Luke Nguyen’s Pho left MasterChef contestants reeling. Now available to try in Sydney, minus one controversial ingredient
His pho pressure test left MasterChef contestants reeling. Now the ‘nose to tail’ dish is being served up in Sydney, but chef Luke Nguyen has omitted one secret ingredient.
Confidential
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For his appearance on MasterChef during a Pressure Cook challenge, celebrated chef Luke Nguyen served up a ‘Beef Short Rib Pho’ which contained one controversial ingredient … bulls penis.
Contestants were charged with recreating the dish without the recipe. The Vietnamese-Australian chef chose the recipe because it was an elevated version of the traditional dish his parents would make.
“When I was young, my parents never wasted anything. They were nose to tail and would use the whole animal, so they would cook with bulls penis,” Nguyen said.
Now, Nguyen has created that same pho and put it on the menu of his Sydney restaurant, Botanic House in the heart of the Royal Botanic Gardens.
However, unlike the MasterChef contestants, foodies won’t be sampling the secret ingredient.
“I’ve taken it out of the pho at Botanic House, however if guests start demanding it, of course we can add it in,” he said.
Other than the removal of the bulls penis, which adds a gelatinous texture to the broth, the dish is the same as what appeared on the show, with contestants Adi Nevgi, Grace Jupp and Theo Loizou attempting to recreate it.
It contains fresh rice noodles, pho stock, slow cooked beef short ribs, vegetables and spices like star anise, cardamom, coriander and cinnamon.
While contestants on the Channel 10 series cooked their broth in a pressure cooker for two hours, the broth in the restaurant has been simmering for hours and hours.
“For me, I love to cook and present dishes that tell a story. Food is about history and this pho dish has been passed down from my parents,” he said.
“It’s a blend of my upbringing along with my training in fine dining restaurants.”
The pho costs $30 and is available until 14th July.
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