Ingredients

Meat platter:

• 2 pounds of sirloin, tenderloin or any tender beef, sliced paper thin across the grain
• Ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• 1 tablespoon of fish sauce
• 2 sweet onions thinly sliced
  
  Broth for fondue pot:

• 1 cup of vinegar
• 3 cups water
• 2-3 tablespoons of grated or finely minced lemon grass
• 2 tablespoons of julienned ginger strips
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• 1 tablespoon of salt
• 3 tablespoons of thinly sliced fried garlic
• 1/2 cup of scallions chopped
  
  Dipping sauce:
  
• Anchovy sauce dip (modified version of Vietnamese
  Anchovy sauce dip which is made of fermented anchovy sauce or paste)
• 3 cloves garlic smashed or crushed
• 3 tablespoons of sugar
• 1 can of flat anchovies finely minced
  or 3 tablespoons of fermented anchovy paste or sauce, plus 2 tablespoons of crushed canned pineapple.
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 tablespoons of boiling water
• fresh thinly sliced red hot chilies pepper
  Garnish:
• 1 cucumber, peeled, and sliced lengthwise
• 1 cup pickled shallots (cu kieu) in a jar
• 1 cup roasted peanut, ground
• 1 bunch of spring onion washed and cut in 2-inch lengths
• 1 head of Boston lettuce or any soft leaf lettuce
• 2 starfruits thinly sliced crosswise
• 1 cup of coriander leaves
• 1 cup of mint leaves
• 1 cup of Asian basil leaves
• 3-4 cups of cooked rice vermicelli
• 24 pieces of round rice paper, softened between slightly wet paper towels.
• Cover this with plastic wrap and keep at room temperature until served.

Preparations

Preparations for meat platter:

• Slice the beef and arrange the slices on a serving platter, sprinkle over the beef with pepper, salt, sugar, fish sauce. Arrange onion slices on top, cover and set aside (keep the beef in the refrigerator).
  

To make the fondue broth:

• In a large sauce pan heat 2-3 tablespoons of canola oil, fry minced lemon grass, ginger, add the first six ingredients for the fondue broth, bring to boil, and add the fried garlic. Pour the broth into the fondue pot or hot pot on the dinning table and add the chopped scallions.
  
  To serve:

• Put the dipping sauce in individual serving bowls and place them on the dinning table along with the vegetable platter, rice vermicelli, and rice papers.
• Put one soft, pliable rice paper on a dinner plate, select any of the ingredients you like from the vegetable platter, add noodles, and ground peanuts.
  With a fondue fork or a pair of chopsticks, dip a few pieces of beef and slices of onion in the broth. Remove the beef, add to the vegetables, and wrap the rice paper to form a roll.
• Dip the roll in individual anchovy sauce bowls and eat out of your hand immediately. Adjust to taste with hot chilies in your dipping sauce.