While visiting London for only the second time, chef Luke Nguyen prepared a savoury Vietnamese beef soup and light starters – with help from his brother and his friends
• Invite us to your get-together
*What was the occasion?*
I was over from Australia visiting my brother, who lives in London, so I thought it would be fun to cook dinner for him and a few of his friends. One of them offered to host it at his house in Hackney; I think there were about eight people in total. I love to introduce new flavours and techniques to people – my style is to invite friends over and get them to share in all the preparation and cooking. So I asked them to arrive a little early, with a few bottles of Vietnamese beer!
*What was on the menu?*
I decided to make a couple of light starters, then let the beef pho – a classic broth and noodle dish –be the star of the show. First, I made seared scallops with a lemongrass, tamari and chilli dressing, then we followed that with an asparagus stir-fry with mushrooms and sesame seeds. But as soon as the guests walked up the stairs they could smell the gorgeous, simmeringbroth for the pho – it has to be cooked for at least three hours, so it's a real labour of love. Noodles, herbs and brisket were added to individual bowls, then topped with thinly sliced, raw sirloin steak. Everyone then poured the hot broth over, and submerged the pieces of steak until cooked to their liking. To end on a sweet note, I pureed dragon fruit with ice and condensed milk.
*What did you talk about?*
We spoke a lot about why Vietnamese isone of the most popularcuisines at the moment – I think it's a lot to do with it being a popular tourist destination, and that it's fresh, healthy food. Everyone was impressed by the flavour profiles; there's so much subtlety in the each of the dishes I made. We also discussed the cultural influences – 1,000 years of Chinese rule means we love rice noodles, while the origins of pho are in the French dish pot au feu(beef stew). French colonists brought vegetables such as asparagus and softherbs like dill. It's only my second evervisit to the UK, but I reallylove its food culture – it was simple to find the ingredients I neededand there seems to be such an interest in trying new things.
*Seared scallops with tamari, lemongrass and chilli*
In this dish I use tamari, as it is richer in flavour and colour than regular soy sauce. Another bonus is that tamari is gluten free.
Serves 4–6 as part of a shared meal
*70ml tamari*
*1½ tbsp lemon juice*
*½ tsp chilli oil*
*1 tsp finely diced lemongrass, white part only*
*1 garlic clove, crushed*
*1 tbsp brown sugar*
*2 **kaffir makrut **lime leaves, stems removed, finely sliced*
*2 tbsp vegetable oil*
*16 scallops, roe removed*
*1 long red chilli, seeded and julienned*
*Coriander sprigs, to garnish*
*1* In a mixing bowl, combine the tamari, lemon juice, chilli oil, lemongrass, garlic, sugar and half the lime leaves. Whisk well to dissolve the sugar, then set the dressing aside.
*2 *Heat a flat chargrill pan or frying pan to very high. Add the vegetable oil. Add the scallops to the pan and allow to cook for 30 seconds before turning. Take care not to cook the scallops all the way through, as they will continue to cook once taken off the heat. The scallops should be slightly caramelised around the edges.
*3* Remove the seared scallops to a serving platter (or to individual clean scallop shells, if you have some). Spoon the dressing over, garnish with the remaining lime leaves, chilli and coriander and serve.
*Beef pho (beef and rice noodle soup)*
In Saigon, pho is cooked for 8–10 hours, using 10 different spices, and they eat it with bean sprouts, coriander, basil, chilli, spring onion, and chilli, fish and hoisin sauces. In Hanoi, you get a beef broth with rice noodles, slices of beef, some sliced spring onion and that's it.
Serves 8
*2kg oxtail, chopped into 3cm pieces*
*4 tbsp salt*
*4 large onions, unpeeled*
*150g fresh ginger, unpeeled*
*1kg beef brisket*
*190ml fish sauce*
*80g rock sugar*
*1.6kg fresh rice noodles*
*400g beef sirloin, trimmed and thinly sliced*
*To serve: 4 spring onions, sliced; 8 coriander sprigs; 2 bird's-eye chillies, sliced; 1 lime, cut into wedges*
For the spice pouch
*8 cloves*
*5 star anise*
*2 cassia bark or cinnamon sticks, each about 10cm long*
*1 tbsp black peppercorns*
*1* Put the oxtail in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Add 3 tbsp salt. Soak for 1 hour, then drain the water.
