Editor’s note: This post is submitted Guest Post….

A healthy and delicious way to enjoy your favorite seafood

Vietnamese food is not only known for its distinct flavors, but also for its low cholesterol content. This cuisine was regarded by Health Magazine as one of the healthiest in the world. The magazine claims, “This cuisine, prepared the traditional way, relies less on frying and heavy coconut-based sauces for flavor and more on herbs, which makes it lower in calories.”

According to FoodByCountry.com, the warm weather and fertile soil of southern Vietnam make it an ideal place to grow a wide variety of fruits, vegetables and livestock, and the vast coastlines of the country make seafood a natural staple in their cuisine. Today, we bring you a recipe that utilizes the best of Vietnamese flavors and the freshest choicest of seafood, while staying at a low calorie count: Vietnamese chili and coriander prawn salad.

Just as with other seafood dishes, this dish is best served with a nice, fruity wine. A classic bottle of Ulmen Sauvignon Blanc may do the trick, as Marks and Spencer describes this wine as “Crisp and refreshing with aromas of lime, grapefruit and gooseberry, this is a deliciously dry and pure Sauvignon Blanc”. If you’re not a fan of Sauvignon Blanc, the Telegraph has some other good recommendations.

The first thing you need to do is gather your ingredients:

· 2 carrots, peeled and sliced into matchsticks
· 1 red pepper , finely sliced — don’t forget to remove the seeds
· 1 large red chili, deseeded and diced
· ½ cucumber, sliced finely into strips
· ½ garlic clove, crushed and peeled
· 1 tbsp brown sugar
· 1 tbsp fish sauce
· 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
· 2 tbsp groundnut or coconut oil
· 280g mangoes, cut into cubes
· 200g frozen broad beans
· 300g king prawns, peeled and deveined (but leave the tails on!)
· 1 splash sweet chili sauce
· 1 handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped
· 2 handfuls of wild rocket leaves

Directions:

1. Marinate the prawns in a mixture of the sweet chili sauce and coriander.

2. Cook the broad beans in boiling water for 3-4 minutes. Afterwards, drain them and wash them in cold water. Drain the water again and peel the beans.

3. Arrange the rocket leaves in a big platter or salad bowl, and add the carrots, cucumber, red pepper and broad beans.

4. Make the dressing by mixing together the chili, garlic, fish sauce, vinegar, sugar, and oil. Mix this together until the sugar has dissolved, and sprinkle it over your salad.

5. By now, the prawns

I love Live Maine Lobsters!

During a Lobster Mania event at Groomer’s Seafood, located in San Antonio, Texas, I went crazy.  I was surrounded with hundreds of Live Maine Lobsters and my mind was whirling around creating recipes.  For example, I created a Real Texas Quesadilla Recipe, Lobster Bisque with Sweet Basil, this recipe and we even had enough lobsters to invite friends over for a Lobster Feast.

On David’s blog RealTexasBlog.com I show how to prepare and eat a Lobster, including removing the tail meat in just 2 simple steps.

While creating a Vietnamese recipe, I kept in mind the lightness of the sauce and the fresh delicious taste of fresh ginger.  Using Coconut Oil added a light and naturally sweet layer to this dish too.

Enjoy my Vietnamese Lobster with Ginger and Scallions recipe and let me know what you think!

Vietnamese Lobster with Ginger & Scallions

Ingredients

4 Lobster Tails, meat removed
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon White Pepper
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon Corn Starch
1 tablespoon water
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons Coconut Oil
1/4 cup fresh Ginger, minced
4 Scallions, cut into 1″ pieces and cut in half lengthwise. Reserve the green tops, shredding them for garnish.
1/2 cup Scallions, minced
1 cup Chicken Stock (I used homemade, just boil down a chicken carcass with carrots, onions and a little salt and pepper)

Directions

Prepare the Lobster Tails, cutting in half lengthwise and then again lengthwise. Leaving you with 4 pieces of lobster tail meat.  Do this with all 4 lobster tails.

Heat 1/2 cup coconut oil in a wok.

While the oil is heating, roll the lobster meat the 1/2 cup dry cornstarch.

