Poached beef and bamboo mustard green rolls

By: Andreas Pohl, Tracey Lister
From: KOTO
Photographer: Michael Fountoulakis

Chefs and brothers Vu Duc Van and Vu Duc Xuan, from Thai Nguyen province, prepared this dish for us at the Highway 4 restaurant in Hanoi. Highway 4 is named after a ride that is popular with those daredevil Minsk-motorbike devotees who like to roam through the Northern Highlands. Owned by Minsk enthusiast Dan Dockery, the restaurant aims to bring the highland food culture into the capital. This goal extends to the potent rice wine ruou, for which Dan and his staff collect traditional recipes. They produce the liquor under their own label, using modern distillation methods. The restaurant is rightly famous for its more than thirty varieties of herb- and fruit-infused ruou.

The Vietnamese have a long tradition of adapting foods that have been introduced by their neighbours. At the moment, wasabi is the latest craze to hit Vietnam, and it is beginning to appear on kitchen tables along with fish sauce. It is great fun to make these delicious rolls right at the table and dip them in the oyster and wasabi sauce.

Ingredients

Quantity	Ingredient
3cm	knob of ginger, peeled and sliced
1/2	long red chilli, seeded and sliced
400g	beef fillet, fat and sinew removed and cut into 6 cm strips
1	carrot, cut into strips
1/2	red capsicum, seeded and cut into strips
2	unripe sugar bananas, cut into strips
1/2	pineapple, cut into strips
3	red asian shallots, sliced
1 handful	thai basil leaves
1 handful	see method for ingredients
24	bamboo mustard green leaves
	Oyster and wasabi sauce

Method

Toss the ginger and chilli through the beef strips and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and poach the beef in the simmering water for 1 minute.
Arrange the beef on a platter alongside the cut vegetables, fruit and herbs. Invite your guests to roll the poached beef, vegetables, fruit and herbs within their own bamboo mustard green leaf. Dip the rolls into the oyster and wasabi sauce.