Light and refreshing, this Vietnamese Beef Salad with Green Papaya is full of amazing flavor and texture!
Here is a delcious salad we had in Vietnam- Vietnamese Beef Salad with Green Papaya! It is crunchy and refreshing and the beef is over-the-top amazing! A lovely salad to have in the heat of summer.
If you can’t find green papaya, don’t fret. The salad can be made with rice noodles or sliced cucumber, shredded carrot, shredded cabbage or daikon….. or probably any other salad type of veggie. Just don’t use ripe papaya because it will disintegrate. Make sure the papaya is firm to touch. In Vietnam, the papaya was a very pale green on the inside too.
Why you’ll love this recipe!
The marinade for the beef – is a recipe to hold on to. The flavors (five spice and lemongrass) are surprising and delightful. The marinade also works great on pork, chicken and tofu, and served with a simple bowl of steamed rice, it makes for a perfect, healthy dinner. The only challenging part of making this salad is finding the right tool to shred the papaya. Everything else about the recipe is easy. I bought several different shredders while on our trip. It turns out I already had a shredder on my mandolin, but the hand tool shown here is easier to use.
How to make Vietnamese Beef Salad
Peel and shred the papaya. Cut a little off the bottom to make a flat edge so you can stand it up on end. Using a shredding tool, shred downwards towards the counter.
Immediately place the shredded papaya in ice water bath and let it soak in the fridge for 15-20 minutes.
Prep the beef. Cut the beef into bite-size pieces, 1/2 inch thick. Tenderloin is recommended, but tri-tip, flank steak, or flatiron steak all work fine.
Let the meat sit in the marinade for at least 30 minutes or overnight (best). Grill or sear until just cooked.
Make the Nouc Chom dressing. Drain the papaya and toss with the dressing and place on a plate with some beef and a combination of fresh herbs ( basil, cilantro and mint). Top with roasted peanuts and fried shallots.
Why you’ll love this BeEf Salad!
You may also like:
- Suwanne’s Crying Tiger Recipe (Thai Beef Salad)
- Green Papaya Salad (Bangkok- Style!)
- Mexican Papaya Salad
- Vietnamese Vermicelli Salad with Chili Vinaigrette
- Vietnamese Spring Rolls
Vietnamese Beef Salad
- Prep Time: 45
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 3 1x
- Category: Salad, main, beef
- Method: Grilled
- Cuisine: Vietnamese
Description
Light and refreshing, Vietnamese Beef Salad with shredded green papaya is full of amazing flavor!
Ingredients
- 1 lb beef ( tenderloin, tri tip or flank steak)
- 2–3 cups shredded Green Papaya (or rice noodles)
- 1 cup combo of fresh mint, cilantro and basil
- 2 tablespoon roasted crushed peanuts ( optional)
- 1 tablespoon fried shallots (optional- see below)
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or water
- 2 tsp mild red chili- finely sliced
- 1 finely minced garlic clove
- 1/4 C pounded or finely chopped lemongrass
- 1/4 C garlic-finely minced or pounded
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 1 T oyster sauce
- 2 T sugar 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/4 tsp chili flakes
- 1 tsp five spice
Instructions
Notes
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 433
- Sugar: 15.2 g
- Sodium: 856.8 mg
- Fat: 18.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Carbohydrates: 30.8 g
- Fiber: 6.7 g
- Protein: 38.2 g
- Cholesterol: 90.7 mg
I confess that haven’t made any of these wonderful sounding and beautifully photographed dishes. I just bumped into the site, but I can’t wait—and can’t decide where to start. Just sayin’! Will update when I have more to say!
Thanks Diane- happy you found us! ❤️
Absolutely delicious! I omitted the olive oil in the salad dressing but followed everything else as is. Will definitely be making this dish again and again.
So happy you enjoyed this!
Delicious plate! I cook this 2-3 times in a month!
Delicious and easy. I used skirt steak for the beef and rice noodles in place of the green papaya. It made a nice, light family dinner.
Such a delicious dish, thank you. I’ll dial the sugar in the dressing down a bit next time for our taste, but otherwise I found it perfect.
Oh Sylvia! Yet again a culinary success!!! You have single handedly upped my game. My family loved this and they have seemed like picky eaters in the past!! The flavor combinations are wonderful!! Your pictures are beautiful and helpful. I am a happier, healthier lady because of your efforts. Big thanks!!
Awesome 🙌 Great to hear and glad you enjoyed this Sherry!
This meal was outstanding. The flavors go so well together. Another winner with my husband and three young boys. I’m so excited to have found your blog! We have now tried 4 of your recipes, and we have not been disappointed. Thank you!
YAY!!! Thanks, glad it worked for you! 🙌
Great one!!!
Made this dish this evening with two bavette steaks I bought last week and wasn’t entirely sure what to do with. I did not have a papaya so used egg noodles and added matchstick carrots and chunks of cucumber. It was really tasty, and I liked that the sugar in the marinade caramelised the beef a little. I will definitely make again using papaya although I personally would use a little less five spice as I think it is too overpowering (for me).
I intend to work my way through Silvia’s recipes as love the website. This was the second I have tried and it was good.
Can’t wait to try this great dish, you’re recipes are amazing and taste wonderful, thanks for sharing!
This sounds absolutely delcious. can’t wait to give this a go. Thanks simon
I love Vietnamese food.
It’s fantastic. I think with this recipe I won’t mess up everything like I always did.. Thanks for sharing your recipe
What a gorgeous salad! Since i started cutting down my meat consumption, i increased my share of veggies. Gonna try this one day but we don’t have papaya here in the middle of the african desert 🙂
Hi,
I have never tried Vietnamese food. This dish looks delicious. I will try this recipe for my family even it looks difficult to prepare. I can’t wait to taste it!
Hi Jen, give it a try- super refreshing and full of flavor!!
papaya makes food more digestible and the aroma of lemongrass gives it a continental feeling. I cooked it and loved the taste and look, nice post.
Hello, I am Vietnamese. I know this dish. It is so delicious and my country it is named ” GỎI XOÀI THỊT BÒ”. I love it. You are so talent <3
I love the food from your country….my all time favorite!!! So healthy and flavorful!
Wow, looks delicious! I’m going to try this recipe. Thank you for posting.
Great dish recipe of Salad this is unique for me 🙂 thanks for sharing vietnamese food recipes
No… you got the right one! Mine was just a little more ripe.
my green papaya that I bought at the Asian market does not look like yours! 🙁 it’s green inside too! did I get the wrong one?
Oh that sounds very delicious. I like your blog very much!
This looks absolutely delicious. Amazing pics and such an elaborate recipe. Thanks for sharing!
fantastic and fabulous recipes that’s great look i like it.most unique and interesting Recipes here!Thanks!
Mouth watering salad. I love how you use papaya. 🙂
This is such a gorgeous salad! I’ve never bought a papaya in my life and you’ve inspired me to do so. Looks delicious!