Vietnamese Menu January 11+ 14

Most entrees will be served with a "Table Salad" on the plate, the sous chefs will set up a station for assembling table salads and will make a communal Table Salad for family meal on  Day 8. Be sure to watch All 3 Video Demos on Moodle: on Handling Herbs and Table Salad, Straining Tamarind; and Fabricating Lemon Grass.

Crispy Fried Shallots - Used in several recipes. See recipe in Moodle section and speak to chef before attempting. It's usually much easier if all stations using fried shallots combine efforts and do them together. 

On Day 9 Each Student preparing an entree dish is responsible for preparing table salads for their service - See Video. Remember that herbs dry out quickly, keep yours covered with moist towles through out the day.

As always, Sous Chefs will need to make sure we have the food picked up from Store room, Fish room, Meat room - delegate as needed to make sure the food is at the kitchen by 7:00 AM.  Also sanitation supplies, supplemental, china storage and set up  family meal on Day 8 and demo table set up for service on Day 9. For service, think ahead, figure out who will be cooking and who will be serving, where everyone should be during service and how you will expedite to them-  communicate to them in advance. Ask Chef and past Sous Chef/Expediters for advice. Sous Chefs are responsible for preparing Communal Table Salad for Family Meal on Day 8 - Talk to Chef. 

Street Food Station 

Like Dim Sum on the Chinese menu, We will need to set up chaffing dishes for Street Food on Day 9. Consult with Chef on the best set up for efficient service. The Street Food Plate will look like more or less like this, but have a few more items on it. When we compose the demo plate on Day 8 I'll photograph a new presentation.

From K1 Menu Photos  On our street food plate will be: - Grilled Beef in la lot leaf  - Hot - Shrimp on Sugar Cane - Hot - Grilled Pork Belly Skewers - Hot -Lemongrass Spare Ribs -Hot -Green Mango Salad - Cool -Lotus Rootlet Salad - Cool -Salad rolls - Cool -Banana Flower Salad - Cool  Long Grained Sticky Rice - Cool - Nouc Cham Dipping Sauce

Draw a great diagram of how the street food station will look.  Where will everything be? Plates? Ramekins of sauce? Chaffing dish with each compartment labeled, Where's the sticky rice? The salad rolls, and mango salad? Don't use utensils to plate- use gloved hands - faster that way.  

Nuoc Cham is an important condiment served with most meals in Vietnam. Student #9 is responsible for preparing enough for the class on both Day 8 + 9 and portioning it into small 1oz ramekins for service. On Day 9 we will need 65 ramekins at the start of service. 

All of the recipes for the Vietnamese section are loaded onto Moodle but not all of the videos are embedded yet so look at the web site, and I'm trying to post some of them here on the blog as well.  Again, I'll want to take photos or shoot video of  the new dishes and new shots for some of the older ones too, so when you have MEP set up, talk to me before putting things together. Here are the details of each station on Days 8+9:

Student #1 - Caramel Pork in Clay Pot - this is how it's listed on the tracking schedule, but the Recipe Title is "BBQ Pork Belly in Caramel" - so look for that. This is a 2-3 day process, the pork belly should be in marinade on Day 7 and  be roasted by the person on station #5 early on Day 8 so a small batch can be made for family meal -  you can also set up your Mise en Place for Braising on Day 9. Talk to Chef on Day 8 about how much to serve and how much to save for Day 9. The finished braise will be served with steamed jasmine rice from the steam table and a room -temperature table salad on the plate.

Student #2 - Bahn Xeo  - This recipe says that it requires overnight pre-prep, so soak the rice and beans o Day 7 for Day 8 and then prep over night as directed for day 9. The Updated recipe uses shrimp and pork, this video does not show that, but the technique is the same.

Ask chef about Shooting a new Demo. These crepes may be/should be made ahead of service and held above the saute line on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper. At service they are reheated in a non-stick pan and plated ala minute. Serve on a round plate with Steamed jasmine rice, a table salad, and a ramekin of nuoc cham.

