Recipe: Beef Pho - Vietnamese National Dish - Noodle Broth (rated 18)

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

Firstly let me begin by explaining the 18 rating. This recipe has been simplified so that an 18 teen year old with relatively little skill or interest should be able to produce a pretty decent rendition with an “am I bovered” amount of effort! (but proper good!! - chuck it all in the pot - 3hrs gaming - noodle dreams - lush)

short rib - cow rib init - cut into 4

ingredients for the beef pho (serves 6)

for the stock

3L water

2 chicken stock

75g  ginger (cut into 4 slices & charred)

2 large onion (cut into 8 & charred)

6 star anise

2 cinnamon stick

25g rock sugar (or brown sugar)

12 small oxtail segments (2pp)

3 short ribs (1/2pp) (what are short ribs? see below)

100ml fish sauce (to taste)

40g lime juice (1 or 2 limes)

for the pho 

600g fresh noodles (100g pp)

or 3 cucumbers (shredded)

500g sirloin / ribeye (80g pp medium rare)

2 large steaks

for the garnish

10g thai basil (4 leaves pp)

20g coriander (10 clovers pp)

4 spring onions (cut into rings)

1 red onion (cut in half, then semi circles) 

2 chillies (cut into rings)

fish sauce (tsp pp)

1 lime (1/6 each)

apparatus / equipment

knife

large boiling pot

method

stock

Put all the ingredients into a boiling pot, bring to the boil, then turn the heat down to simmer. (Volume knob to 3 or 4!)

Simmer for 3 hours. Take the steak (for the pho component) out of the fridge so it’s at room temp when you cook it.

Salt it (a couple of pinches of salt on each side - evenly distributed) and leave it in a takeaway box. (or similar)

pho 

Just before the stock is due to be ready. Remove the short ribs and place on a chopping board. 

Cook noodles for 2 minutes in boiling water, then strain and place in hot serving bowls.

Add some oil (a glug - pour for 1/2 second) to the steaks and turn them to cover them with oil. Place them into a hot pan. Turn them once the underside is brown, 2-3 minutes max. Remove and place on a chopping board once the other side is brown. Leave them there (to rest) while prepping the garnish & assembling the pho.

to serve

Remove the meat from the short ribs by cutting along the flat part of the bone. Slice the meat thinly.

Prep the garnishes as shown. Share out the oxtail and broth into bowls, slice the steak and garnish!!

Good to go!!

If you can be bovered: stock

Boil the meat separately before you start for 5 minutes, and discard the water it was boiled in. 

(Will result in a clearer broth as it forces a lot of scum to the surface - out of the meat)

Char the ginger and onion on a griddle pan, this adds a nice flavour giving a more complex broth.

Skim scum off the broth constantly as it’s cooking.

thinking ahead (aka for when you really can’t be bovered)

Put the stock including oxtail and sliced short rib in a resealable plastic bags. 600g / bag.

Bust it out of the freezer when you want a pho!

Nuke it for 10mins (800W microwave). Make the noodles and steak while it defrosts!

Great hangover cure with minimal effort!

what could go wrong? (notes)

I couldn’t be bovered and I ended up eating 40p quick noodles. (Ahem, for the rest of my life!)

sirloin steak - medium rare

oxtail - niblbes

Recipe (Experiment): Half Pound Smoked Paprika Beef Burger

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

It’s not often I have a burger for dinner. I think it’s because I associate them with Elvis and toilets. My weight’s always been a bit, well . . .  all over the place really so they’re in the guilty pleasure category!!! Anyway I put this one together after spending most of the day in ‘the zone’ writing. I’d not really got around to eating and I’d decided to crack open a bottle of wine around 9PM by the time I’d finished the first glass, I decided to hit the kitchen!! I’d heard rumours of a 4 layer burger that had been made the night before by one of the housemates. So when I hit the kitchen, I did so possessed by raging burger envy!! 

This was the result . . . 

