Chè Chuối (Bananas with Tapioca and Coconut Milk)

Ingredients:
-3 plantains
-water (about 3-4 cups)
-1/2 can coconut milk (approx., to taste)
-1/2 cup tapioca sticks
-1/3 cup tapioca pearls
-pinch of salt
-sugar to taste

What to Do:
Wash and soak tapioca sticks in hot water to soften. Peel and cut plantains into small 1/4 inch slices, boil in water until almost tender. Add tapioca pearls and tapioca sticks bring mixture back to a boil, add salt and sugar and coconut milk to taste. Serve hot as a sweet desert soup, or let it cool overnight and it's texture will be thick like pudding...either way it's all good!

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Khoai Mì Trộn Dừa (Cassava with Coconut)

Ingredients:
-2 large cassava
-1/2 cup sugar (approx., to taste)
-pinch of salt
-grated coconut

What to Do:
Peel cassava and cut into 1 inch pieces. Soak cassava in water for at least 1 hour, before steaming over high heat for about 30 mins or until knife tender. Break cassava into small bite size pieces and toss with sugar, salt and coconut.

Note:
Cassava contains a natural poison (hydrocyanic acid) and thus cannot be consumed raw cassava. Make sure the cassava is fully cooked before consuming.

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Basic Salsa

Ingredients:
-2 large bell peppers
-3 large tomatoes
-1 medium onion
-cilantro
-lime
-jalapeno peppers
-1 tsp salt
-1 tsp sugar (+/- depending on sweetness of tomatoes)
-2 cloves garlic

What to Do:
Wash, dry and dice peppers, tomatoes and onion. Mince garlic and jalapeno peppers. Chop cilantro and mix everything together, add lime juice to taste. Let salsa sit for at least 1/2 hour before serving (tastes better when flavors have time to marry).

>>For corn salsa add corn, for bean salsa add cooked beans, for southwest salsa add beans, corn and grill the peppers

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Bánh Dẻo Cuốn (Ping Pei Rolls)

Aka banana rolls because of the default banana flavoring always added to flavor these cakes. But...there is no law that says these rolls has to taste like bananas right? So, time to get creative and make them in any flavor you like.



You'll Need:
-1/2 recipe of Bánh Dẻo (skin only).
-whatever flavoring you like.

For the basic rolls:
Follow the recipe, and divide dough into 3 equal parts. Dust hands and work surface. Roll each portion into a thin logs. Cut each log into approx. 3 inch long pieces. Done!

Have a little Fun:
Too easy? Try this. Divide the recipe in half (remember we're using 1/2 the original recipe...so 1/2 of 1/2 = 1/4 original recipe). Make each portion a different color (so you'll get 2 portions with 2 different colors). Roll each portion into a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Stack one portion on top of the other and roll as you would a swiss roll. Cut into 1/4 inch pieces and should get something like in picture above.

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Bánh Tôm Cổ Ngư (Co Ngu Shrimp Cakes)

A taste of Northern Vietnam... traditionally made with sweet potatoes or regular potatoes. I discovered the addition of taro gives the dish a more savory unique flavor. See what happens when you play with your food? You discover yummy things. ;D


Ingredients:
-6 tbs rice flour
-1 tbs tapioca starch
-1 egg
-1/3 tsp turmeric powder
-4 tbs water
-1/2 fresh prawns
-taro and sweet potato
-cooking oil
-1/2 tsp salt

What to Do:
Mix together rice flour, salt, tapioca starch and turmeric powder. Beat egg with water and add to flour mixture mix well. Peel and grate taro and sweet potato (you'll need approx. 1 cup taro and 1/2 cup sweet potatoes). Mix together grated taro and potatoes with batter. Heat oil over high heat to about 350'F. Dip a metal spatula into the oil and heat it for about 30 seconds. Remove heated spatula from oil and about a 2 tbs "batter"; top off with a shrimp in the center and dip the whole thing back in the hot oil. In about 30 seconds the cakes should float off of the spatula to the surface of the oil (if it doesn't give it a little "help" using a knife). Continue to fry until the cakes are golden, flipping them once to ensure both sides are nice and cooked. Serve with as a snack or make a meal out of it by serving with fresh herbs and rice "ribbon" cakes dipped in fish sauce.

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It's Been a Year

Time flies eh? Seems like it was only yesterday but it's been a year since my first post. First off I would like to thank my visitors for stopping by and leaving a comment or two. You're the reason why I keep the recipes coming. When I started this blog I came up with the name "Playing with My Food" because that is what I do and would like to encourage my readers to do the same. Believe me...experimenting and not being afraid of messing up is the best way to learn. However, I've notice through the comments posted that about 95% of everyone is afraid to tackle a recipe simply because there is something unclear. Practice makes perfect; don't ever be afraid to practice. I believe besides being a form of art, cooking and baking is also a science experiment. For that reason, there is a lot of logic and common sense involve. There is a reason why things happen; cakes come out flat and dry for a reason. If you would just experiment and try new things you will discover why the cake turned out flat and dry and thus, be able to fix that problem via the knowledge you learned from the failures. On that note, please play with your food before asking me any questions. Just do it! Believe me you'll learn a lot more from your mistakes than from me explaining. My recipes are only meant to encourage not to teach. I'm on the same page you are, I'm learning too... Also, If you have a recipe request please post the request at one of the food forums I visit (http://diendan.datviet.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=29 , http://jodeli.proboards22.com/index.cgi , http://nurkochen.cheeli.de/ , http://homecookingclub.aceboard.com/), not here. Everyone in those forums is extremely friendly and helpful, and because there are so many knowledgeable members in those forums you'll get more answers to your request... so don't be afraid to jump in and ask... ;)

So what's in the future of PWMF? Honestly, I don't know. Let me know what I should change, add, toss away and keep. Cheers and remember to Play with Your Food!

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It's official!

It's been a while since i've post a recipe or anything at all. Those of you wondering what happened... don't worry nothing happened at all I've just been very busy with the floral competition, mooncake orders, and school. Anyways, what's official? My major....I officially declared Drama as my major as of yesterday. Those of you closest to me know I've be seriously lost when it comes to pinpointing where I want to go in life. I've decided to pick Drama to be my major. Why? It's fun! You get to design costumes, lights, act and read lots of juicy plays. My passion for cooking is still there and I plan to continue onto culinary school after I get my BA from UW. However, at this point I'm also considering staying at UW a bit longer to get a master's degree so I could teach. *thinking* *thinking* Should I? I'm just going to take life one step at a time.... hehheeh

p.s. if you're waiting for a new recipes...hang tight they're ready to go I just have to post them...soon

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