“Leatherjacket is very underrated and is considered a bycatch species, a fish inadvertently caught while pursuing a more valuable prize. I think it has an amazing texture, it can carry big flavours such as lemongrass, soy or curry spices, and, once cooked, the flesh just slides off the bone.” - Chef Mark Jensen

“Oysters are the ultimate eco-friendly extravagance. They feed on microscopic organisms by drawing water into their shells and filtering the nutrients out. Oysters are like the canaries of the sea; they are highly sensitive to pollutants and can’t survive in anything less than pristine waters.” - Chef Mark Jensen

“I recommend the Australian Sustainable Seafood Guide as an introductory shopping guide for sustainable seafood species. The guide is available online at www.amcs.org.au or for further reading, visit www.msc.org or www.montereybayaquarium.org.” - Chef Mark Jensen

“Baguettes are one of many great things the French introduced to Vietnam. However, Vietnamese have adapted the French baguette and made it their own, making it more fluffy, airy and with a crispier finish. This allows us to add a variety of fillings to them, or to dip them in curries or slow-cooked stews, soaking up all the sauce.” - Chef Luke Nguyen

"Perhaps the least invasive form of aquaculture is the farming of molluscs. Species such as oysters, scallops and mussels are filter feeders and require pristine waters to thrive. These bivalves filter the phytoplankton and zooplankton from the water and do not need to be artificially fed." - Chef Mark Jensen

“In Vietnam, women hold the green papaya in one hand and, with a sharp knife in the other, rapidly and repeatedly cut into the fruit; fine shards fall away into a bowl. You can buy a special tool from an Asian supermarket that shreds the papaya beautifully (and safely), or simply slice the papaya very finely, then cut it into long thin strips.” - Chef Mark Jensen

“In this recipe, traditional French steak tartare, which is made with minced beef and served raw with egg yolk and seasoning, is given a Vietnamese makeover with the addition of Asian herbs and seasonings. The egg yolks used are quail, and it is dressed with a signature Vietnamese Nước Mắm Chấm.” - SBS Food

“Lemongrass is an essential ingredient in Vietnamese cooking. Not only does it impart a wonderful gingery citrus flavour to food, but it also has medicinal qualities. I grow lemongrass in my garden, so I also dry the stems to make my own lemongrass tea. Make this dish at your next Sunday barbecue and impress all your friends. The aromas released during grilling are amazing.” - Chef Luke Nguyen

“Squid is plentiful, reasonably inexpensive and can be roasted, grilled, sautéed, or stuffed and steamed. Yes, it’s very versatile, so please take advantage of it and experiment” - Chef Mark Jensen

“This is steak and three veg with a difference - packed with Vietnamese flavours, this is a great dinner to whip up on a weekday night.” - Chef Luke Nguyen

“In Vietnam, this dish is cooked at the table in a small frying pan over a charcoal grill. If you have a tabletop gas cooker, you can prepare this dish in a similar fashion. Cook the fish in smaller quantities and assemble the vermicelli salad at the table.” - Chef Mark Jensen

“I am a big fan of lemon-cured dishes. It all started with Bò Tái Chanh (lemon cured sirloin) - a dish I grew up with. Lemon curing is such a simple and clean way of cooking and the results are amazing. The citrus, when combined with mint, makes the dish refreshing, clean and crisp. At Red Lantern we only serve this kingfish recipe as a ‘special’ - and the guests love it.

When I was invited to cook for the Australian ambassador at a charity dinner for the Asian Society in Manila, I went a littler further and added a lemon cured scallop dish to the menu - it was a winner.” - Chef Luke Nguyen

“Luke Nguyen's Vietnamese fish cakes make perfect appetisers just as they are, or for a more substantial bite, wrap them in lettuce leaves with vermicelli noodles and herbs and serve with nuoc cham. The kids will love them too because they're not spicy, but you could always add a little chilli to the mixture for an extra kick.” - SBS Food

“This classic Vietnamese dipping sauce, Nuoc Mắm Chấm (or sometimes just called và Nước Chấm), is a balance of salty (from fish sauce), chilli and sweet. Serve it with fried street snacks, fresh rice paper rolls or use as a dressing over salads.” - SBS Food

“Ha Long Bay is famous for its mussels. They are plump, juicy and really sweet. When you buy delicious mussels like these, make sure to never overcook them. After they begin to open their shells, you need only another minute and they are done: take them out of the wok and enjoy straight away.” - Chef Luke Nguyen

“Cousin Khanh had worked as a chef in a Vietnamese restaurant for many years, when he realised how many similarities there were between Vietnamese and French cooking. Keen to extend his French cooking skills, he now works as an apprentice in a French kitchen. This is his recipe. as is typical for Vietnamese sweets, he steams the brûlée rather than cooking it in an oven.” - Chef Luke Nguyen

“I learnt this recipe from a lady who also taught me how to make my own tofu. Her name is Mrs Ha, and she and her family have been making fresh tofu in Quy Nhon for five generations. Eating freshly made tofu is so different to eating tofu that has been packaged and sitting in a refrigerator for a week. If you ever get the chance to purchase freshly made tofu, please do so!” - Chef Luke Nguyen

“I believe the ultimate respect we can show an animal raised for the dinner table is to ensure we consume everything from head to tail. Beef cheeks are very tough because of all the work they do, but when cooked slowly the meat practically dissolves on your tongue.” - Chef Mark Jensen

“Here’s a dish that originated in south China’s Jiangxi Province and one that has become incredibly popular in Malaysia. It’s served as ‘confinement food’, fed to women in the weeks before and after they have given birth, to build up their strength and help them properly recuperate. In Malaysia, as in China, there’s an entire repertoire of these confinement dishes and even today, serving them to expectant and new mothers is taken very seriously. This dish is called ‘three cup chicken’ because, originally, cooks used a cup each of soy sauce, rice wine and sesame oil in the dish. Traditionally it is cooked in a clay pot and this definitely adds another flavour dimension to the chicken. Even though the clay pots look rather fragile, you can actually put them over a naked flame; the trick is, you need to give them a long, overnight soaking in cold water before you first use a new one, otherwise it will most likely crack. Once soaked though, your clay pot will last for years.” - Chef Luke Nguyen

“This is another dish that grabs my attention at Amphawa Floating Market, where I smell the wonderful aroma long before I see it being cooked. I always try to eat this when I’m in Thailand – it’s a classic stir-fry that’s also made using pork and is generally not hard to find. The star ingredient is holy basil which is very different in character to sweeter Thai basil; spicy, a little sharp, peppery and zesty, it has distinctive anise-like overtones. It’s always used in cooked dishes, unlike Thai basil which can be used raw in salads. Holy basil is just too strong. The leaf has little jagged edges and the stems are a bit purplish and you’ll find it in Thai or other general Asian food stores in the fresh produce section. Using a mortar and pestle to grind up the ingredients, rather than a food processor, is important as this properly releases all the oils and juices from the chillies, garlic and shallots, and gives the finished dish a real depth of flavour. ” - Chef Luke Nguyen