Aug 2009

Rick Stein’s Far Eastern Odyssey

Over a year and a half ago, while I was still living in Saigon, I was tapped by the producers of Rick Stein’s Far Eastern Odyssey to appear on a segment they were taping in Vietnam. I wasn’t hip to Mr. Stein’s culinary accomplishments at the time, but was glad to be of service. After all, sharing the virtues of Vietnamese food is easily one of my favorite things to do.

The show finally aired on BBC Two in the U.K. last month, and the above clip features a little glimpse of yours truly—Thanks to Graham of Noodlepie for digging it up on You Tube. I always get a kick out of meeting bloggers in real life or seeing their mugs revealed, so I thought I’d share this little snippet with you.

To view the episode in its entirety, click here.

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19 thoughts on “Rick Stein’s Far Eastern Odyssey

  1. Wowww, Kathy, you look so comfortable in front of the camera, as if you are used to doing this professionally. I would be thrilled to have met him in person, I really like his humble and no-nonsense cuisine. And tell me something, how do you keep being stick-thin while eating all those foods?
    And your grandma’s duck is just sooo divine! I will certainly try to make it! Thanks for sharing this! Sari

  2. Ooh, I love Rick Stein — used to watch his cooking show years ago, and have even got a couple of his seafood cookbooks that I actually use, so I stand in awe. You guys had a great conversation too about food and family. Very nice! Hmmm is that duck recipe available somewhere?

  3. Thanks for sharing this video. It’s wonderful how you had a great discussion with Rick about food and family. What’s the name of the duck recipe? I want to ask my mom about it.

  4. i hv ze firewall at verk but i vatch this laterz. just meeting you i know you have food network potential. remember the little people when you’re in NY and yes, that would be me. ; )

  5. It’s been a while since I’ve commented but I’ve been following you the whole time Cathy! That video was lovely, you were absolutely adorable, I wish you had a TV show so I could watch you more often!

    I never got to congratulate you on your engagement either! Congrats and best wishes! 😀

  6. Well, it seems everyone above already took my word – Adorable.
    So, I’ll say you look like an adorable eater.
    I’ve been following your Mexican food adventures down the Baja with envy!

  7. Wow, how cool! You were very eloquent! I haven’t been back to VN in years but I loved Cho Ben Thanh. BTW, I so am going to try to make that orange braised duck.

  8. OMG, I saw this on BBC a couple of weeks back and didn’t realize it was you. The Kathy whose blog I read daily. Two thumbs up!! Would love to meet Rick Stein as he’s really passionate about his foods as well.
    Gonna try your mom’s recipe definitely. 🙂

  9. Good stuff. But re the duck recipe – is that really Vietnamese? I’ve never seen anything like it… maybe it’s from the north or something

  10. Hi – I found your site as I was looking for the orange duck recipe. Can you put it up? The video footage appears to be no longer available for viewing. Thanks a lot.

  11. Roxy – Truth me told, the recipe is Rick Stein’s and not my mother’s. I think you can find the recipe in his book that accompanies the series.

  12. He actually doesn’t say it’s your mother’s recipe. He says: “…Kathy told me about this Vietnamese dish, which her mother cooks regularly in California…”

    He calls it: “Duck braised in orange juice with star anise” and doesn’t give to precise directions. In short:
    He sautés 1 duck in parts for 5 or 6 minutes to brown it and to discards the excess fat, adds ‘plenty’ (5?) of crushed cloves of garlic and ‘a lot’ (1 or 2 inches?) thinly sliced ginger. Adds fresh orange juice until the duck is almost, but not completely covered, a couple of table spoons fish sauce, 6 star anise, 3 or 4 red chilli’s, a crushed stick of lemongrass, a spoonful of palm sugar and a good grind of black pepper. He than “lets it simmer for a while”. 10 minutes before it’s ready he adds some (2″) pieces of (2 or 3?) spring onions to finish it. He takes out the meat and thickens the sauce with “some cornflower and a bit of water”.

    Hope you at least told him about a dish like this? It does taste very nice (just made it, using his recorded directions).

  13. Ha! Just saw you on this show on TV in Australia today – I thought I recognised the face!

  14. hi Kathy you are so natural in front of the camera and your a babe you single as I would go out with you in a flash anyway I love how you talk and your gorgeous smile and eyes and I love cooking and I’m really good at it so anyway please call or write back 0466717490 I live in Australia in BRISBANE love josh

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