Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma are known for following a strict vegan diet. As such, when they wanted to eat Vietnamese Pho on their wedding anniversary in 2019, chef Harsh Dixit had to get creative. A traditional
Pho is made with snake meat, snake wine and a broth made of chicken and beef. In a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter India, Chef Harsh revealed how he made a special anniversary meal for Virat and Anushka.
Chef Harsh said, “You have to keep things interesting. For Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma’s anniversary in December 2019, I made Pho, but with a twist.” While both stars follow a vegan diet, traditional Vietnamese Pho isn’t vegan. Thus, the popular celebrity chef had to come up with a solution.
Chef Harsh mentioned, “There’s chicken and beef in the broth. But they were eating gluten-free at the time, so we went with rice noodles, which are traditional in Pho and gluten-free.” However, his dilemma didn’t just end there. He said, “Vietnamese cuisine includes a lot of snake — snake wine, even snake meat. So, how about serving ‘snakes’ to vegans?”
He then decided to use smoked snake gourd in the dish, stuffed with peanuts, coconut, tofu, and coriander. The dish had water chestnut, enoki mushrooms, and chillies, in a lemongrass-ginger-coriander root broth. Chef Harsh said, “The idea was to have fun while staying within the dietary boundaries. That’s what being a private chef is about.”
Speaking of Harsh’s experiments with noodles, he also mentioned a ramen recipe that is loved by Alia Bhatt and Deepika Padukone. He said, “I have made this chicken and pork ramen for Alia Bhatt and Deepika Padukone. Alia told me it transported her to her travels. That’s the power of intentional food.”
He added, “There’s the tare (the seasoning base), often soy or miso, the broth, noodles, protein, and toppings. But I’ve started seasoning the broth directly instead of using tare. That trick has been a hit with all my clients.” He said, “They’re called Miracle Noodles, virtually zero calories.” Chef Harsh revealed that Deepika Padukone likes her ramen to be “ultra-hot, extra spicy, with Miracle Noodles”. “It hit the spot for her, and she asked for seconds,” he said.
Chef Harsh Dixit is a popular private chef for Bollywood celebrities, besides Virat, Anushka, Alia and Deepika, he also cooks for Katrina Kaif, Shahid Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez, Arjun Kapoor, Aditya Roy Kapur, Ranbir Kapoor and more.
