Ingredients
| 1.5kg corned silverside | |
| 1 teaspoon coriander seeds | |
| 2 star anise | |
| 3 black or 6 green cardamom pods, crushed | |
| 8 black peppercorns | |
| 4 cloves | |
| ½ cinnamon stick, crushed | |
| 50g bunch coriander with roots | |
| 2 onions, peeled and quartered | |
| 5cm-piece ginger, sliced | |
| 4 garlic cloves, peeled and halved | |
| 3 stalks lemongrass | |
| 1 tablespoon palm or brown sugar | |
| 2 tablespoons tomato paste | |
| 1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes | |
| 4 carrots, sliced in 2cm pieces | |
| fish sauce to taste | |
| oodles, bean sprouts, Thai basil, coriander leaves, pickled chillies or sriracha to serve pho style |
Corned beef silverside has to be one of the most cost-effective proteins around and this Vietnamese-inspired twist on the traditional way of cooking it is versatile and delicious. Serve pho style, as I have here, with noodles, beansprouts and herbs, or simply spooned over mashed potatoes, rice or with crusty bread for dipping. The cold corned beef also makes great bahn mi filling and any leftover cooking broth can be saved for a quick noodle soup.
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Instructions
| 1. | Wash the corned silverside under running water well then set aside. |
| 2. | Heat a frying pan over a medium/high heat and toast the coriander, star anise, cardamom pods, peppercorns, cloves and cinnamon for about a minute until smelling fragrant. Set aside. |
| 3. | Pick leaves from the fresh coriander and reserve for garnish. |
| 4. | Trim the roots to 5cm-pices, discarding the rest of the stems. |
| 5. | Heat a large heavy-based casserole over a medium/high heat and add the onion, ginger, garlic and coriander roots for about 10 minutes until they are becoming charred. Remove anything if it gets too black and add back later. |
| 6. | Push the onion mix to the sides of the pan and add the corned beef, fat-side down. Brown the fat for about 5 minutes. |
| 7. | Turn to fat side up and add enough water to just cover along with the toasted spices, lemongrass and sugar. |
| 8. | Cover the casserole and bring to the boil then reduce to a very low simmer and cook for about 4 hours until very tender. |
| 9. | Remove the beef from the liquid and set aside. Strain the liquid into a large bowl and discard the onion and spices. |
| 10. | Heat the casserole again over a high heat and add the tomato paste, stirring for a minute, then add the tomatoes and bring to the boil. |
| 11. | Boil for 5 minutes then add the carrots and 6-8 cups of the strained beef liquid (6 for a thicker sauce, 8 for more of a soup-like broth). |
| 12. | Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook until the carrots are tender, about 20 minutes. |
| 13. | Stir in fish sauce to taste. Shred the beef and add back into the tomato broth. |
| 14. | To serve pho style, spoon over noodles and top with bean sprouts, coriander, Thai basil and chillies or chilli sauce. |
Recipes & food styling Fiona Smith / Photography Aaron McLean / Styling Fiona Lascelles