Meat Recipes - Chargrilled Beef and Shrimp Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

• 450g/1 lb beef rump (round), or fillet (tenderloin), cut across the grain into thin strips

• lettuce leaves

• 1 small bunch fresh coriander (cilantro), to garnish

• Vietnamese shrimp sauce, for dipping

For the marinade:

• 2 lemon grass stalks, trimmed and chopped

• 2 shallots, chopped

• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

• 1 fresh red chili, seeded and chopped

• 10ml/2 tsp sugar

• 30ml/2 tbsp fish sauce

• 15ml/1 tbsp soy sauce

• 15ml/1 tbsp groundnut (peanut) oil

Serves 4

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Method:

1. For the marinade, pound the lemon grass, shallots, garlic and chili with the sugar using a mortar and pestle, until it forms a paste.

2. Beat in the fish sauce, soy sauce and groundnut oil. Toss the beef in the marinade, cover, and marinate for 1-2 hours.

3. Soak bamboo or wooden skewers in water for 20 minutes so they don't burn over the charcoal.

4. Prepare a barbecue, or preheat a conventional grill (broiler). Drain the skewers, thread them with the beef and place them over the coals. Cook for not much more than a minute on each side.

5. Wrap the beef in the lettuce leaves, garnish with the fresh coriander and serve with the pungent Vietnamese shrimp sauce for dipping.

Note: For these kebabs, thin strips of beef are marinated, char grilled and served with shrimp sauce - a tasty combination. A teaspoon of shrimp paste is sometimes added to the marinade, but you may find the pungency of the accompanying shrimp sauce is sufficient.