You know it’s summer when every man and his dog is in the back yard, BBQ tongs in hand, and the only time your man will wear an apron. Personally, I’ve never been a great fan of BBQs until I discovered that anything you can cook on a grill or in frypan, you can also cook on a BBQ! You can cook directly on the BBQ plate, or use a fry pan over the flame. So leave the wok in the cupboard, fire up the barbie, and enjoy an Aussie-Asian fusion summer stir fry.

Our recipe is for Thai Beef Salad Stir Fry and firstly you need a good cut of meat such as sirloin or porterhouse. You can substitute beef with chicken, or shell fish—just adjust the cooking time accordingly, and ring the changes with a variety of veggies. So let’s get going!

Basic Thai Beef Salad Stir Fry (serves 4)

What you need: enough good quality steak for four people, 1 medium size onion (thinly sliced) 6 mushrooms (sliced), 1 packet ready-mix stir fry*, ¼ iceberg lettuce (chopped), 1 small packet crispy noodles, 1 Bok Choy (chopped), ½ red capsicum (thinly sliced). You can also add any other Asian veg or thinly sliced carrots, broccoli, baby corn, snow peas, cashew nuts, etc.

Marinade: 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, 1 tablespoon fish sauce, 2 teaspoons sesame oil, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger, 1 crushed garlic clove, 1 small and finely chopped hot chilli (optional, but preferable).

What you do:

Mix all the marinade ingredients together in a jar and shake well. Slice the meat thinly, place in a bowl and toss in the marinade. Leave in the fridge overnight.

Fire up the BBQ and drizzle a teeny amount of extra-virgin olive oil on the plate. When hot, add the steak and sliced onion and toss for a couple of minutes. Then add the stir fry veggie mix and whatever else veggies your including, and toss together until the steak is cooked. Add the crispy noodles and toss in.

Place the chopped lettuce in four serving bowls. Place the beef stir fry on top of the lettuce and lightly toss. Serve immediately with rice or soy noodles on the side.

*You can buy ready mixed stir fry veggies from any major supermarket chain and they save endless slicing and chopping. You can get finely chopped or chunky varieties—buy as much as you need and use as soon as possible.