Student #3 - Green mango salad + Lotus rootlet Salad. These will be served on the Street Food plates to all customers on Day 9. Make 1x Green Mango Salad recipe and 1/3 recipe of Lotus rootlet Salad for Day 8. Make 2x Green Mango salad and 2x Lotus rootlet Salad for Day 9.  Also, steam the long grained sticky rice which was soaked on Day 7 and soak 4 more cups on Day 8 to steam on Day 9. The method for this is very different from other rices - make sure to understand how it's done.

Student #4 - Stir Fried Lemon Grass Beef - Make 1/2 recipe for Day 8 and 1 full recipe for Day 9. Very straight forward - The Recipe for the Beef itself is the same, there is a slight change to the accompanying greens, bring a printed copy of the recipe so we can go over it before you start to prep. See chef for changes before prepping greens. I'm probably being over optimistic, but if we have time to shoot a video, that would be cool. Let me know.

Student #5 - First thing in the morning, talk to Chef about roasting pork butt and pork belly for other uses, you and the person on Station #11 will be responsible for this together.  This is quick and easy and requires little attention once it's started. Watch the Video on using the Chinese oven - that can be found in the "Must See Video" section of Day 1. After that, You will prepare Grilled Beef in La Lot Leaf and Shrimp on Sugar Cane. Check with me first thing in the morning, some of the Shrimp mixture may already be made for Day 8.  Make the 1 full recipe of Beef mixture and 2x the recipe for the Shrimp mixture for Day 9. You will be preparing 15 pieces of each for Family meal on Day 8 and saving the rest for Making about 80 pieces each for Day 9 - let Chef know if quantity is lower than this. Watch the video on how to shape and form the shrimp and also on how to work with sugar cane. Chef can help. Also, Talk to Chef about setting up the Charcoal Satay grill  and how to set up the regular grill to avoid burning skewers and sugar cane.

The Shrimp On Sugar Cane is composed like this
 

And hopefully we will have fresh sugar cane - not packaged - to work with

 Student #6 - Your Tracking Schedule calls for preparing 10 cups of Jasmine Rice - this is a typo. Steam 8 cups for day 8 and 20 cups for day 9  (two full hotel pans). The method for this is the same as for the Chinese long Grained Rice.  Pho Bo - The broth should have been made on Day 7 for use on Days 8+9. You will have 2 types of beef to add to this - boiled beef (should be cooked and cooled ahead on Day 7)  and thin slices of raw sirloin. Plan to go to the meat room for about 30 minutes and slice the semi frozen meat down there at about 7:30 on Day 8 - you'll be slicing the raw meat for both days;  be sure to talk to Chef before you go. Enough broth has been made ahead for 2 days, so only heat enough for 5 portions on Day 8 - speak to Chef about putting up smaller portions for Family Meal. For Day 9 you will "sell" 10 portions to customers; plan to set up a Service Station with a tray stand and sheet tray for Pho "pick -up" during service.  Heat broth in a stainless pot on the range ,use one of the smaller woks, filled with simmering water, as a hot water bath to hold the stainless pot of broth. The wok next to the broth should have simmering water and a china cap - this is to heat and refresh the noodles. Draw a diagram of how you are going to set everything up. Noodles should be portioned ahead and held in cups - where will they be on the station? The Herbs? The raw beef?Where are your bowls kept? Under liner plates for Table Salad, Sambal, and Lime? All of this should be mapped out before you get to class. Check with chef before service if you have any doubts about the efficiency of your plan. You will pick up ala minute from The Table across from the small woks.

Student #7 - Braised Sour Duck with Watercress. Make 1x this recipe on Day 8 and 2x on Day 9. It's important to start braising early, if you need help fabricating the duck, ask the chef  EARLY so we can get you on track. I have a 3 part series on YouTube demonstrating how to fabricate a duck and use all of the parts, you can see it here When finished braising,place the finished product in a warm 1/2 hotel pan for service from the steam table with steamed jasmine rice.

