- [Host] Whether you put them in a sauce... - Good job.

- [Host] Stir fried or baked, noodles are everywhere.

- Whoof, look at that steam.

- [Host] From country to country, different preparations mean different taste profiles.

- This is my first time eating all these ingredients.

Mmm, it's really good.

- My name is Beryl and this show explores how our foods can bring our different cultures together.

- This is amazing.

- [Beryl] And this is our noodle episode.

Today I've paired up Rodrigo and Lisa to swap their go-to noodle dishes.

Rodrigo will make one of Lisa's Vietnamese favorites, pho xao chay.

- [Beryl] It's hot, turn it down!

- [Beryl] While Lisa will try her hand at a Peruvian classic, tallarines verdes.

- It's a beautiful green color, gorgeous.

- [Beryl] Time to swap.

(bright piano music) - Hey Rodrigo, my name is Lisa Wynn and today you'll be making one of my favorite noodle dishes, pho xao chay.

So it basically translates to pho, which are the pho noodles used in this dish, xao is stir fried, and chay is vegetarian.

The noodles used in this dish are typical pho noodles, and the typical ones are the flat, wide versions.

And these are the ones that I grew up eating, but I like the flat and wide ones because they have more sustenance to it, there's a bit more of a chew, and it's just really good.

- [Rodrigo] The back says that I have to do it in five minutes, so I will set around four minutes.

- Growing up Vietnamese in Kansas was definitely an interesting experience.

As I grew up and I learned more about my parents' background and their upbringing, it made me appreciate my culture way more.

(timer chimes) - I'm out!

- Okay, so time is over.

Let's take this out.

Let me just try this for the first time.

- [Lisa] Vietnamese cuisine is mainly known for pho or banh-mi or spring rolls, but there's so much more to it.

- Kind of tastes like rice.

It's good, I like it.

- [Lisa] The base for pho xao chay is soy sauce, so that is the main flavor that you'll get throughout as you're eating this.

But what I love most about this dish is the texture.

A little crunch factor, basically.

- [Beryl] Have you ever had a baby corn?

- No, so this will be my first time eating baby corn.

- [Beryl] Yes!

- I will say it needs to be cooked first.

Can I ask my wife can help me with this?

- [Beryl] Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

- So the recipe calls for deep fried tofu, which we couldn't find, so we're gonna do it ourselves, and we're just gonna slice up the tofu, heat up the oil, and fry it.

(oil sizzles) - [Beryl] Hot!

- [Wife] It is hot.

- It is hot.

- [Beryl] Turn it down!

- Look at that.

I don't know if they're ready.

Want to come try it?

- Oh no, this is ready.

- It's ready?

- Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's got a little bit of bite.

- [Lisa] I like this noodle dish because of the memories that I have behind it and just seeing the joy that Vietnamese food brings to people's faces as they try it just makes me happy.

- [Beryl] Have you ever had hoisin sauce?

- No, this will be my first time.

This is all new for me.

Mmmm, it's really good.

- Honestly, Rodrigo, I hope when you eat this dish that you can just taste the simplicity of it, and I hope it incites more curiosity into the Vietnamese cuisine.

Most importantly, I hope you just feel happiness when you eat it, because that's how I feel when I eat it.

Much love from Lisa.

(upbeat music) - Finally.

This is really good.

I'll try it now with the sriracha.

This will be my first time having sriracha, so should I do a lot or a little bit?

- [Wife] A little.

- Oh, just a little more.

Mmm, the sriracha is so good.

This is my first time eating all these ingredients.

Okay, I don't know how to cut it.

- [Wife] Cut off the top.

Pull out the guts.

Done.

- [Rodrigo] That's it?

- [Wife] Yeah.

- I can taste the noodles makes a really big difference with any other type of food I tried before.

So between both dishes, what I can see that have in common, it's just like the simplicity about it.

This dish is basically just grab whatever you have in your fridge and put it in.

Grab the tofu, put it back here.

I guess my dish is somewhat like that.

If you wanna just add, you can keep adding more.

- [Beryl] Nicole, do you want to try it?

- [Nicole] Yes.

- What do you think?

- It's really good.

It's really cool that this dish is something that we can both enjoy.

Would you eat it?

