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Otago Daily Times
24-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
At home with flavour
Vietnamese in name, born in a Malaysian refugee camp and raised in suburban Australia, Thi Le has struggled with identity issues all her life. Her escape was cooking. While growing up she carried a deep loathing of food associated with her Vietnamese heritage, she came round to celebrating it. "Her self-expression and self-discovery have been articulated as recipes, the tool of her trade," her partner in business and life Jia-Yen Lee says. The dishes in the Melbourne-based chef's book Viet Kieu — which means "person of Vietnamese ancestry living abroad; foreigner in a familiar country" — reflect the essence of Vietnamese cuisine, produce, locality, adaptability and freshness. "This book has allowed me to use the tools of my trade as a chef-restaurateur to explore dimensions of both my Vietnamese ancestry and identity that the rigidity of a restaurant did not always allow," Le says. The book is peppered with stories about her food journey — she is owner of restaurants Anchovy and Jeow in Richmond and co-owner of a banh mi bar — upbringing and travels, some of it is hard reading as life has not been easy for Le as she navigated her place between two worlds while never feeling truly at home in either one. "My food is neither native nor adopted, but simply reflects a Vietnamese identity naturalised in Australia. This book tells that story of adaptation and preservation." So Le is on an ongoing journey to catalogue and learn about Vietnamese dishes and cooking techniques, which she combines with a reverence for produce and locality even if it yields unexpected substitutes. "To capture the complexities of what being a viet kieu means to her and to her food. It is a resource that showcases virtues of the Vietnamese character — pluck, adaptability and an unending appetite for freshness and flavour," Lee says. Le, who won Gourmet Traveller's Chef of the Year award in 2022, says the foundations of Vietnamese food are informed by its history, geography and ethnic tribes, which date back to the 10th Century BCE. "The Vietnamese pantry is very much a product of its past and geography, of its ethnic groups and their connection with the land, of historical trade and invasions of its early Chinese influence then later French and American ties, of regional variations informed by climate and topography." She believes it is an essential skill for a cook to be able to differentiate and understand ingredients as they become more sour, spicy and bitter and how sugars develop through fruit or how they alter and mellow through the processing of caramelisation. "One of my pet hates is rancid acid. It rears its hideous head in poorly executed Southeast Asian dressings and, unfortunately, the odd cocktail — puckery acid without the brightness." In the book she includes an extensive list of sauces, spices, oils, ferments and herbs that form her pantry, most available at Asian foodstores, to help understand the recipes. The book Images and text from Viet Kieu by Thi Le with Jia-Yen Lee, photography by Mark Chew. Murdoch Books RRP $59.99 Crispy egg noodles with seafood A staple dish across the menus of Melbourne's Viet-Chinese eateries. The good versions are stuff that dreams are made of, and the questionable versions are very much questionable. I like my egg noodles straddling the apex of crisp and just softened by the heat of the sauce between the time it was spooned over the noodles to the time the dish was walked to the table. I like the sauce with just enough gloop to coat but not so much to glue. I love my seafood fresh and just cooked. I have bitten into mouthfuls of cold (sometimes still frozen) imported seafood, ammonia- or chemical-laced, often texturally lifeless. I will take the natural sweetness and the tactile snap of a wok-licked local prawn any day. Serves 12 Ingredients 200g fresh egg noodles 60ml vegetable oil, plus 1 tsp for noodles 20g ginger, peeled and sliced 2 red Asian shallots, sliced 2 garlic cloves, minced 6 spring onions (scallions), white parts cut into 5 cm batons 150ml chicken stock or water 60g squid, cleaned, cut into chunks and lightly scored in a crosshatched pattern 23 prawns (shrimp), shelled and deveined 60g firm white fish fillets, such as John dory or barramundi, cut