Julie Goodwin’s Crunchy Wombok, Beef and Noodle Salad

If you’ve ever walked past the wombok and not known what to do with it, here’s a riff on the beloved cabbage and noodle salad that turns it into a main meal!

 Ingredients

• DRESSING

• ½ cup white sugar

• ½ cup white vinegar

• 1/3 cup fish sauce

• 1 clove garlic, chopped

• 1 small red chilli, sliced

• SALAD

• ¼ wombok (Chinese cabbage)

• 4 spring onions

• 1 carrot

• 1 Lebanese cucumber

• 1/3 bunch mint

• 1/3 bunch coriander

• 1 tablespoon peanut or vegetable oil

• 500g rump steak

• 100g packet of Chang’s crunchy fried noodles

Method

• Heat the chef pan over high heat.

• In a medium pot over medium-high heat, combine the sugar and vinegar. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil and boil for five minutes or until slightly thickened.  While cooking, place the garlic and chilli in the mini food processor and blitz until finely chopped.  Remove the dressing from the heat and add the fish sauce.  Allow to cool for a few minutes then add the garlic and chilli.  Set aside.

• Place the oil in the pan.  Season the steak with salt and cook for 2 minutes on each side (or longer, if the steak is thick or you like it more done.)  Remove from the pan and set aside under foil to rest.

• While the meat cooks, get on with the vegetables. Slice the Wombok thinly with a knife.  Peel and chop the spring onions. Use the mandolin to slice the cucumber and carrot.  Place all of these in the large bowl. Pick the leaves from the mint and coriander and add to the bowl.

• Slice the rump steak and add it to the salad bowl along with the noodles. Pour over the dressing, toss through, and serve straight away.

  Note: Make it ahead. This salad is lovely cold as well.

Recipe: A Better Choice