Times To prepare: 15 mins (approximately) To bake: 20 – 25 mins (approximately)
Let’s get ready: Muffin pan lined with muffin cases (helps with cleaning the muffin pan!) Whisk/strainer (for flour) Ice cream scoop (makes life easier!) Scaper (also makes life easier!) Preheat fan oven to 180 degrees Celcius (or 190 degrees for a conventional oven)
The Ingredients:
Dry Mixture 1.5 cups self-raising flour (hand whisked) 1/2 cup of sugar (caster preferred)
Wet Mixture 1 egg (beaten) 1/2 cup vegetable oil * 1/4 cup of plain yoghurt ** 1/2 cup of milk **
The Flavour 1 tsp pandan flavour ** 1 packet of white chocolate chips or white chocolate bar in bitesize chunks**
* can be varied to your liking such as reducing to ¼ cup ** can substitute other ingredients in similar quantities (for some fun, try apple with white chocolate, orange zest with dark chocolate, or keep it simple and just add blueberries instead)
The Action:
Mix the dry ingredients together. Mix the wet ingredients together. Combine the Wet and Dry mixtures.
Pandan flavour mix
Orange variation
Orange and dark chocolate
Scoop the combined mixture into muffin cases with an ice cream scoop. Place in the middle of the oven.
Bake for 20 mins or until your desired texture is reached. (I like my muffin tops crunchy and golden brown, with the rest still moist, so I monitor them until they get there!)
The Pandan chiffon cake is green, light and fluffy. It is quite popular in Asia, including Vietnam. The colour can be extracted from pandan leaves by blending them with water, or you can simply use the bottled flavour, which produces similar results. This is a cake that definitely requires some passion and dedication, but in my opinion the result is worth the time invested, especially for pandan lovers like me!
Pandan Chiffon Cake Recipe
Times To prepare: 25 mins (approximately) To bake: 65 mins (approximately)
Let’s Get Ready: Ungreased chiffon cake tin Hand whisk Spatula Electric mixer 8 eggs at room temperature Preheat fan oven to 170 degrees Celsius (or 180 degrees for a conventional oven).
Wet mixture 200 ml coconut milk* 40 ml water* 60 ml vegetable oil 6 egg yolks (beaten) 1/2 tsp Pandan flavour*
* Can be substituted in similar quantity (try 60ml orange juice and 180ml water)
Fluffy mixture 8 egg whites (I save the 2 unused egg yolks for scrambled eggs) 1 tsp cream of tartar 60 gm caster sugar
Into Action:
Wet & Dry Mixture Mix the dry mixture ingredients together. Mix the wet mixture ingredients together. Add the wet mixture to dry mixture and whisk for 5 minutes or until smooth, then leave aside.
Fluffy Mixture Whisk 8 egg whites. Add cream of tartar and whisk. Add sugar gradually and whisk until peaks form. (Texture Test: Mixture should not move when holding bowl to the side or upside-down.)
Add 1/3 of the Fluffy Mixture to the Wet and Dry Mixture using a spatula to gently blend the two mixtures, then add the rest of the Fluffy Mixture.
Transfer to an ungreased chiffon cake tin, and gently tap to remove any bubbles. Place in the lower level of the oven.
Bake for 65 mins or until the top of the cake is golden brown.
Take out of the oven and rest the cake pan upside down until cool.
Remove the cake from the tin and devour with a cup of green tea (or decorate for the occasion and hold on to the devouring thought!).
So, you have an interest in Phở too? I’m not surprised. After all, it is a sensational dish. It originated in the North of Vietnam but has truly earned its own worldwide fame, for its unique distinctive fragrance and a taste that is incomparable. An experience with a perfectly cooked Phở is simply unforgettable.
Phở is a delicious, soul-nourishing dish which, in my opinion, can really help you feel better when you’re unwell. I’m not sure whether that is simply a psychological effect, or the fact that it is quite a nutritious dish that is packed with as much goodness as it is flavour. In my childhood memories, it was either a wonderful treat or a medicinal treatment. Either way, the bowl was always emptied!