into chunks 70g broccolini (tenderstem broccoli), cut into chunks 30g Chinese celery, cut into 5cm batons Slurry 1½ Tbsp cornflour (cornstarch) 3 Tbsp cool water Sauce 1 Tbsp soy sauce 1 tsp fish sauce 1 tsp oyster sauce Pinch of raw sugar Pinch of cracked white pepper Prepare the noodles Loosen the fresh noodle pucks, then blanch in boiling water for about 50 seconds. Rinse under cold water until cool, vigorously shake out any excess water, and let drain. Set aside. Make the slurry In a small bowl, combine the cornflour and cool water, mixing well until smooth. Set aside. Make the sauce Combine all the sauce ingredients in a bowl, stirring until dissolved. Set aside. Fry the noodles Heat the 1 teaspoon of oil in a large wok or frying pan over high heat, then reduce to medium. Add the cooked noodles, spreading them out evenly. If they start to stick, add another splash of oil. Once the noodles start to char, flip them to char the other side. Be careful not to burn them. Transfer the crispy noodles to a plate and keep warm. Rinse and wipe out the wok. Cook the seafood and vegetables Heat the 60ml (¼ cup) of oil in the wok over medium heat. Add the ginger, shallot, garlic and spring onion batons; stir-fry for 1 minute until fragrant. Add the stock and bring to the boil. Add the squid, prawns and fish, stirring occasionally for 2 minutes. Add the slurry and sauce mixture, along with the broccolini. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes until the broccolini is just cooked. Remove the wok from the heat and toss in the Chinese celery. Serve the seafood and vegetable mixture over the fried noodles. Pandan chiffon cake A pandan chiffon cake represents a childhood memory for many of us. Some of us scoff it balled up into a single dense morsel; others eat it slowly, mesmerised by its fragrance and lightness. Pandan is an interesting food to describe. The aroma is vanilla-like, cut with a bit of greenness. I find dog owners understand the smell innately — it is the smell of a dog's paw pads, a sweet grassy note. I owe the development and refinement of this recipe to Kim Chin, a fellow kieu, who is as passionate about nostalgic desserts as I am. Serves 12 Ingredients 8 egg yolks 20 g caster (superfine) sugar 100ml pandan juice (see notes) 50ml coconut cream 60ml (¼ cup) vegetable oil ¾ tsp pandan essence (available at Asian food stores) ¾ tsp natural vanilla extract 150g plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted 2 tsp baking powder Pinch of salt 10 egg whites 1 tsp cream of tartar Coconut whipped cream 3g gelatine leaves (gold strength) 2½ tsp cool water 130g white chocolate bits 325ml thickened (whipping) cream 175ml (⅔ cup) coconut cream, at room temperature Salted coconut 200g freshly grated mature coconut Pinch of sea salt Make the cake Preheat the oven to 170°C . Place the egg yolks and 120g of the caster sugar in a mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, whisk until light and aerated. Whisk in the pandan juice, coconut cream, oil, pandan essence and vanilla. Stir through the sifted flour, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, using clean beaters, whisk the egg whites until frothy. Gradually add the remaining 80 g of caster sugar and the cream of tartar, whisking until firm peaks form. Gently fold one-third of the egg white meringue at a time through the yolk mixture. Pour the batter into a large ungreased 25cm angel food cake tin. Smooth the surface. Run a skewer through the batter, then drop the tin once from a height to pop any large air bubbles. Bake for 40-42 minutes, then check for doneness. Use your finger to gently press on the centre of the cake. If the cake springs back, then it is done. If your finger indent remains, cook a little longer. Remove from the oven and leave to cool upside down in the tin. Once fully cooled, remove the cake from the tin by running a sharp paring knife around the inside of the tin. Without the icing, the cake will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge if properly covered with plastic wrap. Make the coconut whipped cream Place the gelatine leaves in a small bowl, cover with the water and leave to bloom for 10-15 minutes; they should form a gel-like mass. Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream in a saucepan over medium heat, being careful not to let it boil. Pour it over the chocolate and stir until melted. Add the gelatine and stir until dissolved, then stir in the coconut cream. Strain the mixture through a fine-meshed sieve and chill to set for at least 1 hour. Whip the coconut cream to stiff peaks. Set aside. Ice the cake Place the cake on a rotating cake stand. Using a palette knife and the help of the cake stand, spread the coconut whipped cream all over and around the cake. Mix the salted coconut ingredients together and sprinkle over the cake. Once iced, the cake will keep for 2 days in the fridge, but it's best eaten on the same day. Notes • You can make the pandan juice by blitzing 500g pandan leaves (available at Asian grocers) with 100ml water. Strain the mixture before using. • Pandan essence is necessary for both its aroma and aesthetics. Find it with the food colouring at the supermarket. • The cake tin is the same one used for angel food cake, 25cm in diameter. Mi vit tiem (duck in medicinal noodle soup) A medicinal soup that I consider to be more invigorating and comforting than a bowl of pho. The gentle sweetness of dried fruits tends to dominate the front palate, but it is very quickly chased by a mid-palate warmth of ginger. Serves 6 Ingredients 6 duck leg quarters 60ml (¼ cup) cooking wine 100g ginger, charred, then sliced 2 Tbsp mushroom soy sauce 1 Tbsp soy sauce 2½ Tbsp Chinese five spice 1½ tsp sea salt 1½ tsp cracked white pepper Broth 1½ tsp cinnamon sticks 2 star anise 3 whole cloves 2 tsp coriander seeds 1.5 litres (6 cups) chicken stock ¼ onion, charred, then sliced 100g ginger, charred, then sliced 10g dried longans (available at supermarkets and Asian grocers) 150g small daikon (white radish), peeled and cut into finger thick halfmoons 2 bunches coriander roots, scrubbed well 40g spring onion tops 20g dried shiitake mushrooms 6 dried red dates 10g dried goji berries 2 Tbsp light soy sauce 2 tsp sea salt To serve 450g mustard greens, chopped Ice bath 900g fresh thin egg noodles per person, cooked to packet instructions Marinate the duck overnight Rinse the duck legs under cold running water and pat dry with paper towel. Place in a large bowl with the cooking wine and ginger. Cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes. Mix together the soy sauces, five spice, salt and pepper, then rub all over the duck legs. Place in a large zip-lock bag and leave to marinate in the fridge overnight. Make the broth In a dry frying pan, toast the cinnamon sticks, star anise, cloves and coriander seeds over medium heat for a few minutes, or until fragrant. Place in a spice infuser or wrap in muslin (cheesecloth). Bring the stock to the boil in a large stockpot, skimming off any scum from the surface. Add the toasted spices, onion, ginger and longans, then leave to infuse over medium-low heat. A gentle bubble is adequate here, as you do not want the stock to reduce. Pan-fry the duck While the stock is infusing, pan-fry the duck in batches over medium-high heat for 2 minutes on each side, just to seal the meat; you are not aiming to cook the duck at this point. Set aside. Finish the soup After the broth has infused for about 1 hour, add the daikon, coriander roots, spring onion, shiitake mushrooms, dates and goji berries. Stir in the soy sauce and salt. Add the duck legs and simmer for another 30-45 minutes. (I like my duck legs to still have some texture to them. You can cook them further, if you wish in which case, I would start cooking the duck legs in advance of the daikon, dates and goji berries, as these will fall apart with longer simmering.) You are aiming for a clear stock, so ensure the broth does not come to a rapid boil at any point, as this will introduce Impurities and turbidity. To serve Blanch the mustard greens, refresh in the ice bath and divide among the servingbowls, along with the cooked noodles. Ladle the hot broth over the noodles, together with a duck leg, and some daikon and shiitake mushrooms. Serve immediately. Note • If you have them, you can use confit duck legs for this recipe. You may just want to tweak the amount of soy sauce used, as the confit duck will be more salty. • Charred onion/ginger/chilli/shallots: leave the skin on and skewer smaller pieces together, start on medium high-heat on stove or barbecue and char on each side. It will feel like you are cremating them but char them further than you think you need to. Once cooled, the skins should slip away easily.
