tag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-1284684 2009-07-15T14:40:51-07:00 Serving information on Vietnamese food, recipes, cooking, communities, and culture from all over the globe TypePad tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341ef22f53ef01157115d276970c 2009-07-15T14:40:51-07:00 2009-07-15T14:56:35-07:00

Summer's hot-weather is peak time for growing and eating Vietnamese herbs. In fact, above is my friend Alec Mitchell's Vietnamese herb 'garden' that he set up on his condo balcony in Culver City. He started the herbs with an indoor Aerogarden unit and planted the seedlings in recycled terracotta pots. Fresh herbs (rau thom) are an elemental part of the cuisine so don’t miss out on them. They offer an amazing array of nuanced flavor and soft, leafy texture unlike common western herbs such as basil and parsley. For information on why fresh herbs matter in Vietnamese cooking, the awesome array of herbs, and how to source and grow them, check out this article I wrote for the Los Angeles Times Food Section that was published today: Fresh Herbs at the Center of Vietnamese Cuisine, LA Times Food Section, July 15, 2009 It’s a piece I’ve wanted to see in...

Andrea Nguyen tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341ef22f53ef01157107454f970c 2009-07-13T09:13:00-07:00 2009-07-12T21:31:39-07:00

Some people comically call Korean fried chicken “the other KFC” but Colonel Sanders would not recognize these super crispy pieces of deep fried wonders coated in spicy-sweet-tangy-sesame-seed-inflected-goopy sauce. I’ve been hooked on perfecting this chicken dish over the past two months, making it eight (8) times altogether. (I had to pace myself in between attempts, or I’d become as big as a house!) The source of my obsession? I first tasted Korean fried chicken in 2006 but recently focused on coming up with an excellent rendition because frankly, I was trying to use up a big tub of Korean chile paste (gojuchang) that I’d purchased during a Korean market tour with some friends. I'd made Korean-Vietnamese grilled pork belly and lettuce wraps with the chile paste multiple times but those meals barely put a dent in the kilo of gojuchang in my fridge. Don’t get me wrong because I love...

Andrea Nguyen tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341ef22f53ef011570f64ab0970c 2009-07-10T08:11:00-07:00 2009-07-10T10:02:08-07:00

I’m the kind of hotel guest who takes unused bath amenities home. The mini shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, bath gel, soap, and shoe mit find their way into a special drawer in our guest bathroom. Shower caps, though, I leave behind. I’ve never been able to figure out what I could do with them -- until now. Last Monday, we hosted some friends for a garden lunch of Indian food fueled by champagne and rose. Penny R., an ultra-stylish but old-fashioned woman, walked in the door bearing a fruit salad in a monogrammed antique sterling silver bowl. Atop the bowl like a little hat was a plastic shower cap like you’d find at a hotel. The elastic band on the shower cap kept the cap on well and as Penny revealed, she reused the shower cap many times. How clever is that? The shower cap can stretch around many size...

Andrea Nguyen tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341ef22f53ef011571cb8c65970b 2009-07-06T10:49:03-07:00 2009-07-06T10:49:03-07:00

“Whatever I eat, I have to have a little chile with it,” the Hmong farmer’s son told me last Saturday at my local farmer’s market. “Especially with grilled meat, a little chile is so nice.” His sisters standing nearby all nodded in agreement. I was picking through their pile of hot Thai chiles looking for nice red ones when we started the conversation. Summer is the peak season for Southeast Asian produce and Hmong farmers from California’s Central Valley flush our markets with super fresh leafy greens, all kinds of eggplant, several types of basil, lemongrass, and lots of chiles. I grow my own chiles but they aren’t ripe yet so I lay in a supply grown by the Hmong farmers. (Chiles freeze well so go crazy!) “What do you do with the chiles?” I asked, thinking of a little something I could serve with our July 4 surf-and-turf grilled...

Andrea Nguyen tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341ef22f53ef011571aeee29970b 2009-07-03T11:37:41-07:00 2009-07-03T15:58:48-07:00

Last year I had a freak accident while traveling in Southeast Asia. I fell and put a hairline crack in my front teeth. Ever since then, I’ve neither been able to gnaw on ribs nor bite into corn on the cob. My dentist warned me against it, lest I aggravate the injury. We’re heading into corn season as the weather heats up these days. I unfortunately have to pass on one of my favorite summer foods – grilled corn on the cob slathered with scallion oil and garnished with a sprinkling of salt. It’s a Vietnamese treat that I remember from childhood, and just because I can’t enjoy it doesn’t mean that you can’t either. Just make some scallion oil and grill the corn (boil it first) till the corn gets some charred parts. I love corn and I was looking for -- and needed -- a corny change. Last...

Andrea Nguyen tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341ef22f53ef011570963b93970c 2009-06-29T18:10:00-07:00 2009-07-02T17:43:58-07:00

Last weekend, Rory and I were down in Southern California visiting our families. After a big lunch at my parents’ house on Saturday, we headed up to the grand daddy of Little Saigons in Westminster. We went with my sisters Yenchi and Tasha (they went with me to Saigon last year), Yenchi’s daughter Paulina, and we met up with an old family friend, Loan, whose family were our next door neighbors when we lived in Saigon. Loan brought along her niece, 9-year-old Kelalani. I hadn’t seen Loan in years and Lanchi is heading off to start her freshman year at Yale in August, so we all figured it would be a nice reunion/send off to goof around in “Bolsa” – the Vietnamese-American insiders’ term for Little Saigon. The main drag is Bolsa Avenue, hence the nickname. Loan’s family still lives in Little Saigon and there won’t be anything like Little...

Andrea Nguyen tag:typepad.com,2003:post-68486309 2009-06-25T08:37:32-07:00 2009-06-25T08:48:11-07:00

I was prompted by a few recent emails asking about Vietnamese banh hoi fine rice noodles. For example, Perry in Seattle wanted to recreated a version of banh hoi from San Francisco's Slanted Door restaurant. Bee Yin Low of the lovely Rasa Malaysia site told me that the noodles are among her favorite Vietnamese foods. The other day, I responded to people's request for more information on banh hoi with the general low-down in Vietnamese Noodles 101: Banh Hoi Fine Rice Noodles. And today, I've guest posted a recipe for banh hoi with grilled beef on the Rasa Malaysia site. The photo above is to whet your appetite. For the recipe, you'll have to visit Bee's site. Check it out and start noodling around with banh hoi.

Andrea Nguyen tag:typepad.com,2003:post-68075311 2009-06-22T08:45:00-07:00 2009-06-22T11:58:36-07:00

Bun round rice noodles come in various sizes but banh hoi rice noodles come in only one size – very thin. In fact, these delicate Vietnamese noodles are thinner and finer than Italian angel hair pasta. Banh hoi are instantly recognizable as the tiny rice noodles are cooked and presented as rectangular-shaped mats that resemble a thick later of gauzy white cheesecloth. Banh hoi are difficult to prepare and mostly purchased and used as a fresh noodle. Thus, they are pricey compared to other Vietnamese noodles and typically a Vietnamese special-event food (such as weddings and annual death anniversary celebrations). Everyone always grins extra big smiles when banh hoi are served because you know that you’re in for a treat. I like to describe banh hoi as fine rice noodles so as to distinguish them from the larger bun rice noodles. The photo above shows one piece of the noodle...

Andrea Nguyen