Deep fry the lobster meat for approximately 1 -2 minutes until the coating is a crisp golden color.  Remove and drain on paper towels.

Wash the wok and add the remaining coconut oil and heat.

Add the fresh ginger, the sliced Scallions and lobster to the wok.  Stir to mix.  Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil.  Mix the water with the remaining cornstarch and then add to the boiling mixture in the wok.  Continue stirring until the sauce thickens.

Serve over Steamed White Rice and garnish with the green shredded scallions.

I have found the most wonderful Seafood Market in Texas!!! The Highest Quality Fresh Seafood in Texas!  Yes, a fresh seafood company located right in the heart of South Texas. From our early years of commercial fishing and shrimping the Gulf of Mexico out of Port Isabel, Texas; to the present day as San Antonio’s largest fresh fish and fresh seafood wholesale and retail processor, we take pride in supplying connoisseurs who demand the best and freshest seafood.

This is a delicious recipe that I created using fresh East Coast Countneck Clams from Groomer Seafood in San Antonio. Fresh Ginger, homemade Sweet Soy Sauce, and homemade Chicken Stock.

Vietnamese Steamed Clams in a Ginger Broth

Ingredients

2 tablespoons Coconut Oil
3 tablespoons Ginger, minced
4 cloves fresh Garlic, minced
3 tablespoons Shallots, minced
1/4 cup Sweet Soy Sauce
4 cups Chicken Broth
1 cup Rose Wine
2 pounds Clams, rinsed and scrubbed
4 small fresh baby Bok Choy
1/2 cup Bamboo Shoots, rehydrated and cut into strips
1/2 cup sliced fresh Mushrooms
2 tablespoons Fish Sauce
frozen Rice Noodles

Directions

The night before hydrate the dried bamboo shoots, by adding water to cover bamboo shoots. Several times change the water, this will help take out the bitterness. See my video on hydrating Bamboo Shoots.

Make the homemade chicken broth the night before also, strain the broth, discarding the vegetables. Chill overnight and discard the fat.

Once the bamboo shoots have soaked overnight, add bamboo shoots and fresh water into a pot. Boil at a simmering boil for a couple hours changing the water 2 times. Drain the bamboo shoots and cut the strips into approximately 1 1/2 to 2″ pieces and set aside.

Heat the coconut oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add the ginger, shallots and garlic and cook for 2 minutes until the garlic is fragrant but not burned. Add Rose Wine and let reduce 1/3.

Stir in the sweet soy sauce and fish sauce, followed by the chicken broth. When the broth begins to gently simmer. Add the bok choy, mushrooms and bamboo shoots and simmer uncovered for approximately 5 minutes.

Add the clams. Cover the pot and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until clams have opened. Discard any closed clams.

Transfer the clams over the rice noodles and vegetables, to a large serving bowl and spoon broth over clams.

Seasoning is very much appreciated in Vietnamese cooking. There are many rows of grocery shops at any market in Vietnam selling all kinds of spices, seasoning, fruits, spring onions, garlic, pepper, chilli, shiitake (agaric). This fare includes aromatic, sour, acrid, hot ones with various colorful shapes.

There are also plant seasonings that add a lot of spice and flavor such as chilli, pepper, citronella, shallot, garlic, ginger, lemon or lemon young leaves, spices for fermentation: ferment, shrimp paste, fermented distiller’s grains, wine vinegar or bitter candy, coconut milk, etc.

Ginger has warm poignancy, which is good for digestion, against nausea and can release pain.

Cinnamon is very easy to use and very tasty as we all know. It contains anti-oxidation, is very good for digestive system, and can also help regulate the amount of sugar in blood and of cholesterol in human bodies. Hmm… Aren’t we reading more about cinnamon and its powers in health articles here in the USA? And they have known about it for centuries…….

Here is an interesting thought: The specific spices of the nations in South East Asia mentioned above are used harmoniously and in accordance in cooking with the principle of “combining Yin and Yang to develop” for example, a dish which can easily cause stomach chill which has to go with a hot spice. The kinds of food which are not compatible can not be in the same dish or eaten at the same time, not only because they aren’t delicious, but sometimes they can be harmful to health. These experiences have been accumulated for many generations.

