All posts tagged: vietnamese

Quick Caramelized Pork Ribs

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Caramelized spare ribs are a stable for lunch or dinner at my parents’ house. We would eat it as part of a rice dish with fresh vegetables and a slice of egg and pork meatloaf (cơm sườn bì chả). These pork ribs are cooked quickly so the meat have a chewier texture than the American version where the meat falls off the bones. This dish is very easy to prepare and takes only 30 minutes to cook. Difficulty: Easy / Servings: 4 / Time: 30 minutes Ingredients: 3 lb. of pork ribs 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons coconut soda (Coco Rico) 3 tablespoons of fish sauce 2 tablespoons of sugar 1 yellow onion, quartered 1/2 tablespoon of mushroom seasoning (if this is not available, use chicken bouillon powder or skip it) 10 cloves of minced garlic and 1 clove of crushed garlic Ground pepper Salt Scallion for garnish Olive oil for cooking Directions: Cut the spare ribs into approximately 2-3 inch segments. This is roughly 2-3 bones per segment. Marinate the ribs with 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of …

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 …

Pan Fried Fish with Turmeric and Dill / Chả Cá Thì Là

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Fish with turmeric and dill or chả cá thì là is a famous Vietnamese dish made popular in the northern region of Vietnam. This dish typically has a hardy white fish marinated in turmeric and other seasonings and then pan fried with a lot of dill. My mom and I came up with a version that you can make at home. It has a few exotic ingredients that are generally available at an Asian grocer. This dish is fragrant and is served on a bed of vermicelli rice noodles and top with dill, peanuts and a dab of the aromatic sauce. We published a taco version last month based on this recipe so some of the steps will be the same. The key difference is that this recipe uses shrimp paste or rouc, a pungent shrimp seasoning. In our taco recipe, we substituted the shrimp paste with fish sauce and created a different sauce to pour over the fish at the end. If you do not like the shrimp paste, use the recipe for the marinade and sauce …

Bánh Mì Series: Pork Pâté

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We introduced you to bánh mì xíu mại or meatballs sandwich, pickled carrots and daikon radish accompaniment and homemade garlic mayonnaise in earlier posts. The next key essential ingredient to assemble a true Vietnamese bánh mì is to make pork pâté. This meat spread gives the sandwich a unique flavor and can be easily eaten alone with bread. My favorite thing to eat for breakfast is to have toasted bread spread with delicious pâté and mayonnaise and top with a fried egg and a splash of soy sauce. This pâté is so easy to make and so scrumptious that you cannot stop eating it. Difficulty: Easy / Serving: 6 cups / Time: 1.5 hours to make and 8 hours to set Ingredients: 2 pound of ground pork ½ pound of pork liver (if you cannot find pork liver, you can substitute with chicken liver) 15 cloves of garlic 3 teaspoons of sugar 1 ½ teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons of ground black pepper 1 ½ cups of canola oil Directions: Mince 15 cloves of garlic in the food …

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 …

Vietnamese Egg Rolls / Chả Giò

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Chả giò or egg roll is a popular fried food in Vietnam that is usually served with lettuce and herbs to make a wrap and then dipped into a sweet and sour fish sauce ( nước chấm). The fried egg rolls are also often served over a bed of rice and accompanied by vegetables and herbs as part of a rice vermicelli noodle bowl or  bún chả giò. The egg rolls are filled with a mixture of ground pork, glass noodles, mushrooms and vegetables and then wrapped in a rice paper and fried until golden brown. In this recipe, we use both the traditional rice paper which are flimsy and harder to wrap. However, these egg rolls are lighter and crunchier than the flour based Chinese wrappers. Chả giò makes for a great treat at any gathering. Difficulty: Medium / Serving: 35-40 egg rolls / Time: 1 hour Equipment: Food Processor Tip: You can freeze uncooked egg rolls in the freezer and they will fry up nicely once defrosted. Ingredients: 1.5 pound of ground pork 1 pound of shrimp …

Quick Steamed Fish with Ginger Soy Dressing

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Another dish that my mom taught me before leaving for college was steamed fish with a ginger soy sauce. The version that I had while I was in college was for salmon steak and utilized only a microwave that was allowed in the dorm. This version is still just as easy but has the benefit of additional tweaks since those college days. This is a healthy and elegant dish that will fool people into thinking that you slave away making it for dinner. This recipe is rated easy and takes 15-20 minutes to make. Serves 2 people per fish. Ingredients 1 pound whole red Tilapia or another meaty white fish. (You can also use fish filet but I find that whole fish tastes better.) ½ a yellow onion ½ cup of julienned ginger 8 stalks of scallions ¼ teaspoon of sesame oil ½ teaspoon of fish sauce ¼ teaspoon of white wine 1 teaspoon of soy sauce ½ tablespoon + 1 teaspoon of mushroom seasoning ½ teaspoon of salt ½ teaspoon of ground black pepper 1 …

Chicken Liver Pâté

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You can’t go wrong with pâté spread over toasted bread for any snack or meal. Due to French colonialism from 1887 to 1954 (also known as French Indochina), many French dishes have been adopted by the Vietnamese over the years.  Vietnam has a version of pâté that is part of the famous banh mi made of ground pork and chicken liver. My mother came up with an easy recipe that is a fusion of French pâté with Vietnamese flavors. It has a nice hint of wine with a touch of soy and garlic. Be prepared to devour at least one loaf of baguette when you spread this delicious pâté on it. You can also add radish, cucumbers or any vegetables that you prefer to the spread to give it some freshness. This recipe is rated easy and takes 30 minutes to make and a few hours to chill in the fridge. This recipe makes approximately 5 cups of pâté. Ingredients: 2 pound of chicken liver 1 cup of milk 4 sticks of softened butter 1/3 cup of …

Fried Prawns in a Tamarind Sauce / Tôm Rang Me

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Fried prawns in a tamarind sauce or tôm rang me is a popular dish especially for those living on the coast. The fresh prawns are fried and then tossed in a sweet and sour sauce made from tamarind to offset the greasiness of the oil. This humble dish is finger licking good. This recipe is rated easy and takes 30-45 minutes to create. Ingredients: 10 giant prawns 1 block of fresh tamarind 1 tablespoon of minced garlic 1 teaspoon of ground annatto 1 teaspoon of sesame oil 1 teaspoon of fish sauce 2 cups and 1 tablespoon of water 5 tablespoons of sugar ½ teaspoon of salt ½ teaspoon of ground black pepper Vegetable oil for frying Garnish with spring onions and Cilantro Directions: Sprinkle ½ a teaspoon of salt on top of the shrimps. Mix to incorporate the salt among the shrimps. This process will help remove excess moisture from the prawns. Break the tamarind block into smaller chunks. Soak the tamarind block with 2 cups of water for approximately 15 minutes or until the …