- I will definitely cook this again with you.

I love it.

(upbeat music) - Dear Lisa, my name is Rodrigo, and today you will be cooking my favorite noodle dish, tallarines verdes.

- All right, let's get started.

- Tallarines verdes means green pasta in Spanish.

I am from Peru, I grew up in the capital called Lima.

So in 2015 I moved to Maryland.

Since I'm not in Peru anymore, what I mostly miss besides my family, this is the food.

Peru is well known to have a variety of amazing dishes.

- [Beryl] Do you make pesto often?

- I have never made pesto in my entire life.

All right, fourth a cup of onions.

Really?

- [Beryl] Yes, every single- - I just like, yo.

- There is a lot of fusion with different cultures.

This dish is a mix of Peruvian cuisine and Italian cuisine.

- [Lisa] Basil.

- [Beryl] Basil?

It's basil.

- I know, I'm just trying to be funny.

(sniffs and sighs) Now I want a pizza.

It's like the first thing I think of when I smell basil, a margarita pizza.

This is cooking so quickly.

- [Rodrigo] You can make this dish with any type of pasta.

I will say preferably with spaghetti or fettuccine.

The key ingredient here is the queso fresco, which is a special cheese that they make in Hispanic countries.

- Mmm, that's salty.

Wow, I've never actually just had it in this form.

- [Rodrigo] The queso fresco changed a lot of the flavor for the pesto sauce.

It makes it really creamy.

Because of the queso and spinach, it tastes very earthy, but altogether for me it tastes like home.

- Gotta get that cheese juice.

Okay, gots half a cup of milk.

- [Rodrigo] My grandma used to cook it every Friday.

She will always add extra stuff.

It was always fun.

- Tablespoon of black pepper.

We'll give it a try.

I'm gonna try not to sneeze, 'cause it just got up in my nose.

(blender whirrs) - [Rodrigo] Making this dish is really simple.

The hardest part will be making it your own.

- (Lisa sneezes) Excuse me.

All right, let's give this a taste test.

Ooh, that's good, I could drink this stuff.

- If you wanna add chicken, add the chicken.

If you wanna add steak, add the steak.

- I love steak and I'm just gonna do a simple seasoning, simple cook, I don't want anything to overtake the noodles, because that is the star of the dish.

(whimsical music) (smoke alarm beeps) Damn it, this always freaking happens.

(smoke alarm beeps) I didn't press the noodles down so some of them are sticking, so I'm just unsticking.

- [Beryl] You can put a little bit of oil in there.

It'll help.

- I'm a real chef now (laughs).

I know how to make pesto.

Ooh, yeah, this is gorgeous.

- Sharing my culture to other people is what makes me have joy.

Lisa, whenever you try the dish, I hope that you can feel like you are a kid again eating with your grandma.

I'm so excited to share my recipe with you.

Love, Rodrigo.

(whimsical music) - Oh man, I cannot wait to try this.

This was actually really relatively easy to put together.

(inaudible) Hmm, that is delicious.

You can really taste the basil coming through.

Fresh flavors, very good, I like it.

I'm gonna try it with a little bit of the steak and the amazing sauce to create the ultimate bite.

(whimsical music) That's what I like, a little bit of meat with my noodles.

I think the main difference between how I usually eat noodles and steak is that typically in Vietnamese culture we add bird's eye chili, so I'm used to more of a spicy, a little bit of meat, but this is something different and I really enjoy it.

I don't really use a blender in my cooking, but by adding gently-cooked spinach and basil, it's completely new, then adding milk and cheese as well, these are combos that I'm not used to.

Growing up, my parents used to make avocado shakes.

It's called sinh to bo, and this reminds me of that look.

The smell, obviously not, but the look is very similar to it.

That's the important thing about cooking, is not being afraid to try different cultures, different cuisines.

I wanted to do this recipe justice because Rodrigo obviously had a very heartfelt story behind it.

Food just transports you back to your younger self, to that moment in the kitchen you just remember with your parents.

Food is such a great vehicle for those memories, for that nostalgia.

I'm very grateful that Rodrigo trusted me with this recipe to try it.

It is a great way to learn his culture, into his cuisine, into his life, and I really appreciate him for that.

(whimsical flute music)