Some kind of Gado-Gado (Indonesian)

The reason I call this salad "Some Kind of Gado-Gado" is that this was the first Gado-Gado I ever cooked or ate, and after I saw this Gado-Gado recipe in Maangchi's Gapshida serie (video here if you're interested: http://youtu.be/_wIVmPSotow) and it's really different.  The sauce is creamier, doesn't have lemongrass, and the vegetables are a WIDE varieties of leafy greens and green vegetables.  What my recipe and Maangchi's friend's recipe have in common: a peanut sauce, blanched vegetables and tofu.  That's about it.  I thought maybe it's a regional thing and Gado-Gado is prepared in different ways in different parts of Indonesia?  I took this recipe from Ginger and Lemongrass by Leemei Tan, whose recipes seem pretty authentic to me. Maybe my Gado-Gado is a totally different salad. Wether this is really a Gado-Gado or not, this is a pretty kickass recipe, and easy. Delicious and light for a warm summer day! With my super simplified version of this recipe, it's super convenient.  Don't be shy, try it!

(serves 4)

Gado-Gado paste, chop everything roughly then grind everything together in a food processor or mortar:

-3 red bird's eye chillies, seeded

-3 garlic cloves

-5 shallots

-3cm peeled ginger

-white part of 1 lemongrass stalk

-1tsp of shrimp paste that you'll fold in a parchment paper piece and bake for 5 minutes at 400F in the oven for better aroma

And then:

-1 recipe Gado-Gado paste

-150g skinned, chopped or crushed, roasted peanuts, then grinded with a mortar or coffee grinder or processor into a fine powder with little bits (this time I only had almonds with skins, which worked fine.  Experiment with different nuts or combinations of nuts!)

-1tbsp lime juice

-250mL water

-2tbsp cane or brown sugar

-100g firm tofu in slices roasted in a pan until golden (you could use tempeh too, I'm not a fan of tofu so I replaced it with shrimps!)

-150g green beans, blanched, rinsed in cold water and strained well

-150g bean sprouts, blanched, rinsed in cold water and strained well

-some cucumber, seeded and sliced in half moons or cut into matchsticks

-1 small carrot cut into tiny matchsticks

-2 hard-boiled eggs cut into slices or quarters

-salt

-shrimp chips (kropek or krupuk if you can get them, if not any shrimp chips will work)

In a non-stick pan, with a little oil, cook the paste on medium-high for 10 minutes until fragrant, mixing every once in a while.  Add the lime juice, water, sugar, salt to taste and peanuts.  Bring to a boil then remove from the stove but keep warm.

Plate the tofu and all the vegetables in an appetizing manner, serve with the sauce separately for presentation.  To eat, mix everything, including the sauce but not the chips, together.  You can also put some salad on the chips to enjoy!

Coconut-Lime-Chili Salmon (Thai)

Another short post sharing a Thai recipe from She Simmers!  I don't have much to say because I don't know the origins of this dish and it's so easy to make, it's not a big adventure.  There was zero complications when cooking or shopping for the ingredients.  This fish is too easy to make, quick, and the flavours are Thai but subtle.  The sauce at the bottom is really good on your rice!  It's spicy because of the Thai chillies.  The salmon turns kind of buttery, not dry at all. It would be good for a quick week day supper or a meal with guests. My boyfriend and I really enjoyed this recipe so I post it here for my personal cookbook (I never copy recipes from the internet so the author gets the views on their blog), you can also do that once you tried it, recipe here:

http://shesimmers.com/2013/02/baked-salmon-in-lime-coconut-cream-sauce-ปลาแซลมอนอบกะทิ.html

Khaki Jiao (Thai) Thai Omelette

This post will be very short.  Here's a link to a recipe I tried from She Simmers.  It's an omelette, but way different from a regular French omelette or scrambled egg.  It's soft and airy, a little crispy, very interesting.  It's usually eaten with Thai Sriracha (not the rooster one) and She a Simmers has a recipe for that too, but I went all around the city and couldn't find RED serrano or jalapeno chillies so we ate it with regular sriracha and it was still delicious.  It's a really easy and cheap recipe, if you like eggs, give this a try for a new way to enjoy eggs!

Recipe over at She Simmers:

http://shesimmers.com/2009/05/how-to-make-thai-style-omelets.html 

Kroeung Khmer Chicken (Khmer)

This isn't the first time I tried this recipe, but now I remember why I liked it so much and I'm totally sold out to Khmer cuisine (pronounced ku-mai I think, it's Cambodian cuisine).  If any of you have any good resources (blogs, recipe database, I know a couple YouTube channels) or books that can be found or ordered in Canada about Khmer cuisine, please share with me!

This recipe is a cambodian curry including lemongrass, coconut milk, fish sauce, kafir lime leaves and everything I like.  Like for Thai curries, you have to make a paste first, then the rest is pretty easy.  I had such a hard time making the paste with finely chopped ingredients in a bowl with a stick blender!  It's my birthday tomorrow, so last weekend I went to my mom's and my step dad (who asked my boyfriend what I'd like) bought me my first food processor and it's amazing!  Can't wait for the next time I'll make this chicken curry, it'll be so much easier! But let's go back to these recipes, they are from the book Ginger and Lemongrass by Leemei Tan, a really amazing book if you want to discover a little of all Asian cooking (including India!).  If you try this curry, you won't regret it!  Let's start cooking!

