Chef Doreen Prei’s Firemasters Winning Bún Chả Recipe

 

Last week, Edmonton’s Chef Doreen Prei made Alberta proud with a win on the latest season of Firemasters, the outdoor barbecuing competition series on Food Network Canada.

Chef Doreen competed through three rounds of fiery culinary challenges, including the final round against one of the judges, before claiming the $10,000 grand prize as well as bragging rights of being a Fire Master Champion.

For her signature dish in the first round of competition, Chef Doreen made a dish inspired by a trip to Vietnam. Originating in Hanoi, Vietnam, Bún Chả is traditionally a dish served with grilled fatty pork over a plate of rice noodles and a side of dipping sauce. For the competition, Chef Doreen served her version of Bún Chả with pork two ways – pork belly and ground pork patties.

Check out Chef Doreen’s winning Firemaster episode on Food Network Canada to see how she served up her recipe below for Bún Chả.

 

Chef Doreen Prei’s Bún Chả
Yield: four to six portions

What you’ll need…

300 g pork belly, sliced into even strips
400 g ground pork
40 ml fish sauce (divided into two servings)
4 cloves garlic, chopped
sugar to taste
1 egg
5 garlic chives, chopped fine
500 g rice vermicelli noodles
100 g bean sprouts, washed
½ bunch mint leaves, washed and picked
½ bunch cilantro, washed and picked
½ bunch perilla leaves, washed and picked
½ bunch thai basil
salt and black pepper to taste

Bun Cha Dipping Sauce

200 g sugar
200 ml water
100 ml Vietnamese fish sauce
100 ml rice vinegar
100 ml lime juice, freshly squeezed
3 long red chili, seeded and chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed

 Directions:

  1. To make the dipping sauce, combine all ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer for approximately 10 minutes and strain. Allow sauce to cool to room temperature before serving.
  2. Preheat your BBQ to a medium high heat.
  3. Add the ground pork to a bowl; add 20 ml fish sauce, egg, salt and pepper and the crushed garlic and mix until combined. Form into 8 – 12 mini burger patties (two for each serving).
  4. For the pork belly, add 20 ml fish sauce, couple pinches of sugar, salt and pepper to taste and marinate for about 15 minutes.
  5. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the rice noodles until al dente. Strain through a colander and rinse with cold water. Once water is strained, place noodles in serving bowls.
  6. Place the pork belly on the medium high heat BBQ and grill on both sides until crispy. At the same time, place the pork patties on a lightly oiled BBQ and cook on both sides for about 5-6 minutes. The pork patty should be cooked fully.
  7. To assemble, first place the cooked rice noodles. Top noodles the two cooked pork patties and 3-4 slices of the crispy pork belly; add some of the fresh picked herbs, bean sprouts and garlic chives on top and add a nice ladle of the dipping sauce to finish the dish. The bowl should be half filled with the sauce. Enjoy.

 

4 Tasty Pork Dishes For A Rainy Day

If you’re in Calgary too, you are probably pretty damn sick of all of this rain we have been getting. While it’s hard to get motivated on these grey dreary days, you can at least stay inspired in the kitchen. Try whipping up one of these four comforting pork dishes courtesy of Food Network Canada to perk your spirits this week!

Jerk Pulled Pork Sandwiches

There’s nothing like a little heat to counteract some rainy weather. These spicy Caribbean-inspired pork sliders will warm you up faster than you can say: “Ah, my mouth is burning!” Ok…maybe they’re not that spicy! Perfect for a backyard party too when the sun comes back out!

Crockpot Pork Chops with Rice, Zucchini and Mushrooms

If you can’t lay in bed all day and must go to work, then throw this simple dinner into your slow cooker before heading out the door. You may be tired after a day at the office, but at least dinner will pretty much be done and waiting for you to enjoy it.

Pork Tenderloin with Cheddar Apple Risotto

Risotto always hits the spot on the damp, colder days of the year and this cheddar apple variation is a bowl of creamy perfection. Top that off with a simple roasted pork tenderloin and you’ve got the perfect dinner.

 

Pork Paillard with Riesling Cream Sauce

Drown your rainy day sorrows with a rich, white wine based sauce and warm, tender pork paillard. Nothing like a little riesling in your meal – and some in a glass on the side too, of course! – to brighten up your dinner table.

*all images courtesy of Food Network Canada

Top Chef Canada’s Infamous ‘Beaver Balls’

Home version of Nicole Gomes 'Beaver Balls' from Top Chef CanadaWondering what ‘beaver balls’ are? Great question! A few weeks ago on Top Chef Canada, the remaining cheftestants were challenged to create ‘Canada’s new dish’. While the majority of the pack went with some sort of variation on a slider, Calgary-based competitor Nicole Gomes opted to meld humour with deliciousness and and her ‘Beaver Balls’ were born.

Basically, these tasty little critters are a Asian-inspired pork meatball, rolled in rice, then steamed or baked and served with a maple-soy dipping sauce. Sounds pretty good, right? Well, I can verify that they are indeed delicious, as I made a batch at home just a few weeks ago.

Beaver Balls T-Shirt

This unique take on a pork meatball has gotten a lot of attention from Food Network Canada viewers and even spawned a humorous t-shirt (shown above, photo credit: Avenue Magazine) designed by Canadian food-centric clothing company, Food On Your Shirt. Do you like beaver balls? Well, now you can wear them too!

Looking for a Nicole-approved ‘Beaver Balls’ recipe to try in your own home? Then head over to FoodNetwork.ca and try this one out this week. Guaranteed to be a hit with the family!

5 Great Springtime Pork Recipes From Food Network Canada!

Finally! Spring is officially here! Whether the temperature gauge is agreeing with that or not is another story! Regardless, here are 5 great pork recipes from Food Network Canada that will help keep you well-fed over the (hopefully) warmer weeks to come!

2. Pulled Pork and Kimchi Sandwich

Comfort food at it’s best, celebrity chef
just may be the best thing since sliced bread! Happy eating!

*all photos courtesy of Food Network Canada