The Age
28-05-2025
- General
- The Age
Vietnamese crepe recipe: How to make banh xeo
Chef Thi Le, co-owner of beloved Melbourne restaurant Anchovy, reveals the secret to lacy-edged savoury crepes. , register or subscribe to save recipes for later. You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Banh xeo wields mass appeal, but the savoury crepe is one of the more complex dishes in the Vietnamese cook's repertoire. There is no right or wrong way to make banh xeo but when done right, it should have a thin, crisp, almost lacy shell. In Vietnam, the size of banh xeo gets larger as one moves further south. And the dipping sauces and accompaniments vary, from my favourite mustard leaves, through to rice paper and even star fruits and figs. The fillings vary, too. My go-to is fresh bamboo shoots, wood ear mushrooms and garlic flowers. I also love eating banh xeo in spring, with a bounty of spring vegetables. It is a nice way to shake it up from the pork, prawn, mung bean or bean sprout combo common in Australian Vietnamese restaurants. Thi Le, author of Viet Kieu by Thi Le with Jia-Yen Lee. Mark Chew I remember watching Mum make banh xeo when I was a child. What I found fascinating then – and that fascination has not diminished over the years – is that Mum always had by the stove a hunk of pork fat, greasy and sticky, ready to be run over the surface of her wok. It left just the right amount of lubrication, in a way that a calculated spoonful of oil or a spray of fat-in-a-can could never do. A lesson for anyone attempting banh xeo at home: Mum still doesn't believe she has mastered the craft and spends a good part of every year thinking about the next tweak she can introduce to yield an even crispier and more delicate shell. Banh xeo from Viet Kieu. Mark Chew Banh xeo This recipe has been provided by Emily Hua, a Sydney-based Viet Kieu (someone of Vietnamese heritage living in the diaspora), who also helped cook on the book's photo shoot. Resist the temptation to overfill your banh xeo; it will make the dish sloppy. Focus on how much batter to pour into your particular pan – practice makes perfect. INGREDIENTS Batter 200g rice flour 6 tbsp cornflour 8g ground turmeric pinch of sea salt 400ml filtered water 300ml coconut cream (Kara brand) 2 tbsp coconut oil 40g garlic chives, chopped into 1cm lengths neutral-flavoured oil, for frying Filling 150g dried split mung beans, soaked in cold water overnight 3 tbsp vegetable oil 400g Brussels sprouts, quartered 250g brown onions, thinly sliced 400g winged beans, thinly sliced 1 garlic clove, crushed pinch of sea salt 300g fresh palm hearts (see note) 250g bean sprouts, rinsed To serve 2 heads lettuce, such as butter, cos or mustard lettuce, leaves separated 2 bunches mustard leaves 1 bunch each of sorrel, mint, Vietnamese mint, fish mint and shiso, leaves picked or whole (see note) nuoc cham (recipe below) METHOD Prepare the batter. Place the rice flour, cornflour, turmeric and salt in a large bowl and mix until well combined. Add the water, coconut cream and coconut oil and mix well to ensure there are no powdery clumps. The batter should be homogenous and thin, with a yellow tinge from the turmeric. If required, add a little more water to loosen the batter. Stir in the garlic chives, then set aside to rest at room temperature for at least 1 hour. Prepare the fillings and serving garnishes. Steam the mung beans for about 12 minutes, until soft, then set aside. In a wok, heat the vegetable oil over medium–high heat. Stir-fry the Brussels sprouts, onion, winged beans and garlic with a pinch of salt for 3–4 minutes until just cooked. Remove from the heat and set aside, along with the palm hearts and bean sprouts. Arrange your leafy wrappings and herbs on a platter, ready for serving, and pour the nuoc cham (see recipe) into individual dipping bowls. Cook the batter. Arrange your frying oil, batter and fillings so they are easily accessible from the stove – banh xeo happens quickly. Using your best non-stick frying pan or wok on the largest flame or highest heat, add 1 tablespoon of oil and swirl to evenly coat the pan. Discard the excess oil. Swirl roughly 120ml of batter into the pan to evenly coat it. Turn down the heat and cook for 3-4 minutes. While the banh xeo cooks, add a drizzle of oil around the edges. This will help it become crispier and pull away from the pan. In the centre of one side of the banh xeo, add roughly 75g of stir-fried vegetable mix, and about 50g of bean sprouts and palm hearts. Using a flat spatula, fold the banh xeo into a half moon. Let it cook for an additional minute. Gently slide it out from the wok and serve