Luke Nguyen was only six years old when he learned to cook and made a dish that’s become incredibly close to his heart.
The chef and restaurateur has just extended his restaurant, The Fat Noodle, to be open 24/7 at The Star in Sydney, so people can get a taste of Asia’s vibrant street food scene.
“I spent a lot of time in Vietnam now, which is awesome,” he exclusively told New Idea. “So early in the morning, five, six in the morning, something is already open, street food. Late at night, after work, there’s always food everywhere on the streets as well; it doesn’t sleep.”
When it comes to recommendations, he said you can’t go past the Fat Phố soup, which features an aromatic broth, rice noodles, and sliced Wagyu beef and Angus brisket.
“I love this dish so much because it is nostalgic for me,” he told us.
“This is the first dish I learned to cook. I was maybe six years old, and I was standing on a milk crate , cause I couldn’t reach the top of the pot, and I used to be skimming that broth, just skimming and skimming, making it really clear and clean, and the aromas just set off so many memories for me now.
“So for me, this dish is part of my childhood.”
The broth is what makes the dish special, and if you want to master it at home, Luke says you need to spend time on it.
“The secret to a good broth is that it needs to be clear,” he explained.
“It can’t be cloudy, which is why you have to stand there skimming all the impurities away. And once you’re skimming all the impurities away as it’s simmering, you’re going to be left with a really nice, clean-looking broth.”
If you want to make it, he says it has to be a labour of love.
“If you want to create the phố at home, you have to cook it for a very long time, so at least eight hours,” he told New Idea.
“We cook our broth here for 20 hours, but at home, eight to 10 is fine. So, that’s all the hard work, right?”
“That’s the time, but in the morning, blast the noodles, really fine slices of beef and brisket, put all the fresh herbs.”
If you want to use fresh noodles, he said to just have to blanch them for 10 seconds.
And he also recommends enjoying the soup in the morning!
