Bun Rieu

This is my version of Bun Rieu, it might not be authentic Vietnamese but it did taste fantastic.   This soup is Alexander's favorite and he called it = The Red Soup.  I learned this recipe from my friend, Lan who has opened my door to Vietnamese Cuisine.

Ingredients:

One 14 oz can of crab meat paste in spices
4 eggs, beaten
1 cup of crab meat or chopped shrimp
1 lb of ground pork
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp of ground pepper

1 yellow/white onion -chopped

4 ripe tomatoes - diced

3 liters  pork/chicken stock

1 box 14 oz firm tofu - cut into bite sizes and shallow fried until crispy

1 tbsp tomato paste/puree
1 tbsp fine shrimp paste

1 packet of vermicelli noodles





Method:

Cook the vermicelli noodles according to manufacturer's instructions and set aside.

Heat 3 tbsp cooking oil in a large pot and add in the diced onions.  Sweat the onions and add in the diced tomatoes and tomato paste/puree.  Saute until fragrant, add in pork/chicken stock, fried tofu and bring to boil.

Combine ground pork, crab/chopped shrimp, can of crab meat in spices,fine shrimp paste, fish sauce,pepper, and sugar. Add the beaten eggs and mix well.

When the stock comes to a boil, slowly add this crab mixture into stock in spoonfuls, do not disturb the soup and let the stock cme back to the boil and continue to simmer - pork/crab/shrimp balls will float when they are cooked through.

Adjust stock with salt or fish sauce.

Serve this soup with cooked vermicilli noodles and fresh garnishes.

Bun Rieu is usually served with plenty of fresh herbs and veggies.

Common accompaniments include:

chopped green onion
cilantro
perilla
mint
lime wedges
bean sprouts
split ong choy/kang kung/rau muong stems
Shredded cabbage
Fine shrimp paste

Serves

Pennywort/Pegaga Drink - The Secret Fountain of Youth

"A hundred, oh Mothers, are your natures and a thousand are your growths. May you of a hundred powers make whole what has been hurt. Where the herbs are gathered together like a thing is an assembly there the doctor is called a sage, who destroys evil, and averts diseases.” - Hymn to the Plants, Rig Veda X, 97

Mother Nature has so perfectly planned her pharmacy so that it is is within everyone’s access.  It is there to nourish and supply us with abundant energy, as well as nurture us when we have some illness, we need only to become aware of its use for us

Pegaga is a polymorphous, creeping plant, rooting at nodes, with sometimes significant tap root, cylindrical and glabrous stems. Other names of pegaga including Centella asiatica (L.), Hydrocotyle asiatica, gotu kola, Indian pennywort (English), Mandukaparni (India), pegaga (Malaysia), and Ping Da Wan (崩大碗), Di Qien Cao (地錢草), Zhi Xue Cao(积雪草), 雷公根, 蚶殼草, 地堂草, 銅錢草, or 落得打, rau ma (vietnamese)

Read about it's medical benefits from factOdiz bite-sized knowledge

Ingredients


2 handfuls pennywort, with stems pinched off
200ml boiling water
180g sugar or honey to taste







Method:

If using sugar, make a simple syrup by dissolving the sugar in the boiling water the allow to cool completely.

Add all the ingredients to a blender along with 5 or 6 ice cubes and water(as concentrated as you'd like), blend at high speed.

Then using a fine-mesh colander, strain out the leafy sludge. Taste and add syrup/honey or water if necessary.

Serve poured over ice.

Store the remainder in the fridge.

Enjoy!

Banh Da Lon

Posting had been a chore the last few weeks as i was not able to copy and paste.  Only this morning did my friend Ted solved my problem.  What a relieve for me, i could not be happier and it was double happiness as i managed to make this dessert which turned out better than i expected. I tasted this dessert when i was in Paris in 2000 and have been thinking about it since. This is a vietnamese dessert and another name for this dessert is called bánh da heo(literally "pig skin cake").  There is a 'kuih' in Malaysia which is very identical and it is called Kuih Lapis 

Ingredients:

Basic Coconut Batter

200 g tapioca flour

60 g rice flour

250 g sugar
1/2 cup water
1 big can coconut milk Savoy brand 525 ml.plus 100 ml water = 2 1/2 cups

Method:

Heat up ½ cup water in a pot and dissolve the sugar in it.

In a bowl, mix the tapioca and the rice flours.

