I LOVE Vietnamese food. I can’t seem to get enough of it. On our last Christmas trip to Hong Kong we went for Vietnamese lunches for not once, not twice, but at least four times (mum correct me if I am wrong but that is all the photos are showing.) I’ve got to do something about that – make it at home!. This here is admittedly a summer dish – light and refreshing is what it is, so it wasn’t particularly fitting for a cold autumn dinner. It didn’t stop us from eating it all though, as it was so delicious!

The ingredients you need are relatively simple:

Ingredients

300g Rump or Sirloin beef, thinly sliced
1/2 cucumber, juliened
1 cup of bean sprouts
a handful of mint leaves
1/4 cup crushed roasted peanuts
1/3 red capsicum, sliced
1 sping onion, juliened
2 stalks of lemon grass, whites only
2 tsp fish sauce
1 tbsp corn flour

Sauce

4 tbsp Fish sauce
4 tbsp palm sugar, shaved
2 tbsp shao xhing wine (or sherry)
juice of 2 limes

Instructions

Marinate the beef with the lemon grass, fish sauce and corn flour for 30 minutes.

Bring a pot of water to a boil and place the rice noodles in. Cook for 3-5 minutes, check to make sure they are cooked (and not over! Cooking times will vary with different brands, so always test it.) Drain and rinse in cool water. Drain again and set aside.

Heat the wok and add about 1 tbsp oil. Quickly stir fry the beef until it has just cooked (about 1 minute). Remove from pan and set aside.

Mix the bean sprouts, cucumber, spring onions and capsicum in a bowl.

Using tongs, pick up some rice noodles and place them on the bottom of a bowl or the centre of a plate. Place a handful of the vegetables on top, add some beef slices, some freshly torn mint leaves and a sprinkle of crushed peanuts.

Place the sauce in small bowls for each person to pour over the noodles.

Easy peasy! Are you making this today?