Tiger Cries Salad (a Spicy Thai Beef Salad)

Ingredients

• 1 lb beef tenderloin ()
• 1 lb boston lettuce fresh (I use the bagged spring mix)
• 1  cucumber peeled seeded thinly sliced cut in half lengthwise and
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce 
• 3 tablespoons fish sauce to taste ()
• 8 cloves garlic minced
• 1 bunch spring onion 
• 1  optional: lemon very thinly sliced for garnish/flavor cut in half lengthwise and (toss into salad )
• 2 stalks lemon grass very thin
• 0.5 cup juice of lime fresh
• 4 tablespoons juice of lime fresh
• 1 cup mint leaves fresh roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons coconut sugar 
• 1 large onion red
• 3 tablespoons rice powder toasted fine (ground )
• 4  shallots minced
• 4 servings sticky rice 
• 2 tablespoons sugar 
• 4 servings cherry tomatoes 
• 2 teaspoons pepper white
• 4  serrano chiles finely minced

Equipment

• food processor
• bowl
• frying pan
• baking paper
• blender
• grill
• stove
• wok
• dutch oven
• cheesecloth

Directions

1. Mix ingredients in a ziploc and let meat marinade from 2-24 hours in liquid.Char grill or broil meat to med rare, about 3-4 minutes per side.
2. Pour half of dressing over the red onions, lemon and cuke in a LARGE salad bowl and let them absorb the flavor, 15+ minutes.
3. Add lettuce, tomatoes, scallions and MINT along with the rest of the dressing.Toss the salad until all ingredients are very well coated and mixed.Dish Salad onto plates and top with slices of cooked beef, make sure plenty of dressing is included in each serving.
4. Add a serving of sticky rice to each plate.Serving Suggestion: Very pretty to serve this salad on a bed of Purple Cabbage Leaves.Perfect Sticky Rice: Soak 1-2 pounds of Thai Sweet Rice in lukewarm water in a large bowl for 3 hours- drain& reserve water to use in steaming.Line bottom of bamboo steamer (the stackable sort used for veggies and such) with parchment paper (or cheesecloth sprayed with Pam).Fill steamer with soaked rice and cover.
5. Pour rice soaking water into wok or dutch oven, add some fresh water until approx 3" depth.
6. Place steamer over water in pan, bring water to boil then reduce to strong simmer-- don't let water cook away.Steam rice for approx 25 minutes, let sit an additional 5 minutes with lid on.To Make Toasted Rice Powder: Toast raw sweet rice in a saute pan on top of stove just as you would sesame seeds-- until very light golden brown.Use a coffee grinder, blender or food processor to grind to a fine consistency- I like mine fine as white sugar but any testure from cous cous, cornmeal, flour, etc is just fine.
7. Adds an interesting, nutty and essential flavor to the dressing.