A super easy Chinese beef salad you can put together in 10 minutes with no cooking required! Serve it as an appetizer for a multi-course meal, top it on steamed rice for a one-bowl lunch, or make a sandwich with it using pita bread. {Gluten-Free adaptable}
A few days ago I shared a very easy braised beef shank recipe, showing you how to make super tender and juicy beef in a master sauce. Once you’ve made the braised beef, there are so many ways to use it to create fast and easy daily meals. For example, this comforting beef noodle soup that you can put together in under 20 minutes. Today, I want to show you how to use it to make a super quick Chinese beef salad.
How to serve Chinese beef salad – three ways
The beauty of this salad is, you can serve it many different ways.
Traditionally, Chinese beef salad is served as a cold appetizer during a multi-course meal. It pairs very well with a can of cold beer and some spicy peanuts.
However, I’ve found that it works very well on a bed of freshly steamed rice, as a one bowl meal. In this case, I usually add a soft-boiled egg on my rice bowl, with an extra spoonful of braising liquid from the braised beef shank. If you’ve already made my braised beef shank, definitely use the broth to marinate some boiled eggs. After two days or so, the eggs will become deeply flavorful, so that you can use them as a topping for rice and noodle bowls, or as a super-umami snack.
The other way to use Chinese beef salad is to make a sandwich from it. Whether you prefer the Taiwanese Gua Bao or Northern Chinese Rou Jia Mo, the braised beef shank can be used to replace the pork filling in both of these recipes! If you’re making Gua Bao, try to add some mayonnaise and sriracha and it will work wonders. For Rou Jia Mo, fresh homemade flatbread is the gold standard. But you can totally use pita bread instead.
Ingredients
Once you’ve made the braised beef shank, all you need are a few pantry ingredients to put this salad together.
Note, homemade chili oil or a great quality bottled chili oil (like this one or this one) is a must and cannot be skipped!
I hope you enjoy this one!
Chinese Beef Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup homemade braised beef shank , thinly sliced (or roast beef deli meat)
- 1 stalk Chinese celery , thinly sliced (or 1/2 stalk regular celery, diced)
- 1 green onion , thinly sliced
- 2 birds eye chilis , sliced (Optional)
- 1/4 cup cilantro , chopped
- 1 tablespoon peanuts , chopped
Dressing
- 2 to 3 tablespoons homemade chili oil
- 2 teaspoons light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon Chinkiang vinegar
- 1 tablespoon broth from homemade braised beef shank , heated up in the microwave (Optional) (*Footnote 1)
Instructions
- Combine the dressing ingredients in a small bowl, stir, and set aside.
- Add to a bowl the beef shank, celery, green onion, chilis, and half of the cilantro and peanuts. Drizzle the dressing onto it and gently toss.
- Plate the salad, drizzle with some extra chili oil if desired, and garnish with the remaining cilantro and peanuts.
Notes
- If braising stock isn’t available, add another teaspoon of light soy sauce and 1/8 teaspoon sugar.
Nutrition
Other easy appetizer recipes
- Chinese Sliced Tofu Salad (凉拌豆腐丝)
- Szechuan Spicy Peanuts (黄飞鸿花生, Huang Fei Hong Spicy Peanuts)
- Baked Sichuan Chicken Wings
- Chinese Pickled Cucumber (A Quick Pickle Recipe)
- 3-Ingredient Fried Shrimp
Lilja Walter was a part of the Omnivore’s Cookbook team and worked closely with Maggie to develop and test this recipe.