I vividly recall the man who cooked the Phở on a street vendor cart in my street. He made the best Phở. He was there religiously every day (except Sunday!), and although he only had stools around the cart for about 5 customers (3 on the longer side and one on each of the shorter sides) it didn’t stop people from gathering around, either for some take-away or to wait patiently for a seat. Yes, people waited around for that bowl of soup, which money and time was well spent on, and I don’t blame them. I think it must have been so good, because walking some distance from home to the cart to eat a bowl when I was unwell took a bit of an effort, but I never minded.
Over the years my devoted love for this dish has grown from simply enjoying it to learning how to cook it well. I have tasted and tried many different recipes, some simpler than others, and of course, some better than others. The difference is noticeable in the smell of Phở on its first day. If the Phở is tasty, you should be able to smell that distinctive Phở fragrance wafting from the pot. So far, so good. Next, the taste when you have that very first mouthful. Ah, yes! Then, when you have finished that bowl and have no more room, there is still the desire for more – and that desire continues the next day, like the thought never left your mind!
I have set out below the Phở recipe that I have learnt over the years by looking at different recipes and making some adjustments to produce a dish which reminds me of my fond childhood memories of Phở.
Personally, I think this is a dish where its true quality is a direct reflection of your love and devotion to it. Enjoy, and I hope it will leave you with some fond memories.
Homemade Phở recipe
Serves 8 -10
Preparation: About 8 – 10 hours
Tips:
Preparing this noodle soup can be simplified by using prepacked Phở spices at Step 4;
The broth can be made and then frozen to use later (as a Polish friend of mine has done and recommended) for that hectic day when you crave Phở but don’t have time for all the preparation;
Raw beef can be sliced more easily (and thinner) if placed in freezer to harden;
For Chicken Phở replace the beef bones with chicken frames / whole chicken / chicken Maryland.
The Essential Cooking Utensils:
Large stockpot (11 L or more)
Fine mesh skimmer (to skim fat or scum that appear on the surface of the stock, for clear soup)
Ingredients for the Broth:
Beef bones (2.5 kg marrow/soup bones are best, and already cut into small pieces)
Beef brisket or beef chuck (1 kg)
Water (9 L)
Onions (3 large)
Ginger (1, 40 g or 10 cm in length)
Phởspices:
Cloves (5 whole)
Cinnamon (1 stick)
Cardamom (2 whole) – Optional
Coriander seeds (3 tbsp)
Star Anise (5 whole)
Salt (4 tbsp)
Rock sugar (about 1 piece or 40 g)
White (Chinese) radish (1 whole large, peeled and cut into 10 cm pieces) – Optional for sweet, clear soup
Coriander roots (thoroughly cleaned and rinsed)
Ingredients for the Bowl
Beef rump or lean beef (1 kg, raw, very thinly sliced then kept refrigerated)
Rice noodles for Phở or fresh rice noodles (flat rice noodles, 1-2 packets)
Spring onions (7-8 stalks, white parts cut into 8 cm long pieces, green parts thinly sliced)
Coriander (rinsed, chopped into 1 cup)
Chillies (2, thinly sliced)
Lemon (1, cut into wedges)
Thai Basil, Spearmint (rinsed)
Ground pepper
Onion (thinly sliced and pickled in vinegar) – Optional
Thorny coriander (Ngo Gai in Vietnamese) – Optional
Hoisin Sauce, Fish Sauce – Optional
Beef balls (pre-cooked and available fresh or frozen from Asian butcher/grocery shop, cut in halves and blanched) – Optional
Cooking – the Phởbroth
Step 1 – Wash bones, add them to stockpot and add water to cover bones then bring to boil. Take bones out and discard this initial round of water for good quality soup, then refill pot with water to cover bones and bring to boil again. Skim the impurities off the surface regularly to keep stock clear, and let it simmer.
Step 2 – Wash the beef brisket or beef chuck and add to stockpot, season with salt and rock sugar.
Step 3 – Preheat oven grill/oven stove/air fryer to 200 degrees Celsius. Place onions, ginger under oven grill/oven stove/air fryer for 10 -15 minutes, or until onion and ginger are charred. Remember to use tongs to turn them for evenly charred surfaces. Scrape burnt bits off, wash and add these and the coriander roots to the stockpot.