On the drawing board!

ingredients (serves 2 animals or makes 4 1/4 pounders)

for the burger (makes 2 half pounders)

500g of minced beef (20% fat)

10g / 2 tsp smoked paprika salt (50/50 salt/smoked paprika)

2 brown cap / shiitake mushroom (fine dice)

1 medium onion (fine dice)

3 cloves garlic (minced)

25g butter

50ml oil

2 tsp porridge oats

2 tbsp fish sauce

1 egg (optional - see notes)

for the bun, extras & garnish

2 large soft burger buns (brioche with sesame if you can get them!!!)

2 large gherkins

1 really ripe beef tomato (sliced)

150g brie (skin off)

4 slices thick cut smoked bacon (streaky if you prefer)

100g mayonaise

20g coriander (fine chop)

30g fried shallots (thai style)

apparatus / equipment

Steamer with a plate on top (optional - keep things warm before assembly)

method

Add the butter and oil to a pan on a medium heat, once the butter has melted and started to brown slightly add the onions and cook until translucent. Then add the mushroom and garlic and cook until the onions are caramelised and the mushroom is reduced. It’ll look similar to a duxelles. That it the most complicated step done!

Mix the rest of the burger ingredients together and check the seasoning by frying a tiny piece of the mix, once your happy with it

put the mix aside for 20 mins, while you collect the other ingredients together.

Mix the mayo and coriander, and set aside. Then prep the rest of the ingredients, the tomato and gherkins should be at room temperature, as should the burger mix!

For the best results it’s important to keep all your ingredients warm once they’re cooked so your burger is hot and juicy when it’s assembled! I use a plate sat on top of a steamer, specially if I’m making a lot of these for friends!

Shape burgers and cook those first on a medium high heat. These are BIG ***king BURGERS *** so slowly does it!

Once ready pop them onto the steamer plate to keep warm.

Then the bacon. Add the cheese on top of the bacon after it’s been turned. Put it with the burgers once ready.

Deglaze the pan with a touch of white wine (about 75ml) and add a knob of butter (25g) reduce this and dip the top of each bun in the sauce, then add the bottoms and toast insides of the buns in the pan until brown.

Time to assemble, quickly and accurately . . .  err . . . .sorta!

what could go wrong? (notes) 

You could get caught eating it, and get a right *ollocking from the other half for not sharing! ; )

You eat more than one of these during any 6 month period and put on 40lbs!! Yikes.

to serve

Assemble and serve on hot plates. (with napkins it’s messy)

variations

A touch of sriracha chilli sauce mixed with the coriander mayo layer is pretty good!

Next time I make this I think I’ll try it without the egg mixed in. 

Better with shitake mushrooms, but they were out at the store.

Brie is an unusual choice for a burger but it worked really well, nothing to stop you from using the cheese of your choice. It’s got to be one that melts nicely!!

Beetroot & horseradish sauce goes really well with beef, switching the coriander mayo for it makes for such a good burger.

Recipe: Sustainable White Fish Ceviche w/ Edamame (or Sugar Snaps)

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

Ceviche is a great way to eat fresh fish, and in a time when sustainable harvesting habits are important, this technique and its flavours lend themselves very well to sustainable fish stocks. Ceviche has it's roots in Peruvian cuisine. For this dish I've taken a little Asian influenced cuisine too!

If you can't fine edamame, sugar snaps go well too!

ingredients (serves 6-8)

Whack the stone with a knife.

for the white fish ceviche  

1 lemons (juice & zest)

2 limes (juice)

100g coconut cream

1/2 thumb of ginger (peeled & finely grated)

15g chives (finely chopped)

15g coriander (torn)

350g white fish 1cm dice (pollock, river cobbler, bream, pouting or a mix)

1 avocado peeled, small dice (spray with lemon juice to stop oxidation)

1 tbsp fish sauce (season to taste)

for the edamame

500g edamame

smoked salt flakes (Maldon salt )

for the garnish

fennel fronds for garnish 

and some of the chives (or garlic chives if you can get them - supermarket)

Turn the knife to loosen & remove the stone.

method

ceviche

Prepare the ingredients. See ginger tip what could go wrong?

Mix the fish cubes in with the chopped herbs, store in a sealed container in the fridge for 2 hrs at least.

