Chefs Ngo Thu Nguyet and Le Duy Thanh introduce Vietnamese flavours

Stripped Vietnamese Sea Bass

If you've sampled Vietnamese cuisine, chances are you've sampled the famous Southern Vietnamese Beef or seafood Bóp Thau salad. So, when chefs Ngo Thu Nguyet and Le Duy Thanh from Sofitel Legend Metropole, Hanoi, came down to introduce the city to authentic Vietnamese flavours at Pondichery Café, BKC, we asked them the secret behind the dish. Turns out, it's the method of marinade that makes all the difference.

Bóp thau is a cooking technique that originated in southern Vietnam where the meat is marinated in fish sauce with garlic, shallots and pepper, while other ingredients such as banana, banana flower and star fruit are separately marinated in sugar and vinegar. The meat is slightly sautéed to get a rare finish and then tossed with the other marinated ingredients to make a salad.

Chef Le Duy Thanh at Pondicherry Cafe, BKC. Pics/Sneha Kharabe

"The term 'Bóp' means to mix something with seasoning agents, while 'thau' means thoroughly. This technique ensures that, although the ingredients are separately marinated, they come together to make one harmoniously flavoursome dish. The technique is most commonly used for meats and seafood," explains Chef Thanh.

"I am originally from Hanoi and here we make a very different variety of beef salad originiating from the tecniques of this region. However, a few years ago when I visited Southern Vietnam with my family, I got the opportunity to taste the incredible beef Bóp Thau salad. We were so pleasantly surprised with the difference in flavours and textures from the salad we normally have in Hanoi. We now often follow this technique to make it at our home. "The salads have become a family favourite," says chef Nguyet.

Chefs Le Duy Thanh and Ngo Thu Nguyet from Vietnam

Based on this technique, one must try the vinegar hot pot wherein thinly sliced beef is cooked by dipping it in a boiling broth made of beef stock, coconut juice, pineapple juice and vinegar. Once the meat is cooked, it is rolled in rice paper with lettuce leaves and served with a dipping sauce.

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