Luke Nguyen recipes worth fighting over

Luke Nguyen's food has taken us across Vietnam, France, China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and the United Kingdom. It's fair to say that choosing favourites is going to be challenging...

Vietnamese beef pho Source: Alan Benson

Straight out with it: this list was almost impossible to put together. It's taken ages to decide what recipes to include because they are all favourites - all circa 400 of them. Luke Nguyen has possibly never written a ho-hum recipe in his life.

Now there's a face that knows how to put together a winning food combination. Source: Luke Nguyen's Railway Vietnam

Take, for example, Luke's recipe for Cantonese fried noodles. It's simple Hong Kong egg noodle and soy dish that's generally served for breakfast but is good any time of the day. It takes less than 15 minutes to prepare. So far, great recipe, but a favourite?

SBS Food writer Bron Maxabella randomly made this dish for her children about six months ago and has not escaped a single week since without a kid asking whether it's on the menu tonight. Yes, child, it's on the menu. It's always on the menu now.

Here's to recipes that confidently guide us around the world.

Luke's addictive dishes are all those kinds of favourites. To narrow things down, we've focused on Vietnamese cooking, though you'll find lists of other cuisines Luke's excelled at throughout. Here's to recipes that confidently guide us around the world.

Cantonese fried noodles

As long as there is life, there will be these noodles on the menu. Source: Alan Benson

Super easy, super fast and super simple - even if Bron's kids weren't keen, Cantonese fried noodles would still be one of her favourite family dinners.

Bun cha

There's eight ingredients in the marinade alone, but here's the instructions: "mix together well". Source: Luke Nguyen's Railway Vietnam

One from Luke Nguyen's Railway Vietnam, bun cha brings pork, rice noodles, herbs and fish sauce together in one life-affirming bowl. Proof that Luke can turn a daunting list of ingredients into an achievable recipe you'll soon have on high repeat.

Com ga

This dish takes some time, but it's time you'll be delighted to eat later. Source: (Luke Nguyen's Railway Vietnam

The signature street dish of Hoi An is given the Luke treatment and the result is the tastiest chicken dish you're ever likely to eat. Ever bold Vietnamese flavour is represented and it all comes together beautifully. In true Luke style, the ingredients list is twice as long as the method.

Luke can turn a daunting list of ingredients into an achievable recipe you'll soon have on high repeat.

Caramelised pork belly

Fresh coconut water is ideal for this recipe, but Luke is forgiving if yours comes in a tin. Source: Benito Martin

This meltingly-tender pork belly is the result of 15 minutes of effort combined with an hour and a half on the stovetop. In other words, it's the kind of dish that warms you twice.

Luke cooked this dish on Luke Nguyen's United Kingdom. Here are five other favourite recipes from his travels:

Beef pho

Pho can feel like an intimidating dish to make, but Luke gently walks us through it. Source: Alan Benson

Luke says he craves this dish whenever he's in Vietnam, little wonder when he grew up eating a bowl of pho a day. This recipe is the Hanoi version, but you can find Luke's childhood pho recipe here:

Mushroom hotpot

This is comfort food that won't weigh you down. Source: Alan Benson

It's worthwhile making Luke's mushroom stock to form the base for this hotpot, but you can shortcut it and use store-bought if you need to. That said, making it yourself takes about 10 minutes as long cooking times are not required for vegetarian stock. You can tuck into this warming dish in around half an hour either way.

Chicken curry

Ready your baguette slices for some serious dunking. Source: Luke Nguyen's Food Trail

A Nguyen family favourite, make a double-batch of this easy chicken curry so you're off the hook for dinner tomorrow night. Like many good curries, it will taste even better on day two or even three.

It's the kind of dish that warms you twice.

Crab in tamarind

Using cooked crab in this recipe keeps the cooking time to a minimum. Source: Luke Nguyen's France

Using cooked crab cuts the cooking time for this recipe down to a mere 10 minutes. The sauce is all Vietnam, mixing mint, coriander, fish sauce, honey and tamarind. Luke suggests serving this dish with a cold beer on a hot day, though we suspect it would be equally good with a warming glass of whisky on a cold one.

Luke made this dish while in France for Luke Nguyen's France. Here are a few more faves he made during the show:

Fried fish cakes

Wrap these fish cakes in lettuce leaves with vermicelli noodles and herbs and serve with nuoc cham. Source: Luke Nguyen's Vietnam

Who doesn't love a fish cake? Especially one that is this easy to make and loaded with tasty Vietnamese flavour. These little morsels aren't spicy, though you are free to add as much chilli as you can handle. Make loads and freeze for later.

Lijiang baba

Make it savoury, or make it sweet, baba is memorable either way. Source: Luke Nguyen's Greater Mekong

Okay, so this last recipe isn't Vietnamese. Luke made Lijiang baba during Luke Nguyen's Greater Mekong as he travelled through the northwest part of China's Yunnan province. While there are many recipes from the show we would like to feature here, it had to be this one. We made it for lunch a few weeks ago and haven't been able to stop thinking about it since. Move over Cantonese noodles, there's a new favourite in town...

More recipes from the Mekong to bring us home: