Tép và Chả Viên Rim với Saté (Spicy Prawns and Fish Balls)

Ingredients:
-1/2 each: prawns, fish balls
-1 tbs fish sauce
-1 tbs sugar
-1/2 tsp pepper
-3 green onions
-3 cloves garlic
-1 tsp sate sauce (or any other spicy pepper sauce of you choice).
-1/4 cup water (approx.)

What to Do:
Wash and drain prawns. Mince garlic and cut onion into 1 inch long pieces. In wok add prawns, fish balls and water. Boil, string occasionally until the water almost completely evaporates. At this point add fish sauce, pepper and sugar. Continue to cook over high heat until all of the liquid has evaporated. Add garlic, onion and pepper sauce. Cook for a few mins more until fragrant.

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Gỏi Rau Muống Trộn Bò Tái Chanh (Ong Choy Salad with Beef Tartare)

Ingredients:
-1 1/2lb rau muống
-1/2 large onion
-1 tbs sugar
-1 tbs vinegar
-rau răm
-1lb tender beef
-2 tsp fish sauce
-juice from 2 limes + sugar
-fried shallots

What to Do:
Pick leaves off ong choy and cut stems into approx. 3 inch long pieces. Wash, drain and shred into thin strips (use a sharp knife or special tool for shredding this veggie…which you by at most Vietnamese grocery stores). Slice onion into thin slice and marinate in sugar and vinegar for 15 mins, then squeeze out excess juice. Chop rau răm and fried shallots. Fry beef in a pan over high heat until golden but still rare in the center (like a steak). Afterwards, slice beef into thin slices and marinate with fish sauce, and lime juice and sugar (all flavors should be even) for 15 mins. Mix together shredded ong choy, marinated onions, marinated beef, rau ram and fried shallots, serve immediately.

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Chè Bắp (Corn and Rice Pudding with Coconut Milk)

Ingredients:
-200g sweet rice (aka glutinous rice)
-5 large ears of corn
-water
-1/2 tsp salt
-200g sugar
-1 can coconut milk/cream
-3/4 tsp tapioca starch
-4 fresh pandan leaves (optional)

What to Do:
In a large pot of water boil corn with pandan leaves and salt. Once corn is cooked remove and cool, retain water to make the pudding. Meanwhile, wash and soak rice in water. Once corn has cooled enough to handle, use a knife to remove the kernels. In a pot, add rice and enough corn water (reserved from boiling corn) to cover the surface of the rice by approx. 1 ½ -2 inches. Bring the mixture to a boil. Add sugar and immediately after the rice is tender. Simmer for about 15 mins or until mixture thickens but the rice grains are still whole and not broken into a mush (this is why sugar is added immediately after the rice is tender, sugar will help the rice hold its shape). In a different pot mix together tapioca starch and coconut milk, cook over medium heat until starch thickens. Serve pudding with a generous topping of coconut sauce.

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Canh Khoai Mở (Fat Potato Soup)

Literally translated this root vegetable means Fat Potato or Fat Yam. There are 2 types, white and purple. Most stores here call it Chinese yam. The flesh is translucent white (or purple) in color and is very soft and slimy. To make the soup the “yam” must first be peeled. Afterwards, a spoon is used to scrape the flesh into a smooth paste. Sound like a lot of work? It’s actually not… the flesh is very soft and easy to scrape… only takes a few mins.

Ingredients:
-1 khoai mở about ½ lb
-1/4 lb each: shrimp prawns, ground pork
-ngò gai, ngò om, lá quế, green onion (sawtooth herb, rice patty herb, thai basil)
-1 green onion
-1 tsp oil
-1 tbs fish sauce
-1 tsp sugar
-salt and pepper to taste
-5-6 cups water

What to Do:
Peel and mince shrimp with pork. Wash and crush onions. Heat oil in a pot, fry onion until fragrant, add shrimp and meat. Add fish sauce and water and wait for the soup base to boil. Meanwhile, wash peel and scrape the khoai mở using a spoon. After most of the yam’s flesh has been scraped, cut whatever is left behind (to small to scrape) into small bite size pieces and add to soup base. Once the soup comes to a boil, skim the surface and stir in the scraped yam flesh. Bring the soup back to a boil, add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with chopped herbs and green onions (mentioned above) before serving.

Note:
Due to the starch from the yam, this soup should have a smooth yet thick texture, somewhat like Chinese style soups or congee.

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Hủ Tiếu Xào Bò (Xào Khô) (Beef Chow Fun-Dry Version)

Ingredients:
-1/2lb beef
-1/2lb fresh rice noodles (aka rice ribbon)
-approx. 1 ½ cups bean sprouts
-3 tbs dark soy sauce
-oyster sauce, salt, sugar, pepper
-3 tbs oil
-3 cloves garlic
-4 green onions
-2 tbs cooking wine (optional, to flambé)

What to Do:
Slice beef into thin slices and mix with 1 tsp oyster sauce, pinch of sugar and pepper. Unravel noodles and toss with 1 tbs oil. Wash and cut onions into 2 inch long pieces. Crush and mince garlic. Heat a wok without oil for a few mins, and then add oil and heat oil before adding the garlic. Fry garlic until fragrant, continue by adding beef and sprouts mix well and add the noodles. Sprinkle in the wine and light with a match. Toss over low heat until fire burns out; add soy sauce, onions, salt, sugar and pepper to taste.

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Củ Cải Mặn Xào Thịt Ba Rội (Preserved Turnips with Pork)

Ingredients:
-1/2 lb unsalted bacon (pork belly)
-approx 1 cup preserved turnips
-3 cloves garlic
-sugar and salt to taste
-1/2 tsp oil

What to Do:
Soak turnips in water for about 15 mins, wash and drain. Meanwhile, slice pork into thin pieces and mince garlic. Fry garlic in oil until fragrant, add pork and mix well before adding turnips. Stir-fry over high heat until pork is cooked; add sugar to taste and salt if needed.

Note:
Preserve turnips are very salty, which is why soaking it in water is necessary before cooking. However, soaking does not remove all of the saltiness, thus sugar is needed to balance out the flavors. Only add a pinch or two of salt to season the meat.

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Đậu Hủ Xào Tứ Xuyên (Schezuan Style Stir-fried Tofu)

Ingredients:
-1 piece tofu
-1 Chinese sausage
-1/4 ground pork
-3 cloves garlic
-1 tsp Schezuan peppercorns
-dried chilies (optional)
-1/2 tsp each: oyster sauce, sesame oil
-salt, sugar, and pepper to taste

What to Do:
Coarsely mince sausage. Cut tofu into small bite size cubes. Mince garlic and set a side. Add sausages into a hot pan and fry until fragrant and releases some oil. Remove sausages from pan and add Schezuan peppercorns. Fry the peppercorns until fragrant; before fishing them out of the oil and throwing them away. Add mine garlic and chilies to the oil, fry until fragrant; add pork, sausage, and tofu. Stir fry until pork is cooked. Add oyster sauce, sesame oil, salt, sugar and pepper to taste.

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