A Blog of Salt

Ga Kho Gung - Chicken Braised in Ginger and Caramel Sauce

2012-01-11T21:33:00.004-05:00

Ga Kho Gung is a dish that brings a lot of laughs to my family. My mom goes to work really early in the morning and she usually wake up extra early to prepare lunch in advance for my the rest of the family. On occasion when she doesn't get the chance to cook in the morning my dad becomes the cook for that day. Even though my dad has great taste in food, he cannot cook. Whenever I come home after school and see fried eggs and boiled green beans on the dining room table, I know my dad made lunch that day. Sometimes it's edible, other times it's not. My dad likes to flavor his cooking with only one ingredients, salt. My mom and I always have a good laugh anytime my dad cooks.

One afternoon I came home from school to a huge pot of ga kho gung. It was incredibly good! When my mom came home from work I complimented her pot of ga kho gung. She, however, did not make the ga kho that day. We both thought for sure it cannot be my dad, but who else could it be? The next day, I praised my dad on his ga kho. It made him really happy to hear that both my mom and I love his ga kho. When I came home after school that day, my dad had made another pot of ga kho. Again it was delicious. The next day I told him again he did a great job on this chicken. After school of that day, again there was another pot of ga kho. My dad made ga kho FIVE days in a row! Even my brothers, who never really have much to say about food were getting tired of chicken. That weekend we had an emergency family meeting with my dad. No more ga kho please! My dad learned a valuable lesson that day, less is more. Recently, my sister-in-law reported that my dad had pulled another ga kho week at home. It made me laugh but that's my dad!

The process to make Ga Kho Gung is very similar to Thit Heo Kho. You basically braise the chicken in the same caramel sauce and then add ginger. The ginger turn the caramel sauce into a totally different flavor. This is a great recipe if you like spicy food, adding chilli powder to the chicken elevate the flavor even more.

Ingredients

1/2 chicken (fat trimmed , chopped into smaller chunk with the bones)

1 small knob of ginger (julienned)

1 shallot (minced)

sugar

fish sauce

mushroom seasoning

black pepper

onion powder

chicken broth or water

chili powder (optional)

1. Marinade the chicken with the minced shallot, 4 tablespoon of fish sauce, 2 teaspoon onion powder, 2 teaspoon of mushroom seasoning, and 1 teaspoon of chili powder. Let chicken marinade for an hour or so.

2. Heat up a pot on medium heat.

3. Once the pot is hot, add 2 tablespoon of sugar. Let he sugar melt and caramelized.

4. Add all content of the marinaded chicken to the caramelized sugar. Make sure every pieces of the chicken is coated with the sauce. The caramel sauce should give the chicken some color.

5. Add enough liquid to the pot to braise the chicken (enough liquid to barely cover the chicken). I like using chicken broth or you can use water.

6. Add the ginger and turn the heat down a bit to let the chicken simmer in the liquid.

7. Let the liquid reduce into a rich sauce.

8. Once the cooking process is done, top some black pepper on top.

Serve with white rice and enjoy!

Thit Ga Ham Khoai Tay Ca Rot - Chicken Soup with Potatoes and Carrots

2011-10-03T20:21:00.006-04:00

Yet another dish that takes me back to my childhood. This soup is the epitome of Vietnamese comfort food. The broth is simple and clean, flavor by the sweetness of the vegetables and bones. I love eating this soup when I'm feeling under the weather, it make you feel like everything is going to be alright.

This soup is quite versatile because you have a lot of choices for ingredients. For the meat you can use chicken, pork, or beef. I prefer using pork neck bones but I had some left over chicken from another dish. You can also use ground beef or pork instead of bones. Choices of vegetables can also varies depending on your taste or whatever you have available at home. My mom usually makes it with potatoes, carrots, and sometimes beets. Beets has to be my favorite, it's incredibly sweet, but unfortunate beets are not on my weekly grocery list. For this recipe I used carrots, red potatoes, and cauliflower. Play around with the ingredients, you really can't go wrong with this recipe. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/2 chicken
3 red potatoes
3 carrots
1/2 cauliflower
1/2 an onion
cilantro
salt
rock sugar
mushroom seasoning
fish sauce
black pepper
water

1. Rinse your chicken and remove some of the fat if needed.
2. Place the chicken in a pot, add about 5 quart of water an half the onion. Add half a tablespoon of salt and let the pot come to a boil. Remove the excess scum from the pot. Once the scum has been removed, turn down the heat to medium heat until chicken get cooked.
3. Wash the vegetables and cut them into desired size. I like my vegetables pretty chunky so it doesn't overcook as easily.
4. Throw in a quarter size chunk of rock sugar and a couple teaspoon of mushroom seasoning to he broth.
5. Once the chicken is done, remove from pot and let it cool enough to handle.
6. Taste the broth with 2 tablespoon of fish sauce and a couple dash of black pepper.
7. After tasting he broth throw in the carrots first and then potatoes. The vegetables should be soft enough to eat but should still have texture. Throw in the cauliflower at the very end.
8. Last minute tasting with more sugar and fish sauce if needed.
9. Serve with chopped cilantro and more black pepper.

Dau Hu Nhoi Thit Sot Ca - Tofu Stuffed w/ Pork in Tomato Sauce

2011-09-20T11:57:00.004-04:00

I love tofu in every form; soft, firm, extra firm, fried, and so on. One of my favorite recipe is Dau Hu Nhoi Thit Sot Ca. You stuff fried tofu with a minced pork mixture. Next you pan fried the stuffed tofu and then braise it in a tomato sauce. It's one those dish that appeared every week in my family, I can never get tired of it. I recently receive a couple request for this recipe and I'm glad to do it.

Ingredients:

2 packs of fried tofu (makes 16)

1/2 lb of ground pork

1/2 a cup of dried wood ear fungus

3 tomatoes

2 green onions

oil

salt

fish sauce

sugar

black pepper

mushroom seasoning

onion powder

minced garlic

chili powder (optional for spiciness)

1. Soak the wood ear fungus in warm water until soften, rinse it well before using. Once it has soften, mince

the wood ear fungus.

2. Combine the ground pork and wood ear fungus and taste it with some salt, black pepper, onion powder, and mushroom seasoning.

3. Wash the tofu before cooking and then tow

el dry.

4. Cut your tofu in half so you'll have one side with the white side exposing.

5. Make a split in the middle on the white side. Use a small spoon to carve some of the white part out to create a small pocket. This will make it easier to stuff the pork mixture.

6. Stuff the tofu with the pork mixture.

7. Cut your tomatoes into smaller chunks

8. Chop you green onions.

9. Heat up oil in a large pan (big enough to fit all your tofu). Once the oil is hot enough add the tofu, and pan fried all side of the tofu.

10. Once the tofu has been lightly seared on each side, remove from pan.

11. Add another tablespoon of cooking oil to the pan again. When it is hot enough add the tomatoes.

12. Add 3-4 tablespoon of fish sauce, 1 tablespoon of sugar, chili powder, and a couple fish of mushroom seasoning. Stir the dry ingredients into the tomatoes and fish sauce.

13. Add the tofu and let it braise in the tomato sauce on low-medium heat. Make sure all side get the opportunity to braise into the sauce.

14. Braise the tofu until the sauce has reduce a bit and add the green onions at the very end.

Enjoy!

Ca Tai Chanh - Vietnamese Style Ceviche

2011-08-29T20:31:00.008-04:00

My first ever ceviche experience is through the Travel Channel. Every time Anthony Bourdain or Andrew Zimmern travel to any places near water, they always get to eat the most amazing ceviche. Yes I know we can't possibly experience what they experience with their taste buds but it was still a beautiful experience with my eyes.

