With Keto Adaptable Recipe!
I love living in Italy and trying ALL the delicious food that is available here. However, you can take the girl out of California but you can’t take the California out of the girl. I am used to a multi-cultural cuisine and I still get a serious craving for food that is NOT Italian. Tonight I am craving Vietnamese Lemongrass Beef Salad!
I was so excited the other day when I was cruising down the “foreign” food isle at my local Italian Supermarket and saw fish sauce of all things!!! So I snatched up the bottle along with same rice noodles and a small jar of tahini (that will come in handy later when I am having a craving for humus!). Thankfully the rest of the ingredients are pretty easy to find here: butter lettuce, green onions, carrots, cucumbers, peanuts, ginger and thin sliced beef. I did have the good sense to bring a bottle of Sriracha with me from Cali in my luggage along with a bottle of Tapatio and Sesame Oil. These items I have yet to find here in Italy but I will keep looking! Fresh lemongrass and cilantro are also difficult to find, but I found some plants and grow them myself on my patio. Where there is a will, there is a way.
Vietnamese Lemongrass Beef Salad (Bun Bo Xoa)
Beef and Marinade:
(prepare at the beginning of the day and allow to marinate all day or at least one hour)
1 pound beef steak (london broil, sirloin, I use any cheap steak available, slice it very thinly)
Marinade:
1 inch ginger, pealed and chopped finely (use half for marinade and half for dressing)
1 stalk lemongrass (mainly the white part chopped finely, use half for Marinade and half for dressing)
2 gloves garlic chopped finely (use one for Marinade and one for dressing)
2 tablespoons fish sauce (available at Asian markets)
1 tablespoon olive oil
A few drops of sesame oil
2 tablespoons sugar (substitute Xylitol for Keto)
1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
Salad Dressing:
(Use the remaining ginger, lemongrass and garlic from the marinade)
3 tablespoons fish sauce (available at Asian markets)
1 tablespoon olive oil
Juice from one lime
3 tablespoons sugar (substitute Xylitol for Keto)
A few drops of sesame oil
3 Tablespoon rice vinegar
Salad:
Rice noodles (very fine rice noodles or vermicelli, mine came from the Asian market) (Omit for Keto)
1 head lettuce (red leaf or butter lettuce is best)
1 carrot shredded
1 cucumber sliced in shreds or matchstick size
1/8 head shredded red cabbage
4 green onions
1/4 chopped peanuts
1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
1/4 cup coarsely chopped basil
Peanut Sauce
1/4 cup peanut butter
4 tablespoons Sriracha (or chopped red chili’s or dry chili flakes for Keto)
4 tablespoons sugar (substitute Xylitol for Keto)
1/4 cup water
Prepare Marinade early in the day. Since much of the same ingredients are in the dressing you can prepare that at the same time and keep in the refrigerator.
Cook the rice noodles, they cook in a very short time so keep an eye on it!) Rinse and cool the noodles
Stir fry the sliced beef in a hot wok with olive oil, cook until the meat appears to be caramelized and browned in the pan and all moister has evaporated. Set aside.
Assemble the salad:
Layer the torn lettuce, rice noodles, shredded carrots, cabbage, cilantro, basil and cucumber on a plate. Then layer with the cooked beef, green onions and peanuts. Top with a dollop of peanut sauce.
The leftovers from this recipe are also great with spring wraps. Use all the same ingredients but wrap in rice paper. Sometimes I make extra and before cleaning up the kitchen after we have eaten I will wrap up a bunch of Spring Rolls for lunch the next day. I recommend layering a container with damp paper towels before placing the Spring Rolls. Then place a layer of damp paper towels between each layer of Spring Rolls. Cover with a lid. The damp paper towels will keep the Spring Rolls from sticking to each other and keep them from drying out.
Note: here in Italy I don’t make the peanut sauce, nope, don’t have peanut butter and I guess I can’t be bothered to make my own (surprisingly) but I think the chopped peanuts on top are enough.
Try these other great dinner ideas from our Archive:
Babaganush (Middle Eastern Roasted Eggplant Dip) Published July 29, 2017
Shrimp Spring Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce (Published August 18, 2017)
Saltimbocca (Roman Style Veal Scallopini) (Published February 18, 2018)
Vietnamese Lemongrass Beef Salad (Bun Bo Xoa) Published March 12, 2018)
Spiced Chickpea Salad with Roasted Cauliflower (Published April 22, 2018)
Steamed Mussels and Fettuccine (Cozze e Fettuccine) Published May 4, 2019)
Shrimp Risotto (Risotto alla Gamberi) Published June 2, 2018)
Pasta Carbonara (Published May 12, 2018)
Arancini (Italian Fried Rice Balls) Published June 4, 2018)
Ossobuco alla Milanese (Milan Style Veal Shanks & Saffron Risotto) Published June 20, 2018)
Lasagna Bolognese (Published Aug 3, 2018)
