Jacqui's Food Fetish

In short, I love Luke Nguyen’s food.  I’ve always been a fan, ever since I dined at his original Red Lantern restaurant in Crown Street, Surry Hills, all those years ago, before he became the TV celebrity he is these days.  I was lucky enough to meet him that day.  As well as being happy and friendly, it was obvious that he was passionate about the restaurant and his food.  Once I bought the first cookbook featuring Luke’s recipes, ‘Secrets of the Red Lantern’, I was hooked.  Everything I cooked from the book was so delicious and turned out perfectly – no adjustments necessary.  There was no stopping me.

Since then Luke has put out a number of cook books – ‘The Songs of Sapa’, ‘Luke Nguyen’s Greater Mekong’, ‘The Food of Vietnam’ and ‘Indochine’.  I’ve got them all and, being a Luke stalker, I’ve had them all personally signed by him at various book launch events.  And to take my stalking to a new level, last year I went on Luke’s Vietnam and Mekong River Cruise through APT.  It was the trip of a lifetime.  You start in Hanoi, do a 2 night cruise of Ha Long Bay – the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen – then you have stops in Hoi An, Hue, Saigon, followed by a Mekong River Cruise ending up in Cambodia.

The first ten days (prior to the cruise) with Luke is all about the food!  If you’re a foodie, this is the way to do Vietnam – Luke takes you to eat at the best local restaurants, and he takes you out to eat the local street foods – things that you would NEVER normally try if you were travelling alone.  He even took us to a restaurant that serves up insects so we all tried big fried scorpions, ant eggs and other six-legged things (that wasn’t compulsory, of course).

I’ve cooked up so many Luke Nguyen feasts for friends.  I like to construct banquets of 6-8 dishes at a time, and I choose recipes from the different books.  It’s a great way to eat.  Just put it all in the middle of the table with a big bucket of rice and everyone has a relaxed, enjoyable time (with lots of wine, of course!).   The photos I’ve posted here are some of my favourite dishes that I’ve cooked.  Cook these and you can’t go wrong.

Prawns sautéed with tomato, fish sauce and black pepper – Secrets of the Red Lantern

Kampot cold noodles – Luke Nguyen’s Greater Mekong

Hmong chicken – The Songs of Sapa

Slow braised beef short ribs – The Food of Vietnam

Lamb cutlets cooked in preserved bean curd – Indochine

Sautéed prawns in coconut milk – The Songs of Sapa

Pork spareribs braised in coconut – The Songs of Sapa

Wok tossed beans

Beef brisket stewed in aromatic spices – Secrets of the Red Lantern

Hmong chicken