Words fail me! After a week of trying to cook fish (none of which made the final cut for the blog!) I gave it a final try tonight with this Vietnamese dish. Thank god I gave it another night. This was sublime – I kid you not, it was superb. The marinade for the fish is splendid – a peppery, spicy dream come true. It was amazing – I chose a whole snapper from the supermarket – it was cheaper than meat which is quite something, and it really delivered in taste, texture and freshness. There was very little I could find with this meal that I didn’t like. The only thing would be that it took too long to get to the table, and the fact that I couldn’t finish the whole thing (Which is a very rare event in itself!). Give it a try – you won’t be disappointed!

INGREDIENTS:
Marinade:
1kg whole fish (snapper etc) (gutted and cleaned)
1 tablespoon dried green peppercorns
1 red Thai chilli (chopped, with seeds)
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon peanut oil

Other:
1 small carrot (very thinly julienned)
4 spring onions (very thinly julienned)
4 tablespoons fresh coriander (chopped)
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons lime juice
1 garlic clove (very finely chopped)
1 red Thai chilli (very finely chopped, seeds removed)
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 large onion (sliced)
2 tablespoons peanut oil
4cm piece fresh ginger (very thinly julienned)
3 garlic cloves (very thinly sliced)
1/2 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:
Deeply score the fish on each side in a diamond pattern.

Add the peppercorns and chilli to a pestle and mortar and pound into a fine paste. Add the fish sauce and marinade peanut oil and stir till well combined. Brush this paste into the fish, both sides and in the cavity. Leave, covered, for 30 minutes in the fridge.

Preheat oven to 200ºC. Wrap the fish in foil and bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes until the flesh pulls away from the skin and is fully cooked through.

Meanwhile, Mix together the sugar, lime juice, garlic, chilli and fish sauce to make the dressing/dipping sauce. Combine the carrot, spring onion and coriander Toss in 2 tablespoons of the dressing and set aside. Pour the remaining dressing into a small bowl to serve alongside the fish.

Heat a large frying pan with the peanut oil over a medium/high heat and cook the onions till browned and slightly charred on the outside (about 5 minutes). Add the garlic and ginger and cook for a further 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and drain on paper towels.

When the fish is cooked, place on a large platter and spoon over the onions. Sprinkle with a handful of the carrot and spring onions, serving the rest as a side salad. Serve immediately.

SERVING:
I served mine with the remaining, carrot & spring onion salad, a simple pickled cucumber, carrot and tomato salad, the dipping sauce and some Jasmine rice.

I really wanted something Asian again tonight, but after the spiciness of the Malaysian Laksa from the previous night, I wanted to tone it down. Vietnamese food is perfect for this as their food is much milder than other countries within South East Asia. This dish is a delicious blend of fish sauce and lemon grass that is full of flavour, but without the bang! It’s a truly fabulous dish. It’s supposed to be served quite dry, but I added a little water at the end of cooking to give us a little sauce which we mopped up with some bread like it was the last meal we were ever going to eat..

INGREDIENTS:
For the marinade:
600g chicken thighs (cut into 4cm cubes)
2 tablespoons fish sauce
3 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon madras curry powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 level teaspoons sugar

Other Ingredients:
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons peanut oil
2 fresh lemon grass stalks (white part only, chopped)
3 small shallots (finely sliced)
2 hot red chillies (seeded and very finely chopped)
2 spring onions (finely sliced)

DIRECTIONS:
To make the marinade: In a pestle and mortar, crush the garlic with the sugar and salt until pulped. Stir in the fish sauce and curry powder. Pour into a bowl with the chicken and coat well. Set aside.

Using a small saucepan, mix the sugar with 1 tablespoon of water and dissolve. Over a high heat bring to a bubble and without stirring let it change colour to form a golden amber caramel. Remove from the heat as soon as it changes then add 3 more tablespoons of water and stir in well. Pour into a small bowl and set aside.

In a pestle and mortar, crush the lemon grass until pulped and very fine. Combine with the shallots and chilli and set aside.

Heat the oil in a wok over a high heat until hot then add the lemon grass, shallots and chilli and stir for 1-2 minutes until lightly golden. Add the chicken and caramel and continute stir frying for 5-6 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. The sauce will thicken and coat the meat. Remove from the heat and either serve as is, or add 3-4 tablespoons of water to give yourself a little sauce.

SERVING:
Sprinkle with the spring onion and maybe a few toasted peanuts and you’re all set! I served mine with a scrumptious Vietnamese noodle salad, but this dish would work perfectly with jasmine rice.

