beef sirloin, fat attached, at room temperature
4 eggs
2 x large green mangoes
1 long red chilli
2 Lebanese cucumbers
1 stalk lemongrass, part only, thinly sliced
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 packed cup coriander leaves
¾ packed cup round mint leaves
¼ packed cup Vietnamese mint leaves
Asian fried shallots, to serve
Roasted Chilli Relish
6 long red chillies
6 eschalots, roughly chopped
24 cloves garlic
2 bunches coriander, roots only, rinsed
6 red bird’s-eye chillies, stems discarded, halved width-wise
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
150g tamarind concentrate
50g palm sugar, grated
2 tbsp Thai fish sauce
Chilli lime dressing
½ tsp chilli powder
100ml lime juice
1 tbsp Thai fish sauce
Method
You will need 2 x 15cm bamboo skewers (it is not necessary to soak them) to thread through the chillies.
The relish has a bit of a kick to it, which is balanced by the coolness of the green mangoes and cucumbers; however, if you’re not a fan of spicy food, seed the red bird’s-eye chillies in the relish and reduce the chilli powder quantity to a pinch in the dressing for a less spicy dish.
To make roasted chilli relish
1. To roast chillies, place long red chillies side-by-side. Thread a skewer through top half of chillies, then thread a second skewer through the bottom half of chillies to hold together; this helps to turn them during cooking.
2. Preheat a chargrill pan over medium heat. Add skewered chillies and cook for 4 minutes each side or until skins are blistered and blackened. Cool slightly. Remove skewers, then peel the charred skins. Tear chillies in half. Discard seeds.
3. Place eschalots, garlic, coriander roots and bird’s-eye chillies in a wok and cook over medium heat, stirring continuously, for 8 minutes or until browned and starting to soften. Add tomatoes and roast red chillies, and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until tomatoes are softened. Add 60ml (¼ cup) water, cover with a lid, then reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes or until garlic can be easily crushed with the back of a spoon.
5. Meanwhile, to make tamarind purée, place tamarind in a small bowl. Add 125ml (½ cup) warm water and stand for 5 minutes. Using your fingers, rub tamarind into the water to form a purée. Press through a fine sieve into a bowl, discarding solids.
6. Using a large mortar and pestle, pound relish mixture to a rough paste (alternatively, process in a food processor). Stir in palm sugar, fish sauce and 100ml tamarind purée. Adjust flavour with a little more sugar, fish sauce or tamarind purée, if necessary; it should be sweet and salty, and quite sour. Refrigerate in an airtight container until needed or for up to 1 week. Makes 500g (2 cups).
To grill beef
1. Preheat a chargrill pan over high heat, then add beef, fat-side down (the fat renders during cooking, making it unnecessary to oil the pan or beef; the remaining fat is left attached for flavour). Cook for 3 minutes on each of the four sides for rare or until cooked to your liking. Transfer to a plate, cover loosely with foil and rest for 10 minutes.
To make chilli lime dressing
1. Place ingredients in a small bowl and stir to combine.
To prepare eggs and vegetables
1. To soft-boil eggs, place eggs in a saucepan, add enough water to just cover the eggs, then bring to a simmer over medium heat. Once simmering, cook for 4 minutes for soft-boiled. Drain and cool under cold running water, then set aside until needed.
2. To prepare mangoes, cut or peel away skin. Cut flesh into 3mm-thick slices, discarding stones. To cut into julienne (matchsticks), stack a few slices on top of each other, then cut into 3mm-wide strips. Repeat with remaining mango and place in a large bowl.
3. Halve chilli, then seed and cut into julienne (matchsticks). Add to mangoes.
4. To prepare the cucumbers, use the ‘roll cut’ technique; this technique is commonly employed in Asian cooking to cut vegetables into oblique shapes. Place a cucumber lengthwise in front of you and cut a slice from the tip on the diagonal. Discard this slice, then roll cucumber 45 degrees and cut another slice on an angle toward the tip so the end of the cucumber looks like a sharpened pencil. Continue rolling the cucumber and cutting, always keeping a point at the tip of the cucumber. Repeat with remaining cucumber and add to mango mixture.
To assemble salad
1. Add lemongrass, tomatoes, coriander and both types of mint to mango mixture. Add dressing and toss gently to combine.
2. Roll eggs on a work surface, peel, then carefully tear in half. Thinly slice beef, then layer among shallow bowls with salad. Drizzle with 3 tbsp roasted chilli relish, scatter with fried shallots and serve with egg.
Top Tips
Room-temperature beef ensures even cooking.
Asian fried shallots, palm sugar and Thai fish sauce are available from Asian grocers and the Asian section of supermarkets.