Watch The Cook and the Chef online: Episode 10 Vietnamese Food

Maggie ventures bravely into Simon’s world of South East Asian cuisine. The Vietnamese dishes Maggie and Simon produce, from soups to crispy fried quail, are clean and fresh and defined by a delicate balance of sweet, salt, acid and sour flavours. Over the past thirty years more than one hundred and fifty thousand people have settled in Australia from Vietnam. When the first refugees arrived they struggled to find any ingredients they could use in their traditional dishes with fresh herbs and vegetables particularly hard to come by. Thanks to Vietnamese market gardeners and to those who set up shops and restaurants the situation is now very different, and even in the country Maggie is able to find ingredients like tamarind and coriander. In the kitchen Maggie ventures into unknown territory with the help of a recipe by Pauline Nguyen and makes a delicious tamarind and pineapple broth. It is a soup that is delicate on the palate with a sour kick that Maggie loves and a lovely complex sweetness courtesy of the pineapple. Maggie even experiments with a bit of chilli in the dish! Simon demonstrates the importance of having a lovely clear stock for a Vietnamese classic, beef noodle soup (Pho). The finished dish is more than a meal, with fresh rice noodles, melt in the mouth beef and the Vietnamese staples; bean sprouts, mint and coriander which swim in the delicate, delicious broth. Enjoying the new challenge Maggie makes a second Vietnamese dish, Crispy Fried Quail, again inspired by Pauline Nguyen. The marinade for the quail combines flavours like; Chinese five spice, light and dark soy, Chinese rice wine and star anise. The Quail is then deep fried and served with a refreshing salad of cucumber, mint and coriander. Again playing with heat, Maggie makes a white pepper dipping sauce for the Quail which, with a generous splash of lime, adds a real tang to the overall taste. Simon’s friends from Nghi Ngan Quan restaurant have encouraged Simon to have a go at making Vietnamese coffee so he and Maggie finish off with a strong iced coffee . The Vietnamese coffee has notes of chocolate and vanilla and despite being served with condensed milk Maggie insists it is not to sweet and it’s a perfect way to end their Vietnamese Odyssey. Recipes: - Beef Stock - Beef Noodle Soup (Pho - pronounced Fur) - Tamarind and Pineapple Broth (Canh Chua Ca) - Crispy Spiced Quail (Chim Cut Chien Don) - Vietnamese Coffee

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