Vietnamese food isn’t spicy. It’s ingenious use of lemon grass gives its dishes a subtle fragrance rather than a fiery hit. Even with the use of 4 chillies, this dish has a growing warmth rather than immediate spice. Use long red chillies as they aren’t as hot as the fiery smaller Thai chillies. If you WANT more heat then use half and half.

INGREDIENTS:
500g pork stir fry
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 lemon grass stalk (pounded to a fine pulp)
2 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
4 long red chillies (finely chopped)
3 tablespoons sugar
25ml fish sauce
25ml soy sauce
salt & pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Mix together the sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce and a little salt & pepper with 200ml boiing water. Stir until the sugar is dissolved then set aside.

Heat the oil in a wok until just hot. Drop in the garlic and stir briefly (20 seconds). Add the lemon grass and chilli and stir for 1-2 minutes. Add the pork and stir fry for 1-2 minutes then pour in the sugar/fish sauce liquid. Turn up the heat and simmer vigorously for 1-2 minutes until lightly caramalised. Remove from the heat and serve immediately.

SERVING:
Serve on boiled rice with a side of sliced tomatoes and cucumber.

On arrival back home after a month in India, I immediately thought of the Vietnamese salad I buy regularly from “The Naughty Chef” in Sydney. It’s easy to make at home too and is deliciously fresh, simple and mild. Just the remedy after 4 weeks of heavy, complex and spicy curries; for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Marinade:
300g beef rump steak
4 cloves garlic (minced)
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 lime (juice of)
Freshly ground black pepper

Dressing:
1/4 cup caster sugar
100ml white vinegar
1/4 cup fish sauce (from anchovies)
1 small red chilli (very finely chopped)
1 garlic clove (very finely chopped)

Salad:
200g cooked vermicelli rice noodles (cold)
1/2 carrot (thinly sliced and left to soak in 2 tablespoons of the salad dressing for 30 minutes)
2 spring onions (thinly sliced)
1/2 cup cucumber (thinly sliced)
1/4 cup unsalted peanuts (roughly crumbled)
1/4 cup fresh mint (roughly torn)
1/4 cup fresh coriander (roughly chopped)
1 tomato (sliced)

DIRECTIONS:
Combine all the marinade ingredients together in a plastic bag with the meat and leave for 30 minutes.

To make the dressing: Pour 100ml of boiling water into a bowl and then pour in the sugar and stir to dissolve. Add the vinegar and fish sauce and stir in the garlic and chilli. Leave to cool. (will keep in the fridge for 3 months!)

Heat a griddle or BBQ and then cook the meat 4 minutes either side (depending on thickness) until medium rare. Rest for 2 minutes then cut into thin slices.

Divide the noodles between 2-3 serving bowls. Add a little carrot, spring onion and cucumber then top with some beef slices. Finish with a sprinkle of peanuts, mint and coriander. Add a few slices of tomato on the side. Serve the dressing separately for your guests to pour over as much as they see fit.

This is a supremely delicious vietnamese dish. It’s mild flavour is typical of Vietnamese food with a distinctive aroma from the star anise this dish will have you salivating for the 3 hours it takes to cook. I had many little check-up tastings along the way just to keep me going. Probably ate half the pan…

INGREDIENTS:
For the marinade:
1kg pork belly (cut into 5cm chunks)
3 shallots (roughly chopped)
4 cloves garlic (roughly chopped)
4 spring onions (white only, chopped)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup fish sauce (from anchovies)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 star anise

Other Ingredients:
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 small onion (chopped)
100ml coconut milk
6 eggs

DIRECTIONS:
Place the shallots, garlic, spring onions, soy sauce and fish sauce into a food processor and blend into a chunky mixture. Add the pepper and star anise and pour over the meat. Mix well, cover and leave in the fridge for 3 hours.

Heat the oil in a large heavy based pan over a moderate heat. Gently fry the onion for 5 minutes until translucent. Turn up the heat and add half the pork – fry for 2 minutes then add the rest and fry for another 5 minutes. Pour in the marinade, coconut milk and 550ml water and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, partially covered for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, boil the eggs for 10 minutes from warm water then cool in cold. Peel and set aside.

After the hour of cooking add the eggs to the pan and carefully stir in. Cook for another 2 hours, stirring occasionally before serving hot.

SERVING:
Serve with a small salad of mint and coriander and some pickled vegetables together with some fluffy jasmine rice.