STRAIGHT FROM THE CHEF’S KITCHEN: Vyvyan Huynh | Junior Sous Chef
Tell us about your culinary journey so far:
I was born and raised in Calgary, Canada and started working at the early age of 16, helping a family friend in their baguette store. Soon after, I found myself in fast-paced produce-driven kitchens across the country, including Park Restaurant and Bouillon Bilk in Montreal, and Mission Hill Winery in British Columbia.
I then decided to broaden my horizons and chose Australia for my next adventure because I knew next to nothing about the country. So I made my way to Melbourne for a chance to work at Attica. Unfortunately, I was passed over. But it was a blessing in disguise as I was recommended to Stokehouse restaurant where I stayed for nearly 6 years working my way up from a demi-chef to a junior-sous chef.
Now at Freyja restaurant, I’ve recently marked one year here with the new team and it has been equally refreshing and challenging. Freyja’s food philosophy resonates with me – it’s Nordic techniques using the best Australian produce.
Favourite dish at Freyja:
Cured tuna with smoked cucumbers and apple broth.
We’re currently using kingfish but the garnish remains the same. It’s cured sliced tuna overlaid with smoked cucumbers and topped with salted blood orange, finger limes for punch, and our refreshing lacto-fermented broth of apple and cucumber. The dish is finished with hazelnut oil which ties everything together.
Favourite recipe you make at home:
Prawn congee with scallion oil.
Growing up I hated porridge, and typically this type of dish is overcooked and unappealing. But when I learned how to cook traditional congee, it completely changed my perception of this humble dish.
Ingredients:
Rice base
200g jasmine rice
2000g water
Prawn marinade
500g whole raw prawns, deveined
8g cornstarch
15g oyster sauce
30g water
30g neutral oil
Garnish
20g green onions tops sliced thinly
15g ginger finely julienned
Sesame oil (to taste)
White pepper powder (to taste)
Scallion oil
300g peanut oil
50g green onions finely sliced including whites
10g ginger minced
5g garlic minced
Method (Congee):
Mix cornstarch, oyster sauce, water and neutral oil. Then add prawns and let it marinate for 20 minutes.
Wash the rice three times in cool water until the water runs clear, let it drain and set aside. This step will remove excess starch and prevent a sticky congee.
Bring 2000g of water to a boil and add rice once the water starts boiling. Stir a few times and allow it to come back to a boil. Once it does, don’t stir but partially cover the pot, bring down to a medium heat for a rapid simmer and set a timer for 25 minutes (don’t disturb or stir the pot).
Once the time is up, taste the rice – it should be just cooked without being crunchy. Then use a large whisk to whisk the rice to make a fluffy porridge.
Turn off the heat and add your protein of choice, dropping in the small pieces and stirring gently to allow the residual heat to cook it through.
Finish it off with the fresh ginger and green onion tops, a generous amount of salt and some white pepper powder and sesame oil to taste.
Method (Scallion oil):
Gather your green onions into a heat proof bowl, next the ginger and finally the garlic on top.
Heat peanut oil in a pot until just smoking and carefully pour the oil over the ginger, garlic, green onions.
Allow to it cook slightly then stir in salt and finally sesame oil.
Garnish the congee with your preferred amount of scallion oil.
This is my go-to dish at home, my partner and I switch up the protein using prawns or chicken thigh. We sometimes add Ronin Chili Oil if we want a bit of heat.