Infuse the coconut cream with the ginger in a pot: bring to boil then simmer. Reduce the mix by at least a 1/4. (A creamy consistency is required since the sauce loosens considerably when the fish and lime are mixed in.) Leave rest off the heat until required.

As your last guest arrives ceviche the fish with citrus 

Cut a grid into the avocado.

for 20min (15 - 45mins is fine).

edamame

Drop the edamame (shell on) into a pot of salted boiling water for 4 minutes.

Drain in a colander, and put into a bowl of cold water (so they retain their colour). Put aside until needed.

thinking ahead

Prepare all the ingredients but don't combine until your last guests arrives or not too long before otherwise the fish will be white all the way through instead of having a gorgeous translucent centre.

The edamame can be cooked early, refreshed and stored in the fridge.  Then heated in boiling water for 1 minute to serve hot when needed.

what could go wrong? (TIPS)

After peeling my ginger, only half of it is left!

And push out the pieces . . simple.

TIP: Try peeling ginger with a spoon, I know what your thinking but it works really well! Turn the spoon upside down and scrape it along the surface of the ginger - the skin will come away with very little effort, and very little waste!

My avocados look rank! 

TIP: coat them in a little lemon juice after you've cut them up to stop them oxidising.

My fish is cooked all the way through! 

TIP: Don't make the pieces too small, they will cook faster in the lime juice, and don't leave them in the lime for more than 45mins.

to serve

Add the edamame to some boiling water for 1 minute then drain through a colander, serve in a large bowl and sprinkle with smoked salt.

Drain the lime from fish and mix it with the coconut sauce and avocados, season with lime juice, and fish sauce to taste.

Place the ceviche into serving bowls, garnish with chives and fennel fronds, serve with chopsticks and a spoon. (that should entertain!)

techniques used

Ceviche, refreshing, peeling ginger

Recipe: Caramelised Pork Belly w/ Boiled Eggs and Rice

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

This is classic Vietnamese fare.  Normally the pork is braised for and hour with the boiled eggs but I happened to have a rather large amount of cooked pork belly in the fridge so I though I’d do it a couple of different ways for my housemates.

This is a simple and tasty recipe; it’s a real corker, I’ve written the recipe how it would normally be made with uncooked pork belly.

The belly I had, had already been slow cooked so I put it in about 30minutes into the braising process so it wouldn’t fall apart in the broth, but still have enough time to take up the flavours and be soft and delicious!

Normally this is served with rice . . . 

 ingredients (serves 4-6)

for the caramelising slow braising broth

1/4 side pork belly (1.7kg uncooked weight) (cut into 3-4cm chunks)

500ml coconut water

1 red onion (fine dice)

6 cloves garlic (fine dice)

45g ginger 

30-60ml fish sauce (to taste)

80g palm sugar (or brown sugar)

6 eggs

caramelising slow braising broth

Boil the eggs for 8 minutes, then immediately run under cold water. Once they’re cold enough to handle, peel them, ready for the pot.

Fry the onions until they’re a little charred, then add the ginger and garlic and cook for a couple of minutes. Deglaze with a little coconut water and pour the mix into a bowl.

In the same pot add the sugar and a slug of coconut water. Cook on a medium heat until the sugar is a dark caramel colour, then add the rest of the coconut water (through a sieve). Careful it will spit!

Add the fish sauce, garlic ginger mix and the boiled eggs and set to simmer for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes add the pork belly, bring back up to the boil and set to simmer for another 30mins.

If you don’t have any 3 hr slow roast pork belly kicking about, sear off some pork shoulder and add it in at the same time as the eggs, then simmer for 60 mins. 

At the end of the 60 minutes check the flavour. If it’s needs it, you can sharpen it up with a touch of lime juice just before service.

thinking ahead

You can make this the day before and pop it in the fridge, and reheat when needed.

what could go wrong? (notes)

It’s impossible to cluck this up! Oink.

to serve

Serve it in a large bowl with a ladle in it, and serve with boiled rice.

