Recipe of the week: Neua yang nahm tok – grilled beef ribeye with ‘waterfall' salad

Serves 2

• 2tbs fish sauce
• ½tsp caster sugar
• ½tsp ground white pepper
• 450g ribeye steak
• 3tbs coriander leaves
• 2tbs mint leaves
• 1 spring onion, thinly sliced
• ½ small red onion, thinly sliced with the grain of the onion
• 2 lemongrass stalks, root and outer husks removed, thinly sliced
• 2 makrut lime leaves (fresh or frozen), thinly shredded
• 2 dried bird's eye chillies, toasted (optional)
• 1tbs toasted rice powder (khao khua)

For the dressing (nahm yum)

• 4tbs lime juice
• 2½tbs fish sauce
• 1½tbs caster sugar
• 1tsp toasted chilli powder (prik bon)

For the dressing, mix together the lime juice, fish sauce, sugar and toasted chilli powder in a small bowl. This should taste aggressively sour, spicy and salty. Set aside at room temperature until later.

In another small bowl, mix together the fish sauce, sugar and white pepper. Rub this all over the steak and leave to marinate for 1 hour in the refrigerator.

Prepare a charcoal grill, then cook the steak over a medium heat, turning once or twice, to give nice caramelisation and colour. I recommend cooking ribeye to medium, but cook to your preference. Leave the steak to rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing against the grain of the meat. In a medium bowl, mix together the coriander, mint, spring onion, red onion, lemongrass, makrut lime leaf and toasted dried chillies until combined.

Add enough of the dressing to nicely coat the herbs and aromatics without drowning the leaves, then toss everything together gently to coat. Arrange the sliced steak on a serving plate and pour over a little of the dressing to season.

Arrange the herbal salad over the top of the steak and finish with a generous sprinkle of the toasted rice powder to serve.

Toasted chilli powder (prik bon)

Makes 200g

• 200g dried long red chillies, seeded
• 25g dried bird's eye chillies

Dry-toast the dried long red chillies in a wok over a medium heat for 10 minutes, moving them around frequently so that the chillies colour evenly and darken. Some black blistering and charring is good for flavour, but too much will cause the final chilli powder to become dark and bitter.

Remove from the wok and repeat the process for the bird's eye chillies, this time cooking for 5 minutes. Blitz the chillies in a hand-held blender or spice grinder to a powder of your chosen texture. I prefer my prik bon with a little more texture than shop-bought chilli powder, more like that of sand. Be careful not to blitz any of the chilli seeds that have fallen out of the chillies and become burnt and blackened while toasting, as these will be bitter.

Store in an airtight container away from direct sunlight for up to two months.

Toasted rice powder (khao khua)

Makes 100g

• 100g uncooked sticky rice
• 4 outer husks of lemongrass, chopped (optional)
• 2 makrut lime leaves (fresh or frozen) (optional)

Dry-toast the uncooked rice with the lemongrass husks and makrut lime leaves in a wok or heavy-based pan over a low heat for 5 minutes, moving the rice constantly so that the grains turn a deep golden-brown colour and smell toasty and nutty.

Remove and discard the lemon-grass and makrut lime leaves, then grind the toasted rice in a granite pestle and mortar to a somewhat coarse powder. Work in batches if necessary so as to not overcrowd the mortar. Alternatively, use a spice grinder or hand-held blender, but be careful not to overgrind the grains into too fine a powder. You are looking for a texture that resembles sand.

Keep in an airtight container in a dark place for up to two weeks; any longer, and the rice will lose its aromatic fragrance.