Tamarind beef and kohlrabi salad

By: Luke Nguyen
From: The Food of Vietnam
Serves: 4-6
Photographer: Alan Benson

Kohlrabi is a root vegetable that is much loved in Vietnam as it can be eaten both raw or cooked. It is crisp and tastes a bit like a water chestnut crossed with cabbage. When buying tamarind, be sure to buy it in block form. Don’t go for the ready-made pastes, as their flavour is inferior to the blocked pulp.

Ingredients

Quantity	Ingredient
100g	kohlrabi, peeled and julienned
100g	carrots, peeled and julienned
100g	beetroot, peeled and julienned
2 tablespoons	sugar
2 tablespoons	vegetable oil
2	garlic cloves, crushed
300g	lean beef eye fillet, trimmed and sliced into 3 mm slices
1/2 teaspoon	freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons	Tamarind water
handful	saw-tooth coriander leaves, sliced
handful	vietnamese mint leaves
2 tablespoons	Fried garlic chips
2 tablespoons	Nuoc mam cham dipping sauce
1 tablespoon	roasted peanuts, crushed
1	red bird’s eye chilli, sliced

Method

In a bowl, combine the kohlrabi, carrot, beetroot and sugar. Mix well and set aside for 10 minutes, then drain.
Place a frying pan over high heat. Add the oil and fry the garlic until fragrant. Add the beef, season with the pepper, then stir-fry the beef for no more than 3 minutes — only until just cooked through. Transfer the beef to a bowl, add 1 tablespoon of the tamarind water and toss to combine.
In another bowl, combine the kohlrabi, carrot, beetroot, saw-tooth coriander, Vietnamese mint, garlic chips and tamarind beef. Add the remaining tablespoon of tamarind water and the nuoc mam cham.
Toss the salad to combine all the ingredients. Garnish with the peanuts and chilli and serve.