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.

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)

Thai Hot & Sour Soup

How timely that I noticed the theme for No Croutons Required a day after I tried my hand at making a Thai hot & sour soup. The theme for January is Thai cuisine! I have been wanting to replicate the hot & sour soup at Bahn Thai that I love so much. I've had a chance to eat there a few times recently (since I work down the street from the restaurant now) and always enjoy the soup, included in their lunch combo. I think I've figured out a good recipe, though it's still not exactly the same. I think theirs is sweeter and thicker, while mine has a lot more ingredients.



Thai Hot & Sour Soup
This soup is very easy. The challenging part was just tasting the broth and adjusting it to get the perfect sour, sweet and hot balance. Unlike Chinese hot & sour soup which uses vinegar, this Thai version uses tamarind and lime juice. I used a hard tofu so the tofu wouldn't break down but I think a softer tofu is typically used. If you want to thicken the soup, simply dilute a bit of cornstarch into a tablespoon of water and add the mixture at the end.

1.5 L vegetable broth (I threw in a piece of lemongrass when I made my vegetable broth)
piece of lemongrass (if you didn't flavour make your own broth)
1-2 tbsp sugar, or to taste
1-2 tbsp tamarind paste, or to taste
1-2 tbsp lime juice, or to taste
1 tsp salt, or to taste
1-2 tsp chili paste, or to taste
a handful of shiitake mushrooms, sliced thinly
a handful of enoki mushrooms
a handful of bamboo (purchased in a can)
small piece of tofu, sliced thinly
(other ingredients that would be great: baby corn, water chestnuts, snow peas)
egg, slightly beaten (optional)

Heat up the broth.
Add all of the ingredients into the broth.
Taste the broth and adjust with the tamarind paste, sugar, salt and chili to strike the perfect balance.
When you have the perfect broth and the ingredients are cooked, turn down the heat so the soup is not boiling.
Slowly pour in the beaten egg with one hand while stirring the soup with the other hand.
Tada!


Bamboo and mushrooms.


Shiitake and enoki mushrooms.


This soup would be perfect for someone with a cold!

Four Bean Salad

I had two of my old colleagues from United Way come over for lunch. I thought panini's would make a perfect lunch time meal. To accompany the panini's, I decided to make my old roommate D's bean salad. Well, it's not actually her recipe. She got it from one of her old boyfriends; it's a family recipe from his Ukrainian grandmother.



I did not actually like beans until I reached adulthood. Vietnamese people mainly eat beans in desserts, and so I never had beans in savoury dishes. When I started eating beans, I did not like the texture at all. However, I knew it is a healthy protein source. It obviously grew on me because I love beans now!

I am submitting this recipe to the food blogging event, My Legume Love Affair, highlighting recipes with legumes. This ninth edition is hosted by Laurie from Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska. If you are interested in participating, or want to check past round-ups, take a look at the host lineup. This food blogging event was created by Susan from The Well-Seasoned Cook.

Four Bean Salad
You can definitely use fresh beans instead of canned ones but I don't mind the mushier canned green and yellow beans (slightly embarrassing). Most people like this salad because of the sweet vinaigrette. The onion and red pepper have been added to the original recipe.

* 1 can grean beans
* 1 can yellow beans
* 1 can red kidney beans
* 1 can chick peas (the original recipe calls for lima beans)
* ¼ red onion, diced small
* 1 red pepper, diced
* ½ cup sugar
* ½ cup vinegar
* ½ olive oil
* ½ tsp basil
* ½ tsp parsley
* ½ tsp tarragon - I usually skip it simply because I don't have any
* ½ tsp dry mustard

Strain each can of beans and rinse thoroughly.
Place the beans, red onion and red pepper in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients.
Add the vinaigrette to the beans.
Mix well.
Allow to marinate for at least several hours, or ideally overnight in the fridge.
Tada!


Cans of beans.

Colourful beans and vinaigrette.

I love the colourful mixture.

Mom's Recipes: Chả Cá (White Fish with Dill and Green Onion)

I have been meaning to participate in the food blogging event, Weekend Herb Blogging, that features weekly posts on herbs. I've also had a very specific Vietnamese recipe in mind, chả cá, a North Vietnamese fish dish prominently featuring dill. The opportunity came for me to write a post about it while visiting my mom.

I am submitting this recipe to Weekend Herb Blogging, run by Cook almost Anything at least once. The host this month is Scott from The Real Epicurean.

I have mentioned that my mom is from Central Vietnam. Therefore, she did not grow up eating this dish. In fact, the first time she had this dish was in Canada when she befriended some Vietnamese people from the North. So please forgive us if this recipe has taken some central liberties...

