Farm to Table

Cinnamon it

A VIETNAMESE BEEF STEW FROM MAMMA HAI IN SALT CITY MARKET SERVES UP COMFORT FOOD IN ONE AROMATIC BOWL OF COZINESS.

Farm to Table

Left, Ngoc Huynh in the kitchen. Below, Huynh’s mother Hoa Nguyen and aunt Thuy Nguyen.

BY MJ KRAVEC

Come November, we’re craving a little comfort from the cold. This flavorful stew of lemongrass, ginger, bay leaf, star anise and cinnamon from Mamma Hai in downtown’s soon-to-be-open Salt City Market proves to be just the thing to keep you cozy while infusing the house with comforting aromas.

Mamma Hai brings homestyle Vietnamese cuisine to Syracuse. On its website, the restaurant explains its name as “a person who cooks for you when you’re hungry or gives you a place to stay when you’re stranded.” Owner/chef Ngoc Huynh, who was born in Vietnam, escaped to Japan, and raised in Nebraska, learned to cook from her mom and aunts by doing prep work and taste testing at the family’s billiards and café business. “I knew what went into a dish and how things should taste,” says Huynh.

Now, as the owner of Mamma Hai, Huynh serves Vietnamese food using recipes from her family.

“Our recipes are from my grandma, ma and aunts who are from Tra Vinh, a city in the Mekong Delta region of Southern Vietnam. The area is diverse with a melting pot of cultures from Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, China and India. Hence, our style of cooking is very unique,” she says.

Here, Huynh offers bò kho, a classic Vietnamese dish influenced by French colonialism. It’s a beef stew like French pot-au-feu, says Huynh.

“In our family, it’s a common dish for fall and winter because it warms up the belly and is very satisfying. As it cooks, the herbs and spices make the house fragrant adding another level of comfort and coziness,” she says.

While her kitchen uses many Asian herbs and veggies that aren’t always available at the farmers market, Huynh tries to use fresh seasonal produce such as garlic, green beans, onions, potatoes, beets, leeks and brussels sprouts. This recipe makes good use of garlic, carrots and potatoes — all still available locally.

PHOTO BY MICHELLE GABEL, FAMILY PHOTO COURTESY NGOC HUYNH

Bò kho

SERVES SIX

Ingredients

1.5 lbs of beef shank, cut in 2-inch chunks 1 lb beef chuck or oxtail, cut in 2-inch chunks 3 carrots, cut into 1 ½-inch chunks 4 potatoes, cut into 1 ½- inch chunks 2 stalks lemongrass, bruised (press flat side of chef’s knife into stalks to release flavor) 8 cloves of garlic, minced (use half for marinade, other half for frying) 4 shallots, minced 1 Tbsp. sugar 2 tsp. five spice 2 tsp. Madras curry 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. of black pepper 4 Tbsp. fish sauce (use half for marinade, half for frying) 1-inch knob ginger, cut in thick slices 1 stick of cinnamon 3 star anise 2 Tbsp. dark soy sauce 4 Tbsp. tomato paste 2 cups coconut water 12 cups water (use 10 cups for parboiling, 2 cups for broth) 1 bay leaf 1 tsp. annatto seeds 4 Tbsp. vegetable oil 1 large onion (Half cut into 2-inch chunks, while other half cut in thin slices) 1 lime, cut into wedges Loaf of French bread or rice noodles Handful of basil for garnish

Any preparation tips?

Don’t rush. You need to marinade the meat for a couple of hours, and when you are cooking, take your time with the flame and increase gradually.

What food/wine pairings do you suggest?

Bò kho is served with French bread or rice noodles. For wine, my favorite local pairing is Silver Thread Vineyard’s Blackbird Red Wine.

“My mom and aunt Thuy were instrumental in making the food business successful when our family owned a billiards/café during my childhood.”

Directions

 Wash the beef with salt and water, pat dry, and cut into large chunks. Pour 10 cups of water in pot, bring to a boil. Add two slices of ginger and one star anise. Parboil the beef in rapidly boiling water until you see impurities rise to top. Rinse the beef in cold water and squeeze out the liquids. Pat dry with paper towel.  Marinate the beef using minced garlic and shallots, sugar, salt, fish sauce, five spice, and Madras curry. Massage them into the meat thoroughly and let it sit for about an hour while you cut the onion, carrots and potatoes.  Heat the oil and annatto seeds in a saucepan over low heat for about two or three minutes. Be careful because the heat can cause seeds to pop. As the temperature increases, the annatto seeds will release their red color. Turn the heat off when you notice most of the seeds getting darker. Let the pan cool, then strain, discard seeds and put oil aside.  Put the remaining star anise and cinnamon stick in a small pan over medium-low heat. Toast until fragrant. Set aside.  Heat half the annatto oil in a pot, pan fry the beef on each side until brown, and place on a plate.  Add remainder of the annatto oil in the same pot, fry the slices of onion and garlic. When onion browns, add the tomato paste, dark soy sauce and fish sauce. Then add the toasted cinnamon, star anise, coconut water, water, bruised lemongrass and the bay leaf.  Turn the heat up to medium high, and skim off any foam that rises to top. Once the broth looks clear, lower the heat and let it simmer for about two hours. Remove the lemongrass, ginger, cinnamon and star anise from the pot. Add carrots and potatoes and cook for another 20 minutes, then add the chunks of onion. Taste and add more fish sauce or sugar if necessary.  Serve with French bread or rice noodles with a squeeze of lime and some basil. Note: If in a hurry, you can do this recipe with an Instant Pot, pressure cooker, or crock pot. Same directions through browning the meat and frying the tomato paste. Then, pour it in with all your liquids in the pot. Add the vegetables towards the end of cooking so they don’t wilt. Enjoy!

Please send pictures of your results to mammahaicatering@gmail.com so they can feature them in their social media.