Spices for roasting
Step 4 – Place cloves, cinnamon stick, cardamom and coriander seeds in a small frying pan and fry over low to medium heat until the fragrance is released into the air. Turn off heat and allow spices to cool down before placing them in a cheesecloth tied up with kitchen twine or string and add to the stockpot.
Step 5 – Bring stockpot to boil, then lower heat to allow simmering for 45 minutes to 1 hr to cook meat. Remove meat and rinse under cold water to prevent dryness, then leave to cool before thinly slicing cooked meat. Simmer the stock for at least 3 hours. Remember to periodically check and skim off any impurities that surface in the stockpot.
Preparing – that bowl of Phở
Step 6 – Place basil, spearmint, bean sprouts and lemon pieces on a plate with cut chilli in a small separate bowl.
Step 7 – Cook/prepare the rice noodles as per packet instructions then divide up into bowls (you can make approximately 4-5 portions per packet.
Step 8 – Arrange the sliced cooked beef and raw sliced beef (and add beef balls as desired) on top of the noodles, add sliced onion, spring onion (both white and green parts) before adding hot boiling broth to the bowl. Garnish with coriander and add freshly ground pepper.
Step 9 – Add the basil, spearmint, bean sprouts, lemon and cut chilli to your heart’s content (I do!). For me, the Hoisin sauce (which does contain flavour enhancer labelled as E621 and known as MSG) and chilli sauce complete the picture.
The saying “You Live to Eat” couldn’t be more true for this dish – when made with love!
Bon Appétit!
Senses Satisfaction Rating (out of 5 stars)
What makes the best Phở? I think an irresistible bowl of Phở is one that leads me there primarily by my sense of smell with a steamy, aromatic, hot clear soup, then visually satisfies with a well arranged and generous bowl, which I will devour (of course, as ladylike as I can be) to satisfy the wait and sense of longing.
Given it is the queen of all noodles, in my book its ratings for senses satisfaction are:
One of the traditional Vietnamese dishes that is vividly imprinted in my memory and which I strongly associate with my childhood is the Bún Bò Huế Noodle Soup. As a 10 year old in Saigon, when I was given some pocket money I would often skip, all by myself, to the lady located at the main street, who rose really early in the morning to prepare a huge pot of broth that simmered and bubbled away until noon, attracting a steady stream of customers of all ages.
Yes, this is one of the famous and irresistible Vietnamese noodle soups. Originating in Huế, the imperial city and former capital of Vietnam, it marvellously combines beef and pork flavours, tantalises you with its unique, mysterious lemongrass aroma that dances to your nose (in my case, I was skipping to it!), and surprises you with its visibly reddish broth, which is rich and spicy with a hint of exotic sweetness. The satisfying taste of the tender sliced beef and pork leaves you with the lingering spiciness your heart (might have) desired. Whether you expected the spiciness, or perhaps further glorified it with more freshly cut chilli or chilli sate (chilli and lemongrass paste – see below for recipe), it is one truly memorable Huế experience that now can be enjoyed almost anywhere throughout Vietnam, in Australia, and, I think, many other countries around the world. Having said that, its popularity still most likely takes second place to Pho, although it would be a difficult decision to make if they were right next to each other.
Whilst I like simple dishes with few ingredients, this is another dish (besides Pho) that I firmly believe deserves all the traditional ingredients and attention to detail. They truly complement each other to make it an exceptional spicy noodle soup that is worth all your effort and TLC, even on a warm humid day!
Below is my version of Bún Bò Huế. I hope you enjoy the sensuous journey of making it as much as the heavenly reward of tasting it.