I just find all this sort of thing fascinating and statements like the above only want me to learn more.

Minced lemon leaves, salt and pepper mixture are indispensable to chicken.

Snails can’t be eaten without perilla and chili. I love snails, but my husband says they taste like pencil erasers……maybe he just needed the right spices! What’s he doing eating pencil erasers? Do I have that recipe?

Marjoram and limnophila aromatica (I replace with Cumin) is the essential spice for noodles in crab chowder.

Noodles in chicken broth has to go with shrimp paste.

Middle-autumn pastries require vanilla. Floating cake or sticky rice dumpling needs grapefruit essence. Steamed sticky rice is best with deep fried spring onion. Duck meat pairs with garlic, beef with ginger. Their food experts sound like our wine pairing experts.

From a meal to a snack, a dish must be tasty, beautiful and clean, with just enough necessary ingredients and spices. Remember, we are cooking Vietnamese food not only for a delicious dish but also for a good-looking dish. A plate of boiled kohlrabi or radish, which is immaculately white but a little pale, will be thinned out by one or two leaves so the plate is dotted green, and the broth looks nicer and daintier.

In our research, we have found there are also specific characteristics of cooking in each region of Vietnam:

Cooking in the Northern Part of Vietnam

The dishes are not so spicy, hot, greasy or sweet as those in the other regions, They mainly use thin fish sauce and shrimp paste. They also use many kinds of vegetable and easily-found aquatic products in fresh water like shrimps, crabs, fish, clams, mussels, etc. In general, the cuisine in the Northern Part traditionally originated from a poorer agriculture environment, so using meat and fish were not as prevalent as in other areas of the country.

Cooking in the Central Part:

They prefer the dishes which are warmer with stronger concentrations of flavors. The special flavors and the dishes are spicier than those in the Northern and Southern Parts. There are plentiful colors of foods mixed brightly to reflect reds and dark browns. The cooking in the Central Part is famous for sour shrimp paste and many kinds of vegetable paste. Imperial Hue area cooking with the style of royal cuisine is not only extremely hot and very colorful, but also focuses on the number of dishes provided and the garnishing on them. Seasoning is used a lot too. And in the symphony of hundreds of condiments, hot pepper remains “the conductor” with the fascinating hat. Almost all dishes in the Hue region are hot and spicy!

Cooking in the Southern Part:

Because of the influences of Chinese, Cambodia, and Thai cuisines, dishes in the Southern Part are usually inclined to be sweet and hot. Because I was born in Saigon, these tend to be my favorites. They feature many kinds of dried salty sauces like pickled gourami fish (a colorful tropical fish), fermented crabs, and … are very popular.

With the specific style of enjoyment for cooking “different dishes for different seasons” and the concept “eating to live”, to have enough nutrients for labor intensive work, Vietnamese people have proved themselves connoisseurs with the combination of the most challenging requirements of cooking: foods that are sweet-smelling, tasty, nutritious, and heathy. When guests are seated at the dining table, the host or hostess usually recommends the food saying: this dish is good for bone or used to cure malnutrition, nourishing for liver, nourishing for lungs …this medicinal wine can treat aches and pains, it is also a good remedy for virility, an effective tonic for…. What ails you in general.

Sounds like my old grandmother from Wisconsin who wanted to give the kids a dose of some medicine saying “here take this, it’s good for you.”

This recipe is a special treat…not only is it a really delicious Hot and Sour Soup, but when you add Ruby Jewel Sweet Red Corn, it’s out of this world.

The story of this fantastic corn is a story in itself and I’ll write about it soon. Right now I want to get to you this recipe, because I know you’re going to want to enjoy it with the Ruby Jewel Sweet Red Corn is still in season.

This is a long recipe, but it’s really not that difficult.  I use everything made from scratch and if you do to, when you taste this soup, you will see why!

You can download and print out the full recipe, just click on the recipe title hyperlink!

