I grew up eating delicious Vietnamese food from my mom, and since moving to NYC, I’ve been missing it like crazy. The Vietnamese food in NYC is subpar; it lacks flavor and depth. It doesn’t the fact that it’s hard to find some ingredients.
For the show, I made Vietnamese rice noodles with flank steak (bun thit bo). I like flank steak because it’s a less expensive cut and is very flavorful. I’ve been eating Vietnamese food all my life so I wanted to add a little flair to this very basic and traditional dish. For the flank steak, I added a little Thai curry paste, garlic powder, seasame seeds, salt, and pepper. I couldn’t find fresh mint at the store so I opted for some basil. For a healthier version, I used sliced almonds instead of crushed peanuts, and added some bell peppers, cucumbers, and arugula (instead of the traditional chopped lettuce) to meet my veggie quota. It also adds a refreshing element to the dish.
For the fish sauce, it’s 100% authentic, with fish sauce, fresh squeezed lime juice, chili garlic paste, fresh garlic, water, and sugar.