The Midwest is probably the last place you would ever find ceviche but I lucked out. I went to lunch with a friend at this Peruvian restaurant in a shady area of town. Yelp boast it was the best ceviche in town but I took it with a grain of salt, we do live in corn country after all. The ceviche arrived on a huge plate, and still the shrimp, squid, and fish were spilling every where. I knew I would love it just by looking at it and I did! It was so amazing, I can't imagine how even more amazing it would be to have ceviche made fresh right out of the water.

I wanted to recreate the ceviche I had but of course with a Vietnamese twist. This is a great dish to beat the summer heat, enjoy!

Ingredients:

sushi grade tilapia or cod

sushi grade octopus tenacles

shrimp (I bought already cooked cocktail shrimp)

red onions (thinly sliced)

cilantro (rough chopped)

Vietnamese coriander (rough chopped)

2-3 lime

fish sauce

sliced habanero pepper (or whatever you like)

crushes peanuts

fried shallots (hanh phi)

1. Cut the tilapia into flat pieces.

2. Squeeze enough lime to cover the fish and let the fish cook in the lime juice.

3. Thinly sliced the octopus.

4. Add the octopus and shrimp to the lime juice with the fish.

5. Drain about half of the lime juice from the seafood mixture.

6. Add two tablespoon of fish sauce to the sea

food mixture.

7. Add the sliced onions and pepper, toss thoroughly.

8. Right before serving add the cilantro and coriander.

9. Top off with peanuts and shallots.

Che Ba Mau - Vietnamese Three Color Dessert

2011-08-19T15:25:00.009-04:00

Che Ba Mau meaning Three Color Dessert; consist of YELLOW

mung bean paste, GREEN agar strips, and RED beans. It looks and taste pretty similar to Suong Sa Hot Luu but there are some differences. We use red beans in Che Ba Mau and a different type of agar. Suong Sa Hot Luu uses a grass jelly agar which has a really distinct grassy taste and a dirty pondgreen color. You can make your own agar strips but to save time I just buy a can of agar called Suong Sam, it's lime green in color and has a lighter taste than grass jelly. Finally we usually sweeten Che Ba Mau with condense milk. I like faux pomegranate seeds so I like to include it in my Che Ba Mau as well.

I have to admit Che Ba Mau is pretty time consuming and tricky to make. Making the red beans and mung beans can be a nightmare. You have to cook it on really low heat over a long period of time. I've burned quite a few batch over the years. I recommend soaking the mung beans and red beans overnight.

Ingredients:

1 can of Suong Sam agar

2 cups of red beans (soak in water overnight)

2 cups of already peeled and split mung beans (soak in water over night)

1 can of coconut milk

condense milk

rock sugar

faux pomegranate seeds

finely crushed ice (prepare with a blender)

1. Rinse the red beans in water until the beans no longer makes the water cloudy.

2. Boil 5 cups of water in a pot and throw in a medium size rock sugar. Drain the red beans and pour into pot. Cook the red beans on low heat for around 2 hours or so. Once tender, drain and set aside for later.

3. Prepare the mung bean paste (refer to my Suong Sa Hot Luu entry for cooking instruction).

4. Prepare the faux pomegranate seeds (refer to my Suong Sa Hot Luu entry)

5. Slice the Suong Sam agar into strips.

6. Heat a can of coconut milk in a small pot and add 2 tablespoon of sugar. Once the sugar has dissolved, let cook for later use.

7. Prepare the crushed ice.

8. In a bowl, spread some mung bean paste at the bottom of the bowl. Second add agar strips, next the red beans, and then the faux pomegranate seeds. You can prepare these bowls ahead of time and store in fridge.

9. Before serving, add the condense milk to the bowl and then top off with some crushed ice. Finally drizzle the condense milk at the very end, depends on how sweet you like it add as much as you like.

Mix and enjoy!

Thit Heo Kho Trung - Pork and Eggs Braised in Caramel Sauce

2011-08-15T15:26:00.003-04:00

When I was growing up, not a week went by when my mom did not make a pot of Thit Kho for lunch. But i'm sure Thit Kho is a weekly regular in most Vietnamese household. Because it is easy and cheap to make, Thit Kho is categorized as "com binh dan" or meal of the commoners. In Vietnam during lunch time, you can find many stand that sells meal for the working person which includes Thit Kho.

Thit Kho is made by braising chunks up fatty pork such as pork belly in a caramel sauce made of caramelized sugar and fish sauce. The pork is braised in the sauce until it becomes so tender you can cut it with your chopsticks. Since I do not always have access to pork belly, I often use Boston pork butt instead. I suggest using any pork cut that has some fat because fat is flavor.

As much as I love eating tender and fatty pieces of pork, my favorite part is the egg. I eat my Thit Kho Trung a certain way since I was a little girl. I break the egg in half and take out the yolk and mix the yolk bits into the rice. I then drizzle a lot of the caramel sauce on top and mix everything together. My favorite part is the egg whites so I always eat that last. Some things just can never change, and i'm OK with that!

Ingredients

2 lbs of Boston pork butt

1 shallot finely minced

sugar

fish sauce

mushroom seasoning

black pepper

onion powder

eggs

1 can of Coco Rico

1. Cut pork into 1/2-1 inch cubes.

2. Marinade pork with shallots, 2 tablespoon of fish sauce, 1 teaspoon of mushroom seasoning, a couple pinch of black pepper, and a couple dash of onion powder. Let pork marinade in the fridge for at least an hour.

3. Heat up a pot on medium heat.

4. Once the pot is hot, add 2 tablespoon of sugar. Let the sugar melt and caramelized into a rich caramel color.

5. Add all the content of the marinaded pork cubes.

6. Mix pork into the caramel sauce, make sure every pork pieces is coated with the sauce.

7. Once the sauce has cooked into the outside of the pork pieces, pour enough of the Coco Rico into the pot to cover most of the pork. Let pork braised in sauce on medium heat.

8. At this point you can begin preparing your eggs. Boil as much eggs as you would like or fit in the pot. I try to under cook the eggs so it won't over cook when I add it to the pork. So cook it to the point where the egg whites are firm but the yolk is still runny. Cooking time will depend on however many eggs you'd like.

9. Once the eggs are prepared, peel and then add to the pork.

10. Add one additional tablespoon of fish sauce to the pot and then continue to cook the pork and eggs until the caramel sauce has reduced and thicken.

11. Before serving, sprinkle more black pepper on top.

Enjoy!

Mi Kho Thap Cam - Combination Dry Egg Noodle

2011-07-14T14:24:00.013-04:00

Once upon a time I fell in love with a bowl of Mi Kho from Hai Ky Mi Gia in Falls Church, Virginia. This place only sells different type of Hu Tieu/Mi dry or wet. I like places that has a very limited menu which mean they can spend more time on perfecting that one dish. While I ordered a bowl of egg noodle soup, my friend ordered the dry version. She said the secret is the sauce for the Mi Kho, of course it's always the sauce! I mooched a couple bites from her bowl, while I very much enjoyed my soup I really wished I ordered the Mi Kho instead. After I polish off my bowl, I began to analyze what was left of the sauce. The sauce was definitely soy base, it was sweet and had hints of familiar spices. At the time I was very determine to recreate this sauce at home.

I posted an entry for the soup version of Hu Tieu two years ago but was unable to come up with a sauce for the dry version. I tried a lot of different sauces and I just wasn't satisfied with any of them. I pretty much threw in the white flag until I saw the comment from a reader that has been waiting for me to come up with the sauce. Thank you for reminding me and motivating me to get back on the saddle.