Add the coconut milk mixture, little by little, and mix so the mixture is well blended.

Add the syrup to the batter and sieve batter.

Mung Bean Mixture

Ingredients:

4 ozs skinless mung beans - wash, soak for 2 - 3 hours and then steam until soft
1/2 of the coconut batter (above)

Method:


Measure 1 cup of the cooked mung beans and put into a food processor/blender and add in half of the above batter and process/blend until liquidfied.  Strain batter through a fine sieve.

Batter should be 3 cups  - to make 4 layers of 3/4 cups for each layer.

Pandan mixture

1 tsp pandan paste diluted with 1/2 cup water/pandan leaves juice
1/2 of the coconut batter (above)

Method:

Blend the 4 - 5 pandan leaves and 1/2 cup water in a food processor/blender if using.  Strain through a sieve and squeeze to obtain 1/2 cup

Drain the pandan leaves through a sieve and discard the pandan remains.

Add to the remaining half of the coconut batter and add in 1 tsp pandan paste.

If not using pandan leaves juice just add water to the remaining half of the coconut batter and add in pandan paste.

Batter should be 2 1/2 cups - to make 5 layers of 1/2 cup for each layer.

Steaming Bánh Da Lợn

Set up a steamer and bring water to a boil.

Grease an 8” pan with  a little oil.

Place the pan into the steamer.

Pour about 1/2 cup of the pandan mixture into pan which should be enough to make a full layer.

Steam for about 4 minutes until the layer is no longer liquid so it can support the next layer.

Add about 3/4 cup of the mung bean mixture and cook for 4 minutes.

Repeat until you have a total of 9 layers (optional) or until you run out of the mixtures.

Continue to steam another 10 - 15 minutes to fully cook all the layers.

Remove the pan from the steamer.

Let cool and cut into pieces.

Banh Beo

" Hi!, I have compiled a list of the top Asian Food blogs, and yours was included! check it out atThe Daily Reviewer." This message came from ted@thedailyreviewer.com and i thank him for recognizing this blog to be in his list of the top Asian Food blogs. Thanks Ted and i hope my readers will be interested to know who the other top Asian Food blogs are. One of them is Andrea Nguyen - Viet World Kitchen from where i learned how to make these Banh Beo. This time i had the proper mould for the thin pancake and it was so much easier to make when the utensil is right. The only thing i added was some Annato seed oil to the shrimp, to give it a better looking orangy color.

Ingredients:

and

Method:

Follow recipe from Mini Woon Chai Koh/Rice Pancake/Banh Beo

Serves

Vietnamese meatloaf/Cha Trung Hap

My paternal grandmother used to cook an egg dish which is quite similar but not quite as her recipe is just eggs and ground pork. I remembered she used duck eggs instead of chicken eggs and had to put in alot of pepper to muffled the 'egginess' of the duck eggs.

This vietnamese recipe has more ingredients and putting the egg yolks on top of the loaf gives this dish so much more appeal.

Ingredients:

5 eggs
1 lb ground pork
3 tbsp dried shredded wood ear mushroom - soak to soften
1/2 a bundle of glass noodle - soak to soften, drain and cut into 1/4 inch lengths

1/4 cup shredded carrot

1 teaspoon salt

2 stalks spring onions - chopped
2-3 tsp fish sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Coriander for garnishing

Method:

Reserve 2 egg yolks and beat remaining eggs and egg whites.

Mix all remaining ingredients into beaten eggs.

Pour mixture into a large heatproof (flameproof) bowl and steam covered over medium heat for about 25 minutes.

Beat reserved egg yolks and pour over steamed egg mixture. Steam for 5 minutes.

Garnish with coriander and serve hot with steamed rice.

To test if the dish is cooked, simply insert a bamboo skewer into the middle of the meatloaf and if the skewer come out clean, the dish is cooked.




Serves

Banh Xeo/Sizzling Crepe

Sizzling Crêpes (Banh Xeo) are paper-thin omelets stuffed with shrimp, pork, and bean sprouts, wrapped in lettuce and herbs, and dipped in a sweet-tart dipping sauce. Banh xeo ("bahn SAY-oh") is a popular street snack in Vietnam, especially the south. The name means "sound crepe," and it indicates the sound the batter makes when it hits the hot pan. I wish to visit Vietnam one day and until i do, this recipe will do.