(serves 4)

Kroeung Khmer (curry paste), mix all together in a food processor or mortar:

-1 seeded red chilli, I used a bird's eye but it wasn't really clear which one you should use

-4 garlic cloves

-5 shallots

-white parts of 2 lemongrass stalks

-2cm fresh turmeric, or 1tsp turmeric powder

-2cm galangal

-3 kafir lime leaves

And then...:

-1 recipe of Kroeung Khmer (jthe one you just read before this, if you're not following haha)

-1 small onion, roughly chopped

-600g chicken legs or breasts, deboned, without skin, and cubed into bite-sized pieces

-2 kafir lime leaves

-1 carrot, cut in pieces

-150g/5 1/2 oz. green beans, cut in 2"/5cm lengths

-400mL coconut milk

-2tbsp fish sauce

-1tbsp cane or brown sugar

Cook the onions with a little oil in a large NON-STICK pan on medium/high until translucent.  Add the Kroeung Khmer paste, and roast for about 10 minutes, mixing every once in a while.  

Add the chicken and kafir lime leaves and cook for 5 minutes.  Add the carrots and green beans and cook for 3 more minutes.

Pour in the coconut milk, bring to a boil, then add the fish sauce and sugar and mix well.  Simmer for about 10-15 minutes on low, or until the beans are cooked and the sauce has thicken.  Serve with rice!

My Quang Tom Thit and Homemade Ho Fun Noodles (Vietnamese, Thai) Mi Quang Noodles with Pork and Shrimps and homemade Steamed Rice Noodles

When I saw the picture for this recipe, I was attracted by the two different types of noodles, and the beautiful shrimps.  On top of that, when reading the recipe, I noticed the broth that's like a tomato pork broth.  While eating it, it really reminded me of the taste of a good spaghetti sauce with pork, like my Aunt's husband made for us, several summers ago.  This dish is amazing, you definitely need to try it.

So as usual, I took this from the best source of Vietnamese cooking videos, DanangCuisine.com / Helen's recipe on YouTube.  Unfortunately, she doesn't mention the fact that there's two types of noodles in the dish anywhere...  But I wanted to reproduce it like the picture because it seemed so good, so following, you'll find my recipe for homemade Ho Fun noodles.  If you decide to use both noodles like I did, cook half the amount of noodles that Helen suggests and replace the other half by two recipes of my Ho Fun noodles!  Here's the Mi Quang recipe!:

http://danangcuisine.com/recipes/recipe-24-cach-nau-mi-quang-ga-chicken-mi-quang/

Making the noodles is really easy and not that long, if unlike me, you got 2 flat trays.  On top of that, the noodles are already cooked, so think of the time you'll save when it's time to cook your pad sew or whatever, you won't have to use a burner-space and have to boil these noodles last minute, then drain them, rinse them, cool them. They require ZERO kneading, the quantities, unlike with wheat noodles, don't need to be adjusted.  Also everything is better fresher and homemade!  I wrote down the recipe here for convenience, but  I totally started with this recipe (then developed my own way) from this cooking channel on YouTube, the video will help you with the visual, watch it!:

http://youtu.be/qPeNRcmbPoI

(serves 2 - I used it for 4 bowls of Mi Quang since it has 2 different types of noodles)

-1/2cup tapioca starch

-1cup rice flour

-1 1/2cup of water

*See?  So easy to remember!

Start boiling water in a steamer.  In a bowl, mix the rice flour and tapioca starch with a whisk.  With that same whisk, add a little water at a time and incorporate well, then add more water until it's finished.  It helps getting rid of pockets of flour and starch so your batter will be smooth.

Now you'll need to prepare this:

-keep your whisk and a ladle by your batter bowl

-1 or 2 trays is better, they have to have a bottom that's totally flat, so your noodles are flat and even, also they can be square or round but they need to fit in the steamer

-some oil in a tiny bowl and a brush

-1-2 paper towel sheets

-a butter knife 

-a flat plate or cutting board to pile your noodles, lightly greased with oil

Start by brushing your first (or only) tray with oil and remove the excess by rubbing with paper towel.  This is really important, don't skip it!  Add a little batter.  Depending on your trays' surface, it might be different.  You'll need to adjust it the first couple noodles, but you'll figure it out fast.  You just want a thin layer to cover your tray completely, but you don't need that much batter: when you put the tray on the steamer, jiggle it a little and as the batter cook, it will stick (after 2-3 seconds) and just make sure the bottom of the tray is covered with batter before you put the lid on your steamer.  My stove is uneven so I put a butter knife under one side of the noodle tray to even it a little better.  You'll figure it out.