Homemade Spicy Beef Noodle Soup recipe
Serves: 8-10
Preparation: About 3-4 hours
The Essential Cooking Utensil
Fine mesh skimmer (to skim fat or scum that appear on the surface of the stock, for clear soup)
Ingredients for the Broth
Shrimp paste liquid (2 tbsp of shrimp paste stirred with 4 tbsp of water, then let settle and use the clearer liquid in broth)
Onions (2, skin removed)
Shallots/onion (2 peeled, chopped finely)
Garlic (1 clove peeled, chopped finely)
Lemongrass (8 stalks in total with leaf cut off, 6 whole stalks bruised then tied up with kitchen twine or string, 2 stalks chopped finely)
Pineapples (1/2 with skin trimmed off)
Annatto Seed Oil (annatto seeds fried in hot oil to extract colour)
Salt (3 tbsp)
Rock sugar (about 1 piece or 40 g)
Annatto Seed Oil
Ingredients for the Bowl
Rice noodles for Bún Bò Huế (thick, round rice noodles, 1-2 packets, cooked as per packet instructions)
Vietnamese Pork Sausage, or Chả Lụa, wrapped and cooked in banana leaves, available at most Vietnamese grocery shops (thinly sliced)
Spring onions (5-6 stalks, thinly sliced)
Coriander (chopped into 1 cup)
Vietnamese mint, a.k.a rau răm in Vietnamese (chopped into 1 cup)
Onion (1 cut into halves, thinly sliced)
Chillies (2 large variety, thinly sliced diagonally)
Lemon (1 whole, cut into wedges)
Bean Sprouts (rinsed)
Thai Basil mint (rinsed)
Sate (made up of chopped onion, chopped garlic, and chopped lemongrass all fried in shallow oil, with dried chilli added last) – Optional
Banana Flower (thinly sliced, soaked in water with lemon juice) – Optional
Cooking – the Bún Bò Huếbroth
Step 1 – Add oil to hot frying pan, then add finely chopped shallots/onion, garlic and lemongrass and fry until golden. Take off heat and add the annatto seed oil to the fried mixture, then leave aside.
Step 2 – Place the pork bones and beef shanks in the stockpot, add water to cover, bring to boil. Skim the impurities off the surface to keep the stock clear, then let it simmer.
Step 3 – Add whole onions, lemongrass stalks, and pineapple, then season with salt and rock sugar, and add shrimp paste liquid.
Step 4 – Cook beef shanks for about 45 minutes (or until fork tender) then remove from stockpot. Rinse beef shanks in water to prevent dryness and allow them to cool (I further cool them by covering and placing them in the fridge for a few hours or overnight), then slice thinly.
Step 5 – Add the fried shallots/onion, garlic, lemongrass, annatto seed oil mixture from Step 1 to stockpot, and simmer for another 2 hours.
Preparing – that bowl of Bún Bò Huế
Step 6 – Cook/prepare the rice noodles as per packet instructions, then divide up into bowls (you can make approximately 5 – 6 portions per packet).
Step 7 – Arrange sliced beef shank, pork sausage/chả lụa on noodles, then add sliced onions, spring onions, chopped coriander and Vietnamese mint (rau răm), then add broth.
Ready to add the broth
Step 8 – Add sliced chilli, sate chilli paste, bean sprouts, mint/basil and a squeeze of lemon.
Bon Appétit!
Senses Satisfaction Rating (out of 5 stars)
I might be a bit biased here because I think Bún Bò Huế is as irresistible as Pho, but maybe that’s forgivable as I grew up falling in love with both. Bún Bò Huế is certainly another dish that is just not visibly appealing, and it is definitely one that I would classify as a “live to eat” dish.
From an objective point of view, I think Pho is still the queen of all noodles with Bún Bò Huế coming a close second. Here is my senses satisfaction rating:
Smell – (4 out of 5 stars)
Taste – (5 out of 5 stars)
Sight – (5 out of 5 stars)
Where to look for the best Bún Bò Huế
American celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain famously said, “Bún Bò Huế is the greatest soup in the world”, and I highly recommend that you look for a good Bún Bò Huế to truly understand that glorious statement.
In Australia, I have tasted a delicious and authentic Bún Bò Huế in St Albans in Melbourne.
In Vietnam, although the lady who used to make that dish in my childhood is no longer there, there are restaurants and street vendors who specialise in this soup throughout HCMC. I would normally check with the locals, or at least check for the presence of local customers, before entering.
Or, for the ultimate test of authenticity, why not savour a bowl in the old imperial city of Huế itself?
