This Vietnamese specialty is at its best when it is cooked over a small coal barbecue. In a restaurant, the barbecue is brought to your table with a plate of rice papers, assorted lettuce leaves, and mint leaves. The beef is cooked to order, then you roll it in the rice paper and pop it in your mouth.

Ingredients:

1 lb
1
1
2 tsp

Nuoc Mam dipping sauce:
6 tbsp
2 tsp
1 tbsp
3
2

To serve:
32
2 tbsp

1

fillet of beef
lemon grass stalk, very finely chopped
garlic cloves, crushed
fish sauce



fish sauce
superfine sugar
rice vinegar
red bird chilies, finely chopped
green bird chilies, finely chopped


medium rice papers
toasted sesame seeds
handful of mint sprigs
red chilies, chopped

Method:

1. Put the beef in the freezer for 30 minutes - 1 hour so that it is firm but not frozen. Using a sharp knife, cut the meat across the grain into thin slices. To make the dipping sauce, mix together all the ingredients and leave to stand for 1 hour.

2. Arrange the beef on 4 individual serving plates. Sprinkle it with the lemon grass, garlic and fish sauce and set aside for 30 minutes before serving.
   

3. Dip the sheets of rice paper briefly in water to moisten. Divide them between 4 smaller plates with the sprigs of mint and set out individual bowls of dipping sauce.
   

4. Light a small barbecue or heat a table-top stove and give a plate of beef and plate of rice papers to each person. The beef is cooked by each person according to taste: 1 minute for rare and 3-4 minutes for well done. To eat, place a slice of beef on a rice paper, sprinkle it with toasted sesame seeds and a few mint leaves, roll it up like a cigar, and sprinkle with chopped chili. Dip the wrapped-up beef into the dipping sauce before eating.

Serves 4