Delicious Vietnam #7 Round-up

As mentioned previously, I got the opportunity to host the seventh edition of Delicious Vietnam, a food blogging event featuring Vietnamese food, created by Anh from A food lover's journey and Hong & Kim Ravenous Couple.

The submissions ranged from an outing to a Vietnamese restaurant to Vietnamese recipes, both traditional ones and with new twists! Without further ado and by order of submission, here are all the delicious posts:

* First off, my friend Cathy from Gastronomy shared her visit to Thiên Ân Bò 7 Món, where she and her friends enjoyed Vietnamese-style roasted catfish (cá nướng da dòn). I so wish I lived in California because that fish is calling my name!

* Julia from Beginner Mom on the Run made Vegetarian Vietnamese Egg Rolls. Her version like my mom's has tofu, but also has the added mung bean and taro root. I remember eating egg rolls in Vietnam with taro, a substantial addition. There is no fried egg roll that doesn't call my name, and I wish I had some right now!

* Lan from Angry Asian Creations submitted Butternut Squash Braised in Coconut Milk. This looks like the perfect fall weather recipe. I can imagine the coconut milk being sopped up by rice. In addition to the butternut squash, Lan added fresh bamboo shoots and beech mushrooms, which I had never heard of!

* Next up is last month's host Doug from Javaholic. He submitted a Vietnamese Ahi Carpaccio recipe. Doug replaced the tradition beef in bò tái chanh with sashimi grade ahi tuna. Sounds like a tasty idea in my books!

* My submission was Tofu with Tomato Sauce. It's a great vegetarian recipe, quick and easy to make!

* Hong and Kim from Ravenous Couple made Vietnamese blood sausage this month. I have to admit that I avoided blood in my soups when I was in Vietnam but this blood sausage really intrigues me. The fresh herbs make it less scary to me and I'm so impressed they made sausage from scratch, casing and all!

* Anh from A food lover's journey, whipped up Vietnamese beef meatballs in tomato sauce, a beef version of xíu mại in her new kitchen (and you must check out her red kitchen bench and beautiful tile backdrop). These meatballs would be oh so good in a crusty bánh mì!

* Finally, Deb from Bear Head Soup, submitted a dessert recipe Chè Chuối Chưng. Oh my, I could see my mom heading straight to the kitchen to make this version of chè with banana, tapioca and cassava.

Thank you to everyone for your delicious submissions! If you'd like to submit a recipe for the eighth edition, it will be hosted by Deb from Bear Head Soup. For more information, click here.

Đậu Hủ Sốt Cà Chua (Tofu with Tomato Sauce)

I wanted to make a Vietnamese dinner for my boyfriend A and me. Since he's vegetarian, I decided to make đậu hủ sốt cà chua (tofu with tomato sauce). This is a dish my mom often made with rice. It consists of fried tofu, topped with a tomato sauce. It's funny because in Western cuisine, tofu has become an alternative for meat. In Asian cuisine, tofu is just another ingredient so it is often paired with meat. However, this dish is vegetarian (although my mom makes a similar dish with tofu stuffed with meat).

I am hosting the 7th edition of Delicious Vietnam, a monthly food blogging event created by A Food Lovers Journey and Ravenous Couple, to highlight Vietnamese cusine. Look for the round-up next week!



Đậu Hủ Sốt Cà Chua (Tofu with Tomato Sauce) - Serves 4

For the tomato sauce
This sauce is super easy to make. It has a bit of sweet (from the added sugar) & sour (from the tomatoes) flavours going. My mom also likes to serve fried fish with this tomato sauce.

* oil
* ½ onion, diced small
* 1 garlic clove, minced
* 4 plum tomatoes, diced
* salt, to taste
* black pepper, to taste
* 1-2 tbsp sugar, or to taste

In a pan, heat up some oil.
Add the onion and garlic until softened.
Add the tomatoes and cook on medium heat.
Season with salt, pepper and sugar to taste (I like the sauce on the sweet side so I do add a good amount of sugar).
Cook for 10-15 minutes, until the tomatoes are cooked and have broken down a bit, resulting in a thick tomato sauce.
Taste and adjust seasoning.



For the tofu
You can prepare the tofu while the sauce cooks down.

* 1 package (1 lb) firm tofu
* salt
* minced lemongrass (I buy it frozen)

Slice the tofu into ½" thick slices.
Pat each slice of tofu dry with a paper towel (it will help the tofu crispen when you fry it).
Season liberally with salt and lemongrass. (Since tofu doesn't have much taste, I try to coat each slice to make sure each is properly seasoned.)
In a pan, heat oil.
Fry the tofu about 3-4 minutes on each side, until nicely golden brown.
Top the tofu with the tomato sauce.
Serve with rice.
Tada!



Preparing the tofu.

If you would like to join in this blogging event, please e-mail me at Miss.Adventure[at]live[dot]com, making sure to include “Delicious Vietnam” in the subject line before the end of the day on Sunday, November 15 (sorry for the short notice!). Please include the following information:
• Your Name
• Your Blog Name/URL
• Your Post URL
• Your Location
• Attach a photo (300 pixel wide, please)

Entries to Delicious Vietnam must be written specifically for this event only. Of course, do submit your photos to photo sites and events. Please make sure that your post contains the phrase Delicious Vietnam with a link to the host (Miss.Adventure at Home), and to the two founders (A food lover’s journey and Ravenous Couple). If you use Twitter, please include the tag #deliciousvietnam in your post.

Bánh Khoai Mì (Vietnamese Cassava Coconut Cake)

I am not a sweets person in general, and most Vietnamese sweets don't appeal to me. There may be a handful of chè (Vietnamese liquid dessert/pudding). I don't mind the baked goods but I wouldn't really have any craving. Except for bánh khoai mì (khoai mì = cassava), a Vietnamese cake made out of cassava and coconut. When I lived in Vietnam, I would go down the street and buy a slice every few week or so - that was enough to make me happy. Cassava is a root vegetable widely used in Asia, Africa and South America.

