“My name is Brendan Tran, chef
and co-owner here at Little Kirin, the home of
the pho sandwich.” [UPBEAT TRENDY MUSIC] “I have always been a
little bit of a rulebreaker. I think that’s part
of being creative.” [BELL RINGING] “We opened on August 15, 2022. The best seller, by far, is
definitely our pho sandwich. I’m obsessed with
the pho sandwich. Every little detail, I
took it very seriously. I’m just moving the
beef around right now. So I just want to go
through everything, Make sure everything
was braised right. We get these huge
slabs of brisket. We cut it down. We braise it in a soup
that has influence From Chinese cooking
and Vietnamese cooking. Generally about six hours. Then you get this
beautiful, see that jiggly? The tricks? I can’t tell you. There’s no way. So what we’re using here,
I’ve been told it’s called A ciabatta steak panini. After trying that
sandwich a few times With a different type
of French baguettes, I realized the bread was
not holding in the soup. Once we dipped it into
the broth, I was like, It was just falling apart. So I had to search
far, far and wide. I ate a lot of different
bread that summer. We went to a lot of
different bakeries. When I finally
found this one, I Knew right away, this
was a lot more solid
And it just soaks in
everything so nice While still keeping that
texture of the sandwich. So when you press
it down, like this, Told me that it’s going to
be able to soak everything up Without breaking down. First, we’re going
to toast some bread. I have bread in the
toaster already. Whoa, she’s hot. She’s crunchy on the outside,
fluffy on the inside. In the pho sandwich,
there is hoisin sauce, Thai basil, jalapeño, and
the beef goes on top of that. On top of the beef is
scallion, cilantro, Raw onions, and crispy onions. We do something with the
onions that I’m not going To say, but there’s
more than meets the eye. I’ll just say that. The broth, it’s boiled with
bones and spices for like Hours and hours. The broth recipe is loosely
based on my grandma’s recipe And one of my aunts. Once you dip it into
the soup, that hot broth Brings it all
together and kind of Snaps something in the
brain that reminds you Pho in a really powerful way. We’re in New York City. This is the land of remixing
things and making it new. Putting pho on a
sandwich is different. It is crazy, but it’s
my way of expressing. Growing up in Brooklyn,
there’s always sandwiches. New York City is
a sandwich city. I’m not a rice noodle guy. When I had pho, I would
enjoy the flavors a lot, But I was never a huge
fan of the noodles. And then one day,
I don’t know,
When I was just being creative
and writing down a menu ideas, A pho sandwich kind of
just popped into my head. Yeah, you guys need
anything else, let me know. That’s a big one. That’s a VIP one
for you guys.” “It’s a quick pick, too.” “O.K., I’ve never had
something like this. You got to dip
in the pho broth. And, oh, my god,
it’s amazing.” “When I first moved
to the East Village, My roommates brought me here. Here’s something kind
of unique to New York. So they got me this sandwich. And, I mean, I loved it.” “Yay. It’s my first time here. I’ve wanted to come here
since I saw the pho sandwich On a list of best sandwiches. It’s so good. It’s just like pho, and
like really is just like it, But in a sandwich form.” “If you get a cup of pho broth
on the side to dip it in, it’s Like our version
of French dip. That’s what put
us on the map.” “I’ll eat a pho sandwich
and a pho broth.” “I got you.” “I didn’t know that you
could put pho on a sandwich, So that was a new
experience for me. And being able to dip it in
there was a great experience As well.” “Glad to know
you’re doing good.” “I am. I see you’re doing good.” “I’m doing all right.
