Lemongrass Beef skewers with Vietnamese noodle salad Recipe

600g	Rump steak, fat trimmed
	Marinade
1 stick	Lemongrass, trimmed and outer leaves removed (or 1½ tbsp of lemongrass paste)
2	Garlic cloves, peeled
1 tsp	Fish sauce
1 tsp	Cracked black pepper
2 tsp	Caster sugar
	Salad
4 large	Lettuce leaves, torn (oakleaf, butter or baby cos varieties)
350g	Softened vermicelli rice noodles
1 cup	Loosely packed mint leaves
2 medium	Carrots, shaved into ribbons
2	Lebanese cucumbers, deseeded and sliced
1 medium	Yellow capsicum, cut into strips
100g	Snow peas, sliced
	Dressing
2 tbsp	Lime juice
1 tbsp	Fish sauce
3 tsp	Caster sugar
1	Red chilli, finely chopped (optional)

1	Pound the Beef to a 1cm thickness. Cut into long, wide slices and place in a bowl with the marinade. Stir to combine, cover and set aside for 30 minutes.
2	Preheat a chargrill or barbeque to moderately hot. Thread the Beef onto skewers.
3	Grill the Beef skewers for 1½ minute on each side or until cooked to your liking.
4	Mix the salad ingredients with the dressing and place on a large platter. Top with the Beef skewers and serve. Alternatively try serving Beef skewers with the salad in individual bowls or noodle boxes.
5	To make the marinade: Finely chop the lemongrass and garlic and pound in a mortar and pestle until it becomes a coarse paste. Add the fish sauce, pepper and sugar and stir to combine. If using paste, add it to the crushed garlic, fish sauce, pepper and sugar, and combine.
6	To make the dressing: Stir the ingredients together and set aside.

1	To pound the Beef, place between 2 pieces of cling film on a chopping board and beat with a meat mallet or rolling pin.
2	If you have extra lemongrass sticks you can thread the raw Beef onto trimmed lemongrass and cook as usual. Simply cut the thin end of the trimmed lemongrass into a point so you can thread the Beef easily.
3	If you are cooking with bamboo/wooden skewers on the barbecue, allow them to soak in water for 30 minutes to prevent them from burning.
4	If you don't have a mortar and pestle you can make the marinade in a small food processor.