Busy this Weekend?

Tết is lurking just around the corner which means there are things to check out left and right.  If you're looking for something to do....

This Saturday and Sunday the 29-30th, Tết in Seattle will be holding their annual event at the Seattle Center.  Come join the fun!

And....if you come on Sunday the 30th don't forget to check out the cooking demo from 2:45- 3:15PM.  Yours truly will be there cooking up a storm.  What will I be presenting?  Good question, any suggestions? 

Also happening this Saturday the 29th, Chùa Việt Nam will be making Bánh Chưng (Rice Cakes) and Chả Chay (Veggie Mock Meat Loaf) to sell for their annual fundraiser.  Come join the fun! We're starting at 9am and finish...when we finish.  Lunch will be provided, vegetarian...of course.  If it's just the rice cakes you're after, they're $7.00 each and will be available fresh and hot Sunday morning.  Our address is: 1651 S King St. Seattle, WA 98144

Be there or be square!

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Bánh Tổ Revisited

With Tết just around the corner, it's time to fire up the stove and start pumping out sweet munchies!  Bánh Tổ is a must have for Tết.  There's no better time then now to fine tune your banana leaf mold making skills.  The recipe for Bánh Tổ can be found here.  Instead of steaming the cakes in rice bowls, the batter is steamed in banana leaf molds.  Don't have time?  The molds can be make in advance and stored in the fridge.  Ready? Set? Let's do this!

Step 1: wash the leaves and dry them with a towel, cut the leaves into approx. 1 foot wide pieces

Step 2: Stack 2 pieces of leaves so that they crisscross like so...

Step 3: Place a bowl/container (I used a plastic togo container) in the middle of the leaves, fold up the top and bottom sides of the leaves towards the container.

Step 4: Fold up the right side like so, then fold in the two corners.

Step 5: Use a toothpick to pin the 2 corners together.  Now repeat step 4 on the left side.

 

Step 6: You're almost done!  All that's left now is to 

trim the rim of your newly created mold with sissors.

That's it! Now all that's left is to fill them and steam...don't forget to stamp your cakes with red coloring (of course...) for luck!  Don't own a stamp? Go buy one :D....or.....cutout a few images from a lucky red envelope (bao lì xì) and use those! 

Have Fun and Happy Tết Everyone!

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Cake Revisited

With Tết just around the corner, it's time to fire up the stove and start pumping out sweet munchies!  Bánh Tổ is a must have for Tết.  There's no better time then now to fine tune your banana leaf mold making skills.  The recipe for Bánh Tổ can be found here.  Instead of steaming the cakes in rice bowls, the batter is steamed in banana leaf molds.  Don't have time?  The molds can be make in advance and stored in the fridge.  Ready? Set? Let's do this!

Step 1: wash the leaves and dry them with a towel, cut the leaves into approx. 1 foot wide pieces

Step 2: Stack 2 pieces of leaves so that they crisscross like so...

Step 3: Place a bowl/container (I used a plastic togo container) in the middle of the leaves, fold up the top and bottom sides of the leaves towards the container.

Step 4: Fold up the right side like so, then fold in the two corners.

Step 5: Use a toothpick to pin the 2 corners together.  Now repeat step 4 on the left side.

 

Step 6: You're almost done!  All that's left now is to 

trim the rim of your newly created mold with sissors.

That's it! Now all that's left is to fill them and steam...don't forget to stamp your cakes with red coloring (of course...) for luck!  Don't own a stamp? Go buy one :D....or.....cutout a few images from a lucky red envelope (bao lì xì) and use those!

Have Fun and Happy Tết Everyone!

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What's Up?

Hello all!  The calendar says Christmas will be here in couple of days...then comes 2011 and then the year of the Cat (I'm Vietnamese...we don't have rabbits in our zodiac, lol!).  Man oh man... how time flies!  I've been so busy lately...to busy to post anything or ever take pictures.  Things are calming down now and I owe it to myself to say hi to everyone out there who still visits.

***Hi, hope you're doing well!***

Seeing the picture above you've probably already figured out what I've been up to, but...it doesn't take 4 months to create a Gingerbread house right?  Or does it? No it doesn't.  The Gingerbread displays were created for Wild Ginger and The Triple Door...where I've been working at since August.  I made the Pagoda (yes, I know it looks like a Church), which is on display at the Triple Door.  The train and the Christmas tree made by my pastry team - Aja and Davona; are on display at Wild Ginger Seattle (train) and Wild Ginger Bellevue (tree).  Come check it out! While you're there why not have dessert made my yours truly?  

Happy Holidays Everyone!

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Sương Sáo - Grass Jelly

Sương Sáo aka Grass Jelly is a dessert/drink popular throughout Southeast Asia.  According to Chinese medicine it has "cooling" properties and is good for the skin.  Grass Jelly is actually made from a dried herb that is a member of the mint family...not grass as the name suggests.  The herb's name in Chinese which is "len fan chou" (cooling grass). Thus, jelly made from cooling grass is....you guessed it Grass Jelly.

You can purchase Grass Jelly at just about any Asian grocery store for dirt cheap...but where's the fun in that?

"Grass" to make Grass Jelly can be found at most Chinese Herbal/Medicine Shops.  Rinse/wash the grass, add water to cover the grass by 2", simmer for at least 1 hour. 






