Wagyu Beef Pho Tartare
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There are a few processes to this recipe, which is more ‘dinner-party special’ than ‘fast midweek feed’. It’s my take on traditional Vietnamese pho, the brothy noodle soup found throughout the country. Toasting the rice is a common Asian cookery hack, used to add texture and a smoky, nutty flavour to dishes. If you’ve ever made pappadums, you’ll be a pro at frying the rice paper, which uses a similar technique. Watching the rice paper puff up is fun – and fast! – but take care, as the oil is super hot.
Recipe details
Serves: Recipe for 4.
Protein: Beef
Ingredients
200 ml (7 fl oz) grape seed oil
2 sheets dried rice paper
80 g (2¾ oz) rice
2 cm (¾ in) lemongrass stem
400 g (14 oz) premium-quality wagyu beef, in 1 cm (½ in) thick slices
4 pickling onions, halved
4 egg yolks
Pho seasoning
100 ml (3½ fl oz) oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cm (½ in) piece ginger, minced
2 shallots, minced
½ teaspoon chilli powder
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons fish sauce
Method
To make the pho seasoning, in a large saucepan over a low heat warm the oil and add the garlic, ginger and shallots. Combine the spices and fish sauce in a large heatproof bowl and place it next to the stove. Raise the heat to high and whisk the garlic and ginger oil – you want it to cook until it is golden and even, not burnt in any way! Once it’s golden, carefully pour the oil straight over the spices and fish sauce and set aside to cool.
In a large saucepan over a high heat, bring the frying oil up to just pre smoking point. You can check if it’s the right heat by dipping a small off-cut of the rice paper into the oil with tongs. If it puffs up like a prawn cracker, it’s the right temperature. Using tongs, one by one dip the rice paper in the oil. Once it puffs up, carefully pull it out and reserve on paper towel. Be really careful doing this – it shouldn't take more than a couple of seconds, but it’s really hot! Set aside the pot of oil to cool somewhere completely out of the way.
To toast the rice, place it in a dry frying pan with just the lemongrass for aroma. On a high heat, keep moving the rice until it is evenly golden. (You can also toast the rice by roasting it in the oven at 160°C/320°F for 40 minutes.) Allow to cool slightly, then remove from the pan and in a blender blitz to a fine powder.
Put a large frying pan on a high heat. Once it’s almost smoking, pour a tiny amount of oil in and sear one side of the beef only. This is just for additional flavour, so don't actually cook it. The faster you do this step the better. Set aside the beef. Keeping the pan over a high heat, next put the onions on, cut side down, burning them. Turn the heat off and let them keep cooking.
Once the oil has cooled to 70°C (160°F), dip a spoon in it, then place an egg yolk on the spoon and dip it in the oil. You can likely fit four spoons in the pan at once. The confit should take less than 4 minutes. To check whether the yolk is done, pull it out of the oil and feel it; you want it runny but not raw. Set aside on paper towel or baking paper. Place a confit egg yolk in the middle of each plate. Season the beef to your liking with the pho seasoning mix and arrange it around the yolk. Pop out the shells of the onion and place on top, neatly place shards of the puffed rice paper around the plate and then dust with the rice powder.