Beef soup with lemongrass

Vietnam was in the news yesterday. ANC was doing a comparison of the growth of Vietnam's economy (incredible) with the Philippines' (lame). So from Singapore we now head to Vietnam with this recipe which I got from "Vietnamese Favorites" by Wendy Hutton, part of the Periplus Mini Cookbooks series available at National Bookstore. We adapted it a little.

Ingredients

200g sukiyaki beef (or beef sirloin sliced paper thin)
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp patis (fish sauce)
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 spring onions, green and white parts separated, finely sliced
1 tsp oil
1 stalk lemongrass (thick bottom part only), outer layers discarded, inner part thinly sliced
2 thin slices ginger root
2 to 3 beef cubes dissolved in 6 cups hot water
2 tsp rice vinegar (can be substituted with 1 tsp rice wine and 1 tsp sukang puti)
1 tsp sugar
1 medium tomato, cut into wedges
coriander leaves to garnish (optional)

1. Marinate beef in 1 tsp garlic, 1-1/2 tsp patis and black pepper.
2. Heat the oil in a stockpot over medium heat and stir-fry the remaining garlic, spring onion white bulbs, lemongrass and ginger for about 2 minutes until soft. Add the remaining fish sauce, beef stock, rice vinegar, sugar and tomato and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for about 5 minutes.
3. Just before serving, bring the soup to a boil. Add the beef and simmer until just cooked, about 30 seconds. Remove and transfer to individual serving bowls. Garnish with spring onion greens and coriander leaves. Serve hot.

Serves 3 - 4.
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 8 to 10 minutes

This is a yummy recipe and incredibly easy to make! It's like Filipino nilaga with a Vietnamese kick, and the soup is very Vietnamese-y. Mike suggested that I serve it with additional patis on the side as an option for the Filipino palate. We ate this meal with steamed rice, but we imagine it would also be great as a pho, with bihon (rice vermicelli) added. If you want to eat it as a pho, add the bihon before the last step, then wait around 2 minutes before adding the beef.

Curry fish head attempt

Growing up in Singapore was an exciting culinary adventure. One of my favorite Singaporean dishes is curry fish head, and tonight I will attempt to make one, for our department's potluck tomorrow.

Below is what I am going to attempt. I will let you know if it works, and what changes I am going to make. Updated 24 Nov 06: The original recipe I attempted was way too spicy for my lame Filipino taste buds. I made some alterations to neutralize the spice and got general good reviews from my colleagues (naubos!) though some of them also found it too spicy.

Nonetheless, here's a revised version. I'll let you know again when I try this version.

Ingredients:

1 whole fish head (maya-maya), cut into 2 (about 1 kilo)
2 tbsp oil
5 garlic cloves, crushed
1-1/2 native onions, finely chopped
1 tbsp crushed ginger
1 tbsp turmeric powder
1-1/2 cups gata (coconut milk)
1 green chili, seeds removed and cut in half lengthwise
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tamarind cube
1/2 cup hot water
1/3 cup curry powder
1 tsp chili powder
5 okra
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 stalk lemon grass, finely chopped (use the stalk, discard the leaves)
3 tomatoes, quartered

Steam the fish head until barely cooked. Set aside.

Mix 1/2 tamarind cube with 1/2 cup hot water. Add curry powder and chili powder, and mix to form a paste. Set aside.

In 2 tbsp oil, stir-fry the garlic, onions, ginger, turmeric powder until fragrant. Add curry-tamarind paste and stir-fry until cooked. Put in 1/2 the coconut milk and bring to a boil. Add the other half of the coconut milk, okra, chili, tomatoes, salt and sugar. Bring to a boil then add steamed fish head and simmer gently for about 5 minutes.