Charlie’s blog Hotly Spiced is a fantastic blog, the perfect combination of hilarious stories and mouth watering recipes. I’m absolutely honoured to have her guest post on my blog while I’m away.
Thanks so much Clare for having me to your special space. I love your site and it’s an honour to blog a guest post for you.
The weather in Sydney has been so lovely lately and it’s not only been hot during the day, it’s been quite mild at night too. In our family we’ve transitioned from eating a lot of comfort foods to eating a lot more fresh produce and salads have made their way back onto our dining room table.
A few years ago my family and I were on holidays on the Sunshine Coast. During the holiday we celebrated our wedding anniversary and so Carl wanted to take me somewhere special for dinner. We had no idea where to go but we spoke to a number of people and they all recommended a Thai restaurant out in the hinterland called, Spirit House.
After looking it up on the map, we weren’t too sure as it did seem to be out in the middle of nowhere but we took the advice that was given and drove to Yandina.
And we’re so glad we did.
Spirit House has become our all-time most favourite restaurant. Started by Helen Brierty and Annette Fear who had spent a lot of time in Thailand and wanted to re-create something authentic here in Australia, this is the most incredible dining experience. When you enter the Spirit House property you step into a green jungle sanctuary filled with palms, bamboo, and tropical exotics. At dusk the restaurant turns into a magical wonderland with flickering candles, fairy lights and bamboo flares reflecting from the lake.
It is such a beautiful setting that is only surpassed by the incredible and magnificent cuisine.
I can’t remember what Carl and I ate that night except that it was all exceptional and on the way out, Carl bought me the Spirit House cookbook. It’s a cookbook I have loved and adored. It has taught me how to cook Thai food and if I’m ever in doubt, the chefs from Spirit House are only too happy to take my phone calls and give me assistance.
If you’re ever in the area, Spirit House also runs an incredibly successful cooking school where you can have that hands-on experience.
Here’s a salad that’s a family favourite from the Spirit House cookbook:
Vietnamese Lemongrass Beef Salad with Rice Vermicelli
Serves: 4
Degree of Difficulty: 3/5
Cost: Thai ingredients generally aren’t expensive. We find this to be an affordable family meal.
Beef:
400g beef rump, thinly sliced
3 stalks lemon grass, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tbspns fish sauce
1 tspn white sugar
ground white pepper, to taste
2 tbspns vegetable oil
1 small red onion, finely sliced
1/4 cup coarsely chopped peanuts
1 tbspn crispy-fried shallots
1/2 cup Nuoc Cham Dipping Sauce
Salad:
2 cups finely shredded lettuce (cos or mignonette)
1/2 Lebanese cucumber, peeled and julienned
1 cup bean sprouts
1/2 carrot, juienned
1/4 cup basil, shredded
1/4 cup mint or Vietnamese mint, shredded
200g rice vermicilli, cooked according to instructions on packet
To make the beef: in a bowl, combine the beef, lemon grass, garlic, fish sauce, sugar and pepper. Mix well, cover and set aside.
To make the salad: combine all the salad ingredients in a large bowl. Divide the noodles between individual serving plates then portion the salad into individual bowls.
To cook beef: heat oil in wok until smoking, add onion and stir-fry briefly until layers start to separate. Add beef slices and stir-fry until just cooked, about 5 minutes. Spoon the beef over the salad, garnish with the peanuts and crispy shallots. Serve with the dipping sauce and season to taste.
Nuoc Cham Dipping Sauce:
1 fresh red chilli, de-seeded
1 clove garlic
1 tspn sugar
1 tbspn rice vinegar
3 tbspn water
3 tbspn fish sauce
2 tspns shredded carrot
2 tspns shredded daikon
Pound the chilli and garlic to a fine past in mortar. Blend in sugar, slowly stir in vinegar, water and fish sauce. Transfer to serving bowl with carrot and radish shreds.
Are you a fan of Thai food? What’s your favourite international cuisine?
can’t say that I have ever had Thai food but this looks so delicious I might have to try it!
Oh wow, never had Thai food? Well you should definitely give this a go!
Oh wow, that looks mouth-watering delicious! I’m a huge fan of thai food but haven’t’ made much of it myself. My one try at making pad-thai noodles was average at best. I would love to give this recipe a spin though. I’ve heard of everything except the sauce, so I will have to try & look for it next time I’m at the store 🙂
Yeah I think it sounds amazing too! I might have to give it a go when we get home!
