All posts tagged: eat

Viet Style Strawberry & Banana Shake / Sinh Tố Dâu Chuối

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Summer is when strawberries are in season and are abundant at any farmer’s market. A great way to serve strawberries is our delicious strawberry and banana shake or  sinh tố dâu chuối. This is my mom’s recipe for a delightful afternoon treat. Ingredients: 6 large strawberries 1 banana 1 5.3oz lowfat yogurt (we used chobani greek yogurt with strawberry and banana) 1 tablespoon of condense milk 1 tablespoon of sugar ¼ cup of milk 1 cup of ice Directions: Combined all the ingredients into a blender and blend until you have a smooth consistency.   For more recipes, visit our EAT page or Recipe Index. Authors: Susan Tran and Chau Hoang

Steamed Clams with Lemongrass, Thai Basil and Ginger

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When summer comes around, I automatically think of all the good seafood that are available. One very simple and fragrant dish that can serve a crowd is the classic steamed clams with lemongrass, Thai basil and ginger. The clams are then dipped into a a mixture of salt, pepper and lime juice. This dish is an easy summer delight for those nights when you do not want to cook over a hot stove for hours. This recipe is rated easy and takes 30 minutes. Ingredients: 50 Littleneck clams 4 Stalks of lemongrass 1 very large ginger 1 Tablespoon of rock sugar A few red Thai chili for a hint of spice 5-6 stalks of Thai basil 1 Lime Salt and ground pepper for the dipping sauce Directions: Cut the lemongrass stalks into 3 parts and discard the thin ends (shown tied with a rubber band). Split the thick white part of the lemongrass in half. Cut the ginger into thick slices. Break the basil into 3 pieces and discard the ends. In a large and deep …

Viet Style Avocado Shake / Sinh Tố Bơ

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In Vietnam, avocados are used for sweet desserts and not savory dishes like the ones in the western world. Avocado shake literally translates to “butter fruit shake” in Vietnamese and that aptly describes this confection. Step into any Vietnamese restaurant and you’ll see avocado shake on the menu. This is not a healthy shake by any means due to the condense milk, but it is treat. This shake has a consistency of a light pudding so I have always considered this to be a dessert drink. On an interesting note, avocado was introduced by the French and given its name,  trái bơ or butter fruit, due to the buttery richness of the flesh. Enjoy this wonderful shake anytime of the day. Ingredients: 2 Ripe Haas avocados 1/4 cup of vanilla yogurt 1/2 cup of milk 1 and 1/4 cup of ice 2 tablespoons of condense milk   Directions: Using a spoon, scoop out the avocado flesh into the blender.   Add yogurt, milk, ice and condense milk.   Blend until you have a smooth consistency. …

Bánh Bột Lọc / Hue’s Tapioca Dumplings

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Bánh bột lọc is a transparent chewy dumpling made from tapioca flour and filled with minced pork and shrimp. The dumplings are then topped with fried shallots and served with sweet chili fish sauce. This is a specialty of Hue, the old imperial city in central Vietnam. My family originated from Hue so I grew up eating a lot of bánh bột lọc. This recipe is relatively easy but forming the dumpling does take some practice. The boiled dumplings are worth the effort, and making the dumplings is a fun activity to do as a group. This recipe is rated medium in difficulty and takes 45 minutes to 1 hour to make. Ingredients 1 lb of pork belly 8 large Tiger shrimp with heads 1 package of banh bot loc mix 1 package of tapioca starch 1 onion diced (enough for 4 tablespoons of diced onion) 1-2 red chili diced thinly 1 cup of chopped scallions Fish sauce Chicken bouillon powder (“CBP”) Salt Sugar Pepper Fried shallots 1 Lime Directions Make the filling: Remove bones and skin from the pork …

Sautéed Shiitaki Mushrooms, Beansprouts and Chives

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Dinner at my parent’s house always includes one vegetable dish. This can be as simple as steamed broccoli or sautéed vegetable mix. For this week, we will make a simple dish of sautéed shiitake mushrooms, beansprouts and chives that is served at my family’s dinner. It is an easy and healthy way to add vegetables to your diet. This recipe takes 20 minutes to make and is rated easy. Ingredients 1 bunch of chives 1 lb. of beansprouts 6 dried shiitake mushrooms  or fresh if available 2 tablespoons of minced garlic 1 tablespoon of diced onion 1 teaspoon of minced ginger ¼ teaspoon of sesame oil 4 teaspoons of soy sauce 2 teaspoons of vegetarian soup base Salt Sugar Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) Directions Rehydrate the mushrooms by soaking the dried shiitake mushrooms in a bowl of water for 15 minutes or until they plump up. Cut the mushrooms into small slices. Cut the chives into 2 inch segments.  Dice a few cloves of garlic to get approximately 2 tablespoons of garlic. Heat enough EVOO …