After a minute or two, when there's no more bright uncooked white spots on the sheet, it's ready!  If your noodle sheet is cracked, check on the next one earlier, it happens only when you overcook it I think.  Remove the tray from the steamer (and put your second one if you have it), brush the surface of the noodle with oil then run the butter knife around the edge.  You don't need to go all around, just make enough space for your fingers to fit on top of the tray, under the noodle sheet.  I use both hand.  Then, with confidence but delicately, pull the noodle slowly towards you and nicely place on the oiled plate. Repeat until the batter is done, whisking the batter each time before pouring some on your tray since the starch tends to settle at the bottom.

Cut your noodles to the wideness you like and separate them or use the whole sheets to make fresh rolls (I'll add a link here to a recipe I'll post later).  If using the same day, keep them covered in cling film in a fresh corner of the kitchen.  You can keep them in the fridge for a couple day, but only if you didn't cook them in a dish yet, or you're gonna microwave the leftover.  By that I mean that if you make cold rolls filled with raw veggies, herbs and lettuce, that you can't really microwave the day after, they'll become stale after being in the fridge.  Also, if using the noodles after a day or more, I would recommend keeping them on the plate with cling film in the fridge as they are, and cut them before cooking.

I think my tray was, maybe, 6".  I made this recipe twice and it made 7 sheets each time.  The first time I made them, I ruined a noodle sheet, and the other ones weren't perfect, had cracks.  But the second time, I felt like I already mastered this recipe and I knew it by heart. All sheets looked perfect.  

That might seem like a lot, but I really wanted to include all my observations, so your first time is perfect!  In reality it's the simplest kind of noodles to make, way easier than pasta (my recipe here: http://sunnysdelights.blogspot.com/2014/04/homemade-egg-noodlespastas-basics.html) or udon noodles, almost foolproof. And if you start your steamer first thing, it's really fast too.  Enjoy cooking! 

 (I act like somebody will actually read and try this.  I guess that's what blogging is...  That'd be cool if someone did try it though!)

I made Mi Quang lunches with leftovers!  Just plate everything but the broth the same way as in a bowl, and put the pork sauce in another container.  You can get out the noodles an hour before your lunch break so they are less cold, and microwave the sauce when ready to eat, pour it over the noodles and enjoy!  Don't microwave the noodles because of the fresh greens at the bottom.

Bo Cuon Nem (Vietnamese) Beef Rice Noodle Sheets Rolls

When I learned how to make steamed rice noodle sheets, I had to make this recipe I was keeping for the day I'd find the sheets at the grocery store, which never happened.  But no problem now, it's most likely even better with homemade noodles! You can find a (REALLY) detailed recipe for the noodle sheets with instructions on another post I wrote, here: http://sunnysdelights.blogspot.ca/2014/05/my-quang-tom-thit-and-homemade-ho-fun.html.  The best part: you only need rice flour, tapioca starch and water!  And it's fun and pretty fast, and the noodles don't require to be boiled afterwards! For the rolls I was inspired by a recipe I found in Vietnamese Street Food by Tracey Lister and Andreas Pohl, but I changed enough about it to say it's my own I think.  Hope you'll give it a try, a nice, easy, cold dish for this horribly hot summer (add incredibly humid if you're in Montreal, and its North and South shores like us).

(serves 3 - on the picture, I used this recipe for 2 and it was a little too much, and the rolls don't keep good in the fridge at all)

-200g pretty without fat piece of beef, thinly sliced into strips

-2 garlic cloves

-1 recipe rice noodle sheets (http://sunnysdelights.blogspot.ca/2014/05/my-quang-tom-thit-and-homemade-ho-fun.html) or 6 store-bought rice noodle sheets

-lettuce ripped in large pieces

-herbs (the recipe suggests mint and cilantro, I used perilla, basil, mint and parsley, I don't know if the classic Bo Cuon Nem always have mint and cilantro only...)

-1 carrot cut into thin juliennes

-1 cucumber without seeds, cut into thin, long matchsticks

-fried shallots

-Optional: I added some chopped thai red bird's eye chillies for topping

-nuoc-cham (I use Helen's recipe here: http://danangcuisine.com/recipes/recipe-2-vietnamese-dipping-sauce-cach-pha-nuoc-cham/)

Marinate the beef with garlic for 15 minutes to hours. Cook the beef in a pan, and get all your ingredients ready!

The book says to lay down each ingredients one by one on the rice sheets.  For better presentation and convenience, I suggest tossing together all your ingredients in a bowl!  Then lay about a 6th of the mix at the base of a rice noodle sheet, roll tightly, then cut in the center into two shorter rolls.  Finish your ingredients, pile the half rolls on plates, top with shallots and chillies if using, and dip in nuoc-cham!

Optionally, I would try marinating it with other Vietnamese ingredients, maybe fish sauce, pepper, honey, oyster sauce... But would it still be called Bo Cuon Nem? I'm not a big fan of non-marinated, non-saucy meat, but just garlic makes this recipe simple and fast, and good for steak-loving readers!