Recipe: Zero Fat Salmon & Pork Wonton Soup

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

A friend of mine came round to lend a hand with hanging a door, a bit of sawing cutting varnishing that kind of thing. As a thanks for lending a hand I knocked this recipe up for a late lunch. I’m not gonna lie, it would have gone down exceptionally well accompanied by an ice cold beer! Unfortunately no beer allowed today - booooo! - watching that there waistline : /

Not bad for a bit of lunch - to be fair we'd earned it!!

Salmon is optional!! : )

Cucumber noodles

This recipe is a great recipe because you can have it with carbs or as a carb-less cucumber version!! Aye! So really good if you’re cooking for others while watching your own intake. Oh the sneakiness!! : )

It’s also quick and simplicity to make!

ingredients (serves 2 hungry people)

for the noodle soup

500g fresh noodles

1 chicken stock cube

1 tsp yellow bean paste (soya bean paste)

1L boiling water

1 medium red onion (finely sliced)

2 small green chillies (cut into rings, keep seeds)

1tbsp fish sauce (season to taste)

for the pork wontons

10 pork wontons (recipe post coming soon)

for the cucumber noodles

Mint & Sweet Basil

1/3 cucumber (mandolin to noodles)

1 tsp soy

for the salmon

300g salmon (cut into 2 pieces)

olive oil

salt

Ready for action!!

for the topping ~ garnish

2 tbsp cucumber noodles

10g sweet basil (stalks removed, torn)

10g mint (stalks removed, torn)

10g coriander (stalks removed, torn)

2 spring onions (cut into strips and then thirds)

~

2 spring onions (fine sliced into rings)

sweet basil (picked)

crispy fried onion

1 lime (sliced into 1/4’s)

apparatus / equipment

mandolin

method

for the noodle soup

Put the yellow bean paste and chicken stock cube in a pot, dissolve in the boiling water.

Add the green chillies, 1/2 of the red onion and the wontons, bring to the boil then set to simmer.

Add the spring onions just before serving. (or to the noodles, either will do)

for the cucumber noodles

Run the cucumber through the mandolin. Add a touch of soy if you fancy it!

Simple and fast! WARNING: Be so sooo careful with your fingers on the mandolin!!

Cook it 90% skin side down!! (Don't forget to de-scale it!)

for the salmon

I like my salmon ‘mit cuit’ but that’s a lot of ****ing about for lunch, so a nice quick alternative is to literally half cook it!

Quickly sear the remaining sides

Pat the salmon dry and coat it in olive oil. Salt the skin side to give a really nice crispy skin, and put it into pan on a medium high heat, skin side down. Leave it for 5mins until crisp and golden. the sear the remaining sides to finish. The centre should warm and still pink! If you’re using the skirt of the salmon, which is a lot thinner and fattier (and really nice) use a hot pan on a high heat for a shorter time.

for the pork wontons

I grabbed these out of the freezer!! I’ll put up a post on how to make them soon!

to serve

Unpack the noodles then loosen them and put them in a bowl. Microwave them so the broth stays warm when you pour it in.

Dress the noodles with herbs, cucumber noodles, spring onion and the red onion and pour in the broth. Sprinkle with round spring onion slices, crispy fried onion and chillies. Pop the salmon on top and serve with a slice of lime.

variations

If you’re making the cucumber noodle version replace 250g noodles with 2/3 of a cucumber that’s been sliced into noodles!

Recipe: Zero Fat Red Pepper and Spinach Soup - 10 minutes!

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

I was after making myself something light for my lunch the other day - as in zero fat!

That’s a tricky business if you want something to taste even half decent. I think this one met the brief! Even better, it takes almost no time to make!! Less if you already have some cooked peppers in the fridge!

I had some enoki mushrooms and tobiko left over from some Japanese I’d made a few days prior, I was surprised how mush they brought to the party!! The tobiko is optional, the sesame seeds bring a similar texture and the fish sauce overpowers their subtle fishiness, I added them any way, quite nice!

ingredients (serves 1)

for the soup

1/2 pepper (cooked until soft and slightly charred)

100g spinach

1 chicken stock cube

600ml boiling water

dash soy sauce

dash fish sauce

1/2 lime (juiced)

30g enoki mushrooms (chopped)

for the garnish

1/2 tsp tobiko (optional)

sesame seeds (garnish)

chives (garnish)

method

Cook the pepper with a tiny amount of extra virgin olive oil, add water and put a lid on, cook until soft.