I’m doing all right.” “I love Brendan. I’ve known Brendan
for like years. We used to work on
the trucks together. He was my favorite person
to work with on the trucks.” “She’s lying.” “I’m not lying. He’s so cool. He’s laid back. He doesn’t do too much.” “Good to see you. How’s it going?” “Good.” “Good. Talk to me.” “I live down the block. I come here three times,
four times a week. My loyalty card is my face
card, not one of the punches.” [BELL RINGING] “Yo.” “What’s up, big dog? My absolute favorite
part is interacting with The customers.” “I appreciate it.” “All the friends and
relationships I’ve made along The way, they love coming
here to just say hi and eat. It’s really like
a dream come true. But when I see a Vietnamese
mom or auntie coming in, I get a little nervous. They’re going to compare
their pho with mine, And it’s a whole thing. I don’t want people thinking
I’m knocking our culture Or trying to
disrespect our culture. The only person I wanted to
get an O.K. from was my mom.
So I asked my mom. I was like, hey, I have this
idea for a pho sandwich. Is that disrespecting
our culture in any way?” “She goes, well,
it’s a little weird, But pho is all about the soup. It’s like the
soul of that dish. In that moment, I
was like, oh, wow, What if I put a cup of pho
soup on the side and dip it? After that, she’s like, oh,
O.K., yeah, that could work. My family struggled very hard
to get here to America late ‘70s, early ‘80s. They would tell us stories
about how it was really scary. They were on a boat
for months at a time.” “Until till this day, my mom
can’t go on a cruise without Feeling like weird.” “I started cooking in 2012,
because my father passed away Suddenly. He was like the
main breadwinner. At that time, I was
still a little idiot. I was only 19. I’m not going home. I was just being a bad kid. And I saw my mom working
like seven days a week. And, to me, it just
didn’t sit right. As a son, how can I live with
myself watching her work, The way she’s working?” – [SPEAKING VIETNAMESE]: “He’s quit school when our
father passed to help my mom Get things together and help
raise me at the same time, When no one asked him to. No one asked him. No one told him, you
need to start being a dad To your little sister.” “So after that, I
dropped everything,
I just got the
first job I could, Which was on a food truck that
my best friend was already Working on. He’s like, hey,
come work with us. That’s how cooking started.” “And he’s worked ever
since and hasn’t stopped. There’s been times where
he’s come home super tired, Like I can barely get
a word out of him. And the next morning, before I
wake up, he’s out the house.” [SIZZLING] “So this, I would say, is the
appropriate amount of meat. O.K.? Sauce, O.K. We want it tight. So I want it like this. Yeah? Not too hard of a squeeze,
so it’s not too much. Thin lines is good. Wow. This you? Nice, thank you. Oh, he cut the
tomatoes for me. You see, your buddy’s busy
doing something and you got A moment, cut the
tomatoes for them. Prepare a small thing
for them in the kitchen, It means everything. Some of my best
friendships in life Have been made through
working together in kitchens. It was not easy to
start this place. O.K., my friends, here you go. I was the new
guy on the block. I’m not a famous chef. I didn’t go to
culinary school. Nobody knows who I am. We really had to
fight hard to gain
The reputation we have now. So it was very
difficult. It still is, But it’s also very fun. A big goal of mine
has always been About bigging up and
preserving our culture. Through food, I’m
pushing Asian culture, Pushing Asian flavors. I belong to a lion dance club. I’ve been in it
since I was 10. Through lion dance, I’m
preserving that old culture. If it’s not us, then
who’s going to do it? What do I want to achieve? To be honest, I’ve been
thinking about that lately. I feel like I’ve done it. Making my family proud, that
journey to America wasn’t For nothing. Someone from my family
made something of himself. I feel like I’ve
already done that.” [UPBEAT MUSIC] [BELL RINGING]
Have you ever wondered why most of the Vinaigrettes in the grocery store are made with 10, 20, sometimes even almost 30 ingredients? I remember growing up in Provence watching my mother whipping vinaigrettes before every single dinner. She would mix in a giant bowl, delicious extra virgin olive oil, a robust aged vinegar (the flavor would depend on the main dish), sea salt and pepper and voila! I decided to do the same thing for my family and friends more than 20 years ago here in this beautiful country. And Provence Kitchen® was born. Stay tune for more articles and wonderful family recipes..
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