Bun Vit Xao Mang and Nuoc Mam Gung (Vietnamese) Duck and Bamboo Soup and Ginger Dipping Sauce

I decided to start choosing meals for the whole week and do groceries according to the menus because we're a little broke lately.  It also helps not wasting any vegetables or meats your forget at the back of the freezer.  Anyway, one of my menu was a duck and bamboo soup.  As my boyfriend and I were searching for dried bamboo at the Asian market (ran by Vietnamese people), a man placing products offered to help us.  He asked me what I was gonna do with the bamboo, I told him a soup.  He spotted the duck in our cart and he knew instantly which soup I was gonna cook!  He said "But how do you know about this soup!?" And I told him I've been cooking Vietnamese for 2-3 months now.  He was so really proud!  Yaaayyy!  He brought me in another row and suggested I bought vacuum-sealed fresh bamboo in brine, that my soup would be much better.  When we left, my boyfriend told me he thinks that man was the owner!  I should get an easy, steady job there maybe, with air conditioning for the summer...

Turns out the duck soup recipe calls for both dried and brined bamboo (I overlooked the brined one). I only used the fresh brined one, but I included the instructions if you want to use only the dried one, or both.  So here is my simplified version of Duck and Bamboo Soup from the book Vietnamese Street Food by Tracey Lister and Andreas Pohl!

(serves 6)

Broth:

-2 chicken carcasses

-1 duck

-4cm piece of ginger, roughly sliced

-6 green onions

-2 white parts of lemongrass, bruised

-1tsp salt

-1tsp sugar

Seasoning

-1 1/2tbsp fish sauce

-3cm ginger, thinly julienned

Toppings:

-6 portions (600g) rice vermicelli

-120g vacuum-sealed bamboo, drained, boiled for 15 minutes, then rinsed in cold water, dried and thinly sliced

-(optional) 60g dried bamboo, soaked overnight then boiled for an hour, then refreshed and drained, cut into 1 1/2" pieces

-some basil

-some mint

-4 green onions, thinly sliced

-fried shallots

-Nuoc Mam Gung (ginger dipping sauce), recipe follows

In a large pot, add the chicken bones and duck and cover with water.  Bring to a boil, skim the scums, then add the other ingredients on the broth list and lower the heat.  Simmer for an hour, removing the fat and scums regularly.  After an hour, remove the duck, let it cool before cutting with a cleaver or simply deboning it like I did, and let the broth simmer an extra hour.

Prepare all your toppings, the ginger dipping sauce, and cook the rice vermicelli.  After a total of two hours, strain the broth, discard everything.  Put back on the stove in a clean pot, add the seasonings and bring to a boil.  

To assemble the dish, place a portion of noodles at the bottom of each bowls (it makes enough for 6, but you can also just keep the extra broth in the fridge or freezer for later and adjust the toppings amount, it's just me and my boyfriend here so that's what I did, made lunches, kept extra broth for sides of soup during the week), top with the duck, bamboo, herbs, and finish with green onions, shallots and a spoon of dipping sauce.  Bring the dipping sauce at the table for your guests to adjust to their taste.

GINGER DIPPING SAUCE:

-120mL fish sauce

-1tsp sugar

-2cm ginger, peeled and cut into tiny, tiny thin strips

-3 garlic cloves, chopped

-1 long red chilli, finely chopped

Mix the fish sauce and sugar until well combined, then stir in everything else.  You can use any leftovers on rice, or as an alternative to the classic nuoc-cham...

Xoi Xeo and Shallot Oil Recipe (Vietnamese) Sticky Rice with Turmeric, Fried Shallots and Mung Beans

Some more street food/snack!  I love fried shallots so I really wanted to try this one, and it's so addictive and satisfying!  As I cook recipes from this book, Vietnamese Street Food, I realize the instructions aren't precise enough for someone who's never tried or even seen these foods before.  This one, on the picture, is shaped like a rough ball, but nowhere is it written to shape the rice.  They do precise you're supposed to eat it with your hands though, so I decided to shape them into clumps.  Also, the amount of mung beans was too much compared to the picture, so I reduced the quantity by half, adjusted the salt a little...  Anyway, here's my edited version of Sticky Rice with Turmeric and Mung Beans from the book Vietnamese Street Food by Tracey Lister and Andreas Pohl:

(serves 2-4)

-1 1/2cup glutinous white rice

-50g mung beans, the ones without skins

-3/4tsp turmeric powder or 1/2cm fresh turmeric, peeled and puréed 

-3/4tsp salt

-1/6tsp sugar

-2 shallots and some oil to make fried shallots and shallot oil, recipe follows

Soak the glutinous rice overnight.  Soak the mung beans 3 hours before cooking.

Strain and rinse well the soaked mung beans.  Put in a pot and cover with water, bring to a boil and simmer for 30-40 minutes, until the beans are easily mashable between your index and thumb.

While the beans are cooking, strain the soaked rice and rinse well, drain.  Mix with salt, sugar and turmeric until the yellow color is well distributed.  Line your steamer with muslin cloth (I didn't have any so I used a banana leaf) and steam for about 30 minutes on medium or until the rice is tender and chewy.

When the beans are cooked, strain them and let them cool down until you can touch them.  With a muslin cloth, a fine mesh strainer, your hands or paper towels, press as much water as you can out of the beans and form a ball.

When the rice is ready, leave to cool down until you can handle it and shape into clumps.

To serve, plate the clumps, drizzle with some shallot oil, mung bean ball shavings and fried shallots.