Chả cá is typically cooked as you go using a tabletop hot pot pan/burner. It consists of white fish that is a trademark yellow from the use of turmeric, green onion and dill, cooked in a large amount of oil. I remember cooking it this way but along the way, my mom tweaked the recipe to make it more healthy. She now broils it with significantly less oil. You can check out posts on chả cá when The Gastronomer ate this dish in the North and South and see how this compares.

I like this recipe because it is fairly easy to make and is relatively healthy if you do not use too much oil. The thìa là (dill), a more common ingredient in the North of Vietnam, adds a dimension to this dish that is quite unique. I also like the firm pieces of well-seasoned fish in nước chấm.

Chả Cá (Fish with Dill) - Serves 4

Use white fish like sole or bassa that will not break too much once it is cooked. This dish is typically served with bún (rice vermicelli) and fresh ingredients. There is also usually roasted peanuts that we forgot this time. The sauce can be nước chấm (diluted fish sauce) or the more potent mắm tôm (fermented shrimp paste).

* 1 lb white fish, cut into 1-2” pieces
* ½ tsp ground pepper
* ¾ tsp salt
* ½ tbsp garlic powder
* 1-½ tbsp turmeric
* galangal powder, or fresh - sliced into pieces
* 4 tbsp vegetable oil
* 1 bunch dill
* 1 bunch green onions

Season the fish with garlic powder, salt, pepper, turmeric, galangal and 2 tbsp of oil.
Mix and let it sit for half an hour.
Slice dill and green onion into 1-2” pieces.
Cook the dill slightly (it will be cooking in the oven also) in 1 tablespoon of oil.
Cover a baking dish with the dill.
Place the pieces of fish on top.
Cook the green onion in another tablespoon of oil.
Place on top of the fish and drizzle the remaining oil.
Broil on high (if you’re keeping an eye on it!) for 12 minutes or until the fish is cooked through.


Cutting the bassa into large pieces.

The turmeric makes the fish a nice yellow colour.

Chopping the dill in section made the whole kitchen smell good!

Do the same with the green onion.

Lightly cooked dill lines a baking dish.

Pieces of fish on a bed of dill.

Topped with green onion.

I like the green onion well cooked but they may be a bit burnt here!

Serve with

* lettuce, washed and torn

* cucumber, sliced

* bún (rice vermicelli), cooked

* rice paper
* nước chấm (or mắm tôm)

Serve rice vermicelli in a bowl.

Top with cooked fish, dill, green onion and fresh ingredients.

Add nước chấm.

Tada!

I opt for nước chấm but my mom likes eating this with mắm tôm.

Stir Fried Broccoli on Pan Fried Cantonese Noodles

I have been in a bit of a funk lately. A cooking funk that is... When I mentioned it to my mom, she mentioned I should have some broccoli. What a coincidence! It also happened to be the feature ingredient for this month's Weekend Wokking! Then I discovered sea scallops were on sale at Fortino's. Throw in some noodles and I have a perfect dinner!

I am submitting this recipe to Weekend Wokking, a world-wide food blogging event created by Wandering Chopsticks celebrating the multiple ways we can cook one ingredient. The host this month is Wiffy of Noob Cook. This month's featured ingredient is broccoli. If you would like to participate or to see the secret ingredient, check who's hosting next month.

Broccoli is probably one of my favourite vegetables. I eat it on a regular basis. I like broccoli mainly stir fried, and in soup form. I have to admit I do not love it raw, except in small quantities. I am picky about how my broccoli is cooked. I like broccoli when it is still very crunchy. I am always greatly disappointed the rare times I forget and overcoook them, becoming mush.

Stir Fried Broccoli on Pan Fried Cantonese Noodles

Pan Fried Noodles

* water

* a handful of Cantonese noodles

* oil

* salt

Bring water to a boil.

Add noodles into the water and let it soften for a few minutes.

Drain the noodles.

Heat up some oil in a pan.

Add the noodles into a pan and spread into a thin layer.

Season with salt.

Let the noodles brown slightly.

Flip the noodles and brown the other side.

Note: If you're making this dish for a big crowd, cook a larger amount of noodles in water. Pan fry one serving of noodles at a time. If you're worried about keeping the noodles warm, place in the oven at low heat.

Pan fried noodles.

Stir Fry Broccoli with Scallops

As I mentioned, I don't like to overcook my broccoli. I usually blanch them first so when I stir fry them, it's just to toss them in the sauce and I'm not cooking them. You can really add whatever vegetables you like. I like a variety of vegetables (cauliflowers, snow peas, carrots, mushrooms) but it's not so conducive to cooking for one. As for protein, you can use beef, chicken, tofu, shrimp, etc.

