Thai Beef Waterfall Salad
On July 27, 2026
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Smoky, rare hanger steak grilled and tossed in a bright, herby dressing and garnished with toasted rice powder for crunch: this Thai Beef Waterfall Salad is a flavor bomb disguised as a simple salad.
Grilled Thai Beef Waterfall Salad
Sometimes I’m looking for bold, new grill flavors, and sometimes I get forced into finding them. This Thai Beef Waterfall Salad was a bit of both. Born from a surf and turf challenge competing with my friend Christie Vanover (Girls Can Grill) on Food Network’s Pitmasters, she brought the “surf” with a gorgeous coconut-lime halibut, and I covered the “turf” with this beefy salad. (Check out my episode 3 recap to see the whole menu.)
It’s quick, simple, and doable in your own backyard in just a couple of hours. A soy sauce and black pepper marinade builds deep umami flavor before the grill adds lovely charring. Slice the steak thin, toss it in a vibrant dressing of cilantro, mint, shallots, green onions, and lime, then finish with a toasted rice powder for a dish that’ll make you feel like a true Backyard BBQ Hero!
What is Thai Beef Waterfall Salad?
If you’ve ever seen “nam tok” on the menu at a Thai restaurant, that was waterfall salad. The term means “falling water” or “waterfall” in Thai, because of the juices dripping down the meat. It’s built around grilled beef, fresh herbs, and a salty, slightly-sour, spicy dressing. My Thai-inspired version aims to keep the ingredients approachable and the method simple so you can make it at home. (If you want to learn more about the history and variations, Hot Thai Kitchen is a great resource.)
Ingredients for Thai Beef Waterfall Salad
This recipe breaks into four simple parts: the steak, the marinade, the dressing, and the toasted rice powder that ties it all together.
The Best Steak for Waterfall Salad
I used hanger steak for this recipe. It was available during the Pitmasters shoot, and I’ve been wanting to make it for years. Hanger steak has a loose grain and beefy flavor that soaks up the marinade well and cooks fast over high heat. The catch is that hanger steak isn’t always sitting in the regular case at your grocery store (which is why I’ve been wanting to make some for years).
You can ask your butcher directly, or check a specialty butcher shop. Most butchers will cut it for you if you request it ahead of time. If you can’t track it down, I’ve made this many times with tri tip steak. Skirt steak or flank steak are both solid options as well. Just keep in mind you may have to adjust your grill time slightly for different cuts.
Marinade for Thai Steak
This marinade couldn’t be simpler: soy sauce and coarse black pepper. Yeah, that’s it. Pour the soy sauce over your steaks, massage in the pepper, and let everything sit covered in the fridge for about an hour. It’s long enough to build flavor without over-salting the meat. You don’t even have to worry about excess marinade. When your grill is ready, throw on your steaks as-is.
Thai Herb Dressing
- 1 Tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 fresh Thai chilis (diced or 1 Tablespoon dried thai chili flakes)
- 2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 5 small shallots (thinly sliced)
- 1 cup fresh cilantro (roughly chopped)
- ½ cup fresh mint (roughly chopped)
- ¼ cup green onions (whites and greens, thinly sliced)
How to Make Your Own Toasted Rice Powder
Don’t let this ingredient intimidate you. Toasted rice powder is genuinely one of the easiest parts of this whole recipe, and it’s what gives the salad that nutty crunch.
- Toast the rice. Add uncooked jasmine rice (or raw sticky rice if you want to go more authentic) to a dry skillet over high heat on your grill and stir constantly until it turns a deep golden to brown color and smells toasty.
- Grind the rice. Let it cool slightly, then grind it into a coarse powder using a spice grinder or a mortar and pestle. A grinder is faster, but a mortar and pestle gives you more control over texture. If you’d rather skip this step entirely, you can usually find toasted rice powder at most Asian grocery stores.
How to Make Thai Beef Waterfall Salad
This one comes together in five easy steps: marinate, toast, grill, dress, and toss. That’s really it. Let me walk you through it:
- Marinate the steaks. Give your hanger steaks a good massage in soy sauce and coarse black pepper right in the bowl, ensuring every side is coated. Cover them and let them hang out in the fridge for an hour. This is where all that savory, umami flavor gets built, so don’t rush it.
- Toast the rice. While the steaks marinate, get your grill fired up for high heat and toast up some rice powder. This secret ingredient gives the salad its signature nutty crunch.
- Grill up the steaks. Once your grill’s at 400 to 450 degrees F, lay those marinated steaks right on the grates. Flip them every 30 seconds (yes, every 30 seconds) until they hit about 115 degrees F internal temperature. This keeps the cook even and the crust perfect without overdoing the inside. Pull them to a cutting board and let them rest. They’ll climb a few more degrees while they relax.
- Make the dressing. While your steak rests, toss your herbs, shallots, green onions, and chilis into a bowl. Add the fish sauce, sugar, and a good squeeze of lime. Stir it together and let the flavors mingle.