Student #8 - Bahn Mi, Make 5 sandwiches on Day 8 and 15 on Day 9. This is a busy station, but most of the time consuming work has already been done ahead, you just have to bake the rolls and set up a sandwich station; if you're organized and move in a logical sequence things will go smoothly - so make a good plan. The Pickles and Pate have been made and the pork is ready to roast so get it into the oven and then weigh out ingredients for the dough and get started mixing it as soon as the pork is in the oven. For the dough - make 1/2 recipe on Day 8 and 1.5 recipe on Day 9.  While dough rises, prep and set out all other sandwich ingredients, and make chips; chips can be made as far ahead as you want - just not a day before.  The rolls should be ready to bake by 10:00, so that they have time to cool before cutting for service. By 10:45 the station should be completely set up on the rear table nearest the grill - the griddle will be set on the grill itself. I strongly suggest drawing a station diagram showing where everything will be, laying it out to flow smoothly during service. If you show me your diagram on Day 8 I will help you fine tune it - so give me your BEST effort and together we can see if it needs improvement.

Student #9 - Salad Rolls/Nuoc Cham/and Banana Blossom Shredded Duck Salad. The Nuoc Cham is served with every plate, so be sure to have it ready and portioned into 1 oz ramekins before service or family meal. You should make 500ml for Day 8 and 1.5l for Day 9 and fill each ramekin about 1/2 way.
On Day 8 you should make 16 salad rolls for family meal and on Day 9 you should set up to make 80. We will have the class cycle through your station, each making a few rolls for practice. Here's a video of how to use the damp kitchen towels for efficient construction of these rolls

For the Banana Blossom salad you can roast and shred all of the Duck legs on Day 8, make 2 portions fr family meal and save the rest to make 15 or more portions on Day 9. The Banana blossoms oxidize quickly, so have acidulated water ready before you begin to cut them and ask the chef for a demo - I'll want to shoot a new one to show how this is done. 

Student #10 - Stir Fried Chicken with Lemon grass and Tamarind is very straight forward, prep for 5 portions on Day 8 and 15 portions on Day 9. Work with the Chef on Day 8 on your first attempt to stir fry. If we have time to shoot a video of this dish, we will.Prepare to butcher and marinate chicken for Days 10 + 11 - check with chef for quantity.

Student #11- First thing in the morning, talk to Chef about roasting pork butt and pork belly for other uses, you will work with the person on Station #5 for this - both of you will be responsible for getting it done early. This is quick and easy and requires little attention once it's started. Watch the Video on using the Chinese oven - that can be found in the "Must See Video" section of Day 1. The Spare Ribs are already in marinade, speak with Chef about amount to roast for Day 8 and whether to prep more for Day 9.Some of the pork belly you are roasting will be used for your skewers, so once thay are roasted - cool them and talk to chef about how to slice. On Day 8 slice, marinate and grill  20 skewers for family meal and on 9 prepare for 80. Ask Chef about the Charcoal Satay Grill - if it's available, we will use it on both days. Remind Chef to order charcoal on Day 8 Supplemental.

Student #12- Shaking Beef Salad. A simple stir fried dish, Plan to make 5 portions on Day 8 and 10  portions on Day 9. Yours will be the 3rd stir fry served during service on Day 9, so be prepared to cook later in the service period. If you have enough on Day 9 you may cook 2-3 orders early for Family meal.

Student #13 - Fish In caramel sauce. Prepare 5 portions on Day 8 and 12 portions on Day 9. You should make the caramel for both days on Day 8 and reserve some for Day 9. Make the braising base early in the day, cool to room temperature and then reheat near service time. Because this is a fairly simple dish, you may have time to prepare some stir fried or pickled greens to accompany. Speak to the chef early in the day if you think this is possible.Also, there may be some pickled greens in the cooler from a previous batch - check there first and talk to chef about use.

Student #14 - The Tracking Schedule tells you to prepare the Stir Fried Chicken - this is a typo. Prepare for the Stir Fried Noodles with Turmeric and Pork. Be careful not to over soak the noodles before cooking - they should be somewhat tough and will soften as they cook with the liquid in the wok. Prep to make 5 portions on Day 8 for family meal and 10 portions on Day 9. If time permits, talk to chef about shooting a video of this dish. Be prepared to butcher and marinate 4 ducks for Red Duck Curry on days 10 + 11.

Student #15 - Grilled Fish in Banana leaves. Prepare 5 portions for Day 8 and 10 portions for Day 9. Cooking the banana leaf packets takes about 10 minutes on each side, so be ready to cook them all slightly ahead of service or Discuss with Chef how to stagger cooking times. Talk to chef about cutting. folding, and wrapping the leaves. Folding and wrapping the packets will take some practice, have filling ready early.