Vietnamese Hot and Sour Soup with Ruby Jewel Sweet Red Corn

Ingredients

Chicken Broth

4 Chicken Leg Quarters or 2 Chicken Breasts
1/2 cup fresh Basil leaves, chopped
1 or 2 small sprigs of fresh Rosemary, minced
3 tablespoon fresh Oregano, chopped
2 small Garlic cloves, minced
1 -2 fresh Jalapenos, minced (if you are using hot Jalapenos, use only 1)
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 small bunch of Scallions or little Green Onions, sliced into rings (using white and some of green part)

Hot & Sour Soup

2 ounces Boneless Pork Loin
1/3 teaspoon Cornstarch
1/3 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1/3 teaspoon Soy Sauce
1 cup dried Black Fungus (Mushrooms)
2 ounces Tofu
2 1/2 cups Chicken Broth (Using above recipe)
2 tablespoon White Vinegar
2 teaspoons Soy Sauce
2/3 teaspoons Kosher Salt
1 cup Bamboo Shoots, cut up
4 teaspoons Cornstarch
4 teaspoons cold Water
1/4 teaspoons White Pepper
2 Eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 cup Green Onions, chopped
2 teaspoons Rooster Sauce
1/2 teaspoon Toasted Sesame oil
2 cups Ruby Jewel Sweet Red Corn

Directions

Chicken Broth

Note: I make the day before so I can refrigerate overnight to allow the fat to harden. Makes it easier to remove.

Place the chicken legs in a large pot and cover with water and bring to a boil. Make sure that that the chicken pieces are completely covered by water. Add the minced garlic, Jalapenos, rosemary, fresh basil, salt and pepper, and diced green onion to the broth. Bring broth to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer until the chicken falls off the bone and the liquid is reduced.

Strain the Chicken broth and place in the refrigerator until the fat comes to the surface and hardens (I usually leave overnight). Remove the fat and measure the needed Chicken broth. Place the remaining broth in airtight container, label and freeze for future use.

Hot and Sour Soup

Bamboo Shoots

Remove half the Bamboo Shoots from the package and cover with water. Let soak for approximately 2 hours. Drain and refill with water and soak for another 2 hours. Repeat 1 more time, except let soak overnight.

Drain the Bamboo Shoots and cover with fresh water in a pot. Bring to a simmering boil and let boil for approximately 1 hour. Drain the water and add fresh water and repeat 2 more times.

Drain and allow to cool. Then using Kitchen Utility Scissors cut into bite size pieces and set aside.

Black Fungus

Place Black Fungus in a bowl of warm water and allow to become swollen and rubbery. For approximately 1 hour. Drain and set aside.

Removing the corn kernels from the cob 

Using a sharp knife and placing the cob in a bowl, remove the kernels of corn from the cob. Cut as close to the cob as possible and the kernels will be whole.

Marinating the Pork

Slice the pork into thin strips, approximately ¼” strips. Place in a bowl and add soy sauce, cornstarch and salt. Mix around and cover with plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes.

Heating up the Broth

Heat the broth to a simmering boil.  Add soy sauce, white vinegar, and salt. Bring broth to a boil.  Add bamboo shoots, black fungus (mushrooms), pork, and tofu. Bring to a boil. Turn down to simmer, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.

Making the paste

In a small bowl mix the water, cornstarch, and white pepper making a thin paste. Add to the broth, stir and bring to a rapid boil.

Note: The broth must be at a rapid boil for the next step.

Threading the Egg

Slowly pour in the egg while stirring constantly. The broth must be kept rapidly boiling in order for the egg to thread properly.

Add green onion. Turn heat back to simmer. Add rooster sauce, sesame oil, and Ruby Jewel Sweet Red Corn. Cover and simmer for an additional 5 minutes.

Enjoy!

“BANH CHUNG” AND “BANH DAY”

“Banh chung” and “Banh day” might be the most formal and sacred offering to worship ancestors and showing the respect with one’s parents on the occasion of the Tet holiday. “Banh chung” has an eye-catching and is usually wrapped up into square shape represents the earth and the Yin. “Banh day” usually has white round shape, referring to the sky and the Yang. “Banh chung” is used to give tribute to mother, while “Banh day” typically is for the father.