If the red pepper was already cooked, heat them through before adding them.

Once the peppers are ready dissolve the stock cube in boiling water in a jug

Add the red pepper & spinach straight away let it wilt a little.

Add a dash of soy sauce and a dash of fish sauce and season with lime.

Pour the soup into you favourite bowl and make a mushroom island in the middle and sprinkle with tobiko.

to serve

Garnish with sesame seeds and chopped chives. Serve immediately

It’s a big soup, fast to make, and fill you up!

Ski series - Recipe: Crispy Chicken Skins, garnished w/ Nasturtiums and Cress Shoots

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab 

This tasty little number is something that one of the chefs I was living with in Verbier rattled off at me while we were sat on the balcony of our digs. In fairness I changed it a little to make it look nicer : )

amuse bouche - crispy chicken skins with cress shoots

Sounded nice so I gave it a try. Works for cured meats and sausages, pancetta, Parma ham, bacon, chorizo, pave etc. A honey coating works well with the bacons, and depending on what you're serving, they make a really tasty garnish or amuse bouche. Adjust the cooking time and temperature if you have thicker slice - longer and lower!

balcony view from our digs in verbier

for the crispy chicken skins (serves 4 as an amuse)
skin of 1 chicken
1/2 thumb of ginger
1tbsp cajun seasoning (optional)
1tbsp corn flour
1tbsp honey
squeeze of lime juice
dash of fish sauce

apparatus
2 heavy baking trays that fit into each other
2 sheets baking parchment

crispy chicken skins (200C / 20mins)
Trim off any really large bits of fat, then boil the skin for 10mins with the sliced ginger until the skin is cooked.
Pre-heat oven to 200C
Line the first tray with a baking sheet. Spray - for more even coat - with oil.
Cut the skins in to manageable pieces. Large as you like!
 

Mix cajun seasoning, corn flour then add the skins until all the coating is stuck to them.
Lay out the skins flat on the baking sheet and cover with another baking sheet, then place the second baking tray on top, press everything down flat and place in the oven top shelf for 20mins.

If you don't have heavy baking trays, fill the top one with blind bake ceramics to weigh it down.

Mix the honey, lime and fish sauce thoroughly for the dressing.
Check the skins after 20 mins, they should be golden and crispy, if not, give them another 5mins!
Once ready pat down with kitchen towel, dress immediately then serve.

Recipe: Herefordshire Beef Pho w/ Brandy de Jerez Digestif

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

First day's rest for the festive season! Wake up in the morning, slowly, don't have anything to do today. I love that feeling - holiday! - without a care in the world, no responsibilities to deal with and a bit of cash to spend on a good time! Yeay! What to do? Potter about, make a coffee and call friend, "you fancy hanging out?", "yip : )", "cool, I'll come get you, we can do a little shopping for dinner". "You had breakfast yet?" "No? OK we can grab that too". Quick look in the fridge and larder, what have we got? Some oxtail, onions, lemons, ginger, lemon grass, chillies, bottle of Prosecco : ) hmmm and idea begins to form involving slow cooking oxtail. A little piece of fillet steak, some noodles and some coriander will be all I need.

Unbeknown to me, there were secret elements that had been bought for our consumption, so we picked up a poppy and sesame seed baguette from Des Lys Boulangerie which is a cracking spot by the way, and a few other little bits for our dinner and Champagne brunch!

By this point we were starving. Luckily, almost before I'd managed to start browning the oxtail, a rather lovely combo dip of truffle oil and 25 year old balsamic reserve found its way onto the table with a very enticing, seeded French stick. After a little toning down of the truffle flavour to make it a little subtler the combo was a cracking start that went very well with a glass of Prosecco. Aperitif darling? Why I don't mind if I doo!

Bits on the griddle done, oxtail for the pho on the bubble, I got on with brunch but I found myself being distracted by another festive treat: a little brandy de Jerez!!!!