FRIED SHALLOTS:

Slice thinly two shallots (or more if you want some for other recipe).  Put them in a small saucepan, cover them with vegetable oil, and simmer on medium-low until the shallots are golden but not burnt (and they burn really fast, so keep an eye on it).  Strain, keep the oil and drain the shallots on paper towels so they crisp.

Banh Tom Ho Tay (Vietnamese) Shrimps and Sweet Potatoes Deep-Fried Pancakes

Here's a recipe I really wanted to try, and since we ate lunch late yesterday, I thought just a little something filling would be good!  Even though you might think it looks good on the pictures, if you saw how beautiful the ones from the book I took this recipe from are on their pictures: the white sweet potatoes look supremely white (I didn't want to soak mine because I didn't want water in the oil, but they became brown in a minute, way before I was done...), the cakes are perfectly round, the shrimps stayed in place, perfectly distanced from eachother...  Mine were still delicious, so let's say they look rustic!

I think I know some tricks I'll try for next time.  I'll share them at the end of this post.  The ratio of batter vs. sweet potatoes and shrimps didn't really make sense when looking at the pictures in the book (sometimes you need to copy food you never had before the first time you cook it to get the full experience: the cut of the vegetables, the texture or shape of a batter or a cake) so I took the liberty of changing it.  If you try my recipe, it should look like my pictures, or maybe better if you try my ideas of what I should change next time to make it better.  I'll repost it if next time it's better, but next time might be in a long time because fried foods are delicious and highly upsetting my stomach.  So here's my own version of Banh Tom Ho Tay, inspired by the one in the book Vietnamese Street Food by Tracey Lister and Andreas Pohl:

(serves 2-4 as a heavy snack or side)

Batter:

-1/2cup all-purpose flour, sifted

-1tbsp rice flour

-1/2tsp baking powder

-1/3tsp turmeric powder

-1/3tsp salt

-a pinch of sugar

-1 egg yolk

-1tsp rice vinegar

12 raw shrimps, without head, legs cut and deveined (but keep the shells on) and cut in two lengthwise, marinated with:

-2tsp fish sauce

-1/4tsp black pepper

-about 150g white-fleshed, purple-skinned sweet potatoes, cut into thin 2" long or shorter matchsticks (setsuma imo, goguma...)

-oil for deep-frying

-pickles as a side (optional)

Make the batter, cover, and let it rest for about 15 minutes.  Prepare and marinate the shrimps for about 15 minutes.  Warm up the oil in a wok or wide, deep pan.

After 15 minutes and when the oil is ready, close to the pan, bring everything you need: the shrimps, the batter with a tablespoon, the sweet potatoes, a metal ladle and a regular metal spoon.

Dip the metal ladle in oil to warm it up and keep some oil in the laddle. Briefly mix the batter and pour 2tbsp of it in the ladle, then tuck in some sweet potatoes, top with 3 shrimp pieces and pour 1tbsp of batter on top to seal the shrimps.  Hold the ladle straight in the oil, moving it a little to allow oil to go under the sides. After 3 minutes, the book says it should float, but believe me, it totally stays stuck to the ladle, so with the metal spoon, carefully unstick the pancake from the ladle and push into the oil, where it should stay until golden brown.  Drain on paper towels.  Repeat until everything is finished.  

Note: You might have to scrape your ladle at some point because of batter remains, but you do not need to wash it in between, and it you do, properly wipe your ladle with paper towels to minimize the splashes as water enters in contact with the oil...  If you want to have a heart attack, I sprinkled some coarse salt on mine, it was good!  I had French grey sea salt, whooo, everything from France just sounds fancy!

SO FOR NEXT TIME:

-Maybe if I hold the ladle in the oil for a good minute, and make sure the oil is at least at 350F (I was monitoring mine and it was at 340F most of the cooking time, oops), the high temperature will cook the surface of the batter instantly, kind of like the trick to takoyaki (Japanese delicious octopus dumplings junk food, look it up!: http://www.justonecookbook.com/recipes/takoyaki-recipe/) and the batter will float like the recipe from Vietnamese Street Food says...

-Start preparing a little ahead by soaking the sweet potatoes in water with a little vinegar for maybe 30-60 minutes, then lying them on paper towels and use as many paper towels as necessary to really dry them so the batter sticks to them and the oil doesn't splash like crazy with the scary noises.  That should make the potatoes white, and relieve them of most of their starch, making them crispy!

Good luck, but even my ugly ones still held together and tasted delicious, worth a try!

Bun Thang, AKA Combo Soup (Vietnamese)

This combo soup's picture reminded me of ramen (like Japanese big ramen bowls) with its different toppings.  Also, my boyfriend is picky with his vegetables and this version doesn't have much, which I knew would please His Carnivorousness!  I really enjoyed this soup, the broth was like the one of a GOOD wonton soup at the take-out, subtil but refined!  I even used leftover broth and boiled some gyoza in it with julienned veggies (gyoza are the Japanese dumplings, I always make a lot and have them in the freezer!). The day I was gonna make this soup, I checked Helen's Recipes' channel on YouTube and this soup was her new video recipe!  Her version is different though, but you can still watch it and encourage her, she's so skilled and cute!  Here's the link!  

http://youtu.be/jSG_Fn7Lz1M

Helen says that this soup is made after festivities, when there's a lot of leftovers of different meats.  I don't care that it's spring, I still wanted a good, gigantic soup.  Here's my really simplified, slightly modified recipe for Combo Soup, taken from the book Vietnamese Street Food (as usual lately!) by the lovely couple of Tracey Lister and Andreas Pohl!

(serves 2-3)

Broth:

-3 shallots, chargrilled on all sides for a total of about 5 minutes, then black spots washed away

-1.5kg pork bones

-1/2tsp salt

-about 3tbsp dried shrimps

-1tsp sugar

-1/2tbsp fish sauce

-1 small chicken breast, with bones if you can

Toppings:

-2 eggs, whisked and cooked into thin omelets, then piled up and thinly sliced the way you like (I like to roll the omelets before slicing, it makes cute spirals)

-2-3 portions of rice vermicelli, cooked

-3-4 cooked shrimps per bowl

-100-150g Cha Lua (Vietnamese ham made with pork and shrimp paste) or ham, thinly julienned*

-2 sliced spring onions

-cilantro or parsley

-fried shallots

-1 lime, cut into wedges

*I used regular ham because I was craving it, sliced it thinly, pan fried it then piled the slices and thinly julienned them.  Cooked ham tastes salty, like bacon or bologna!  Don't worry, it doesn't really affect the saltiness of the overall soup.  Let's start!

Put the pork bones in a pot, cover with water, then bring to a boil, strain the bones and rinse them good.  Put back into the cleaned pot, cover with water again, add the salt and bring to a boil again.  Lower the heat to simmer, and add the shallots, dried shrimps, sugar and fish sauce, simmer for 2 hours.  Throughout the simmering, remove scums and fat often.

After 2 hours, add the chicken breast and continue simmering for 20 minutes.  Fish out the breast, let it cool then slice it thinly.  Strain the broth, put in a clean pot and bring to a boil.

To assemble, start with a portion of rice vermicelli at the bottom of each bowl, then place the shrimps, Cha Lua or ham and chicken.  Top with the herbs, green onions and shallots. Serve with lime wedges on the side!

Lemongrass Beef Plate with Rice Papers (Vietnamese)

I love plates that are full of different items.  I also love lettuce wraps and rice sheet wraps!  This bowl has lemongrass beef, rice vermicelli, herbs, pickles, cucumbers, fried dried tofu, nuts...  Everything you need for a perfect spring roll.  The beef recipe I took from this book.  It was meant to be served in a baguette, but I like my bowl better!  For the ingredients for the bowl, feel free to compose with what you like and have at home... But I wouldn't skip the herbs!

So here's the simplified recipe for Lemongrass Beef Skewers from the book Vietnamese Street Food by Tracey Lister and Andreas Pohl, followed by my own tips to make the perfect bowl!

(makes 10 mini skewers - serves 2-3)

Marinade for 300g nice lean beef, thinly sliced:

-2 shallots, chopped

-3 garlic cloves, chopped

-3 white parts of lemongrass, chopped

-1 long red chilli, seeded and chopped

-1tbsp roasted sesame seeds

-2tsp fish sauce

Grind together, in a mortar and pestle or in a food processor, the shallots, garlic, lemongrass and chilli.  When I use a mortar I always chop everything as small as I can to save time and energy.  When the mixture resembles some kind of rough paste, add slightly grounded sesame or grind in the mortar.  Add fish sauce, mix, and thoroughly massage the beef slices.  Let marinate for an hour to overnight in the fridge.

If using a grill, soak 10 short skewers in cold water for about 30 minutes.  When using a pan, you can skip this step.  Fold the beef slices repeatedly on the sticks to make 10 mini skewers, just enough each for one fresh spring roll.  Grill!

To serve, for EACH plate, I put enough ingredients for 5 rolls (5 lettuce pieces, 10 cucumbers...).  I ate only 3 rolls and kept two for lunch, it's a little big!:

-5 beef skewers

-some Dua Gop carrots and daikon pickles (recipe here: http://sunnysdelights.blogspot.ca/2014/05/banh-mi-with-pork-patties-and-dua-gop.html)

-5 pieces of lettuce

-1 portion rice vermicelli (I had fresh ones!)

-10 half slices of cucumber

-plenty of fresh herbs (just pruned my plants!)

-some chopped almonds or peanuts 

-pieces of dried tofu sheets (cut, deep-fry at at least 350F and drain on paper towels)

-nuoc cham for dipping (I use Helen's recipe, here: http://danangcuisine.com/recipes/recipe-2-vietnamese-dipping-sauce-cach-pha-nuoc-cham/)

Dip a rice sheet in warm water briefly, lay down on a flat plate, put a little of everything and a skewer (without the skewer haha) and roll tightly.  Dip in nuoc-cham, it's sooo good!

