Tag: foodie

Loïc’s awesome smoked beef

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For us, the holidays are usually all about eating and drinking (and complaining about eating too much and then starting it all over again the following day). We are quite lucky that most of our guests are also food fanatics like us so we can spend hours upon hours talking about restaurants and recipes. This year, one of Loïc’s most popular holiday creations was the giant smoked beef we served on Christmas eve. Marinated for 24 hours with rock salt, Greek rosemary, zinfandel wine,  worcestershire sauce and a lot of love, this recipe was so rich in flavors thanks not only to the new recipe, but also thanks to all the little local ingredients such as coconut shells, sugar cane husks, banana leaves (and also apple wood chips hand carried from America…airport customs agents must have thought that we were nuts). Anyway, no more rambling, here is the recipe for you!

Ingredients:

2-4 kilos of Beef (Cube Roll if available)
Rock Sea Salt
Rosemary
1 bottle of Zinfandel wine
120-140 ml of Worcestershire sauce
 

Directions:

1) Gradually start massaging the rock salt and rosemary into the beef after cutting off any excess fat.  Depending on the size of the meat, this may take around 30 minutes to really work in the spices.

2) After the massage experience, place the beef in an airtight container and submerge the meat in Zinfandel wine and Worcestershire sauce. Be sure to use enough of both liquids to ensure that no part of the beef is exposed to air.  Seal off the container and place in the refrigerator for between 18-30 hours.

3) Remove the beef from the liquids but be sure to save all the marinade as it will be used during the smoking process

4) Light up your smoker and burn the charcoal for about 30 minutes or until the charcoal is hot enough.  After this (if you have access to it) begin adding coconut shells, sugar cane husks, banana leaves, and/or apple wood chips on top of the coals continually as you go along and add more charcoal as needed to ensure the temperature is sufficiently hot and smoky.

5) Once the fire is hot enough, place your beef in the smoker and let it slowly cook. The beef should have the remaining marinade brushed over it once after an hour and then re-brush the marinade over the beef every 45 minutes afterwards.

-depending on the size of the meat, total cooking time can vary between 3-4 hours on average but it can be useful to use a meat thermometer if available to ensure you don’t overcook the beef.

6) Remove beef from the BBQ, serve, and ENJOY!

 

Oh, you Glorious beef!

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The moment of truth…dsc_0510

When you can see the smoke oozing out of the beefdsc_0517

Our guests ask for a more well done version but you can also have to medium rare toodsc_0520

Happy Holiday!

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Dear friends,

Happy happy holidays from the Heron House team! Thank you for being a part of our journey in 2016. The year might have been rough and full of unexpected surprises, but now looking back, we are very grateful for all the new friendships we have gained, all the laughter we have shared, and all the memories we have made together. Heron House is a special chapter in our lives and we are glad we got to share this experience with the best group of friends we could ask for.

Wishing you a Joyous Holiday Season and A Very Happy and Peaceful New Years ahead, wherever you are in the world!

Best regards,

Loic, Van Anh and the whole Heron House team.

P/S: Van Anh tried to put real Santa hats on mama and baby buffalo but was getting really dirty looks from the mama so this is the best we can get, please excuse our poor Photoshop skill!)

Aubergine49 – Hoi An’s Best Kept Secret

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For us personally, Aubergine49 is the answer to everything.

“Where should we go for the upcoming anniversary/birthday?” – “Aubergine49”

“What’s the one restaurant that you can eat everyday at?” – “Aubergine49”

“Which restaurant would you recommend to all friends when visiting Hoi An?” – “Aubergine 49”

“What would be the last restaurant you go to if you were going to die tomorrow?” – “Aubergine49”

And it is so true, Aubergine49 is our go-to place for any major celebrations, having friends in town, recommending to guests for a nice treat, or even just for a ‘we haven’t been to Aubergine for a few weeks, let’s go’ kind of day. We love Aubergine not only for its consistency in producing a fine-dining experience, the amazing quality of food that you can only find at Michelin-rated restaurants in Europe, the attention to details in every little thing, and of course, the kindness and passion of the man behind it all: Chef Thinh.

You probably hear us talking about ‘our friend who owns this restaurant,’ ‘our friend who runs this bar’ all the times and wonder if we only select F&B people to befriend. The truth is that we love food so much that if we like a restaurant, we would go there so often that before we know it, we have become friends with the owner/chef. The same case went for Aubergine49. I always called to book directly with chef Thinh (a friend of a friend), and after the 5th or 6th time dining there, the mysterious chef came out when the kitchen closed to say hi and we all found ourselves talking passionately about food and life and everything in between for hours until all the lights on the street have disappeared.