I remember when I first tried the sauce from Hai Ky Mi Gia, I thought it reminded me of Xa Xiu, Chinese BBQ pork. I love the Xa Xiu seasoning I use by NOH so I took out the seasoning package and look through the ingredients. For the next two hours I begin playing around with the ingredients and I finally ended up with a sauce that I am satisfy with. I'm just so glad I got this recipe out of the way and hope you will like it.

Please refer back to my Hu Tieu entry on how to prepare the toppings. I will only be listing the steps tomake the sauce for Mi Kho.

Toppings:

Xa Xiu (thinly sliced)

Ground Pork (pan fried until crispy)

Cooked Squid

Cooked Shrmip

Chinese Chives

Fried Shallots

Sauce:

soy sauce

pure sugar cane or rock sugar

hoisin sauce

onion powder

garlic powder

five spice powder

mushroom seasoning

water

1. Save the liquid produced from pan frying the ground pork and xa xiu.

2. In a small pot combine 3 tablespoon of light soy sauce, 6 tablespoon of water (if you are also making the soup to go with this dish I would add the soup water), 2 teaspoon of hoisin sauce, 1 tablespoon of pure sugar cane, 1/2 tablespoon of rice vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon of five spice powder, 1 teaspoon of mushroom seasoning and the excess frying liquid.

3. Stir all the ingredients together and let it come to a boil and then turn the heat down low. The sauce should thicken just a little. If the sauce has reduce too much, just add more water.

Prepare a bowl with all the toppings to your liking and enjoy!

Bun Thit Nuong Cha Gio - Vermicelli Noodle with Grilled Pork and Vietnamese Egg Rolls

2011-06-04T16:49:00.009-04:00

A great dish for this time of year; you can practically see, smell, and taste summer in every bowl. I love the smell of marinated pork hitting the hot grill, which gives out this wonderful lemon grass and garlic aroma. You can add an array of fresh herbs, sliced vegetables, and pickled vegetables that makes this dish both delicious and healthy to eat.

If you don't have a grill or simply do not want to deal with the hassle, use the stove top. Pan fry the pork on medium to high heat, constantly flipping the meat on both side until it has a nice char. Cook the noodles to an al dente texture, and give it time to cool down to achieve springiness. When you pull the noodles apart you should be able to hear a faint snap. I also fried up some egg rolls from the freezer and added to my bowl, sometimes more can be a good thing.

Ingredients:

(Pork marinade)

2 lbs of sliced Boston butt pork roast

1 tablespoon of spoon of minced lemon grass

1/2 tablespoon of minced garlic

1/2 tablespoon of minced shallots

1 tablespoon of oyster sauce

1/2 tablespoon of brown sugar

1/2 tablespoon of fish sauce

1/4 tablespoon of mushroom seasoning

skewers (if grilling)

Vietnamese egg rolls (optional)

vermicelli noodle

1 cucumber

lettuce

herbs

pickled vegetables (Do Chua)

prepared fish sauce

crust peanuts

1. Marinate the pork with oyster sauce, brown sugar, fish sauce, mushroom seasoning, garlic, lemon grass, and shallots. The longer you let the pork marinate, the flavor will soak through the meat more.
2. If you are using wooden skewers, soak the skewers in water to avoid burning on the grill. Skewer enough meat on the skewer.

3. Cook the vermicelli noodle and let dry.

4. Wash and pick out the lettuce and herbs.
5. Slice the cucumber into thin slices or strips.
6. Cook the pork skewers on the grill.
7. Build a bowl to your preference, add your finest batch of prepare fish sauce, and enjoy!

Do Chua - Vietnamese Pickled Vegetables

2011-05-31T17:37:00.002-04:00

I love eating anything pickled but nothing can beat Vietnamese Do Chua (pickled vegetagbles). Some people add Sriracha to everything, well that's how I feel about Do Chua. Anything that requires prepared nuoc mam, I will add Do Chua. It add some sweet, sour, and crunchiness to dishes such as Banh Beo, Banh Xeo, Banh Mi, Ca Nuong, Com Tam, Thit Kho, and many more. I always have some handy in the fridge because you will be surprise what you can eat with it.

There's a variety of vegetables you can pickle; cucumbers, onions, peppers, but the most common in Vietnamese cuisine are carrots and daikons. The pair are often found in Vietnamese Banh Mi, and it does make a huge difference. I always have to make sure they did not forget my Do Chua, or else I will be a very unhappy camper. Do Chua comes in a variety of sizes and shapes, and that is completely up to you. I prefer it a little smaller than what you would find in a Banh Mi but not as fine as being julienned, one of the best thing about Do Chua is the crunch and you just can't get that when it's too fine. Be prepare to do a lot of peeling but I guarantee it's worth all the effort!

Ingredients:

1 daikon

12 medium carrots

10 Thai chili (optional but it does add a hint of spice)

3 cups of water

1.5 cups of vinegar

1 cup of sugar

2-3 teaspoon of salt

1. Prepare the daikons and carrots to your liking.

2. Warm the water in pot, it does not have to come to a boil. Add the vinegar, sugar, and salt to the water and stir.

3. Add the daikons, carrots, and chili to a jar.

4. Add the warm mixture from step #2 to the jar.

If you would like to eat it within a couple of hours, it will pickle faster at room temperature. If you are in no hurry just stick it in the fridge. Enjoy!

Goi Vit - Duck Salad

2011-05-09T18:07:00.005-04:00

Like I have mention many times before, Goi Vit is my all time favorite salad. Today was such a hot day, it just put me in the mood for something light and flavorful. In Vietnam a plate of Goi Vit usually consist of sweet, tender duck meat on top of shredded banana blossom and morning glory. All the ingredients is soaked in this wonderful concoction of fish sauce, lime juice, and sugar. It is so good that I always slurp up all the excess dressing at the very end, when my mom isn't watching of course.

Like Goi Ga, you HAVE to use coriander leaves in Goi Vit. It must be poultry thing! When there is coriander leaves, I just can't leave out the onions. You get spicy sweet from the onions and spicy bitter from the coriander leaves, they are just meant for each other! I don't always have access to banana blossom so I replace it with cabbage and carrots. Cabbage doesn't really have a lot of flavor, it's really there for texture. So all the ingredients I use such as the mint leaves and cilantro really compliment the shredded cabbage. I want this dish to set a pace for my cooking for the rest of the summer, lots of flavor!

Ingredients

1/2 a duck

1/2 cabbage

2-3 carrots

1 sweet onion

sugar

vinegar

fish sauce

2 lime

fresh chili

cilantro

Vietnamese coriander

cilantro

roasted peanuts

1. Boil your duck in a pot of water until fully cooked. You can use the broth to make soup such as Bun Mang.

2. Finely shred the cabbage, thinly slice sweet onions, and julienned carrots.

3. Marinade the cabbage, carrots, and onions with 4 tablespoon of vinegar and 1 cup of sugar for like 15-20 minutes in the fridge.

4. Rough chop the cilantro, coriander, and mints, set aside for later.

5. Crust roasted peanuts and set aside for later.

6. Remove the duck and let cooled. Butcher into smaller pieces.

7. Drain excess fluid from the cabbage mixture, no need to squeeze the juice out.

8. Add the duck pieces to the cabbage mixture.

9. Squeeze one whole lime to the cabbage/duck mixture, add 2 tablespoon of fish sauce, fresh chilies to your liking and mix thoroughly.

10. Mix in the fresh herbs right before serving and top off with some crush roasted peanuts.

Enjoy!