Ingredients:

Crepe Batter
Rice flour -- 1 cup
Sugar -- 1/2 teaspoon
Salt -- 1/2 teaspoon
Turmeric -- 1/4 teaspoon
Coconut milk -- 1 cup
Water -- about 1/2 cup

Scallions - chopped - 1/4 cup

Filling(Variations are at bottom of page)
Oil -- 2-3 tablespoons
Shallots or scallions, minced -- 2-3 tablespoons
Garlic, minced -- 2-3 cloves
Shrimp, peeled and deveined -- 3/4 pound
Fish sauce -- 2-3 tablespoons
Salt -- to taste
Mung bean sprouts

Garnishes
1 head red leaf lettuce or green lettuce, washed and dried, leaves separated and left whole
1 cup loosely packed fresh thai basil

1 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves

Nuoc Cham dipping sauce -- recipe is at bottom of page

Method:

For the crepes:

Adjust 2 oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 200 degrees.

Whisk the water, rice flour, coconut milk, scallions, turmeric, sugar and salt together until uniform. Add in chopped scallions/spring onions.

Heat the oil in a wok/skillet over medium-high flame and add shallots or scallions and garlic. Sauté for 1-2 minutes without browning.

Add the shrimp and sauté until the shrimp is cooked through. Add the fish sauce and salt to season. Remove shrimp to a bowl and set aside.

Wipe out the wok/skillet (i used the crepe pan) and reheat over medium flame. Add a small amount of oil.

Stir the crepe batter well and pour 1/2 cup batter(amount depends on the size of pan) into the wok/skillet/crepe pan. Swirl the pan to coat the bottom.

Lay 3 or 4 of the cooked shrimp over one half of the crepe and then sprinkle a small handful of sprouts over the shrimp.

When the the middle of the crepe looks cooked through and the edges of the crepe begin to brown, fold the crepe over to cover the filling and slide onto a plate.

Hold in a warm oven as you finish the rest of the crepes.

Serve the crêpes with the individual bowls of sauce, passing the garnish platter separately.

(To eat, slice off a wedge of the crêpe, wrap it in a lettuce leaf, and dip it into the sauce.).

.
Variations
Pork Banh Xeo: Substitute half of the shrimp with pork loin or pork belly cut in thin strips. Sauté the shallots and garlic first, then add the pork to cook through, and finally add the shrimp.

Vegetarian Banh Xeo: Substitute fried, shredded tofu for the shrimp to make a vegetarian version. Add a variety of mushrooms to give a meaty flavor. Use soy sauce instead of fish sauce.

Banh Xeo with Egg: Beat 4-5 eggs and pour a little over each crepe after you add the batter to the skillet, but before you add the fillings. Cover the pan for about a minute to let the egg set, then continue with the filling ingredients.

Sauté some sliced mushrooms with the rest of the filling.

Include some peeled, seeded and thinly sliced cucumber or julienne carrot with the rest of the salad ingredients if you like.

Nuoc cham is the all-purpose Vietnamese condiment served with and poured over many dishes. Its salty-sour flavor is wonderfully bright and fresh. Nuoc cham will keep for about a week in the refridgerator.

About 1 cup
Water -- 1/4 cup
Fish sauce -- 1/4 cup
Lime juice -- 3 tablespoons
Unseasoned rice vinegar, unseasoned -- 2 tablespoons
Sugar -- 2 tablespoons
Garlic, crushed -- 1 clove
Chile pepper, sliced into rounds -- 1
Carrot, shredded or julienne -- 1 tablespoon

Serves

Bun Bo Hue

Unlike in Malaysia, my friends are either Chinese, Malay or Indian descent but here, i have made friends from all over the world and that is how my culinary ventures expanded. Not only do we become good buddies, we share our cuisine too. This is the first time that i cook Bun Bo Hue and it was delicious and not difficult to prepare. I do not claim authenticity but this recipe is a keeper for me, sorry no pig's blood and all unusual salads to garnish like banana flower blossom or perilla. The pig's hocks and the Gio were so delicious that there were none left for photo session.