Hae Kun with Nam Jim Priao Wan (Thai) Shrimp Rolls and Sweet and Sour Sauce

Last week, my boyfriend and I went shopping and I got two cooking books.  The only place I can find a decent amount of Asian cookbooks to choose from is downtown, and I have this habit to go through the books on the metro (Montreal's subway) on my way back home.  So I was doing that with a book that has almost zero pictures, and then, a picture!  It caught my boyfriend's eye and he already knew he wanted me to make it for him!  And to my surprise, even I really enjoyed it.  The recipe doesn't suggest any dip, but on the picture there is one.  I found someone who posted this recipe word for word except that at the end, they added "serve with sweet and sour sauce" (never copy word for word!). I then searched for "thai sweet and sour sauce" on google and found a pretty good one.  So here's Hae Kun from The Complete Asian Cookbook: Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Burma, by Charmaine Solomon, simplified and slightly adapted, followed by a link to a delicious sweet and sour sauce!

(serves 4 as a side)

-2 large squares of dried tofu skin, briefly soaked in hot water to rehydrate, then water squeezed out dry

-oil for deep-frying

Mixture:

-250g cleaned, shelled shrimps, chopped into a chunky paste

-1tbsp cornstarch or potato starch

-2tbsp pork fat, finely diced (easy to find, ask any butcher, it's ridiculously cheap)

-1 garlic clove, finely grated

-1tsp ginger, finely grated

-1/2tsp salt

-1/4tsp black pepper

Mix everything for the mixture.  Add the end of a tofu skin, shape half of the mixture into a log, then roll several times until the end of the tofu sheet.  Repeat for the other roll.  Steam the rolls with the seam down for ten minute on medium.  Let cool down a little, then cut diagonally. (I prepared everything ahead and stopped at that step, putting the roll pieces in the fridge.)

Deep-fry the rolls until golden brown, then drain briefly on paper towels and serve with thai style sweet and sour sauce (recipe follows).

For the sweet and sour sauce, I used this recipe and it was crazy awesome delicious!

http://thaifood.about.com/od/thaicurrypasterecipes/r/Easy-Sweet-And-Sour-Sauce-Recipe.htm

Chicken with Green Peppercorns (Vietnamese)

This chicken dish was simple and elegant, and made a perfect Sunday night meal.  This post is my last for today, so excuse the short intro.  I finally found green peppercorns (in brine) and I've been waiting to make this dish!  I bought a whole uncleaned chicken by mistake and it was gruesome haha.  So here's the recipe, simplified from the book The Food of Vietnam by Luke Nguyen.  You can also see him cook this dish in a peppercorn field here:

http://youtu.be/KPfgYx5sYEU

(serves 4-6)

Marinade for a whole clean chicken, cut into quarters, weighing about 1.5kg:

-25g lightly bruised (with a mortar and pestle) green peppercorns (I bought mine in brine)

-1tbsp chopped garlic

-2tsp salt

-1tsp sugar

-25g green peppercorns on the branches

-1tbsp chopped garlic

-1tsp salt

-1tsp sugar

-2 tomatoes, in 2cm cubes

-1-2 carrots, in 1cm cubes

-1tbsp annatto oil

-about 2 litres of young coconut juice

-8 peeled whole shallots

-1/2 an onion cut into big wedges

-4tbsp fish sauce

-rice or baguettes for serving

Mix the marinade ingredients and rub the chicken carefully with it, putting peppercorns under the skin too.  Marinate for an hour or more.

In a big wide pan or a high, large saucepan, fry the garlic and peppercorns with 2tbsp oil for a couple second, until fragrant.  Add the chicken pieces and slightly brown on both sides.

Add all the other ingredients and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 40 minutes.  Serve with white rice or baguette.

Phat Wun Sen (Thai)

I bought two books at the end of last week.  One of them is part of an Asian food encyclopedia, and even though it doesn't have much pictures, it includes authentic recipes from Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Burma.  I've been watching videos of Thai cooking, so even though I was searching for Vietnamese cooking books, that book seemed like a good compromise.  So here's my first attempt at Thai food, peppery rice vermicelli called Phat Wun Sen from The Complete Asian Cookbook: Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Burma, by Charmaine Solomon, simplified:

(serves 4-6)

-250g rice vermicelli, soaked in boiling water until soft, 5-8 minutes

-10 dried shiitake mushrooms (soaked in boiling water for 30 minutes) or 12 white mushrooms, or any shrooms you like... thinly sliced

-3 garlic cloves, chopped

-2 thai chillies, deseeded and chopped

-185g pork fillet, thinly sliced

-250g cleaned and peeled shrimps, cut into 3 or 4 each

-2 white part leeks, thinly sliced

-1 can of bamboo shoots matchsticks

-2 carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks

Seasoning:

-2tbsp fish sauce

-1tbsp white vinegar

-1tsp salt

-2tsp sugar

-1/2tsp black pepper

Topping:

-fresh chopped cilantro (or flat parsley if you don't like cilantro like me)

-fried shallots

Heat 2tbsp oil in a wok over medium.  Fry the garlic and chillies a minute or two, then push to the side and add the pork.  Stir-fry the pork until it's no more pink, then add the shrimps, leeks, bamboo and carrots and stif-fry for 3 minutes or until mostly cooked.