Suon Ram Man - Carmelized Pork Spare Ribs

2011-04-28T03:34:00.008-04:00

When we first moved to the States my parents were always working, sometimes day and night. We never really sat down together to enjoy dinner, we just ate whenever we had some free time. Now when I come home to visit I always make an effort with dinner, food always bring the family together. I actually look forward to sitting together with my family to enjoy a traditional family style meal where we share rice, some sort of protein, and a soup. It feel like time slows down; my dad reminiscing about his past and our family nearly choking on our food due to his out of this world stories. You just can't do the same thing with a bowl pho. Vietnamese family style meal is meant for family to chit chat between bites. We must cherish these times that we easily take for granted.

One of many favorite family style dish is Suon Ram Man, it taste like a dry and saltier version of thit kho (pork belly braised in caramel sauce). You braise the spareribs in caramel sauce until it is completely reduce. In the end you are left with crispy spare ribs from the caramel sauce sticking to the outside of the meat. I used to not like a lot of pork products when I was little (don't worry I got over that stage), but every time my mom made suon ram I would pick at every little pieces to the bone. Every part of the meat was glazed with the caramel sauce, the outside was crispy but the inside was so juicy. I love biting into all the fat and of course my favorite part is the cartilage. When it's cooked long enough I will gnaw on the bone, don't judge me bones are awesome!

To reduce some of the cooking time and achieve a wonderful crust on the outside, I cheated and used my deep fryer. You can totally skip this step and do it the old fashion way. Family style dish is meant for sharing, so please share this recipe with your love ones.

Ingredients:

2 lb of spare ribs
2 teaspoon of minced garlic
2 teaspoon of minced shallot
1/2 can of coconut soda (coco rico)
fish sauce
garlic powder
sugar
black pepper
cooking oil
green onions (optional)

1. Chop spare ribs in small pieces (1.5 inches)
2. Marinade with a couple dash of garlic powder and 1 tablespoon of fish sauce in the fridge for a couple hours.
3. Throw it in the deep fryer until the outside become crispy. Remove and let meat cooled in a lot of paper towel. This will help remove some of the oil.

4. In a pot (I like using nonstick pot or pan), melt tablespoon of sugar. As soon soon as you see some color, add 1 tablespoon of fish sauce. This part will probably be the most difficult part. If you let the sugar cook too much it will burn by the time you add the fish sauce.
5. Add the deep fried spare ribs, garlic, and shallots. Coat all the spare ribs in the caramel sauce.

6. Add 1/2 a can of coconut soda. Let the meat braised in the sauce for 10-15 minutes on medium heat.
7. Turn the heat up a little and let it it cook until the sauce begin to charring the outside of the meat. Be careful not to let it burn. Sprinkle some black pepper on top.
8. Serve and enjoy with a bowl of white rice.

Bun Rieu - Crab Cake Vermicelli Noodle Soup (Lent Friendly)

2011-04-21T00:59:00.008-04:00

Sorry for posting this up when Lent is about to end. I promise you won't notice a big difference from the traditional recipe, so feel free to use this recipe year round. I actually prefer the meatless version of Bun Rieu, so I have an excuse to LOAD up on seafood. When I was younger, I was not a fan of pork products so my mom usually makes meatless Bun Rieu anyways.

I buy canned crab meat in the refrigerated seafood section at Costco or Meijer, I prefer Costco crab meat even though it is more expensive. Believe me they are good right out of the can!

Usually we use pork neck bones to make the broth but dried prawns will work just fine. Ground pork is usually added to the "rieu" to glue all the wet ingredients together but ground dried prawns actually does a better job. I also listed V8 vegetable juice as an ingredient but you definitely can leave that off. I actually bought a case of it from Costco thinking it was something else so I'm just trying to get rid of it in my cooking. The vegetable juice add a really nice color to my broth and an extra umphh of tomato flavor. Try this recipe out and see if anybody can tell a difference, my boyfriend sure didn't!

Ingredients

1/2 lb of shrimp with head
2 cups of dried prawns (tom kho)
1/2 can of crab meat
2 eggs
1 jar of crab paste in soy bean oil (cach cua)
4-5 large tomatoes
1/2 can of V8 vegetable soup (optional)
shrimp paste (mam tom)
salt
sugar
mushroom seasoning
black pepper
green onions
water

1. Soak dried prawns in warm water until it is more tender to use. Peel the shrimp but leave the head intact.
2. Fill 6 quart pot with water and add 1/2 of the dried prawns rough chopped. Let the dried prawns simmer in the water until tender.
3. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 tablespoon of sugar, 1/2 tablespoon of mushroom seasoning to
the broth, 1 tablespoon of the crab paste in soy bean oil, 1/2 a can of V8 vegetable juice.
4. With a food processor, finely mince the other half of the dried prawns, and shrimp with head.
5. Place the minced prawned and shrimp in a mixing bowl, add the crab meat, the rest of the crab paste from the jar, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon of shrimp paste, and a couple dash of black pepper. Mix thoroughly until it become a uniform mixture.

6. Transfer some broth into a small pot and add 1/2 tablespoon of shrimp paste. Let the broth boil until the shrimp paste completely dissolve. Transfer back to the original pot.
7. Bring pot to a boil and then add small amount of the seafood mixture into the pot.
8. Cut the tomatoes into big chunks. Add to the pot.
9. Do one last tasting, add nuoc mam or sugar if needed.
10. Garnish your bowl with green onions and serve, enjoy!

Goi Xoai Ca - Mango Salad w/ Cod

2011-04-03T03:11:00.008-04:00

I went a little mango crazy this past week, the local grocery store was having a sale and the mangoes looked very promising. I love eating mangoes by itself but decided to switch things up as a salad. The mangoes were a tad bit unripe and very firm, perfect for a salad. It was till very tart which I like, but I know if I had made this for my mom she would be squirming. If you can't handle the sourness then I would suggest marinading the mangoes in a lot of sugar. For proteins I used some left over cod, it would have been great if I had some sashimi grade fish to make a mango ceviche but maybe next time. For little time and effort, you can take dinner to a tropical paradise!

Ingredients:

2 firm mangoes (julienned)

1 red bell pepper (julienned)

2 small carrots (julienned)

1 red onions (thinly sliced)

1 lb of cod

a bunch of Thai basil (rough chopped)

a bunch of Vietnamese coriander (rough chopped)

1 lime

Thai chili to your liking

fish sauce

sugar

olive oil

1. Marinade the mango, carrot, bell pepper, and onions w

ith 3 tablespoon of sugar. Let sit int he fridge for about 1-2 hours.

2. Heat up some olive oil in frying pan. Pan-fry the cod but

try not to over cook it. Remove from and let cool.

3. Removed the mango mixture and drain all the excess liquid.

4. Break the cod into large chunks with your chopstick and add squeeze half a lime on it.

5. Add 1-1.5 tablespoon of fish sauce to the mango mixture, 1/2 a lime, and chili to your liking. Mix together well. Add more fish sauce if the mango is still too sour for your taste.

6. Add the cod chunks and the chopped basil and coriander.

7. Serve and enjoy!

Bo Tai Me - Tamarind Beef Salad

2011-02-25T18:02:00.010-05:00

I saw a friend posted a picture of his Bo Tai Chanh on Facebook last night. I literally stared at the screen in a dazed, it looked amazing! I could not stop thinking about it all day, all I want is some of that fresh tender sliced beef marinated in that tangy dressing. I could taste the spicy coriander leaves, sweet juicy onions, and fresh roasted crushed peanuts just thinking about the dish. I wasn't going to fight myself so off to the grocery store I went.

