The Washington Post, a leading American newspaper, expressed surprise at the recipe for Vietnam’s shaking beef.
Shaking beef made according to Nini Nguyen’s recipe. Photo: Lisa Cherkasky/Washington Post.
Aaron Hutcherson, a food writer for The Washington Post, was surprised to find that the beef, typically used by Americans for steak, is cut into small pieces and stir-fried with vegetables. The paper referenced the recipe for shaking beef from the cookbook Special by Nini Nguyen, a Vietnamese-American chef who competed in Top Chef in 2018.
The newspaper described this dish from Vietnam as being inspired by French cuisine but noted that the preparation is quite different from the original. A proper plate of shaking beef should feature tender beef cubes, cooked to the ideal doneness. The exterior should be slightly seared, browned, and firm, while the inside retains a light pink hue.
To make it, the beef is first marinated with sugar, salt, and pepper before being cooked in a hot pan. Then, the small beef cubes are stir-fried with cucumbers, bell peppers, onions, watercress, and soy sauce.
According to The Washington Post, the dish is also served with French fries, similar to steak.
Shaking beef is inspired by French cuisine. Photo: Lisa Cherkasky/Washington Post.
In her Vietnamese recipe collection, Nini Nguyen shares that most of her culinary inspirations come from her grandmother, mother, and aunts, who are Vietnamese and made a living as nail technicians in the U.S.
“I want to preserve and spread the diversity of Vietnamese cuisine to those living far from home in the U.S.,” the author told The Washington Post.
In addition to shaking beef, other Vietnamese dishes like crab noodle soup, grilled chicken feet, pyramid-shaped dumplings, and spicy beef noodle soup have also left an impression on the American newspaper.
The Washington Post frequently reviews Vietnamese cuisine through restaurants in the U.S., with a focus on preserving authentic flavors.
In 2019, the paper highlighted banh mi as one of the representative dishes of Vietnam’s culinary philosophy, emphasizing the balance of a variety of flavors and key ingredients to create a harmonious meal. A good bread should not be overloaded with pâté and butter, the paper noted.
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Source: Vietnam Insider