* 100 g scallops

* salt and pepper

* 1 garlic clove, minced

* ½ small onion, sliced

* 1 head of broccoli, cut into pieces and blanched

* ½ can baby corn

* oyster sauce

Season scallops with salt and pepper.

Heat up oil at high heat.

Add the scallops and cook on both sides for 1-2 minutes - overcooked scallops are chewy!

Remove and set aside.

Frying scallops. Hmmm!

Blanch broccoli for 1-2 min in boiling water until cooked but still crisp.

Drain and set aside.

Heat up oil in a pan.
Add onion and garlic.
When softened, add the broccoli and baby corn.

Add a few gulps of oyster sauce and mix.

Add a bit of water. (I never bother but you can mix in some cornstarch into the water to thicken the sauce.)

Add the scallops and mix.

Serve atop the noodles.

Tada!

The featured ingredient: Broccoli!


Stir frying the broccoli and baby corn.

Broccoli, baby corn and scallops on pan fried noodles.

I made the same dish again with the remaining broccoli, and some beef instead of scallops!

Pasta E Fagioli

I have already mentioned that I have a vegetarian recipe repertoire from living with my ex-roommie D for 5 years. This recipe for pasta e fagioli (pasta and beans) was in the rotation when the weather got cold. We both enjoyed it very much. Not only is it tasty, but it is oh-so-healthy that there is no guilt if you want a second bowl!



I thought this soup would be a good entry as a "hearty vegetarian soup" for the food blogging event No Croutons Required, hosted by Lisa's Kitchen this month. I have been looking at Lisa's blog for a while now.

This recipe came from a cookbook I had, All About Pasta & Noodles, which was part of a Joy of Cooking book series. Notice I used the past tense because I have lost the book (I don't know how one loses a cookbook...). I tried to remember the ingredients and I think I got it right. I wasn't sure whether there were tomatoes in the recipe but now I am pretty sure there were. I also remembered lima beans. I was so excited to find fresh lima beans, or so I thought. The beans were really big, so I am not so sure anymore what kind of beans they were...

From searching recipes online, pasta e fagioli seems to be typically salted meat, beans over pasta. No vegetables really. However, I do remember once making this soup while our window was being repaired (break-in #1 out of 2 at my old place) and the repairman commenting on how it smelled exactly like a soup his mother used to make. Nice compliment!

Pasta E Fagioli (serves 12)
Adapted from Pasta e Fagioli in joy of Cooking: All About Pasta & Noodles.

For the vegetable broth
I made a vegetable broth because I had celery I wanted to use up. However, it's not necessary. I've used the powdered stuff for this soup.

* 2 carrots, sliced
* 2 celery stalks, sliced
* 2 potatoes, sliced
* 1 onion, sliced in two
* 1 garlic clove
* 2 bay leaves
* 3-4 peppercorns
* ½ tsp dried thyme

Place all vegetables and spices in a pot.
Add water.
Bring to a boil.
Simmer for about 45 minutes and turn off.
Strain the broth through a sieve.



For the pasta
I have no idea what type of beans the original recipe called for. My guess would be cannellini beans. I only had dry black eyed peas and I really like them! I prefer dry beans because I find the canned ones are too mushy, but they would be fine for this soup too. I remember the cookbook stating that this was between a soup and pasta, so it is supposed to be pretty thick!

* ½ cup dry blacked eye peas, soaked in water for a few hours (or from a can)
* olive oil
* 1 onion, diced small
* 1 garlic clove, minced
* 2 carrots, diced small
* 1 celery, diced small
* 1 zucchini, diced small (not sure if this was in the original recipe)
* dried herbs (oregano, thyme, basil, parsley)
* 1 can (28 oz.) diced tomatoes
* 2 cups vegetable broth
* 1 cup small pasta
* handful of green beans, sliced in 1" sections
* ½ bunch Swiss chard, sliced in 1" sections
* lima beans, fresh or frozen
* salt and pepper, to taste
* ¼ cup Parmesan cheese

Stir fry onion, garlic, carrot and celery until softened in a big pot.
Add zucchini and tomatoes.
Season with salt, pepper and dried herbs.
Add the vegetable broth, followed by the black eyed peas.
Turn up the heat.
Once the blacked eyed peas are cooked, add the pasta and lima beans.
When the noodles are cooked, add the green beans and Swiss chard.
Turn off the heat.
Add the Parmesan cheese.
Adjust seasoning to taste.
Tada!

Tip: If the soup portion seems to big, do not add the pasta. Freeze some of the soup without the pasta, then add pasta for the remaining portion.

Celery and carrots, diced small.


Lima beans or...?


Close-up of the mystery beans.


I think I cooked (and ate) Swiss chard for the first time for this recipe.


Final product, pre-cheese. You can omit the cheese and easily make this vegan.


Dig in!