Since I already posted a recipe for Bo Tai Chanh, I decided to make something very similar. A while ago I had a dish at a local Vietnamese restaurant called Bo Tai Me. It tasted very similar to Bo Tai Chanh but with a hint of Me (tamarind). Even though it was called Bo Tai Me, I could taste the lime juice and it somewhat overpowered the tamarind flavor. For this recipe I really want the tamarind to be the star, I used less lime and a lot of tamarind. I hope you enjoy this refreshing dish as much as I did.

Ingredients:

2 lb of thinly sliced beef (eye round will suffice)

1 jar of tamarind concentrate

1 can of tamarind juice

3-4 pods of fresh tamarind removed from outer shell

1/2 large red onion thinly sliced

your choice of hot chili diced

a bunch of Vietnamese coriander leaves roughly chopped

crush peanuts

1/2 lime

fish sauce

sugar

vinegar

1. In a pot, bring the tamarind juice, fresh tamarind pod, and a 1/3 of the jar of tamarind concentrate to a boil.

2. Dip the 4-5 pieces of thinly slice beef into the tamarind boil for 5 second, remove and place in a mixing bowl. Repeat with the rest of the beef. I like my beef a little rare but everybody is different so how long you cook the beef is up to you.

3. Squeeze excess liquid from the beef, and have it ready in a mixing bowl.

4. Marinade the red onions with 1 tablespoon of sugar and 1/2 tablespoon of vinegar.

5. Mix 1 tablespoon of tamarind concentrate and 1/2 tablespoon of sugar together. This will be your dressing.

6. Add 1/2 tablespoon of fish sauce and all of the tamarind dressing to your sliced beef, mix well.

7. Add the red onion and chili to the beef and mix again.

8. Taste and add additional fish sauce and tamarind concentrate if needed.

9. Right before you serve toss in the chopped coriander, and the juice of 1/2 a lime.

10. Top your salad with crushed roasted peanuts and more coriander leaves you like.

Serve and enjoy!

Bun Mang Vit - Duck and Bamboo Vermicelli Noodle Soup

2011-01-14T01:07:00.009-05:00

My dad is a major hoarder! Everyday he would come home with bags and bags of goodies or junk. Most of the time it's just whatever cheap he can find from Big Lots or K-mart. One day he drag home five frozen ducks from Aldi, yes I'm talking about the discount supermarket chain. Apparently they were only $6 for a whole duck! That weekend I came home for a visit and sure enough my mom put out the duck to thaw. She boil the duck in water to make a broth for Bun Mang Vit while I used the meat to make Goi Vit. Yes we were all skeptical but it turn out fantastic. The meat was tender and juicy, so much better and cheaper than what we would find at Meijer or even the Asian store. My dad was very happy that we all enjoyed the duck, in fact early the next morning he went back to Aldi to buy whatever was left. Since my mom had enough duck to last the whole winter I couldn't help snatching a few to take back with me.

Bun Mang Vit is one of my mom's favorite soup, my mom is a soup person so she has a lot of favorites. I consider it to be an easier soup to make because there is less ingredients to work with and less preparation. The hardest part about making this soup is probably working with the duck. Whole duck have a lot of fat, it's best that you trim most of it out or the soup will be very heavy to eat. I don't have much experience butchering a duck either as you will see in my pictures. The broth is made by simmering a whole duck with smashed ginger root and sliced bamboo. I prefer using dried bamboo from Vietnam over fresh bamboo from the States. I compare dried bamboo to pasta because you can achieve a chewy "al dente" texture. The smell of fresh bamboo can be really strong and I don't want it to overwhelm the broth. The broth to this soup is very simple, similar to a chicken broth with hints of ginger and bamboo. I always make a bowl of gingered fish sauce for Bun Mang Vit, it's great to dip the meat in and a teaspoon in every bowl enhances the soup.

Ingredients: (Makes about 4-5 bowls)

1/2 duck
1 lb of dried bamboo (don't use too much because it will expand)
1 large ginger
water
salt
mushroom seasoning
rock sugar (the size of your thumb)
fish sauce
vermicelli rice noodle
green onions
cilantro
bean sprout

1. Cut the bamboo into strips. Soak the dried bamboo in warm water, repeat this step 5-6 times.
2. Wash the duck and cut out as much fast as you can. Place duck in a pot and the fill with water.
3. Add some salt and let it come to a boil. Remove as much scum as you can.
4. Peel the ginger and cut into smaller sections, save one section for later use. Smash the ginger sections in a mortar and pestle, this will bring out a lot of the juice. Add the smashed ginger to the pot and let the duck cook fully.
5. Once the duck is fully cook, remove and let it cool down.
6. Add rock sugar, salt, and mushroom seasoning to the broth.
7. Boil the bamboo in water, this will help soften the bamboo some more. The bamboo should be soft enough to bite into but still have a little bit of chewy. Some parts of the bamboo will still be extremely chewy even after you boil, just cut that part out. You will cook the bamboo some more in the broth so make sure you don't over boil it.
8. Cut the duck into smaller section. You can throw meat back into the broth but I like to have separate so I can eat it with the ginger fish sauce. I usually throw the bonier piece back into the pot.

9. Add the bamboo to the broth and 1 tablespoon of fish sauce.
10. Mince the green onions and cilantro.
11. Wash the bean sprouts.
12. Prepare gingered fish sauce.

Ginger Fish Sauce:

1/2 lime
1 tablespoon of fish sauce
1/4 tablespoon of sugar
chili
1 section of ginger

1. I like to smash the ginger and chili together with a mortar and pestle.
2. Add the sugar, fish, sauce, and lime juice and mix.

Goi Cuon Thit Ba Roi - Vietnamese Summer Roll w/ Pork Belly

2011-01-06T19:07:00.007-05:00

I'm sure many of you are already familiar with Goi Cuon so I won't write too much about it. Like I have said before I love just about anything roll in rice paper. This particular Summer Roll has thinly sliced pork belly, shrimp, vermicelli rice noodle, lettuce, cucumber, and Chinese chives. Most Vietnamese restaurant serve Summer Roll as an appetizer along with a hoison-peanut sauce, I always ask for nuoc mam cham (diluted fish sauce) instead. I'm one of those people that really appreciate a good batch of nuoc mam cham. I actually base restaurant on how well they prepare their nuoc mam cham. I really do see a correlation between how well restaurant cook their food and how well they prepare their fish sauce. Making the perfect fish sauce for dipping require a balance between sugar, lime, chili, water, and fish sauce, and if you can master that you definitely can balance the flavor in other food. I sure have a lot to say about nuoc mam cham therefore I will save that entry for another time.

Ingredients:

pork belly
tiger shrimp
vermicelli rice noodle
rice paper
lettuceEnglish cucumber
Chinese chives
nuoc mam cham

1. Boil a portion of pork belly in water until it is fully cooked. Remove, let it cooled, and then slice thinly.
2. Boil the dry vermicelli rice noodle in water.
3. Cook shrimp the shrimp, in water or microwave, and then cut in half.
4. Wash the lettuce and chives and let it dry.
5. Thinly slice the cucumber into flat strips.

To Roll:

1. Have a bowl of hot water ready.
2. Reconstitute the rice paper in hot water and wait until it's flexible again.
3. Add the remaining ingredient be careful not to over stuff. Fold the two side toward the middle and then roll foward.

Serve with nuoc mam cham and enjoy!

Com Tam Suon Bi Trung - Broken Rice w/ Pork Chops, Shredded Pork, and Egg

2011-01-06T17:55:00.003-05:00

My room mate mistakenly brought a bag of broken rice instead of the regular jasmine rice. I took it as a sign to finally write an entry about Com Tam. While I was in Vietnam, I love waking up to the smell of grilled pork chops. One of my grandparent's neighbor actually sells Com Tam for a living. Com Tam is a plate of broken rice topped with grilled pork chops amongst other things. The usual suspects for Com Tam is usually bi, cha, and trung opla but I have seen grilled shrimp, tofu, stuffed bean curd, and Chinese sausage. Whenever we are making Com Tam we like to set up a buffet of toppings and then you would just go around the table and build your Com Tam platter the way you like it. I like mine with just pork chops, bi, cha, and lots of good fish sauce.