immediately. Repeat with the remaining batter and fillings. To eat: Break off some of the banh xeo with your hands, making sure to get some filling. Add it to a lettuce leaf along with your choice of herbs, roll it up, then dip into your nuoc cham. The idea is to master the art of wrapping because the banh xeo will disappear fast! Makes 8–10 Notes: If fresh palm hearts are unavailable, use canned palm hearts. Pick a brand with a lower sodium content and drain thoroughly. Tinned palm hearts are much softer in texture than fresh ones, so don't cut them too finely. If you can't find sorrel, Vietnamese mint, fish mint or shiso, any soft herbs such as flat-leaf parsley, sweet basil, or dill would be great. Nuoc cham Make a sizeable batch and keep it in your fridge, adding aromatics such as fresh chilli and garlic paste or fresh citrus juice (lemons or limes) as required. INGREDIENTS 250ml (1 cup) rice vinegar 250ml (1 cup) fish sauce 250ml (1 cup) water 250g sugar METHOD Mix all the ingredients together in a saucepan and bring to the boil, skimming off any scum that rises to the surface. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. Pour into a sterilised jar and seal. Your nuoc cham base will keep for up to 4 months in the fridge, to use as required. Makes about 750ml (3 cups) The best recipes from Australia's leading chefs straight to your inbox. Sign up
Sydney Morning Herald
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Two of Us: Thi Le and J.Y. Lee
Partners in business and life, J. Y. Lee, 39, and Thi Le, 40, have helped each other cope with neurodiversity and lingering trauma while running Anchovy, their Melbourne restaurant. Partners in business and life, J. Y. Lee (left) and Thi Le opened their Melbourne restaurant Anchovy in 2015. Credit: Simon Schluter J.Y. : We met in 2012 on Pink Sofa, the lesbian version of eHarmony. We were both workaholics: me in market research, Thi in restaurants. In the first year of our relationship, I'd work from 7.30am to 7pm, go home, have dinner, sleep till 11.30pm, get up, catch a taxi to pick up Thi from work, go to her place, have dinner with her, then go back to sleep at 2am. I'd wake at 6am and do it all again. I liked her. It felt logical in some twisted way. She's the risk-taker, I'm the goody two-shoes. For my birthday, she took me to Yarra Bend Park. She had a camp cooker. I was nervous: this was so illegal. Her dog was off-leash, too. She fried blood pudding, put it in a lettuce leaf with pickles and chilli. It was genuinely life-changing: the heat, cold, crunch and pungency. She told me early on that she'd been sexually abused by her stepfather. I was quiet for a long time; I admired her grit and resilience. There were triggers that would cause her to shut down. We'd be driving, I'd get angry and honk my horn. She'd have a meltdown, we'd go back to her place and she'd go to bed. Nothing would happen for the rest of the day. This morning, we were going past a pedestrian crossing. Thi was triggered by the abbreviated sign, 'Give Way to Peds.' I grew up in Brunei and came to Australia when I was 18. Being Asian wasn't a focus, but Thi would talk about identity and I became more conscious of my roots. Both of us thought Asian dining in Australia needed to be higher-calibre. We talked about opening a restaurant. I thought, 'How hard can it be?' 'I still find social situations tiring, but I have a different energy reserve for Thi. When she's around, I calm down.' J. Y. Lee We opened Anchovy in 2015 and Thi's serious side came out. She'd yell, 'Don't run in the kitchen!' And I'd be like, 'What is happening? I've always run through the kitchen!' In the corporate world, all communication was written but, as a restaurant manager, I had to talk to people; I couldn't put my headphones on and work. My flaws became apparent. Thi and I had horrific fights. She couldn't understand why I wouldn't sit down with the team at the end of the week. I actually couldn't: I had nothing to give. We were losing a lot of staff and I was the common denominator. She made me get professional help. I was diagnosed with high-functioning autism. Now I see a psychologist and I'm working on communication, emotion and anger management. There's pressure as partners in business and life. Where do we strike the balance? Thi piles her plate full and complains she's tired, but it's a common trauma response to avoid an idle mind. Part of why I see a counsellor is to get tools to help. In the past, she'd have an idea – 'Let's spend a really long time making fish sauce!' – and I'd be, 'Oh, please, not again!' Now, I'm more, 'OK, how can we do it together but preserve my wellbeing, too?'
