Laotian Beef Salad

Light, fresh, and filling this dish makes for a perfect summertime lunch and has quickly become one of my favorites. Luckily, I live in Florida where we only experience one season, which makes this dish possible because every herb must be fresh, preferably picked from a garden. The great thing about dishes from Laos and the rest of Southeast Asia is that the ingredients are so fresh and healthy.

This beef salad was made by my wonderful mom who learned how to make it when she lived in Laos. My mom was actually born in Cambodia of Chinese-Cambodian descent but had to flee Cambodia with her parents and four younger siblings during the genocide. Long story short, she and all of her immediate family barely escaped unharmed and they fled into neighboring Laos. Thankfully, the Laotian people welcomed Cambodian refugees with warm, open arms. So that is how I got to know this fantastic, refreshing salad.

The dish contains roasted beef, beef tripe, cilantro, Thai mint, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and a dusting of toasted powdered rice for savoriness. According to my mom, this is known as a poor-man’s dinner since it makes up the majority of poor people’s diet. I’ve seen many variations that add red onions or use lime juice instead of lemons. Other people swap out beef and tripe for shrimp and chilies. Generally, it’s made to suit your tastes just like any other salad and it’s pretty hard to mess it up. The toasted powdered rice is a new ingredient for me and it caught me by surprise actually: it adds subtle texture and tastes so savory when added with other ingredients, but it isn’t as appealing when eaten by itself.

I hope you find it delicious by vicariously tasting it through my photos.