JON NGUYEN

WARREN PHOTOS:JACLYN

TRAN AN

Even before Jon Nguyen wanted to be a chef, his grandfather encouraged him to open a Vietnamese restaurant. With a huge Vietnamese community, his hometown of Houston was bursting with bánh mì and pho shops, and his grandfather believed that Nguyen could eventually create one of the greats. He started down a di erent route, studying government at the University of Texas at Austin. But after graduating in 2005, he found himself barbacking at Benjy’s in Houston's Rice Village, where he worked beside his rst mentor, Restaurateur Benjy Levit. In 2009, Nguyen moved to Hanoi to work for his uncle’s retail business. Although he absorbed the food culture around him, Nguyen quickly realized that he did not belong in the retail industry or Vietnam. graduated in 2013 and moved to NYC to open Tien Ho’s Chelsea restaurant, Montmartre, followed by Danny Meyer’s e Modern. Nguyen took the jump to Miami in 2014 to consult for e Mondrian hotel. He was introduced to Rising Stars alum Dale Talde and eventually opened his South Beach restaurant, Talde, in the ompson Hotel. In 2018, St. Roch Market approached Nguyen about opening his own concept. e business, a fast-casual Vietnamese shop, had been laid out in his head for years. All that was missing was a name; he decided on Tran An, named after his grandfather. Nguyen opened the stall in 2018 to instant success. Now with a brick-and-mortar sit-down location in the Little River neighborhood and a locally driven market next door called DYL’s (named after his son), Nguyen’s homestyle cooking and hospitality make every visitor feel like family. jonnguyenlovespho / trananmiami

Favorite kitchen tool: O set spatula or spoon Tool you wish you had: Vegetable slicer Favorite cookbook: e Complete Nose to Tail by Fergus Henderson Most important kitchen rule: Have fun. Place to visit for culinary travel: Peru Where you eat on your nights o : Pretty much anything that is not Vietnamese food Advice to your younger self: Don't put too much pressure on yourself to reach your goals within a time frame you've made up in your head. Let your life happen organically and be patient. As long as you always do the right thing and have the right mindset, the universe will reward you.

Lemongrass beef stew

Chef Jon Nguyen of Tran An Adapted by StarChefs Yield: About sixty 4-ounce portions

INGREDIENTS 2 ounces frozen lemongrassBeef Stew: 3 ounces ginger, charred 12 ounces white onion, peeled and cleaned 16 ounces daikon radish, peeled and cleaned 12 ounces carrot, peeled and 20 bay leaves 4 ounces sambal 10 ounces diluted 100% natural sh sauce (1:2 sh sauce to water) 5 ounces salt For the Beef Stew: Add ginger, onion, daikon, carrot, and garlic to a food processor; pulse thoroughly until almost puréed. In a wide surface pot over high ame, heat oil to smoking point. Without overcrowding the pot, sear brisket until golden dark brown, then transfer to To Assemble and Serve: Spoon 4 ounces Beef Stew onto a serving plate. Top with cabbages, herbs, onions, fried garlic or shallots, and lime. Serve with a side of broken rice. cleaned a hotel pan. Add processed vegetables and 3 ounces garlic, peeled and To Assemble and Serve: tomato paste to the pot and sweat. Deglaze cleaned Shredded cabbage with wine and let reduce by ¼. Add 16 ounces grapeseed oil Fresh Origins micro Chinese remaining ingredients and 1 gallon water; 20 pounds whole Aussie beef cabbage bring to a simmer, then pour over seared brisket, trimmed, cleaned, Cilantro brisket. Double-wrap hotel pan with and cut into 1-inch cubes ai basil aluminum foil and transfer to a 325°F 9 ounces tomato paste Scallion oven. Braise 2½ to 3 hours or until meat is 64 ounces red wine Sliced red onions fork-tender. 2 ounces Chinese ve-spice Fried garlic or shallots 5 ounces honey Lime Broken rice METHOD

Featured ingredients: Australian beef brisket, Fresh Origins micro Chinese cabbage