“Banh chung” or “square sticky rice cake”

“Banh day” or “round sticky rice cake”

Main ingredients for “banh chung” is sticky rice and chick-pea, which are carefully chosen from the best produce of spring crops. The filling is made from pork, usually side pork, which is the combination of fat and lean, and deliver a charming fatty taste. Sticky rice is carefully washed, soaked in salt water in about 12 to 14 hours depending on the type of sticky rice and on the weather, then taken out and dried. Chick-pea is smashed up into tiny pieces and soaked in warm water, then dried out after being removed all peelings. Pork is also carefully washed and dried out, cut up into small slices then cleverly mixed with spices, which normally are black pepper and spring onions.

Wrapping up “banh chung”

After preparation, “Banh chung” is wrapped up into a squared-shape with phryniums, which the innermost leaf has to turn its green side inwards to color the sticky rice, and the outermost leaf turn its face outwards, creating an eye-catching cake. Put sticky rice and chick-pea on the phrynium, followed by pork in the center to made up the filling. Another handful of chick-pea is used to finely scatter on the pork. Then a bowl of sticky rice is used to cover the pork and filling. Afterwards, all are wrapped up into a squared shape with phryniums, and then well-tighten with bamboo strings. “Banh chung” is then boiled for 10 to 12 hours in a row. Packaging and boiling “Banh chung”, as well as gathering and watching out together for the boiling pot has become a traditional custom of every Vietnamese family on the occasion of Tet.

Watching out for the boiling pot together

“Banh giay” are usually made of boiled and finely pounded sticky rice, and the fillings may be from chick-pea and coconut strings, sweet or salty. Fine sticky rice was chosen, then boiled and well-pounded in a mortar to until the sticky rice is done exactly to a turn.  This is a strenuous work only for strong man, because boiled sticky rice is extremely glutinous and firm, even the raising of the pestle isn’t simple at all.  Usually, a little of fat is used to avoid the glutinosity. The most popular type of “banh giay” is without filling, as the same size as a palm, and in round shape, which the diameter is about 1 to 2 cm. Every two “banh giay” make a pair to eat, with a slice of lean pork paste, beef sausage or roasted cinnamon pork inside.

Pounding “banh giay” contest

“Banh chung” and “banh day” are unique and creative dishes of Vietnamese cooking, and deeply highlight ethnic character both in their ingredients and cooking ways.  Every nation has it own unique traditional food but it is rarely to see such a delicious and interesting food, that closely connect with the Vietnamese long-standing culture of rice, , like Vietnamese “banh chung” and “banh giay”.

A meal on the first day of the Lunar New Year, “banh chung” is in the center

Some of you may have already read my story called ‘From Saigon to Texas‘. It’s a story of journey from one land to another and finally to the place of my dreams. It is a story known to immigrants coming to America from many distant shores from the Irish, to the Italians, to yes, even the Vietnamese.

Let me tell you another story of a Vietnamese immigrant whom you may already know through his food. Actually, it is through his spicy invention he calls Sriracha Sauce. It is the deep red, very spicy sauce you find in most Asian restuarants.

David Tran came to the USA from Vietnam in 1980 and settled in Los Angeles. He missed the spicy chili sauce of his homeland and couldn’t find anything he really liked. David decided to make his own. And he did. Selling what he made at markets and from the back of his van.

Tran’s story sounds very similar to Michael Dell building computers in his dorm room and selling them out of the trunk of his car. Seems entrepeneurs are just irrepressible no matter where they come from. It’s in their DNA and they are compelled to create.

David Tran grew his business from the back of his van to a full fledged processing facility in an LA suburb and that is where the famous Srirachi sauce came into prominence. The fiery sauce was named after a traditional Asian chili sauce from the town of Si Racha, Thailand. Huy Fong Foods, Inc. sells more than 10 million bottles of the famous sauce a year now. According to the bottle, the sauce is good on everything from hot dogs and hamburgers to pastas, pizzas, and soups. It is on virtually every table in Asian restuarants.

