Vietnamese beef & noodle salad

Method

1. Whisk the marinade ingredients together in a bowl to dissolve the sugar.
2. Taste and add more sugar, fish sauce, lime juice or chilli to suit your taste.
3. Place the beef in a resealable bag or container and pour half of the marinade in to coat the steaks (reserve the rest to use as the salad dressing later).
4. Seal the bag and marinate for an hour or overnight in the fridge.
5. Heat a little oil in a frying pan (or on the BBQ) over a high heat.
6. Cook the steaks for 3-4 minutes until the underside is crunchy and browned, then turn over and cook for another 3-4 minutes for medium rare or cooked to your liking.
7. Remove from the heat to a warm plate, cover loosely with foil and rest for 10 minutes before carving across the grain into thin strips.
8. Place the noodles in a heatproof bowl and pour boiling water over to cover them. Let them sit for about 10 minutes until soft then drain.
9. Gently combine the beef, noodles and salad ingredients with the remaining dressing, season with salt and pepper and arrange in bowls.
10. Garnish with extra nuts, fresh herbs and chopped red chilli.