Cool and strain the grass through a cheese cloth or a fine sieve or...both.  The liquid obtained will be used as the base to make grass jelly.






 
To make grass jelly.....
Use a measuring cup to measure the liquid obtained after straining out the herb.  Dilute that liquid with an equal amount of water.  For example, if you got 2 cups of liquid add 2 cups water (+/- depending on how pronounced you want you jelly to taste).  For every 6 cups of diluted liquid you will need 75g of tapioca starch (+/- depending on how firm you want you jelly to be).

Bring 5 cups of liquid to a boil.  Meanwhile, dissolve the tapioca starch in the remaining 1 cup of liquid.  As soon as the liquid in the pot begins to boil, stir in the starch mixture.  You'll notice the liquid will thicken immediately.  Mix well and fast, then pour the mixture into a clean bowl and allow to set.  The jelly set right before you eyes...literally.  In about 20 mins the grass jelly is ready to be served.

To serve: cut the jelly into small pieces, mix with sugar or honey...grass jelly also pairs exceptionally well with Nước Rau Má (Pennywort drink)....I was going to post a recipe but my dear friend Lily beat me to it...you can find her recipe here http://lilyng2000.blogspot.com/2010/07/pennywortpegaga-drink-secret-fountain.html 

Just in case you're wondering...this isn't 'real' grass jelly since the starch is setting the jelly and not the grass.  I thought so too...so I experimented.  I tried to thicken 6 cups of water with 75g of tapioca starch to see if the liquid would set like grass jelly....it didn't...as you can see from the picture below.  The white mess in the bowl is the water + tapioca starch vs. grass jelly + tapioca starch.  

The starch triggers a chemical reaction with the grass jelly liquid to set the jelly.  The starch alone can not do the job.  Besides tapioca starch you can also use corn starch, mung bean starch, arrow root starch or rice flour.  However, I found that tapioca starch gives the jelly the best appearance (clear and pitch black). If you prefer a very soft jelly, use 30g of starch (it's the minimum amount of starch you'll need to set 6 cups of grass jelly; the more starch the firmer the jelly).  For a slightly chewy texture add 1/2 tsp lye water. 

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Mì Vịt Tiềm - Braised Duck with Egg Noodles

A Vietnamese favorite with Chinese origins, Mì Vịt Tiềm is composed of fresh egg noodles, shiitake mushrooms, watercress, and a braised duck leg quarter.  The duck is braised in a mix of spices creating a rich flavorful broth for the noodles.  Condiments include hot mustard, and pickled green papaya and carrots. 

For the Braise Duck:

**For every pound of duck**

-1/2 tsp salt

-1/4 tsp 5 spice

-1 tsp cooking wine

-1 tsp dark soy sauce

-1/2 tsp honey or maltose

-2 slices of ginger

-oil for deep frying
-a few shiitake mushrooms

*Rub the duck leg quarters with ginger, salt, 5 spice and cooking wine.  Marinate for at least 2 hours, pat dry with a towel.   Combine honey and soy sauce, bush the mixture over the duck leg.  Deep fry the legs until golden (doesn't need to be cooked all the way, just aim for color).  Reconstitute the mushrooms.

Meanwhile, in a large stock pot to toast...

-1/2 tsp fennel
-1 clove
-2 star anise
-3 pieces/slices of licorice root
-1 piece of cinnamon about 1/2 inch long
-1 piece of dried tangerine peel

...until fragrant add water and...

-2 tbs soy sauce
-1 1/2 tsp salt
-1 tsp sugar

...bring to a boil.

Add the duck legs (fried), and mushrooms.  Add more water if necessary to cover the duck.  Simmer over low heat for about 45 mins or until the duck is tender. 

Serve with fresh egg noodles (blanched) and watercress, bok choy, yu choy or iceberg lettuce (I prefer watercress, it's peppery taste goes well with the duck).

The noodles are served with pickled green papaya and carrots. Hot mustard is perfect for dipping the duck into. To make the pickled green papaya and carrots use this recipe, replace the daikon with thinly sliced green papaya.

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Bánh Bông Lan - Orchid Cakes

What's an orchid cake?  If you've ever tasted Sponge Cake or Génoise you've tasted Orchid Cake.  Bánh Bông Lan/Orchid Cakes are small sponge cakes baked the old school way.  Although génoise's family tree traces it back to Italy; cake was introduced to Vietnam by the French.

What's with the name?  Génoise are often flavored with vanilla.  Vanilla comes from/is an type of orchid.  Orchid in Vietnamese is "Bông Lan", thus the name Bánh Bông Lan - Orchid Cakes.  Traditionally, the cakes are baked in a cast iron mold heated with charcoal.  Modern ovens make baking these cakes much less laborious...but some how I still prefer the traditional way...nothing like sitting outside on a mild spring day, enjoying the light breeze, the bright shinning sun and baking sponge cakes. 

Ingredients:
-4 egg (200g)
-120g flour
-120g sugar
-1 tbs tsp oil or melted butter
-1 tsp vanilla powder or extract

Method:
Beat the egg whites with the sugar until stiff peaks are formed.  Add the yolks one at a time.  Sift and fold the flour into the eggs.  Fold in the butter and vanilla last.

To Bake: 





 Preheat the mold, brush each cavity with a cotton ball dipped in oil.

Fill until 3/4 full of batter.

Cover and bake for about 3-5 mins.

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