Today, David Tran’s plant is located in Rosemead, California and the sparkling food processing facility is managed by his son, William Tran. William explained that his father invented to the sauce to satisfy his own taste. That assessment is disagreed with according to one food critic who says it is the same sauce he grew up with and is nothing new.

No matter about the so called controversy, David and William Tran’s sauce is a clear winner in American sauces and condiments across a wide range of tastes. It is the sauce of choice in a large majority of Asian food establishments.

Some folks call David Tran’s sauce ‘Rooster Sauce‘. That is what I knew it by when it was mentioned in conversation. It is a staple in Vietnamese cuisine and I usually add a few drops to my family famous Pho. My native Texan husband likes to add ‘Rooster Sauce‘ to a variety of dishes when he wants to spice things up a bit.

I’m anxious to try and make my own homemade sauce and here is the recipe I will use.

I use fresh Fresno Peppers, but you can use Red Jalapeño Peppers too.

Fresno Pepper: Bright green, changing to orange and red when fully matured. Similar to jalapeno peppers, but are higher in the heat index. Fresno peppers are available in the summer. In the fall, hotter red peppers are available.

Red Jalapeño Pepper: Green Jalapeños mature in the late summer, while red Jalapeños are not ready until the fall.

I hope you enjoy my Vietnamese Sriracha Sauce!

Vietnamese Sriracha Sauce Recipe

Here is a wonderful Sriracha Sauce cookbook:

From My Vietnamese Kitchen,
Ramona Werst
Bringing you fresh hot and spicy sauces….

Pei Wei Asian Diner is hosting a search for the ultimate blogger to join its chefs as they travel across Thailand, Vietnam, China, Japan and Korea on an incredible culinary journey. Chef Eric Justice and his team will search for inspiration across the five countries featured on Pei Wei’s menu and the chosen blogger will share the international experience along the way.

I have entered and am so excited! This is my required blog post describing my favorite Pei Wei dish.  I will be writing 4 other blog posts to submit, along with 5 pictures and 1 video.

My lifelong dream is to be able to travel back to Vietnam where I was born to be able to experience my culture. David and I have thought about being guest lecturers on a luxury cruise line like The Yachts of Seabourn, to sponsor our trip.

This contest would be a lifetime experience and would take me back to Vietnam where I could blog and share with you all my wonderful experiences.

This is my blog entry:

I’m Ramona Werst and on my quest for “The Great Asian Dish” I have discovered an Asian dish that has to be a top contender. That dish is Thai River Noodles from Pei Wei Restaurants.

I love the concept of the Pei Wei restaurant, it has a busy atmosphere and I can imagine being in the streets of any Asian country watching the street vendors prepare their meals. It’s a casual restaurant, and you can actually watch the chefs prepare your meal. It’s a special treat for me that a chef brings out my dish and the presentation is perfect. It’s an experience of a major restaurant, yet is affordable for a quick bite to eat. But don’t let the price fool you, the flavor of the dishes speak for themselves and you wouldn’t know that you weren’t in a 5 star restaurant!

While visiting my favorite Pei Wei, in Austin, Texas, I ordered Thai River Noodles. As I waited for my dish, I watched the Chefs as they prepared the order. Pei Wei Chefs use a special blend of dark Soy Sauces to add a special flavor to the dish.

The Pei Wei Chefs know that the sauce is so important to an Asian dish as it ties a dish to a family’s history. I can envision the street vendor as she would prepare the dish using her family’s secret recipe for the sauce. Vendors are recognized for their sauces. You can visit several different street vendors in Asian countries and taste their condiments and each will have a slightly unique and delicious flavor even though they may call the sauces by the same names.

Many sauces use unique ingredients and all ingredients must all be used in order to acquire the different layers of flavor. That blending of flavors is what makes the sauces so delicious.

In Asian dishes, Sauces are king and the Pei Wei Chefs know this because they have obviously done their research in the various countries that make up their recipes in their restaurants. Just by cycling through the menu in your favorite location, you can virtually visit the Asian Countries of Japan, China, Thailand, Korea, and Vietnam. All have their unique flavors and sauces that make their food so interesting and appealing.

