The Vietnamese dish of Penang Nua? My version of that on a Roti Prata

Vietnamese Penang Nua

I was struggling one day for cooking the family dinner. I ended up reading my book on Vietnamese Street Food and came across the recipe for Penang Nua. That sounds interesting I thought. Clearly it got my juices flowing and I spun up this recipe, my own version. A Vietnamese beef and basil dish on a roti prata. Go figure!!!

To make 5 mini Vietnamese “pizzas” or Vietnamese Penang Nua you will need;

• 500g minced beef;
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic;
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce;
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce;
• 1 cup coconut cream;
• 1 cup roughly chopped sweet basil;
• 1 finely chopped chili padi;
• 1 packet grated cheese (any type will do);
• 1/2 cup crushed salted peanuts; and
• 5 frozen roti pratas.

This goes really quick as usual so stay with me – here comes Vietnamese Penang Nua.

1. Get some oil in your wok, get the heat on and fry the mince beef with the garlic;
2. When it is cooked through add in the soy, fish sauce, chili padi, and coconut cream and stir through;
3. Cook that through for another 5 minutes or so;
4. Off the heat and stir through the basil and peanuts;
5. In parallel get your oven heated to 240, and lay out your roti pratas and drizzle with a little oil;
6. Spoon the beef mixture on top as you can see in the picture;
7. Sprinkle some grated cheese on top and pop them in the oven;
8. Cook for about 5-10 minutes until the pratas puff up and the cheese has nicely melted.

Get them on the plate quick and then watch the plate empty fast. I have to say these were belters. My Vietnamese Penang Nua were damned good. All the usual tastiness you’d expect. Spicy, salty, beefy, herby – all in one. Oh yes!!! ENJOY!!!

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Brian Kennett

Father of 3. All my kids are mixed, with English-Japanese, and English-Filipino - a recipe in the making there. I have been cooking since a small lad, as guided by my Nan and my Mum - gradually that morphed through exposure to Thai cooking from a lovely lady called Da in Margate. I used to hang out in her restaurant and watch the techniques. So the 1+1= greater than 2 occurred - Mum/Nan/Da - off I went in to the world of Asian cuisine. Moving to Asia in early 2000's clearly has brought that on somewhat - we travel continually, and eat locally and therefore have exposure to more and more new things. I have lived my dream and written a cook book whilst here, an amazing experience and all for a good cause too as I raised a lot of money for charity. My blog is now hopefully turning in to book number 2. Watch this space. I hope you enjoy my passion.