Ingredients:

Water - enough to cover the bones, hocks and shank

4 lbs beef bones, cleaned
4 lbs pork bones, cleaned
2 - 3 lbs pork hock and trotters, cleaned

2 lbs beef shank
4 stalks Lemon grass, bruised

1 whole peeled onion

1 small piece of ginger
2 tablespoon Bun Bo Hue paste
1 tablespoon Fish sauce
2 teaspoons Salt
5 - 6 pieces rock sugar
2 tablespoons Annatto seeds
Oil for frying annatoo seeds

2 pkts Rice vermicelli size xl

1 lb beef balls - recipe is Here

1 vietnamese meat paste - Gio - recipe is Here- cut into slices

Garnishing:
Bean sprouts

Thai Basil

Red cabbage - sliced thinly
Limes, cut into wedges
4 Red chilies, 2 finely sliced and 2 pounded
2 tablespoons Fish sauce

Method:

Pre-boil the bones, hock, trotters, Beef shanks until the impurity floats on top of the water. Usually 5 to 10 minutes.

Drain and rinse the bones, hock and trotters and beef shanks.

Put back contents into stockpot with enough water to cover and add in the whole peeled onion, ginger and lemon grass. Bring to the boil and reduce to simmer.

Simmer until shank and hocks are tender. Remove shank and hocks and soak in a bowl of hot water for 10 minutes until cool.

Slice beef shank.

Add in rock sugar to the stock and continue to simmer until flavorful.

When stock is done, strain stock through a fine sieve and add in fish sauce, salt, bun bo hue paste.

Add beef balls to the hot stock.

Heat oil and when oil is WARM, add add annatto seed. Steep seeds in warm oil until the oil turns red. Strain oil into stock. (I was advised by the cashier at the asian store that annatto seed will burn easily and if too hot oil is used for steeping, the color will be yellow and not red.)

Blanch vermicelli according to the intruction at the back of packet.

To serve, Put vermcelli in a large bowl, top with pork hocks, beef shank slices, gio and beef balls. Pour hot stock over.

Garnish with bean sprouts, thai basil, sliced red cabbage, lime wedges and sliced chilies.

Mix pounded chilies into fish sauce and serve on the side.

Serves

Braised Pork With Young Coconut

Many of us in the States think of coconuts as a decadent treat. In Indonesia there is a saying that there are as many uses for coconuts as there are days in the year. In India the belief is, "He who plants a coconut tree plants vessels and clothing, food and drink, a habitation, for this generation, and a heritage for future generations." - from thefreelibrary.com

This is a southern Vietnamese recipe called Lon Kho Nuoc Dua, popularly sold on the streets of Ho Chi Minh City(Saigon). The pork was soft and porky tender, but had a salty-sweet angle from the fish sauce, coconut water, and sugar. Turned out wonderfully caramelized . The coconut juice seemed to evaporate during the long braising process, but its unique essence was there. I did not add in any hard-boiled eggs and i am sure it will added a homey-ness and further richness to the dish.

Ingredients:

1.5 lb. boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1" cubes

2 tbsp sugar

3-4 young coconuts or about 4 c. coconut water

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1/4-1/2 c. fish sauce, to taste

6 hard-cooked eggs, peeled

1 fresh long red or green chili, seeded and thinly sliced

Coarsely chopped Chinese chives and green onions

Method:

Sprinkle pork with sugar and refrigerate for 1 hr.

Use cleaver to remove top of coconuts and drain water. If desired, scoop flesh from inside, cut into small dice, and reserve.

In a medium pot or saute pan, heat oil over med. heat and brown pork on all sides. If meat begins to burn due to sugar, then add a little coconut water.

Add fish sauce, remaining coconut water, and reserved flesh if using.

Bring to boil and reduce to very low heat. Partially cover and gently simmer til pork is tender and liquid is reduced by half, about 2-2.5 hrs. Check every 30 min. to make sure liquid hasn't reduced too much. If so, you can add more coconut water, tap water, or chicken broth.

Alternately, use the pressure cooker and cook for 15 minutes, and then cook uncovered until sauce has thickened.

Add hard-cooked eggs for last 30 min. of cooking.

Garnish with chili, chives, and green onion before serving.

Serves

Grilled Shrimp Paste on Sugar Cane Skewers

This dish, know as Chao Tom in Vietnam is a classic. Originally created by the ingenious cooks of the Imperial Kitchens in Hue, it has become a national treasure. To appreciate its full impact, it is better to simply grill it and eat it by itself, enjoying every single bite, right down to the sweet, smoky flavors of the sugar cane. Although canned or frozen sugar cane can be used, it is no substitute for fresh. This dish is usually served with the traditional accompaniments of salad, rice wrappers and a dipping sauce. The frilled shrimp paste is pulled off the sugar cane, wrapped in a rice paper and dipped in sauce. The stripped sugar cane can then be chewed.