How could I not indeed!! "Rude not to!! Would you like one?" I inquire, to be greeted by a charming smile and a decisive "I think I'm going to have to try some, quality control you understand." A few giggles later and breakfast was on the table, sorry, err . . brunch was on the table and our oriental dinner was bubbling away nicely on the stove, as we settled in for a movie!

I have to say that a strong coffee with a touch of Jerez brandy makes for a fabulous digestif.

The pho that we had later was close to the original but the response it got: "surprising fusion of flavours and freshness it all went together so well!!" and the fact that it had disappeared are good enough signs to me that it's a keeper!!

note for the purists: I put this post up because folks complained they couldn't get half the ingredients where they lived! This recipe is basically as close as you can get to a Pho with plain old supermarket ingredients. If you can make it in Hereford you can make it anywhere!!! It's missing a few of the light fragrant notes from the specialist leaves namely the Thai basil, but the fine Herefordshire steak more than makes up for that!!

Here's how I made it . . . .

ingredients (serves 4)
for the pho
1 oxtail (cut into slices)
1L chicken stock
300g finest Hereford fillet steak
1 red onion / 4 shallots (finely chopped)
2 birdseye chillies (deseeded)
3 star anise
1 lemon (halved)
1 large piece ginger (3 thumbs - halved)
2 onions (halved)
200g pak choi
30g rock sugar (optional)
600g noodles (I like the flat rice vermicelli (ribbon noodles) - but you can use what ever you want)

for the garnish / accompaniment
10g fresh coriander (torn)
2 bird's eye chillies (sliced rounds)
dash of fish sauce
2 spring onions (julienne)
1 lime (quartered)
2 handfuls of bean sprouts
fish sauce

equipment
griddle pan
4 large soup bowls

 

method
In the broth pot, add a little oil and brown the finely chopped red onions / shallots, and star anise. Whenever you want particular spice flavours to come through more in a dish they should be added first: the roasting will bring  the flavours out more prominently 'Thanks Atul Kochhar for that tip', it's made a great difference to a lot of my food over the years!
Next, put the lemon, ginger, onions, and lemon grass on a griddle pan and char them until they have dark lines running across them, this will give you extra depth of flavour.

They need to be browner than this much browner!!

Brown the oxtails in a pan to get that Maillard reaction going. Once brown all over add them to the broth pot, deglaze the pan with a little chicken stock and add it to the broth pot. Add the griddle contents to the broth pot and deglaze that too, adding to sauce to the pot -  loads of flavour.

Add enough chicken stock to the pot to cover the meat by at least an inch (2.5cm), and at least a tablespoon of fish sauce, then bring it to the boil and allow it to simmer for 3-4 hours, keeping it topped up with stock. If you'd like a lighter, more traditional broth add water and sugar to loosen the broth; if you'd like a more wintery broth simply add stock.

thinking ahead
The broth can be made in the morning and reheated for dinner when you need it, the veg, beansprouts, pak chi, coriander etc are always added at the last minute so they don't spoil.

what could go wrong?
My broth isn't clear!! Well that depends on your point of view. I like my oxtail browned before it goes in so it has more flavour, if you're a clear broth only sort, then you can boil the meats that are to be braised for 15min, then rinse them under cold water and continue with the recipe.

to serve
Bring the broth to a simmer.
Cook the fillet steak to the doneness you like (I like mine closer to rare than medium), rest it for about 4mins and then cut it into fine slices. Add the pak choi to the broth, let it warm through while the steak rests.

Warm the bowls and share out the noodles, fill generously with oxtail and broth and dress with slices of fillet steak. Serve with a side plate of the garnishes and accompaniments so that people can season to their taste.

variations
Pho varies from place to place and the ingredients certainly aren't restricted to oxtail for the slow braising. Cuts such as flank, brisket, and rib (cooked bone-in and sliced later) can all be used, and for the rare beef, sirloin, hanger (onglet), and rump can all be used hanger is my personal favourite it's so tasty! You can also make Pho with chicken - happy days for those who don't eat red meat! I garnish mine with crispy chicken skins - nice!

Enjoy!!