Phở Chay / Vegetarian Phở Noodle Soup

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Everyone loves phở but if you are a vegetarian, you are missing out on a national treasure. Buddhist temples have been making vegetarian phở for a long time. This is a fruit based broth with phở seasoning that has a remarkable resemblance to the beef version. Vegetarian phở is also much quicker and easier to make for those days where standing over a bubbling pot for hours is not on the schedule. Enjoy this healthy and delicious phở anytime of the day. This recipe is rated easy and takes approximately 1.5 hours to make. Ingredients: 1 large carrot 1 daikon 1 asian pear 1 casava 1 bartlett pear (American) 1 fuji apple 1 yellow onion 1 chayote 1 leek Vegetarian soup base (can be found in Asian markets) 1 package of pho dac biet seasoning 1 package of fresh pho noodles (flat vermicelli) / Dry pho noodles if the fresh version is not available 1 tablespoon of rock sugar Soy sauce Sugar Sea Salt Ground pepper Assortment of mock beef and ham or tofu depending …

Meal Kit Company Review: Purple Carrot

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Being professionals in today’s busy world, it is hard to have a home cook meal which includes figuring out what you want to eat and then buying all the ingredients. The current offerings from various companies address this issue by curating recipes and sending all the ingredients in the appropriate portion straight to your home each week. In this series, we tested out a few of the companies to give you our take on each offering. First up is Purple Carrot which is a vegan meal kit company curated by former New York Times columnist and cookbook author Mark Bittman. Company: The Purple Carrot Website: https://thepurplecarrot.com Theme:  Plant based recipes (Vegan) delivered to your home weekly.  From the company’s website: “Our meal kits are delivered right to your door, on the day of your choice.  Our state-of-the-art packaging guarantees freshness and our ingredients are of the highest possible quality, often organic, always non-GMO, and ethically sourced.” Price: This is a weekly subscription for meal kit. You can preview the 3 recipes available for the following week and …

Vietnamese Caramel Flan

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One of my favorite dessert growing up is my mother’s flan. My mother’s version is creamy and fluffy. Her trick is to steam the flan instead of the traditional baking method. This method only takes 15 minutes to cook and the flan comes out perfect every time. This is an easy and elegant dessert for anytime of the day. Impress your guests at the next dinner party with this make ahead dessert. This dessert is rated easy and takes 30 minutes to prepare and another hour to chill in the fridge before serving. This recipe makes approximately 5 servings. Ingredients 6 large eggs 2 cups of whole milk 1 lime 18 tablespoons of sugar (8 for the batter and 10 for the caramel) 5 oven proof baking cups Steamer that fits 5 baking cups Directions Make the egg batter: Crack 6 eggs into a mixing bowl. Using a whisk, slowly stir to break up the eggs. Don’t beat it hard and fast as it will add air bubbles to the batter. This changes the batter …

Bánh Mì Series: Pickled Daikon and Carrots

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When you think of Vietnamese sandwiches or banh mi, you can always see the colorful pickled daikon and carrots on top of these sandwiches. The pickles give a nice hint of tartness and a crunch in contrast to the fattiness of the various meats in the banh mi. There are two versions of the pickled daikon and carrots: one as a side dish and one for the sandwich. The sandwich version is a bit saltier than the side dish version in order to stand up to the various cold cuts. Learn how to make this easy accompaniment to jazz up your sandwich today. This recipe is rated easy and takes 15 minutes to prepare. The pickling process takes at least 24 hours. Ingredients 1 large Daikon radish 2 large carrots ½ cup of distilled white vinegar 4 tablespoons of salt 1 cup of sugar 3 cups of water 1 large air tight container Directions Peel the carrots and daikon radish. Using a grater, shred them into thin long strips. Season the vegetables with 2 tablespoons …

Bánh Mì Series: Meatballs / Xíu Mại

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I am excited to introduce a new recipe series to our readers: Banh Mi or Vietnamese Sandwhiches. My co-author, Hung Nguyen, has been making Vietnamese sandwiches in Texas at his family owned bakery for years. In this new series, we will reinterpret the bakery’s recipes for our readers. The first recipe will be for a banh mi xíu mại or meatball sandwich. The juicy meatballs paired with a crunchy baguette is a mashup of flavors and texture. This recipe is very easy and I hope you enjoy eating it as much as we do. This recipe is rated easy and takes approximately 30 minutes to prepare. Ingredients: 1 lb. of ground pork or your choice of ground meat 1 yellow onion 10 cloves of garlic 1 tablespoon corn starch ⅓ cup of coconut soda 2 cups of low sodium chicken broth ¼ teaspoon of baking powder ½ cup of ketchup 3 tablespoons of unsalted softened butter Olive oil Sugar Ground black pepper Sea salt Directions: In a food processor, mince 6 cloves of garlic. Add 1 …