A fresh Spring dish by a renowned Australian chef, thanks to eatlove.com.au. Neil Perry is chef and restaurateur at the Rockpool group of restaurants in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, as well as the author of several books. This recipe comes from his book Balance & Harmony - The secrets of Asian cooking (Murdoch).

This Thai classic is so easy to put together. Look for balance with the Nam Jim dressing - if you like it really hot, dial up the other flavours so you get the heat with complexity. Most importantly, keep this very fresh tasting.

Ingredients (serves 2)
200g beef fillet
1 small Spanish (red) onion, finely sliced
1 handful of coriander (cilantro) leaves
a pinch of ground roasted rice to taste,
freshly ground black pepper
1 handful of Thai basil leaves, finely shredded

Marinade:
2 tbsp of oyster sauce
1 tbsp of fish sauce
1 tbsp of grated palm sugar
½ tsp of sesame oil

Dressing:
1 lemongrass stalk, tough outer leaves removed, chopped
1 long red chilli, seeded and finely chopped
2 small wild green chillies, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tbsp of caster sugar
2 tbsp of fish sauce
juice of 3 limes

Preparation
To make the marinade, mix together the oyster sauce, fish sauce, sugar and sesame oil. Add the beef and refrigerate overnight to marinate. Remove from the fridge 2 hours before cooking.

To make the dressing, pound the lemongrass, chillies, garlic and sugar in a mortar with a pestle to form a fine paste. Mix the fish sauce and lime juice together and taste for balance.

Heat a grill or a barbecue to hot, and cook the beef for about 2 minutes on each side until it forms a good even crust. Remove from the heat and rest in a warm place for 10 minutes. Slice the beef thickly across the grain.

Toss the beef, onion and coriander leaves with some of the dressing. Arrange the lettuce and beef on a serving plate and drizzle with any remaining dressing. Sprinkle with the ground roast rice, give it a good grind of black pepper and top with the shredded Thai basil.

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