In my mind’s eye, I can still see where after preparing the sauce, the street vendor in the Asian countries would slice the meat thin in bite size pieces, marinate in the sauce and grill in the wok. Adding thick Rice Noodles is a wonderful touch. In Asian cooking, there are different types of noodles just as there are different types of Rice. Rice Noodles are the most common and the thickness is just as unique as the dish they are being used for. I use the thinner rice noodles for my Pho (soup) and use the thicker noodles for entre dishes.

Presentation is very important to the Asian cuisine. So many chefs are talented and will carve unique designs or flowers using carrots or other vegetables. Colors are also wonderful for presentation, using green vegetables with thin slices of red peppers, or Basil leaves.

As I take the perfect bite, all the flavors dance off my taste buds and I know that I have found “The Great Asian Dish” right here in Texas. You can find your favorite dish at any Pei Wei restaurant prepared by chefs who have researched the subtleties of The Great Asian Dish and its flavors.

I’m Ramona Werst
Enjoying my virtual tour of Asian cooking anytime I want to go.

Have you ever wondered why meats cooked in a claypot are so moist and juicy?

Let’s talk about it for a while.  The reason for soaking the claypot before you cook with it, is so the clay absorbs the water and the steam slowly evaporates as you are cooking with it.  The juices are released from the meat and it cooks in it’s own juices.

Foods cooked in a claypot are healthier since they are cooked in their own juices instead of losing all the nutrients from boiling in water, and no oil is used.

That was the technical information.  Now the story behind my tasty recipe.

For some unknown reason whenever I go to a Vietnamese restaurant I always want to order Pork in a Claypot over steamed Jasmine Rice.  I love the flavor and I have tried it in different sauces where some include a lot of pepper!

The sauces are what make the Vietnamese dishes so delicious.  I wanted to find the perfect sauce for my version of Vietnamese Pork in a Claypot.  It needed to be rich, flavorful, a little smoky, and sweet all in one.  I found the perfect sauce, Vietnamese Caramelized Sugar Sauce!  You can add more fresh cracked pepper to the Pork in a Claypot recipe, or just enjoy as the recipe as written.

I now had the recipes, but no claypot.  We went to several gourmet cooking stores and they had a few claypots. We even found a claypot to use on the stovetop, but I just couldn’t find the right claypot that I was looking for. So I put the recipes on the back burner.

I drag David to garage sales to look for garden pots (we thought we’d never have to buy another garden pot, since we have sold ship containers full of them and kept quite a few).  But I like to find different garden pots and plant my Basils in them.  We stopped at an estate sale and this lady must have really been a good cook.  I saw all her kitchen items and there it was!  The perfect claypot.  It’s nothing fancy and it was clean as it could be!  I purchased it for $2.00.  I could have gotten it for $1.00 if I wanted to wait and take the chance to buy it after noon when the prices would be cut in half.  But I decided $2.00 was a good price!  Retail they sell for a lot more. I brought my treasure home, washed in clorox. Soaked and then baked it empty.

This recipe is really an easy recipe to make, but it tastes like you slaved over the stove all day!

Enjoy my Vietnamese Pork in a Claypot with Vietnamese Caramelized Sugar Sauce

You can order your own Claypot and have shipped right to your doorstep!

I have a cool recipe that I want to try….it’s Vietnamese Grilled Shrimp on Sugar Cane.  I’ve tasted fresh Sugar Cane right out of the field in Hawaii, so this dish really sounded delicious!

The recipe calls for canned Sugar Cane.  You wouldn’t think this would be hard to find, because everything comes in cans now days.  Wrong!  I looked everywhere in our town, including at my little Asian Market.  Jason even looked for it when he went to his suppliers, but without finding my canned Sugar Cane.  I looked online and it does exist and we were going to be heading to San Antonio, so I put it on my list.

I Googled Asian Markets and found two.  One was very close, so we decided to give it a try.  Yep, it sure was an Asian Market!  We walked inside and there were a group of men sitting at a table and they all stopped talking to stare at us.  We grabbed a cart and headed down an aisle.  There was a lady stocking shelves and I asked her where to find canned Sugar Cane.  I should have known, she didn’t speak English.  She appeared to be Vietnamese and started talking to me, but I couldn’t understand her, we just looked at each other and smiled.