Ingredients:

broken rice
4-5 pork chops (don't get them too thick)
bi
eggs
tomatoes/cucumber/lettuce (optional)
pickled vegetables (optional)
prepared fish sauce
cooking oil
2 stalk green onion
minced lemongrass
minced garlic
brown sugar
oyster sauce
mushroom seasoning
fish sauce

1. Marinade the pork chops with 1/2 tablespoon of minced lemongrass, 1/2 tablespoon of minced garlic, 2 tablespoon of oyster sauce, 1/2 tablespoon of brown sugar, a pinch of mushroom seasoning, and a couple squirt of fish sauce. Marinade over night if you can.
2. Make the bi.
3. Cook a batch of broken rice the same way you would make regular rice.
4. Finely minced the green onions.
5. Heat up 1 tablespoon of cooking oil. Add the green onion and sauteed until fragrance but do not let it burn.
6. Pan fry your pork chops and eggs to your liking.
7. Place some broken rice on a plate, brush some of the green onions and oil on the rice. Add the pork chop, bi, eggs, slices of tomatoes and cucumber, and lettuce. Brush on additional green onions and oil. Serve along with a bowl of prepare fish sauce, enjoy!

Vietnamese Herbs

2011-01-03T16:16:00.008-05:00

Herb is a very important element of Vietnamese cuisine. Herbs are not just for garnish but it enhances the taste and smell of each dish. A bowl of pho is not the same without a couple leaves of Thai basil. You simply cannot replace Vietnamese coriander with any other herb when you make Goi Ga. Each herb has a specific aroma and taste that compliment and complete a dish. In this entry I will only reference the best usage for specific herbs when preparing Vietnamese food. I do not have pictures for everything yet but will continue to update. Please visit Vietherbs if you would like more detailed information and pictures.

Hung Que (Thai Basil)

Soup: Pho, Bun Bo Hue
Salad: Goi Du Du, Bo Tai Chanh, Goi Ngo Sen, Goi Xoai Xanh
Others: Banh Cuon, Cha Gio

Rau Ram (Vietnamese Coriander)

Soup: Banh Canh Cua, Canh Ca Chua
Salad: Goi Ga, Goi Vit, Goi Do Bien, Hen Suc Banh Trang, Ga Xe Phay
Others: Seafood, Hot Vit Lon, Tiet Canh

Tia To (Vietnamese Perilla):
Usually an accompaniment for soups with seafood and it does goes very well with blood cubes.

Soup: Bun Rieu, Canh Bun, Bun Oc
Others: Doi Tiet

He (Chinese Chives)
Soup: Canh Dau Hu, Hu Tieu, Mi
Others: Goi Cuon, Gia Xao, Mien Xao, Mi Xao

Ngo Gai (Sawtooth Cilantro)
Soup: Pho, Mien Ga, Chao Long
Salad: Goi Do Bien, Tiet Canh

Ngo (Cilantro)
Chopped cilantro is often mixed together with green onions to topped off most soups

Ti La (Vietnamese Dill)
Soup: Canh Ca Ca Chua, Canh Khoai So
Others: Cha Ca Thang Long

Goi Ga - Shredded Chicken and Cabbage Salad

2010-12-16T18:32:00.009-05:00

Goi Gai is one of my favorite salad, it only comes in a close second to Goi Vit(Vietnamese Duck Salad). I always have to have some when I'm back in Vietnam. Vietnamese chicken, often refer as walking chicken, is so much better than chicken from the States. The meat is firm and more fragrance. The skin, my favorite part, is chewy not mushy. My mom would buy live chicken around the holidays, slaughtering them is a hassle but so worth it. Whenever I visit home, I would turn the outside freezer inside out hoping there is still some left. You can also use Cornish hen at the American supermarket, there is some firmness to their meat. They are quite small so you might have to use two. Goi ga is often made with shredded cabbage but be creative. I like to add lotus roots and shredded banana blossom if I have some lying around. The herb is especially important for this salad, it's just not the same to me if I did not use Vietnamese coriander. Each bite should have a tang from the lime, the aroma of the ground pepper, and finally the spiciness of the coriander leaves. Every single ingredients makes a difference!

Ingredients:

1 Cornish hen
1/2 head of cabbage
1 medium sweet onion
Vietnamese coriander
limes
fresh chili
sea salt
ground pepper
fish sauce
sugar
vinegar

1. Shred the cabbage into thin stripes.

2. Combine 1 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of vinegar and then pour over cabbage. Let it soak in the fridge.3. Boil the chicken in a pot of water. When chicken is fully cooked, remove and cool. You can use the broth to make soup.
4. Thinly sliced the onions, set aside for later use.5. Rinse the coriander, and let dry. Once dry, rough chop and set aside.

6. Once the chicken has cooled, begin to shred the meat and skin. You want to have a good size bite so don't over shred. Don't strip the bones clean, leave some meat. The bones goes in the salad as well.

7. Drain the excess liquid from the cabbage. You don't have to squeeze it so it stays crispy.
8. Combine cabbage, chicken, and onions in a mixing bowl. Add a couple dash of fish sauce, 1 teaspoon of sea salt, 1/2 teaspoon of ground pepper, and the juice of 1/2 lime. Mix thoroughly and then taste. Add more lime juice if needed as well as salt or pepper.
9. Minced some fresh chili and add to the salad.
10. When the salad is to your liking, add the chopped coriander leaves.

Serve and enjoy!

Mi Xao Xa Xiu - BBQ Pork Lo Mein

2010-12-16T16:54:00.005-05:00

I had some leftover ingredients from making Mi Ga last weekend, half a bag of bean sprouts and a bunch of Chinese chives. I marinaded some xa xiu last night so it will be ready for lunch today. I ate something similar to this at a Cantonese restaurant I used to go to except they used chow fun noodles. It was extremely greasy but so so good. The spiciness of the chives really go well with the crunchy bean sprouts. Such an easy lunch to put together, I must do this more often!

Ingredients:

1 bag of egg noodles
a handful of bean sprots
a small bunch of Chinese chives
1/2 sweet onion sliced
xa xiu (BBQ Pork)
minced garlic
soy sauce
sugar
fish sauce
oyster sauce
cooking oil

1. Prepare xa xiu like in my earlier recipe, sliced thinly.
2. Boil the noodles until it slightly cooked, you will finish the cooking process later on. Rinse with cold water, drain, and let dry in colander.
3. Cut chives into 1-2 inch section.
4. Combine 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce, 1/2 tablespoon of soy sauce, a couple squirt of fish sauce and 1/2 tablespoon of sugar to make a sauce.
5. Heat up a good amount of cooking oil in a wok or pot. Add garlic to oil and stir until fragrance.
6. Add the noodles, stir fry the noodle making sure the noodle is coated with the oil.
7. Add the sauce to the noodle and make sure it evenly distributed.
8. Add the xa xiu and slice onions.
9. Add the green sprouts and chives at the very end so yo don't over cook them.

Serve and enjoy!

Bi - Shredded Pork Skin

2010-12-15T21:55:00.008-05:00

If you ever ordered a Broken Rice Platter at a Vietnamese restaurant you may have come across Bi. It looks like a pile of noodles but it's actually pork. It is a mixture of shredded pork skin and pork meat coated with roasted rice powder. Whenever my mom makes this at home she has to guard it with her life or else I will snack on this stuff like it's dried squid. Bi is great with rice or noodle, just add some prepared fish sauce. You can roll it up into a spring roll or stuff some in a baguette. If you are like me, Bi by itself is more than sufficient!