- Slice, toss, and enjoy. Slice your rested steak thin against the grain using a sharp knife, drop it into the dressing, and toss gently. Finish with a generous sprinkle of the toasted rice powder, serve it up, and watch it disappear.
What Temperature to Pull Your Steak
With your grill at 400 to 450 degrees F, this steak will cook fast. My steaks usually hit that rare temperature anywhere between 6 and 12 minutes with the constant-flip method. However, you should always treat that number as a guideline, not a rule. Grill hot spots, steak thickness, and a number of other factors can affect timing, so the only way to know for sure is to check the internal temperature with a good instant-read thermometer.
Traditionally, this beef salad is served rare, so that’s how I make mine. I pull my steaks at 115 degrees F and let carryover cooking bring them up to around 120 to 125 degrees F while they rest. The USDA recommends cooking beef steaks to 145 degrees F, so if you’d rather stay closer to that guidance, just let the steaks go a bit longer. Here’s a guide to help you know when to pull your steaks:
- Rare (120 to 125 degrees F) pull at 115 degrees F
- Medium-Rare (130 to 135 degrees F) pull at 125 degrees F
- Medium (140 to 145 degrees F) pull at 135 degrees F
More International BBQ Recipes
If this Thai waterfall salad has you craving even more beyond-basic BBQ flavor, you came to the right place. I’ve got internationally-inspired recipes from all over the map, from sides to mains. You can find them all in the Hey Grill Hey App, but for now, check out these popular recipes:
Thai-Inspired Beef Waterfall Salad Recipe
Give this Thai Beef Waterfall Salad a try next time you want something that’s fast, fresh, and seriously flavorful from your grill. If you make it, I’d love to hear how it turned out. Drop a rating and a comment below!
And if you want more recipes like this one, come hang out with me on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook. I’m always sharing new recipes and methods so you can become a Backyard BBQ Hero!
Thai Beef Waterfall Salad
Ingredients
- 2 12-ounce hanger steaks or tri tip steak
Marinade
- ½ cup soy sauce light
- 1 Tablespoon coarse black pepper
Thai Herb Dressing
- 1 Tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 5 small shallots thinly sliced
- 1 cup fresh cilantro roughly chopped
- ½ cup fresh mint roughly chopped
- ¼ cup green onions whites and greens, thinly sliced
Toasted Rice Powder
- ½ cup jasmine rice or raw Thai sticky rice
Instructions
- Marinate the steaks. Place the steaks in a bowl large enough to hold them all. Pour ½ cup of light soy sauce over the steaks, then add 1 Tablespoon of coarse ground black pepper. Massage all the steaks to ensure each side is coated in the soy sauce and black pepper. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to allow the steaks 1 hour to marinate.2 12-ounce hanger steaks, ½ cup soy sauce, 1 Tablespoon coarse black pepper
- Preheat the grill and roast the rice. Set your grill up for high heat grilling with an overall temperature between 400 and 450 degrees F. Place a 12-inch cast iron skillet on the grates. Pour ½ cup uncooked jasmine rice in the skillet, then shake or stir occasionally until toasted. You want to stir every minute or so to avoid burning. This process should take about 10 to 15 minutes if doing so while your grill heats up. If you try to toast the rice once the grill is already at full temperature, the rice will likely toast much faster.½ cup jasmine rice
- Grind the rice. Remove the toasted rice to a bowl to cool for a few minutes, then pour it into a spice grinder and grind it into a rough powder. You can also do this using a mortar and pestle, but it will take a bit longer. Set aside.
- Grill the steaks. Place the marinated steaks directly on the grill grates over high heat, flipping everything 30 seconds. Grill the steaks for 6 to 10 minutes, or until they reach an internal temperature about 5 degrees F below your desired doneness. The USDA recommends cooking beef steak to an internal temperature of 145 degrees F using an instant-read meat thermometer. However, the beef in this salad is traditionally served rare so I pulled my steaks when they reached 115 degrees F. Carryover cooking will continue to cook the steaks while they rest, which will take them up to that 120 to 125 degrees F for rare.
- Make the dressing. In a medium-size bowl, combine the roughly chopped cilantro and mint, the thinly sliced green onions and shallots, and the diced Thai chilis. Drizzle everything with the fish sauce, sprinkle with the sugar, and squeeze the fresh lime juice. Gently stir the dressing together with a rubber spatula until everything is incorporated.1 Tablespoon fish sauce, 1 teaspoon sugar, 2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice, 5 small shallots, 1 cup fresh cilantro, ½ cup fresh mint, ¼ cup green onions
- Slice, mix, serve, and enjoy. Once the steaks are rested, slice them thin using a sharp knife. Remember, this is a salad so you want thin, tender slices that can easily be eaten using a fork. Place the sliced steak into the bowl of dressing, then gently toss everything together. Sprinkle everything with the toasted rice powder, serve, and enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