After staring at the shelves, David spotted canned Sugar Cane!

It was a large can, but I’m sure I can freeze it and I don’t want to have to come to San Antonio each time I want to make this dish. And I don’t want to buy too much, just in case it doesn’t turn out.

I guess my other option would be to boil fresh Sugar Cane, but I wasn’t sure how cooked it was, so I’d better stick with the canned.

We continued to go up and down the aisles.  This wasn’t a very big store, but we took our time, because there were so many interesting ingredients that I could use.

Just around the corner, I spotted Pho Bowls!  We need new Pho Bowls!  I’m really getting into this Vietnamese cooking thing.

There were several different patterns, and some where glass and others were plastic.  I found a small glass Pho Bowl, and David said it was too small for him. I told him he could eat 2 bowls, but it’s too much trouble to put in all the great ingredients 2 times. hahaha

Then I saw a bowl that would be perfect for David!  You can see the difference in size.  It’s too funny, but we purchased both bowls, and we use them for our Pho.

I’m all ready to prepared this Grilled Shrimp on Sugar Cane Recipe for you and I hope you enjoy it.  As with most Vietnamese dishes there are dipping sauces.  The dipping sauce for this recipe is a Bean Dipping Sauce and is garnished with Roasted Peanuts.

Have I mentioned that there are certain steps in my recipes that take some time if you are preparing completely from scratch.  The good news is that with ome of the garnishes and sauces, you can store in airtight containers and use them in other recipes.  This will cut some of the preparation time down on some recipes if you have the garnishes and sauces prepared ahead of time.  Another tip, is you can decide what recipe you want to prepare and go ahead and make the garnish and the sauces ahead of time.

Roasting Peanuts is simple.  But, taking the skin off the peanut is time consuming.  You don’t want to get the peanuts that have the skins removed because these usually have salt or sugar added to them.  You don’t want to wash the skins off the peanuts because this will remove some of the oil.  So, I have no easy way of telling you that you need to sit and peel off the skin from each little individual peanut!  They are hard to hold and the skin sticks to the peanut.  You need to have a lot of patience and time!  I suggest skinning the whole bag of peanuts watching a movie in an evening.  Just keep an eye on the peanuts, so no one thinks it’s popcorn!

I only needed a cup of skinned peanuts and it took me about 1/2 hour to skin these little boogers.

The Bean Dipping Sauce has 1 ingredient that is time consuming too.  Coconut Milk.

I will show you how to make the best tasting coconut milk in a later recipe, and once you make this fresh coconut milk you won’t want to be without it.  But for this sauce you can use canned coconut milk.

Make sure you use Chaokoh from Thailand brand, this is the closest to fresh coconut milk.  It has no added sugar.  If you can’t find this brand, then you can use another brand as long as it doesn’t have any added sugar.

The Vietnamese Bean Dipping Sauce also calls for Spicy Bean Sauce. I use the bottled version of this sauce.  Alone it is Spicy, but used with the other ingredients, the flavor is tamed.  You don’t have to purchase a large bottle, like I did.  You can find in smaller cans.  I like the bottle because I know I’ll be using in the future and can close the lid.

Now you are ready to make the Grilled Shrimp on Sugarcane.  I bet you are thinking that you will be placing the shrimp on top of the Sugarcane and grilling it…not!  This is a Vietnamese dish.  You will be making a paste with the shrimp and wrapping it around the Sugarcane, steaming it in the rice steamer, then broiling it in the oven.

We went to an awful lot of trouble to find the canned Sugarcane, and come to find out, you don’t even eat it!  It sweetens the shrimp mixture as you steam and broil it.  Don’t get me wrong, even though the dish does not even come close to what you think it should, it’s really quite tasty.

Please take a chance and try this recipe.  It’s really a Vietnamese treat!

Vietnamese Grilled Shrimp on Sugarcane

From My Vietnamese Kitchen,
I’m Ramona Werst

Enjoying the adventure of tasting new and exciting recipes….