*2* To prepare the spice pouch, dry roast each spice separately in a frying pan over a medium heat until fragrant. Let the spices cool, then coarsely grind using a mortar and pestle. Add the ground spices to a 40cm-square piece of muslin and tie up tightly. Set aside.
*3* Heat a grill pan over a medium-high heat. Cook the onions and ginger for 15 minutes, turning regularly, until blackened. Allow to cool. Peel and discard the skins, then roughly chop.
*4* Put the oxtail, brisket and 6 litres cold water in a stockpot and bring to the boil. While the stock is boiling, keep skimming any impurities off the surface for 15 minutes, to ensure a clear broth, then reduce to a simmer.
*5* Add the fish sauce, remaining 1 tbsp salt, the sugar, onions, ginger and spice pouch. Cover and simmer for 3 hours, or until the stock has reduced to almost half.
*6* Strain the stock through a muslin cloth. Remove the brisket, set aside to cool, then thinly slice.
*7* Blanch the noodles in a saucepan of simmering water for 5 seconds. Drain, then transfer to serving bowls.
*8* Place three or four slices of brisket on top of the noodles, followed by three or four slices of raw sirloin. Pour the hot stock on top to cover the noodles and beef.
*9* Garnish each bowl with spring onion, black pepper and a coriander sprig, then add chilli and a squeeze of lime.
*Dragon fruit shake*
Fruit shakes, or sinh to, are outrageously popular in Vietnam. Sinh to varieties include jackfruit, avocado, mango, dragon fruit, papaya, strawberry, banana and more. Condensed milk is the key though.
Serves 4
*1 dragon fruit, peeled and sliced*
*135g crushed ice*
*1 tbsp condensed milk*
*1* Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend for 20 seconds, or until the ice has dissolved. Serve in tall glasses.
Recipes adapted from The Food of Vietnam by Luke Nguyen (Hardie Grant Reported by guardian.co.uk 1 day ago.
• Invite us to your get-together
*What was the occasion?*
I was over from Australia visiting my brother, who lives in London, so I thought it would be fun to cook dinner for him and a few of his friends. One of them offered to host it at his house in Hackney; I think there were about eight people in total. I love to introduce new flavours and techniques to people – my style is to invite friends over and get them to share in all the preparation and cooking. So I asked them to arrive a little early, with a few bottles of Vietnamese beer!
*What was on the menu?*
I decided to make a couple of light starters, then let the beef pho – a classic broth and noodle dish –be the star of the show. First, I made seared scallops with a lemongrass, tamari and chilli dressing, then we followed that with an asparagus stir-fry with mushrooms and sesame seeds. But as soon as the guests walked up the stairs they could smell the gorgeous, simmeringbroth for the pho – it has to be cooked for at least three hours, so it's a real labour of love. Noodles, herbs and brisket were added to individual bowls, then topped with thinly sliced, raw sirloin steak. Everyone then poured the hot broth over, and submerged the pieces of steak until cooked to their liking. To end on a sweet note, I pureed dragon fruit with ice and condensed milk.
*What did you talk about?*
We spoke a lot about why Vietnamese isone of the most popularcuisines at the moment – I think it's a lot to do with it being a popular tourist destination, and that it's fresh, healthy food. Everyone was impressed by the flavour profiles; there's so much subtlety in the each of the dishes I made. We also discussed the cultural influences – 1,000 years of Chinese rule means we love rice noodles, while the origins of pho are in the French dish pot au feu(beef stew). French colonists brought vegetables such as asparagus and softherbs like dill. It's only my second evervisit to the UK, but I reallylove its food culture – it was simple to find the ingredients I neededand there seems to be such an interest in trying new things.
*Seared scallops with tamari, lemongrass and chilli*
In this dish I use tamari, as it is richer in flavour and colour than regular soy sauce. Another bonus is that tamari is gluten free.
