STRAIGHT FROM THE CHEF’S KITCHEN: Anthony Tran | Senior Sous Chef

Tell us about your culinary journey so far:

I thought I was going to university when I finished high school, but after a really great work placement in my senior year, I was offered an apprenticeship. Since then, I never looked back. I’ve been fortunate enough to work at some of Sydney and Melbourne’s best restaurants and it’s shaped me into the cook I am today. My love for food continues to grow as I learn new things and forge friendships that will last a lifetime.

Favourite dish at Freyja:

I can’t go past the signature waffle, which has been a staple on the menu since day one. And for good reason. Smoky, herbaceous and salty flavours combine with a crispy cast iron-cooked brown butter waffle. When dining in, it’s a must-have!

Favourite recipe you make at home:

My go-to dish at home is Thịt Kho Trứng (caramelised pork and eggs). It’s my type of comfort food when I miss Mum’s cooking. The recipe traditionally calls for coconut soda, but it’s pretty hard to find so I use coconut water.

Thịt Kho Trứng (Caramelized pork and eggs)

Ingredients

1 kg Pork Belly

600 ml Coconut Water

Filtered Water

60 g Fish sauce (or to taste)

10 g Salt (or to taste)

5 g Pepper (or to taste)

100 g Sugar

10 whole eggs

1-2 Birds Eye Chilli (optional)

Method

Cut pork belly into 3cm. Put pork belly into a pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Cook on high heat for 10 minutes. You will soon see foam forming on top of the water. When time is up, rinse the pork under cold running water until the water is clear. Set aside to drain and dry.

In a wide shallow pot over medium heat, add the sugar and stir with a nonstick spatula until it melts and turns to a dark golden caramel.

Add the pork belly to the caramel and brown the pieces on all sides.

Add coconut water, fish sauce and salt to the pot, then enough filtered water so it just covers the pork.

Turn the heat to high. Once it reaches the boil, lower heat to medium so it’s at a low simmer. Simmer for about 1.5 to 2 hours, leaving covered for the first 40 minutes. Check and stir the pot every 20 minutes. The longer you cook it, the softer the pork gets.

In a separate pot, boil the eggs for 10 minutes, cool under running water, peel the shells and set aside in a bowl.

During the last 30 minutes of cooking, add the peeled eggs. By the end, the eggs should take on the dark colour of the sauce. Reduce the sauce to about 1/3 of the starting amount.

Adjust the flavours to your own taste with more salt, sugar, fish sauce or add water to make the sauce a bit thinner. It should be sweet, salty and savoury.  Finish with pepper and chilli if you like.

Serve with warm jasmine rice.