Ingredients:

2 oz pork fat

1 1/2 tsp vegetable oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 egg

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp raw cane or dark brown sugar

1 tbsp cornflour

12 oz raw shrimp - peeled and deveined - wipe really dry with kitchen towel

Salt and black pepper

A piece of fresh/frozen sugar cane, 8 inches long

Method:

Place the pork fat in a large pan of boiling water and boil for 2 - 3 minutes. Drain well and chopped using a sharp knife. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a heavy pan and stir in the onion and garlic. Just as they begin to color, remove from the heat and transfer them to a bowl. Beat in the egg, fish sauce and sugar until the sugar has dissolved. Season with a little salt and plenty of black pepper, and stir in the cornflour.

Add the pork fat and shrimps to the mixture, and mix well. Process to a slightly lumpy past in a food processor.

Divide the paste into eight portions.

Using a strong knife or cleaver, cut the sugar cane in half and then cut each half into quarters lengthways.

Put a piece of cling wrap on the tabletop, then place a portion of shrimp paste. Top another piece of cling wrap and press the shrimp paste into a thin rectangle. Remove the top cling wrap and put a piece of sugar cane on one end and wrap the shrimp paste over the sugar cane, continue to roll until the end of paste and press tightly so that shrimp paste adheres to sugar cane. Remove the cling wrap and place on a greased plate and repeat the rest of the shrimp paste and sugar cane.

For best flavor, grill the shrimp paste skewers over a barbecue for 5 - 6 minutes, turning them frequently until they are nicely browned all over. Alternatively, cook the skewers under a conventional grill(broiler). Another alternative, is to deep fry them.

Serve immediately while still hot.

Serves

Meat Paste/Gio

This recipe is inspired by Andrea Nguyen Cookbook - Into the Vietnamese Kitchen. I have changed it to suit my taste by adding sesame oil and ACCORD to keep the meat moist.

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 1/4 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Marinate:

1 tbsp baking powder

2 tbsp tapioca starch

1 tbsp sugar

5 tbsp fish sauce

2 tbsp cooking oil

1 tbsp sesame oil

1/2 tsp white pepper

1/4 tsp ACCORD - (a picture of and what is ACCORD can be found hereBouncy Beef Balls)

or

2 lbs boneless well-trimmed boneless pork leg

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tbsp sugar

3 1/2 tbsp tapioca starch

5 tbsp fish sauce

4 tbsp cooking oil

1 tbsp sesame oil

1/2 tsp white pepper

1/4 tsp ACCORD

Method:

Slice meat into 1/4 inch thick strips. Remove the silvery strip of tendon, cartilage or sinewy bits, keep visible fat for richness.

Mix marinade well and add in to meat. Mix well and cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or up to overnight. The meat will stiffen as it sits.

Working in batches, Grind the meat in a food processor until a smooth, stiff, light pink paste forms.(it will take several minutes. if your food processor is not heavy duty, stop machine after every minute - this is also good for the meat, as the heat in the grinding, if for too long, might cook the meat). The paste is ready when there is no more visible bits of meat and the paste should have a slight sheen.

Remove paste from food processor into the stand mixer bowl. Using the paddle, beat the paste on high speed for 1 - 2 minutes.

The paste is ready for making into sausages or meat balls.

For making Meat Balls follow the way they are done from

Meat Balls ala Don

For making Gio Lua(a smooth, light colored sausage)

Bring a 4 or 5 quart pot of water to the boil, lower to a simmer and keep warm.

Put a 12 x 18 inch piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil on a work surface, with the short side closest to you.

Center a 5 x 12 inch banana leaf on the foil.

Deposit a chinese rice bowl of packed paste on to the bottom edge of the leaf, roughly shaping it into a fat 5 inch long log. Roll up the leaf to encase the paste, creating a cylinder. Place cylinder at one of the short end of the foil and roll it up, letting the foil naturally over-lap to form a silver tube. Seal the ends close and folding toward the center. The tube has to be tied to ensure the shape and compactness of the paste, make sure the string is taut.

Return the pot of water to a boil. Drop in sausages and boil for 40 minutes.

Let them cool completely before untying and removing the foil.

Keep the banana leaf in place and can be refrigerated until serving.

Serves