You can buy fresh pre-shredded pork skin usually in the frozen section of the Viet market. I have also seen dehydrated pork skin but I have never used or eaten those before. If you want to be able to control how thin or thick your shredded pork will be you can use a slab of pork belly and cutting everything up yourself. We usually just stick with the frozen kind. Bi is not all skin, but a combination of pork skin and meat. If you use pork belly you can make use of everything except the fatty part. For the meat portion I usually just pan fried a piece of boneless pork chop.

Ingredients:

1 package of frozen shredded pork skin
1-2 boneless pork chops
1 package of roasted rice powder
fish sauce
1 tablespoon of minced garlic

1. Place frozen shredded pork in cool water with plenty of salt. I change the water 4-5 times to make sure it is clean.
2. Marinade the pork chops with a couple squirt of fish sauce and let it marinade.
3. Drain the water from the shredded pork skin and let air dry.
4. Cook the pork chops by pan frying.
5. Cut the pork chops into thin strips.
6. This step is optional. My mom likes to spread out the pork skin in a plastic colander. Put it in the microwave on 1010 second intervals until it's soft. Don't over due this step because pork skin will melt together into clumps. Let the pork skin air dry again.
7. Combine pork skin, shredded pork meat, minced garlic, and a couple squirt of fish sauce. Mix everything together. Add the roasted rice powder and make sure all the ingredients are evenly coated.
8. Enjoy!

Canh Bun - Ricefield Crab Noodle Soup

2010-10-23T13:41:00.010-04:00

Meet Bun Rieu's almost identical sister, Canh Bun. Like Bun Rieu, Canh Bun, also originated from Northern Vietnam. Canh Bun is one of my favorite noodle soup when I lived in Vietnam. There was always a cart in front of my house during lunch time and then one at my grandma's during dinner time. You bring your own bowl to the vendor to take a portion home to eat. The vendor will cook large rice noodle and blanched rau muong (morning glory) right into the broth with minced ricefield crab, pork blood, and tofu. It is called "canh" because you cook the noodles into the broth just like you would with Banh Canh. I always ask for banh trang (rice paper) with my Canh Bun. You rip the rice paper into smaller pieces and soak it in the hot broth. Once it soak up the broth it will soften and have the texture of rice noodle.

It may appear similar to Bun Rieu but there definitely is a difference in taste. Canh Bun's broth and the "rieu" (crab mixture) is much lighter. The crab mixture in Bun Rieu is sturdy and becomes almost like a cake. Canh Bun's crab mixture is fluffy and easy to break apart. To achieve that fluffy texture ricefield crabs are smashed, shell and all, into a paste which is then combine with eggs. I notice some Canh Bun vendor does not use tomatoes but my family loves to include it. I found some frozen ricefield crab paste at the Vietnamese market which I hoped would make this dish. Instead of using the jar shrimp/crab paste labeled as Gia Vi Nau Bun Rieu, I use something similar call crab meat in soya bean oil. It is less pungent that the jar we commonly use for Bun Rieu. My brother introduced me to this jar from Seattle because I can't seem to find it here in the midwest. My brother made the first pot of Canh Bun since we moved to the States.

I have to say the frozen ricefield crab meat really hit the spot. It gives off an aroma that no other crab can give, an aroma you are suppose to get out of a bowl of Canh Bun. Because it's frozen, the crab paste becomes extremely runny when thawed. I combine blue crab meat, ground pork, and mince dried prawns to help glue the crab mixture together. You achieve that fluffy texture I added a lot of

eggs.

Ingredients:

pork bones

dried prawns (tom kho)

1 can of blue crab meat

1 container of frozen ricefield crab paste

1 jar of crab meat in soya bean oil

1/4 lb ground pork

5 eggs

salt

mushroom seasoning

fish sauce

shrimp paste (mam tom)

rock sugar

7 large tomatoes

1 large bunch of morning glory

tofu pouch

already cooked pork blood (cubed)

large rice noodle (use for Bun Bo Hue)

green onions

lime

herbs of choice

rice paper (optional)

1. Rinse and wash pork bones. Par boil bones to get rid of scums.

2. Simmer pork bones in a pot of water.

3. Soak dried prawns in warm water until soften.

4. Add 3 teaspoon of salt, rock sugar, and 1 tablespoon of mushroom seasoning. Let simmer for 1-2 hour.

5. Remove dried prawns from water(pour the water into the broth) and finely mince it.

6. Combine ground pork, ricefield crab paste, minced dried prawns, 5 eggs, and 1/2 tablespoon of shrimp paste. Mix thoroughly and set aside for later.

7. Wash tomatoes and cut into large pieces.

8. Wash morning glory and then blanch, drained and let dr

9. Cook the noodle until al dente, drained and then let dry.

10. Add the jar of crab meat in soya bean oil to the broth.

11. Taste with addtional sugar and fish sauce. I like to add shrimp paste to the broth as well.

12. Let broth simmer for 30 minutes and then add tomatoes.

13. When broth come to a boil add the crab mixture.

14. Add tofu and blood cube. Add additional shrimp paste for flavor, be careful not over salt the broth.

The broth is now finish and ready to eat. You can put noodle and morning glory right into the pot and start cooking it. I like to use a separate smaller pot to prepare each bowl. A little bit of broth, noodles, and morning glory. Let pot come to a boil and then you are ready to serve. Enjoy!

Ca Nuong - Baked Fish

2010-10-21T14:17:00.008-04:00

If you could eat one thing for the rest of your life...what would it be? My mom and I had a conversation about this over dinner a while ago. We made a nice dinner spread which included ca kho (fish braised in caramel sauce), dau hu chien (fried tofu), and canh kho qua (bittermelon soup). We both agreed it was the best meal EVER, and could literally eat it everyday. Things got semi-serious when I asked her what she would eat if she could only eat one dish for the rest of her life. She said hands down it was ca kho. Then it was my turn. First I picked Bun Bo Hue, then I changed it to Canh Chua, and then it was Bo Luc Lac. I thought about it for days. I finally decide that I can seriously eat banh trang cuon (summer roll) for the rest of my life. With good fish sauce, anything rolled in rice paper will be satisfying. My protein of choice is definitely fish, baked fish!

Simplicity is key to baking the perfect fish! You just want to lightly salt both side of the fish. Brush a little oil on your cooking sheet so the fish doesn't stick and fall apart. Bake the fish in the oven at 375 degrees. I don't really have a set time, just until both side become golden brown, and the top side I will leave it in until it's crispy. In my family we fight for the crispy tail! Just before I take out the fish, I will sprinkle minced green onions on top. I don't brush any additional oil on the fish because catfish is oily enough. When the fish is ready to serve, I top more green onions as well as fried onions (hanh phi). It's really that simple. Once you combine the fish, herbs, and noodles and drench it in fish sauce, every bite will leave you wanting more. I can sit there and eat 10+ of these rolls! Honestly, I pray I NEVER would be limited to one food item for the rest of my life and wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.

