This week’s recipe is created by chef Tom Walton using the ‘queen of lemon herbs’, lemon myrtle, and brought to you by Australian Native Products. Lemon myrtle is fast becoming a must-have ingredient in the spice racks of chefs and home cooks around the country. It’s sweet, yet spicy, intense, but also refreshing and cooling on the palate, the perfect alternative for lemongrass in pho.
Beef and lemon myrtle pho
Feel free to replace the beef with cooked chicken, tofu, seafood or more veggies.
The lemon myrtle adds a delicious fragrance to the pho that works perfectly, replacing where you would usually add lemongrass.
Broth
- 1 L beef broth
- 2 tbsp 6mm cut dried lemon myrtle
- 2 cm piece ginger (thinly sliced)
- 2 tbsp soy or fish sauce
- 1-2 tbsp palm sugar (optional)
- Sea salt (to taste)
Beef and noodles
- 150 g beef sirloin (frozen for at least 2 hours)
- 100 g dried rice noodles
- ½ bunch broccolini (trimmed)
Toppings
- 2 tsp 1.6mm cut dried lemon myrtle
- 2 tbsp flake sea salt
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- 1 large red chili (finely sliced)
- 1/3 cup sliced shallots
- 1 cup each picked coriander & mint
- 1 lemon
- Place the broth into a pot and add the lemon myrtle, ginger, soy, palm sugar and bring to just under a simmer for 10-15 minutes, to infuse the lemon myrtle and ginger then strain into another pot and keep hot, covered over a low heat so it doesn’t reduce.
- Thinly slice the sirloin while partially frozen then lay out on a plate. Freezing makes it easier to thinly slice.
- Bring a medium saucepan of water to the boil, season with a pinch of salt and add the broccolini for 20 seconds then remove with tongs into ice water to refresh, drain and set aside.
- Cook the rice noodles according to packet instructions in the same boiling water then refresh in cold water and drain well. Set aside.
- Keep a pot of water boiling to reheat the noodles.
- Gently mix together the lemon myrtle and salt and keep in a small airtight container. You will need just a little for this recipe.
- Reheat the noodles in the boiling water, drain and add to the bottom of two bowls then add the beans sprouts, sliced raw sliced beef and broccolini.
- Spoon the very hot broth and the veggies over the beef and top with the sliced chili, shallots and coriander. Serve with lemon myrtle salt sprinkled over, extra herbs, chili and lemon.
Request a free sample of lemon myrtle
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