Serves 4–6 as part of a shared meal
*70ml tamari*
*1½ tbsp lemon juice*
*½ tsp chilli oil*
*1 tsp finely diced lemongrass, white part only*
*1 garlic clove, crushed*
*1 tbsp brown sugar*
*2 **kaffir makrut **lime leaves, stems removed, finely sliced*
*2 tbsp vegetable oil*
*16 scallops, roe removed*
*1 long red chilli, seeded and julienned*
*Coriander sprigs, to garnish*
*1* In a mixing bowl, combine the tamari, lemon juice, chilli oil, lemongrass, garlic, sugar and half the lime leaves. Whisk well to dissolve the sugar, then set the dressing aside.
*2 *Heat a flat chargrill pan or frying pan to very high. Add the vegetable oil. Add the scallops to the pan and allow to cook for 30 seconds before turning. Take care not to cook the scallops all the way through, as they will continue to cook once taken off the heat. The scallops should be slightly caramelised around the edges.
*3* Remove the seared scallops to a serving platter (or to individual clean scallop shells, if you have some). Spoon the dressing over, garnish with the remaining lime leaves, chilli and coriander and serve.
*Beef pho (beef and rice noodle soup)*
In Saigon, pho is cooked for 8–10 hours, using 10 different spices, and they eat it with bean sprouts, coriander, basil, chilli, spring onion, and chilli, fish and hoisin sauces. In Hanoi, you get a beef broth with rice noodles, slices of beef, some sliced spring onion and that's it.
Serves 8
*2kg oxtail, chopped into 3cm pieces*
*4 tbsp salt*
*4 large onions, unpeeled*
*150g fresh ginger, unpeeled*
*1kg beef brisket*
*190ml fish sauce*
*80g rock sugar*
*1.6kg fresh rice noodles*
*400g beef sirloin, trimmed and thinly sliced*
*To serve: 4 spring onions, sliced; 8 coriander sprigs; 2 bird's-eye chillies, sliced; 1 lime, cut into wedges*
For the spice pouch
*8 cloves*
*5 star anise*
*2 cassia bark or cinnamon sticks, each about 10cm long*
*1 tbsp black peppercorns*
*1* Put the oxtail in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Add 3 tbsp salt. Soak for 1 hour, then drain the water.
*2* To prepare the spice pouch, dry roast each spice separately in a frying pan over a medium heat until fragrant. Let the spices cool, then coarsely grind using a mortar and pestle. Add the ground spices to a 40cm-square piece of muslin and tie up tightly. Set aside.
*3* Heat a grill pan over a medium-high heat. Cook the onions and ginger for 15 minutes, turning regularly, until blackened. Allow to cool. Peel and discard the skins, then roughly chop.
*4* Put the oxtail, brisket and 6 litres cold water in a stockpot and bring to the boil. While the stock is boiling, keep skimming any impurities off the surface for 15 minutes, to ensure a clear broth, then reduce to a simmer.
*5* Add the fish sauce, remaining 1 tbsp salt, the sugar, onions, ginger and spice pouch. Cover and simmer for 3 hours, or until the stock has reduced to almost half.
*6* Strain the stock through a muslin cloth. Remove the brisket, set aside to cool, then thinly slice.
*7* Blanch the noodles in a saucepan of simmering water for 5 seconds. Drain, then transfer to serving bowls.
*8* Place three or four slices of brisket on top of the noodles, followed by three or four slices of raw sirloin. Pour the hot stock on top to cover the noodles and beef.
*9* Garnish each bowl with spring onion, black pepper and a coriander sprig, then add chilli and a squeeze of lime.
*Dragon fruit shake*
Fruit shakes, or sinh to, are outrageously popular in Vietnam. Sinh to varieties include jackfruit, avocado, mango, dragon fruit, papaya, strawberry, banana and more. Condensed milk is the key though.
Serves 4
*1 dragon fruit, peeled and sliced*
*135g crushed ice*
*1 tbsp condensed milk*
*1* Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend for 20 seconds, or until the ice has dissolved. Serve in tall glasses.
Recipes adapted from The Food of Vietnam by Luke Nguyen (Hardie Grant Reported by guardian.co.uk 1 day ago.