All posts tagged: eat

Sticky Rice with Baby Red Jackfruit / Xôi Gấc

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Xôi gấc or sticky rice with baby red jackfruit is the essence of any holiday feast. The red color comes from the baby jackfruit, a fruit exclusive to southeast Asia, and signifies luck.   The fragrant aroma comes from the seed of the jackfruit and resembles vanilla. This rice dish has become a staple of everyday meal in Vietnam and is often eaten for breakfast or as a snack. In the US, you will often see this xôi gấc at any Vietnamese family gathering as it is inexpensive and easy to make, feeds a large crowd and everyone loves it. Sticky rice can also be made in advance since it is usually served at room temperature. Try this red sticky rice for your next meal. Difficulty: Easy / Servings: 6 / Time: 8 hours to soak the rice and 30-45 minutes to cook Ingredients: 3 jars (5.6 oz. jar) of frozen baby red jack fruit pulp with seeds or 2 jars without seeds. (I prefer the jar with seeds. This can be purchased at any …

Vietnamese Banana Cake / Bánh Chuối Nướng

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Vietnamese Banana Cake or Bánh Chuối Nướng is a cross between a bread pudding and a spongy cake. One can see the French influences on Vietnamese cuisine with this cake. Add a few spoonful of creamy coconut sauce and you have a delicious desert anytime of the day. Difficulty: Easy / Servings: 8 / Time: 2 hours to prepare and 1 hour to cool Ingredients: 10 whole steamed sapa banana (approx. 2 frozen packages found in any Asian supermarket). 8 slices of white bread 4 tablespoons of melted unsalted butter and 1 teaspoon of melted butter to coat the pan 1 teaspoon of vanilla sugar or 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract 1 tablespoon of tapioca starch 4 tablespoons of sugar 1 egg 2 cans (14 oz) of coconut milk 2 tablespoons of condensed milk 1 cup of milk 1 tablespoon of white wine or rum 9 inch spring form pan Directions: Cut 4 bananas length wise and cut the remaining 6 bananas into thin round slices. Add the bananas into a large mixing bowl and add …

Vietnamese Pantry Essentials

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Vietnamese cuisine is well known for its freshness, uses of herbs and the complexity of flavors. We have a history of French colonization leading to the richness and diversity of dishes within the Vietnamese cuisine. There are a few key essentials that are used often in our cooking. This post will highlight the key essentials that we used in all of our recipes on this blog and the brands that we like. Amazingly, I was able to find majority of it on Amazon! The Basics 1. Fish sauce – This is the ingredient that is the foundation for Vietnamese cooking. Fish sauce is made from fermenting anchovies in sea salt over a period of 12-14 months. I was surprise that you can get this at Walmart. My family uses Viet Huong Three Crab brand fish sauce. 2. Soy Sauce – There are many different brands out there to choose. We do not have a specific one to recommend but my family tends to cook with Maggi or Knorr liquid seasoning in place of soy sauce. Soy Sauce …

Green Beans with Garlic and Roasted Peanuts

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An easy vegetarian dish for a weeknight dinner is green beans sautéed with garlic and topped with roasted peanuts and fried shallots. Add a side dish of fried egg and rice and you have a complete and healthy meal. Try this simple vegetable dish for dinner tonight. Difficulty: Easy / Serving: 2 / Time: 30 minutes Ingredients: 1 pound of green beans 3 tablespoons of garlic (rough chop) 3 tablespoons of olive oil 2 teaspoons of soy sauce ½ teaspoon of fish sauce 1 teaspoon of mushroom seasoning  2 teaspoons of sugar 1 teaspoon of sea salt ½ teaspoon of ground pepper a handful of roasted peanuts a handful of fried shallots (optional) 2-3 scallions (white portion) to garnish (optional) Directions: Add enough water to a pot to cover the green beans. Season the water with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Once the water comes to a boil, add the green beans and allow them to boil for 2 minutes. Remove the green beans and rinse right away with cold water to …

Bún Bò Huế / Huế Beef Noodle Soup

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Bún Bò Huế is a popular beef noodle soup originating from the ancient imperial capital of Vietnam. The soup has a great combination of salty, sweet, sour and spicy with a strong citrus fragrance. This soup is served with a plate of condiments including various herbs, vegetables and rice vermicelli noodles. To get the right balance of flavors require boiling pork bones and beef shank with lemongrass and fermented fish sauce for hours. Spicy chili oil is added to the broth during the process to add a kick.  Bún bò in Huế is not the fiery spicy broth that most people associate with in the US. It is a generally mild and complex broth. The spiciness is added according to people’s taste afterward. This is my mom’s recipe that she learned from a famous Bún Bò Huế vendor in Huế. Difficulty: Medium / Servings: 8 bowls / Time: 3-4 hours to prepare Ingredients: 1/4 cup of ruoc  (shrimp sauce) 6 quarts water 1 lb boneless eye round roast beef 4 lb. pork small knuckle 3 lb pork leg chop …

Phở Bò / Beef Noodle Soup

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Phở is a hearty noodle soup that is the most well known of all noodle soups from Vietnam. The stock can be made with chicken or beef with the most popular type being beef noodle soup. Every region has its own take on phở bò and the noodle soup is often eaten for breakfast. Phở bò takes at least a few hours of just simmering the bones to get the  right bone stock for the soup base. This is a dish that is made for long weekends and especially when the weather turns cold. We redid the traditional phở recipe into 2 parts (beef stock and  phở broth) to make it easier to measure the ingredients and to get a consistently good broth. This is one of the easiest recipe for phở that we wrote to create a very clear, rich and fragrant broth. You can make the bone stock in advance and freeze it. Whenever you want to make phở, just defrost the bone stock and season the stock to make the phở broth. Difficulty: Medium / Time: 3 hours for bone …

Chicken with Lemongrass and Chili / Gà Xào Sả Ot

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Every Vietnamese family has a recipe for chicken with lemongrass and chili or gà xào sả ot. The combination of the citrus flavor from the lemongrass, the spice from the turmeric, the saltiness from the soy and fish sauce and the sweetness from the coconut soda give this dish a wow factor. The dish is deceptively simple and fast to make for any weeknight meal. You may be tempted to remove the skin or use white meat. I would advise otherwise as I find that dark meat is juicier and the skin adds a lot of flavor to the dish. This dish is served with a side of rice. Difficulty: Easy / Serving: 2 / Time: 30 minutes Ingredients: 2 chicken thigh with skin (dark meat) cut into quarters 2 tablespoons of minced lemongrass 2 tablespoons of minced garlic 2 tablespoons of diced onion ½ tablespoon of turmeric or curry powder mix 1 ½ cup of Rico coconut soda 1 teaspoon + 1 tablespoon of chicken bouillon powder 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon of soy sauce ¼ teaspoon of …