Mix the seasonings together, add to the wok and stir-fry a minute for the juices to soak in, then add vermicelli and toss until warm and well combined.  Plate and top with herbs and shallots!

Che Chuoi (Vietnamese)

My boyfriend and I don't like bananas!  We never buy them!  But when I saw this recipe in Vietnamese Street Food, I had a feeling it would be delicious!  This is a really simple, quick and easy banana and coconut milk soup, for dessert or, like us, for a sweet warm breakfast.  I hope you'll try it!

Adapted and slightly modified from the excellent book Vietnamese Street Food by Tracey Lister and Andreas Pohl:

(serves 4)

-4 bananas, peeled, sliced in half lengthwise and broiled for color, then each half cut in 4 pieces

-400mL (one can) coconut milk

-3tbsp sugar

-toasted sesame seeds for topping

-crushed roasted peanuts for topping

While the bananas are broiling, combine the coconut milk and sugar in a saucepan, heat until the sugar has dissolved.  Add the banana pieces and simmer for a couple minutes so the banana soaks in the sweet coconut milk.  Transfer to serving bowls and top with sesame and peanuts!

Banh Mi with Pork Patties and Dua Gop, and recipes for Roasted Rice Flour and Annatto Oil (Vietnamese)

You know what fascinates me about Asian cooking?  Asians eat regular food for breakfast.  I mean here, most people have cereals, pancakes, lumberjack breakfast (with eggs, toasts, potatoes and 3 different kind of pork, baked beans), toasts...  But Asian people can start the day with rice and fish and it doesn't seem weird.  So for breakfast last Saturday, I made Banh Mi with Pork Patties!

I had a little extra money for once and treated myself (and indirectly my boyfriend, it helps with daily menus!) to two cooking books.  One of the books I bought, I realized was boring, so I went back to the bookstore and said I received it as a gift but already owned it, so they let me exchange it, phew!  So I exchanged it for Vietnamese Street Food by Tracey Lister and Andreas Pohl, and even though their names aren't Vietnamese, the food is authentic, the street pictures and stories are nice!

Without further intro, here are the two modified and simplified recipes for Pork Patties and Carrots and Daikon pickles, from the book Vietnamese Street Food by Tracey Lister and Andreas Pohl, followed by my easy recipes to make Roasted Rice Flour and Annatto Seeds Oil!

(for 3-4 Banh Mi sandwiches)

-600g ground pork

-1 1/2tbsp roasted rice flour (store-bought or homemade, recipe follows)

-3 garlic cloves, chopped

-2 shallots, chopped

-1tbsp fish sauce

-1tsp annatto oil (recipe follows)

-1/2tsp sugar

-1/4tsp salt

-1/2tsp black pepper

Mix everything together and let the flavours meld for about 30 minutes.  Shape into flat patties and grill!

I served these patties in a Vietnamese baguette with dua gop (carrots and daikon pickles, recipe follows), cucumber slices, sliced green and red thai chillies, and parsley (if you like cilantro, unlike me, use it, it's more authentic).  The book suggested forming the meat into little sausages around the end of short bamboo skewers, and serving them as a bowl with herbs, fried dried tofu skins, pickles, rice vermicelli, lettuce, peanuts...  And rice sheets!  The picture looks so good, I'm definitely trying it this way next time!

And here is a recipe from the same book for Dua Gop, carrots and daikon pickles.  I tried this recipe, and except for the brine amount that was too small (but I modified it in this transcription), to me, all recipes I tried gave a similar result, so here's just one amongst others!

(makes about 2cups)

-250g carrots (if unlike me you can find these wide fat carrots, it makes the work easier)

-200g daikon

-300mL rice vinegar

-1/2cup sugar

-3tsp salt

Peel and cut the carrots and daikon into batons, matchsticks, or whatever shape you like, as long as it's not too thick.  This time I made batons, and it was a lot of work, but the crisp is nice and the shape makes the pickles look playful, but whatever shape you choose will taste good.  Squeeze all veggies into a jar (about 2 cups).

Put the vinegar, salt and sugar together in a small saucepan, and warm until the sugar has completely dissolved.  Let cool down to lukewarm and add to the jar.  I leave the jar on the counter for one day to make the pickling process faster.  After one day you can eat and keep in the fridge!

Why buy ROASTED RICE FLOUR when you can make your own! Start with half a cup or one cup (if you use roasted rice flour often) of glutinous/sweet white rice. Put it in a pan or wok on low or med-low heat and keep on mixing for 10-20 minutes, until the rice turns golden.  Be careful not to use high heat and mix constantly or it WILL burn.  When it's ready, transfer to a bowl and cool down completely.  Grind nicely with a coffee grinder, food processor or a mortar and pestle if you have time and want to be authentic!  Store in an airtight container on the shelf.

What about ANNATTO OIL?  Annatto oil is almost essential for certain Vietnamese dishes, it gives a nice yellow colour.  But I don't think you can buy it, you have to make it.  Good news: it only requires annatto seeds and oil!  In a small saucepan, warm 1tbsp annatto seeds in 125mL (about half a cup) of vegetable oil over low heat.  When the oil just starts to simmer, remove.  Let cool down, strain and transfer to a jar!

Enjoy cooking!