Bánh khoai mì does not have the typical texture of a cake. It's a little more sticky and gelatinous. I know that doesn't make it appealing but it's really good. The consistency is due to its two main ingredients: cassava and coconut milk. Though the cassava is grated, you can taste a bit of the fibrous cassava. My favourite part is the caramelized golden exterior of the cake.



Bánh khoai mì (Vietnamese Cassava Coconut Cake)
I've never made this and didn't realize there were so little ingredients. Just three.

* 2 lbs frozen khoai mi
* 1 can coconut milk
* 400 g (about 2 cups) sugar

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.
Pour in a round or square pan.
Bake at 350F for 30 minutes or so, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Broil slightly if not golden enough (don't burnt it - like my mom did slightly...)
Allow to cool and slice.
Tada!


You can find this in the freezer section of an Asian grocery store.


Cassava Cake batter.


A nice, sweet treat!

I am submitting this recipe to the 6th edition of Delicious Vietnam, a blogging event featuring Vietnamese food, hosted this month by Javaholic. Details about this month event can be found here.

Bún măng vịt (Duck and Bamboo Vermicelli Soup)

I realize I have not posted Vietnamese food nor recipes in a while. Well, a visit to my mom's is always a great source for Vietnamese food posts. And what better way to highlight this post than by entering Delicious Vietnam, a blogging event featuring Vietnamese food, hosted this month by Anh from A Food Lovers Journey.

As with every visit home, my mom asked me what I wanted to eat during my stay. In addition to enjoying bánh giò (steamed dumpling with ground pork) and bánh ít trần (mung bean stuffed dumpling), I also requested a dish that we do not often eat: bún măng vịt (bún=vermicelli noodles, măng=bamboo shoots, vịt=duck). I love this soup because of the broth, strongly flavoured from the dry bamboo, the crunch texture of the bamboo (kind of reminds of straw mushrooms - does that help imagine it?) and the fatty duck meat dipped into nước mắm gừng (ginger fish sauce).



Just as phở, the most well known Vietnamese soup (and arguably the most well known Vietnamese dish), bún măng vịt hails from Northern Vietnam. Unlike phở, it is not a mainstream soup and cannot be easily found on restaurant menus. It is distinct due to the use of dry bamboo shoots, which imparts a unique flavour, resulting in a dark, tea-like, slightly pungent broth. While dry bamboo can be found in Asian supermarkets (so my mother tells me), she only uses the ones purchased in Vietnam. My grandmother goes to the market herself and pays a premium for the lower part of the bamboo shoots that are more tender since bamboo shoots can be fibrous. So unfortunately, I cannot speak to the use of store-bought dry bamboo shoots - they may be just tougher.

Bún măng vịt (Duck and Bamboo Vermicelli Soup)
When I called my mom and asked if we could have this soup, I did not give her enough time for preparation. You should plan for a good day because soaking the bamboo shoots take a long time. Unfortunately, I wasn't around when my mom prepared this dish, so there are no how-to pictures.

* 200 g dry bamboo shoots

Soak bamboo for 2-3 hours (or overnight) in boiling water and rinse.
Repeat at least twice until softened (this step also helps remove some of the bitterness from the bamboo).
The bamboo will have softened and also expanded.
Pull apart the softened bamboo into long strings, following along the natural lines of the bamboo.


Dry bamboo.

For the soup
* oil
* onion
* 1 tbsp salt, or to taste
* 2-3 tsp sugar
* one whole duck, skin on
* slices of ginger

In a large soup pot, saute the bamboo with onion in oil.
Season with salt and sugar (the sugar helps balance the bitterness of the bamboo) and add enough water to cover the bamboo shoots.
Turn up the heat until the water boils and turn it down to a simmer.
Meanwhile, cut the duck into pieces.
Season the duck with more salt and pieces of ginger.
Roast the pieces of duck at 350F for 20 minutes and broil to get a golden skin, about 10 minutes on low.
(This step is to render the fat and get the meat golden - the duck pieces can also be fried in a pot.)
Add the cooked duck meat to the soup and add more water to cover everything.
Bring to a simmer.
After an hour or two of cooking, remove the duck pieces if they are cooked so they do not overcook and break apart.
Continue cooking the soup for additional 1-2 hours, for a total of 3-4 hours.
Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and sugar.


Duck leg and bamboo shoots.

For nước mắm gừng - ginger fish sauce
* 1 tbsp water
* 4 tbsp fish sauce
* 3 tbsp sugar
* ginger, greatly minced, or even grated
* lime juice


Nước mắm gừng (ginger fish sauce).

To serve
* bún (rice vermicelli) - how to cook bún
* green onion, sliced thinly
* coriander, washed and leaves picked off

In individual bowls, add a handful of cooked vermicelli, top with the soup.
Garnish with green onions and coriander.
Serve with nước mắm gừng (ginger fish sauce) to dip the meat.
Tada!


Perfect recipe to start the colder weather.

For other Vietnamese soup recipes:
* Bún Mộc (Vermicelli & Pork Meatball Soup)
* Bún Riêu (Crab and Tomato Soup)
* Canh Gà (Vietnamese flavoured Chicken Broth)
* Canh Hến (Baby Clam Soup)
* Canh Khổ Qua (Bitter Melon Soup)
* Cháo Ca (Fish Porridge)
* Cháo Gà (Chicken Porridge)
* Xúp Bát Bửu (Chinese 8 Treasure Soup)
* Xúp Bột Bán (Tapioca and Crab Soup)
* Xúp Măng Cua (Crab and Asparagus Soup)