Roast Beef Tenderloin

1. Generously salt the beef on all sides and let it sit on a rack, uncovered, in the fridge for as many hours as you have time for, and up to overnight. This will allow the salt to penetrate the beef, and it will dry off the surface which will help with browning.
2. Preheat the oven to 450°F.
3. Truss the roast and place it on a rack fitted inside a roasting pan. Insert a programmable, leave-in meat thermometer into the middle of the roast, making sure the probe is at the centre, and set the alarm to go off 10 degrees Fahrenheit lower than your desired final temperature to allow for carry-over cooking. (The medium rare doneness shown in the video was pulled at 125°F, and it reached a final temperature of 135°F during resting.)
4. Roast the beef for 10 minutes at 450°F so the beef has a chance to brown, then reduce the heat to 275°F and continue roasting at this low temperature until the meat is done to your desired doneness. This low temp will allow beautifully even cooking throughout the roast.
5. (Alternatively, you can sear the beef on the stove top in a hot, oiled skillet until browned on all sides, then finish roasting it at 275°F.)
6. Once the beef is removed from the oven, loosely tent it with aluminum foil and let it rest for at least 15 minutes, and up to 30 minutes if the roast is large.
7. Transfer to a cutting board, remove the twine, then slice and serve with the gravy and your favourite side dishes.

Thai Style Gravy

1. Lightly grease a pan, then add the ground beef and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently until it’s caramelized; deglaze with a splash of beef stock if too much is sticking too quickly. Once the beef is quite well browned, but still has some pale pieces, add the shallots and keep cooking until the shallots are soft and the beef is very well caramelized, scraping the brown bits off the bottom of the pan as you go.
2. Add the remaining stock to the beef, scrape off any bits stuck to the pan, and let it simmer for 15-20 minutes to reduce and infuse.
3. Drain the sauce and press all the juices out of the beef bits. Discard the beef and return the stock to the pan.
4. Add soy sauce, fish sauce, sweet soy sauce or brown sugar and bring to a simmer. Dissolve the flour in some cold water, and stir about half of this slurry into the sauce and bring the gravy to a boil. Assess the consistency of the gravy and add more of the remaining slurry as needed.
5. Stir in the garlic, chilies and lemongrass and remove from heat. Add a squeeze of lime juice, then taste and adjust seasoning as needed. When ready to serve, stir in some chopped cilantro.

Thai Neef Noodle Soup

To make the broth:

1. Rinse the bones and add to a large stock pot. Cover with cold water and simmer for 1.5 hours, skimming off the scum from the surface as needed.
2. After 1.5 hours, add the onion, garlic, cilantro steps, black pepper, and any other aromatics you’re adding. Simmer for another 1 – 1.5 hours.
3. Use a slotted skimmer to remove all the bones and aromatics from the broth. At this point if it has reduced too much and you have less liquid than you need, feel free to add more water to make up the volume. Season with fish sauce, soy sauce and sugar, then taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

Make the fried garlic:

1. Chop 1 head of garlic and add to a small pot or pan. Add just enough of a neutral flavoured oil to cover the garlic, then fry on low heat until the garlic is golden and the bubbling has significantly slowed down. Be careful not to let the garlic get too brown or it will become bitter. Strain the garlic from the oil. You can keep them separately in the fridge in an airtight container for several weeks. Use over noodle soups or any dish that can use some extra garlic flavour!

Assembly:

1. Soak the rice noodles in room temp water for 15-20 minutes or until the noodles are soft and pliable.
2. Reheat the broth if needed and bring another pot of water for blanching noodles to a full boil.
3. *If making several bowls of noodle soup, I find it easier to separate the noodles while they’re uncooked and blanch them one at a time, rather than trying to separate hot, cooked noodles.
4. Place one portion of noodles and beansprouts in a metal sieve or an Asian style noodle strainer and place it in boiling water and shake it a bit for 5 seconds. If you’re using bigger noodles, or under-soaked your noodles, you will need to cook it longer). Lift it from the water, drain off as much water as you can, and place the noodles into a serving bowl. Repeat with the remaining portions.
5. Arrange the beef slices over the cooked noodles and ladle the hot broth over.
6. Finish it off with chopped green onions and/or cilantro, garlic oil, fried garlic and chili oil/flakes if desired. Enjoy!

For Chili Vinegar: Cut 6 chilies (Thai, serranos, jalapenos or habaneros) in half and place on a foil-lined baking sheet, cut side down. Place the 2 peeled garlic cloves on the sheet as well. Broil the chilies and garlic on HIGH until the chilies are charred in spots and the garlic cloves are browned. Transfer to a blender, add just enough of the vinegar to blend, and blend until there are no more big chunks.