After ten years honing his culinary skills under some of the world’s leading chefs such as Paul Gayler of London’s The Lanesborough Hotel, Rick Stein of Padstow’s ‘The Seafood’ Restaurant and Seiji Yamamoto of Nihonryori Ryugin (a three Michelin starred restaurant in Tokyo), local son and chef Nguyen Nhu Thinh has returned home to create a fresh new venue with global flavors. Like many of his mentors from two-star and three-star Michelin restaurants in London and Tokyo, Chef Thinh is a perfectionist when it comes to cooking and it truly shows in the consistency, quality and attention to details in each dish. We have never tasted anything that we did not go ‘Whoa’ at Aubergine. And to top that, every time we get so familiar with all of the food on the menu, Thinh changes everything up and introduces his new creations (which is rare in Hoi An as most restaurants cater only to tourists and thus never change their menu). As good friends with Thinh and his lovely girlfriend Kate, we are also lucky to enjoy the luxury of getting surprise dishes off menu, and oh my, aren’t they all great. To be honest, if I can trade one of my kidneys for his cooking talent, I would!

No words could describe Aubergine49 as vividly as the experience of dining there yourself. Our guests are always happy with the recommendations as they say they get the best meal at a fraction of the price they would pay back home in Europe. So here it is, Aubergine49 – our favorite restaurant in Hoi An and we hope you would enjoy it as much as we do too.

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Pomelo Ginger Gin

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It’s quite serious, Loïc has turned into some sort of chemist since we opened Heron House. He has dedicated his heart and soul (and probably liver too) to experimenting and infusing the best liquor and cocktails in Hoi An. And goodness, the final results are surprisingly good too. As much as I love the special Lavender G&T, which has become a part of my daily diet, I have to give Loïc credit for his creativity in turning the freshest local ingredients into delicious cocktails. And with the Vietnamese sweet pomelo in season right now, we have been busy testing out the best pomelo gin recipe to offer to our guests.

The Vietnamese pomelo is quite different from the grapefruit in America and Europe. Our rich clay soil and abundant amounts of water and sunshine ensure the distinctive sweet flavor in each juicy fruit. We experimented with mixing two different pomelo varieties in our recipe to produce a sweet but slightly bitter tasting cocktail. The left over pomelo meat after the infusion process was then preserved in the freezer to add texture and more flavor to each drink. Needless to say, this is one of our popular sunset drinks when our guests chill out by the swimming pool.

Enjoy the recipe and let us know if the pomelo or grapefruit from where you are can produce tasty cocktails as well.

Ingredients:

  • 45ml Pomelo-infused gin, using the best quality Vietnamese pomelo
  • 15ml Cointreau
  • 1 large spoonful of frozen pomelo (save it when you make the gin)
  • Basil leaves for garnish (straight from our garden)
  • 10ml Basil syrup (also made from the basil in our garden)
  • 120ml Soda water
  • Ice

Instructions:

  • Place pomelo gin, Cointreau, half of ice, frozen pomelo, basil syrup, and a tablespoon of basil leaves into the blender
  • Blend on ‘Icy Drink’ setting or equivalent if possible
  • Pour contents over some ice in a glass
  • Top off with soda water, stir, and serve chilled
  • Place basil leaves on top as garnish

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Water Apple Jam

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With summer officially arriving in Hoi An and our trees full of more fruit than we know what to do with, the time has come to get creative and ensure that our guests get to enjoy our fresh fruit long after our tree has run out of offerings for them.  While many people find the water fruit to be a bit too tart for many palates, we believe that with a bit of tampering we have created a universal favourite.

Though some of our guests prefer this jam to be served with our homemade bread at breakfast every morning, I have been equally content to serve it with a cheese plate in the afternoon or even piled atop a bowl of ice cream to be devoured on hot days by the pool.

Whatever your inkling, we find this option to be a new popular item that is moving fast.

 

Ingredients:

  • 500 grams water apples
  • 110 grams sugar
  • 5 grams of honey
  • 5 grams of vanilla extract
  • Heavy dusting of ground cinnamon to taste

 

Instructions:

  • Remove and tough parts of the water apples and dice up the rest
  • Liquefy the water apples in a food processor. Do not add water or liquids yet as the apples are predominantly liquid
  • Mix the sugar, cinnamon, and water apples thoroughly in an open wide mouthed pot before placing it on the stove over medium heat
  • Continue to stir your sweet concoction with a wooden spoon continually over the course of 30 minutes

(Note: If you have a bread machine this can be far more ideal than hovering over a stove for 30 minutes, but for those of us with stove tops, just be sure to be careful to watch the jam carefully while on the stove and to stir continuously or parts will stick to the bottom of the pan and the sauce may very well burn throughout)

  • Once the substance has begun to solidify and the excess liquid has burned off, remove your jam from the stove and allow to cool to room temperature
  • Once cooled off, stir in honey and vanilla extract to taste
  • Once satisfied, place spoon your finished product into air tight jars and place in the refrigerator so it can be enjoyed for a while to come.