Grilled Beef Salad: Spilled Milk #327

The sweet, sour, salty, spicy summer salad of your dreams. I'm also getting into: the origin of bò tái chanh, balance in Vietnamese cuisine, what to pair with this dish and more.

Join me in Vietnam! From February 27 to March 9, 2026, I’ll be your guide on this incredible journey with Modern Adventure. We’ll slurp street-side phở, steam through Ha Long Bay, cook with aunties in Hoi An and more! For all the details, click here.

I want you to come travel with me to Vietnam. Click the link here to see the itinerary, book your trip and LET’S GO!

If you are on that trip, I will be cooking for you, cooking with you and cooking with some incredible Vietnamese chefs and home cooks for you as well. We will for sure be eating bò tái chanh, one of the most popular salads of Northern Vietnam. As a matter of fact, the restaurant we are eating at the first night in Hanoi usually has it on the menu.

It's also one of my favorite salads to make in my home during the warm weather months, and it’s beyond easy.

This is a rare beef salad that traditionally was always a raw beef salad. The meat would “cook” in the lime juice dressing, the same way fish becomes “cooked” in ceviche, seafood coctel and aguachile if the ingredients are acidic enough.

I prefer it with a little more contrast in the beef department, so I char really good beef to rare and let it rest, then chill, trim and slice it, throwing it together for a simple and stunning dinner. And best of all, you can use leftover grilled beef (or chicken/shrimp/pork/fish) to make this all summer long.