Hi Clare, I do hope your holiday is going well for you. The timing of this post is excellent given it’s 35C today – perfect salad weather! xx
Wow! I hope that weather holds out for us and we come home to some sun! Thanks so much for writing this for me, it really does look delicious!
I love thai food, looks good!
Me too! Giving this a go ASAP!
What a delightful recipe Charlie and I live that they take your calls if you run into a snag! That’s the difference between an offbeat place and the big city!
It looks so delicious doesn’t it!
I know, Eva. They are so good about it. I’m heading to the Sunshine Coast after Christmas and we’re going back there! If you can ever find their cookbooks, do get yourself one. They even have some great tapas! xx
What a lovely weather for hot weather–or probably any time. It’s hard to imagine your hemisphere experiencing such heat already, but this salad is perfect!
I do enjoy the warmer weather, Victoria. And I’m very excited to be eating this type of very fresh meal again. It does seem like it’s been a while xx
It’s great to see you here, Charlie. That sounds like a great restaurant – there are not enough of them in my opinion.
That dish is right up my alleyway. We ate such cheap, delicious food in Vietnam when we visited a few years back.
I know. There are so many run-of-the-mill Thai restaurants around but this one is very special. The setting is so magical xx
I love Thai food and Spirit House is a culinary adventure isn’t it? I haven’t been to the cooking school but best friends of mine said it was outstanding.
Nice to meet you Clare!
I haven’t been to the cooking school either but it is on my wish list!
Wow, each component of this recipe is amazing! From the beef to the salad to the dipping sauce. I love the mix of favors in the salad. Great recipe!
Wasn’t it just delicious! So many amazing aspects!
Lovely guest Charlie, I;m going to make this salad really soon
I can’t wait to try it out!
Popping over from Charlie’s blog to say hello! What a yummy salad…I’m going to try it with my next roast beef leftovers. I love those Thai flavors!
Roast beef leftovers would work very well. If you give this a try, let me know how it goes xx
Hi Liz, thanks for stopping by! Roast beef leftovers would be fantastic!
Lovely salad indeed! I have one of The Spirit House cookbooks and it is full of deliciousness. I’d love to eat there one day, or even better go to one of their classes. One day….
Perhaps we could go to their classes together, Rebecca. I have all three of their cookbooks but I don’t cook from the white one very often – they went a bit OTT with that one and every recipe seems to have too many steps for a mid-week meal needed in a hurry xx
I’d love to go to the cooking classes! How wonderful!
Whata a joy to click onto the post: tho’ I lived on the Coast for years, have never heard of the Spirit House or a recipe book attendant: immediate homework ahead 🙂 ! Cook ‘Thai/Vietnamese’ 1-3 x a week and love their refreshing beef salads: so now to compare recipes 😀 !
It’s sounds totally delicious doesn’t it! We eat a lot of Asian flavours but never a salad like this! I can’t wait to give it a go!
Nice to see my friend here:D I love the look of this salad.. and the Vietnamese flavors are some of my favorite!! I would love to have had dinner at the Spirit House!! xx
Thanks for stopping by Barbara!
Gosh, what a nice looking salad. That dipping sauce looks killer! Great flavors, easy to make – sounds like the perfect main course salad to me! Great guest post – thanks so much.
Doesn’t t sound absolutely delicious! Perfect summer evening meal! Thanks for dropping by John!
What a tasty, beautiful dish! I love Thai foods and this is an wonderful salad that would impress anyone! Spirit House sounds like a great place…they should be glad to have your wonderful reviews, Charlie!
Hey Debra, thanks for stopping by! The reviews are wonderful aren’t they! Now for me, I just need to get to Sydney
Hello Clare, nice to meet you! I came here from Charlie’s, and what a delicious salad she prepared! This year I used lemongrass for the first time, and oh boy this ingredient is VERY addicting! I need to buy several stalks again to make this salad. YUM!
Thanks so much for stopping by Nami! Isn’t the salad just fantastic! Lemon grass is just delicious! I use it often in a spiced pumpkin soup I make!
What a fantastic recipe, Charlie! This salad looks like it’s the perfect dish for a romantic dinner between me and my wife. I find Thai cuisine is very special. It is certainly one of the best cuisines in the world. What a great Guest post.
Thank you,-
Frank
Frank, thanks so much for popping over to check out this amazing recipe! I think it’d be the perfect romantic evening meal! I can’t wait for our long hot summer evenings!