tag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-1284684 2012-01-26T22:23:54-08:00 Cookbook author Andrea Nguyen's site dedicated to Vietnamese recipes, Vietnamese food, Asian ingredients, Asian cooking tips, Little Saigon communities, and other Asian recipes and food cultures all over the world. TypePad tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341ef22f53ef01630032c8eb970d 2012-01-26T22:23:54-08:00 2012-01-27T09:21:53-08:00

This is Henry. He’s about 3 1/2 years old and experiencing his first Asian dumpling. Many of my friends started families not long ago and consequently, it’s been difficult for us to schedule normal adult activities. For this Year of the Dragon, I decided to bring the ‘adult’ activity of making and eating dumplings to a couple of friends and their kids. I made a big batch of filling, some of which I used on Monday and Tuesday. There was plenty leftover by Wednesday, when we had a 5pm cocktail hour date with Diane and John (Henry’s parents). We typically bring over a bottle of wine along with nuts or cheese and bread to nibble on. This time, my husband and I walked in with:...

Andrea Nguyen tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341ef22f53ef016760f10559970b 2012-01-22T21:50:08-08:00 2012-01-22T21:50:19-08:00

Last week was kind of a neat media week. Along with the Asian tofu story coming out in Martha Stewart Living magazine, the Wall Street Journal ran a piece I wrote on Asian soups. Why is the Wall Street Journal doing food? It’s been doing it for years. In fact, the Journal regularly published great food stories. Some are reportorial and business-y while others are practical with recipes. I was assigned to write about wintry Asian soups so I came up with a concept built on a master chicken stock recipe and four (4) soup recipes based on that stock. The pan-Asian collection of soups included Chinese hot-and-sour soup; Thai tofu, pork, and seaweed soup; Vietnamese chicken and cellophane noodle soup; and Japanese gyoza dumplings...

Andrea Nguyen tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341ef22f53ef016760f0955f970b 2012-01-22T20:31:55-08:00 2012-01-26T15:23:09-08:00

I am a low meat eater and wouldn't venture to be a complete vegetarian – though the Chinese New Year candy display at See’s (photo above) may convince me. In fact, tonight on the Tet Eve, I am cooking a crab and will use its meat for a cellophane noodle and crab dish tomorrow; the gin and creme de menthe on the rocks (a "Double Dragon") was the meatless part. I’m saying that I’m not going meatless for Tet tomorrow. However, my friend Simon Bao has been contemplating how he and his partner will celebrate the Year of the Dragon without any ingredients from legged or finned animals. Vietnamese Buddhists who adhere to a strict vegetarian diet will be enjoying a vegetarian Tet menu. During...

Andrea Nguyen