Components to Ca Nuong

Rice paper ( banh trang)
Vermicelli rice noodle (bun)
Cucumber
Choice of lettuce
Pickled vegetable (optional but I usually have pickled carrots at hand)
Herbs (cilantro, basil, fish mint, etc)
Dipping sauce made with fish sauce (nuoc mam cham)

Beef Chow Fun - Banh Uot Xao Bo

2010-10-05T13:42:00.011-04:00

I love eating Chinese Chow Fun and Thai Pad See Ew because of the use of wide flat rice noodle. When it is done right the noodles will be soft yet chewy. I'm definitely not a fan of overcooked mushy noodles. I used to buy the fresh rice noodles from the Asian market to make stir fry. It sadden me that 75% of time it ended up in the garbage because I just could not find the time to use them before it went bad. I finally found the perfect substitute that has a much longer shelf life!

I came across these one day, had very low expectations since it is not fresh. Once I finally tried it out, I was in love! These rectangular shape noodles are great to use after a good soaking in water. I use them anytime I want to fix something up really fast. I had 2 hour before work so I decide to make some Beef Chow Fun for lunch. I had already thawed out some slice beef the night before and just used whatever I had laying around in the fridge.

Ingredients:

sliced beef
green onions (cut into 1/2 in)
yellow onions (thinly sliced)
Chinese kale choy sum (cut in half)
rice noodle
minced garlic
fish sauce
oyster sauce
soy sauce
sugar
cooking oil

1. Soak noodles in warm water.
2. Marinade sliced beef with soy sauce,minced garlic, and sugar.
3. Clean and cut all your vegetables.
4. Drain noodles and let it dry for a bit. The noodles has soften but not enough to eat.
5. Heat up some cooking oil in a pan.
6. Add the beef and stir fry until brown, remove and put aside.
7. Repeat #5, flash fry the choy sum. Remove and put aside.
8. Repeat #5 enough to cover the surface of the pan, add minced garlic and then rice noodles. Add two tablespoon of oyster sauce, 1/2 cup of water, a little bit of sugar. Cover the pan and let the liquid soak into the noodles.
9. Uncover the pan and you shouldn't have very much liquid left and the noodles should be softer. Add the yellow onion, green onion, a dash of fish sauce, a dash of soy sauce and continue to stir all the ingredients together.
10. Re-add the beef and choy sum. Stir everything together.
11. If you prefer the noodles to be extra soft, just add more water and cover the pan.

Enjoy!

Pho Bo - Beef Rice Noodle Soup

2010-09-10T17:30:00.018-04:00

You would think Pho would be one of the first entry I write about, since this is a blog about Vietnamese cooking. Two years later, I finally did it! Pho is something I grew to appreciate. I never really care for it when I was younger because I much prefer Bun Rieu or Bun Bo Hue. It's very intimidating to make pho for my family, especially for my dad. My dad can eat pho three times a day, every day. It is his absolute favorite, and he's not afraid to tell you what he thinks. We often order pho at Vietnamese restaurant but he is never satisfied. The broth has to be clear, the spices should not be overwhelming, the noodle has to be the right texture. My mom loves it when he says nothing compares to her pho, but I'm sure that is required by all Vietnamese husband.

I wanted to try my pho recipe using a crock pot because it's suppose to reduce a lot of time hovering over the stove. I, however, was not able to go on with my day without checking the crock pot every now and then. Yes I realize it defeats the purpose of a slow cooker but hopefully I will perfect my slow cooking method in the future.

People say I have a knack for making soup because I do make them very often. If I can enjoy a steaming bowl of soup in 90 degrees weather it's because I can taste the love. When I make soups for my family and friends I want them to taste the love as well so I put a lot of time and effort when I make soups. I don't like to take short cuts or substitutes when it comes to my soup. I truly believe there are crucials steps that makes a great bowl of soup and this is certainly true for pho.

1. Roasting the Ginger and Onion: Some may think this step is unnecessary but it makes a huge difference. Roasting these two ingredients brings out their sweetness in taste and smell. I love the fragrance of roasted ginger!

2. Time can tell: I swear our parents has a six sense to detect how long we simmer the bones. My mom can always estimate how many more hours I should have simmered the bones to make a better broth. The longer you simmer your bones the better.

3. Spices: Spices should not overwhelm your broth, the last thing you want is your pho to smell like herbal medicine. I like to add my spices in a tea strainer at the very end for like 30 mintues. You can get a bag of mixed pho spices at the Asian market but all you really need is star anise, cinnamon, and cloves. You do not need a lot just a few of each spice will suffice.

4. Rice Noodle (Banh Pho): My mom sometimes precook her noodles to save time but I am very much against this. Cooked noodles breaks so easily. Rice noodle should be al dente, it's soft enough to eat but still has a little bit of chewiness to it. You can buy the "fresh" rice noodle in the refrigerated section or it will work with the dry ones as well. You will just need to soak the dry one a lot longer. Portion some noodles in a strained ladle and place it in boiling water for like 5 second. Remove from boiling water and run the noodle under warm water to wash away the excess starch. Strain excess water from noodle and place noodle in the bowl.

5. Herbs and Garnish: I know this should be personal preference because some people just can't eat herbs or onions. If you are a first time eater, please try it with basil leaves and sawtooth herb because it really does complete the soup.

Ingredients:

Ox Tail
Beef Bones
Beef Trife
Beef Shank
Eye Round Beef Thinly Sliced
2 Large pieces of Ginger1 Large Yellow OnionRock SugarStar Anise
Cinnamon StickCloves
SaltPepper
Fish Sauce
Mushroom Seasoning
Rice Noodles
Green OnionsCilantroLimesBasil LeavesSawtooth Herb

Cookware:

Soup Pot
6 Quart Slow CookerTea Strainer
Ladle Strainer

Start Time : 6:00 AM

1. Rinse your bones with plenty of salt under running water.
2. I recommend parboiling your bones twice in a regular pot before transferring them to the slow cooker. Slow cooker will not get to a boiling point where you can remove the excess scum. I rinse the bones with cool water in between each boil. Transfer your bones to the crock pot and fill it up with water and turn on your cooker.
3. Broil the ginger and yellow onion in the oven until the outside is charred. Remove and place in cold water to help peel the skin away.
Time: 7:00ish AM4. Add ginger, yellow onion, rock sugar, 2-3 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 tablespoon of mushroom seasoning to the crock pot. At this time you can leave the crock pot alone for now.
5. I check my slow cooker every hour because i'm just anal. I have to be in control and make sure it's doing what it's suppose to. You really do not have to do this, it's just me.

Time: 3:00 PM

6. Wash the beef shank and beef tripe with plenty of salt.
7. Taste the broth and now you want to add fish sauce( approx. 1 tablespoon) to your liking, and couple dash of ground pepper. Add more sugar if necessary. 8. The water should have reduced a bit. Add the beef shank and tripe to the crock pot. If there is not enough room, store some of the broth in a smaller pot and save for later. Leave crock pot alone.

Time: 6:00 PM

9. Beef shank and tripe should be tender enough, or you can leave it in the cooker longer. I remove shank and trip from cooker and let it cool. Add the excess broth you save from before back into the cooker.10. Soak "fresh" rice noodles in cool water.
11. I'm ready to thinly sliced my eye round beef. If you cannot slice thinly, place the beef in the freezer for an hour and would be so much easier. If you ask the butcher at your grocery store they could also shave your beef for you.
12. Prepare your garnish. Finely chop your green onions, cilantro, and yellow onions. Cut limes into wedges.13. Thinly slice your beef shank and cut your trip into smaller pieces.

Time: 8:00 PM

14. Place your tea strainer with the pho spices in the crock pot for 30 minutes.
15. Prepare noodles the way I have stated above. Place raw beef slice on top of the noodles as well as the beef shank and beef tripe.
16. Again the cooker does not get to a point where it is boiling so I place broth in a smaller pot to boil. Pour boiling broth to your prepared bowl. The meat should be submerge in the broth to cook thoroughly.
17. Add desired garnish and enjoy :)