Thai Spicy Beef Salad

When planning dishes for a Thai dinner, a spicy salad is pretty much a must – it’s considered a good healthy starter.

This month we went to the Dusit Thani Laguna Resort’s kitchen and learned about Chef Pachon’s Thai spicy beef salad with crispy egg plant. It’s simple to make and delicious to eat.

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 3 minutes
Serves: 1 portion

Ingredients:

• 120 g Striploin steak (thin sliced)
• 20 g Shallot (thin sliced)
• 20 g Lemon grass (very thin sliced)
• 0.5 g Kaffir lime leaves (finely julienned)
• 0.5 g Red bird chili
• 50 g Crisp eggplant (thinly sliced)
• 10 g Roasted chili paste
• 1 tbsp Fish sauce
• 1 tbsp Lime juice
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 10 g Crispy-fried shallot

Preparation and Cooking

• Make the sauce by thoroughly mixing together the bird chili, lime juice, fish sauce, sugar and roasted chili paste.
• Blanch the striploin until it is cooked medium-to-well-done and put it in a mixing bowl.
• Add all the remaining ingredients apart from the shallot.
• Add the sauce and toss.
• Place on a plate and sprinkle with crispy shallot.

Tips from the chef

Since the striploin is sliced very thin, don’t cook it for too long. This dish is good with red wine, which complements the taste of beef. On the other hand, most Thais prefer a glass of chilled beer with it.

Meet the chef

Who would think someone who studied physical education would do well in the kitchen? Chef Pachon Pakham is one of those people who spent years studying something they thought they liked and then ended up with a career in a totally different field. But he is passionate about cooking.

After graduating from the Srisaket Physical Educational College in 1984, he changed direction and went into the restaurant business. After gaining enough experience in Bangkok, he headed for Phuket in 1989 and got himself a job at what was then The Pansea Hotel (now The Chedi).

Since then he has worked at a number of other resorts including The Racha, Le Meridien Khao Lak Beach Resort and the Horizon Karon Beach Resort before moving to the Dusit Thani Laguna Resort.

Chef Pachon’s knowledge is by no means limited to Thai food. He knows a variety of Asian, European and Mediterranean cuisines, along with Mexican food.

When did you start work at Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket?
I joined the Dusit in March 2006, as Executive Sous Chef

When did you start cooking?
I started in 1984 as an assistant to the chef at a restaurant in Bangkok. Being a helper, it made me realized that I wanted to try cooking myself. I put all my effort into this and worked hard until I was promoted to be a cook.

What is the best part of being a chef?
It is a blessing, because a chef is not just someone who makes ordinary food. We have the opportunity to create something wonderful – a form of art. We think of food in two ways: how it tastes and how it looks. There is a lot more to being a hotel chef. We need to use a lot of skills such as managing the team, managing the food quality and the food-making process, preserving the food, controlling costs and balancing the menu. On top of that we have to work with other departments such as the sales, conventions and purchasing teams. All this means we must be alert at all times if we want to give our guests the best and if we want to be good chefs.

What is your favorite dish of all to eat?
I like fish a lot. It is good for you and you can do so much with fish.

What is your number one priority at work?
Responsibility in our team; using the right people for the right job. Also, maintaining high food quality and hygiene in the kitchen.

If you weren’t a chef, what other career would you follow?
I like cooking so if I were not working for someone else I would probably just open a small family restaurant.