Time to Celebrate

Chúc Mừng Năm Mới

It's that time again. Time to make a big deal over Tết the Vietnamese New Year. Tết is more than a celebration it's also in a sense the rebirth of things. Firecrackers, lion dances, fresh colorful flowers and of course food are plentiful to bring luck, happiness, and prosperity to all. Although tết is technically the first day of the lunar calendar, preparations for tết start about a month before and celebrations last for a month after the big day.

What's there to prepare for? Everything in the house needs to be cleaned, I mean everything! Then of course there's the long process of making Mứt (candied fruits) and all types of pickled veggies. On the 23 of the 12th month it's time to send the kitchen god back to heaven. The 25th is the day to cúng tổ nghiệp. It's believed that every profession has a tổ ( = a top "master"). So on the 25th one should make offerings of fruit, flowers, incense, etc... to their "master", thanking them for passion on their skills to you and wishing for their grace in your practice in the year to come. Between the 23 to the last day of the lunar month, everyone is also busy making Bánh Chưng or Bánh Tét or both. Bánh Chưng and Bánh Tét are bascially the same, except for their shape. Bánh Chưng is from Northern Vietnam and is square in shape. Bánh Tét is from Southern Vietnam and is shaped like a log.

Moving onto the last day of the 12th month... it's time to cook your heart out! There always thịt kho, dưa giá, dưa kiệu, cải chủa, dưa món.... These dishes are popular because, traditionally markets weren't open on the first few days of new years and refrigeration was never in the picture. Thus the only way to preserve "fresh food" was to either pickle it in one way or another or to cook it in a heavily seasoned liquid. Although, we no longer have to worry about preserving food it's become tradition to make cook these dishes. Tết just won't be tết without them. So here they are ...my humble dishes for tết. I planned to make more but time was against me so.... I learned to be happy with what I have. lol

Vegan Dishes for the first day of Tết:

Vegan Version of Bánh Chưng

Spring Rolls


Braised Squash


Stuffed Tofu with Tomato Sauce


"Cold Plate" Appetizer (Veg. Roast Duck, Ham and Pickled Seaweed and Carrots)


Papaya and Beef Salad with Basil and Ginger Dressing


Traditional Family Stir-fry


Meat Dishes for the 2nd Day of Tết
Canh Khổ Qua - Bitter Melon Soup


Thịt Kho - Pork and Eggs Braised in Coconut Juice


Cải Chua - Pickled Mustard Greens to go with the Braise Pork
Recipe Link


Bánh Tét - 'Southern' Rice Cakes

Sweets...
Bánh Tổ - Nien Gao
Recipe Link


Candied Coconut, Candied Lotus Seeds, and Kuih Bangkit


Mango and Cherimoya


Red and Juicy Watermelon

What's Tết Without Flowers?

**Note: Most Recipes are Already Posted, Recipes not already posted will be posted soon....

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Bún Mít Tôm Thịt (Vermicelli with Jackfruit, Prawns and Pork)

A taste of central Vietnam.....

Ingredients:
-1/2 lb pork belly
-1/2 lb prawns
-coconut juice
-1 can baby jackfruit
-1 tsp fish sauce
-1/2 tsp sugar
-pepper
-2 cloves garlic
-rice Vermicelli
-assorted herbs and bean sprouts
-mắm nem fish sauce
-toasted peanuts, crushed

What to Do:
Boil vermicelli according to package instructions. Boil prawns and pork in coconut juice. Slice pork thinly. Peel prawns and slice in half. Cut jackfruit into thin strips and stir fry with mince garlic, fish sauce, sugar and pepper. Shred assorted herbs and add to bowl along with a hand full of bean sprouts and vermicelli noodles. Top with stir-fried jackfruit, prawns, pork and toasted peanuts. Serve with mắm nem, or fish sauce.

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So it's 2007.....

I seems like it was only yesterday that I was the Seattle Center ushering in the New Year as fireworks blasted off from the top of the Space Needle….and now it’s 2007 already? Time really does fly and it seems like 2006 had a turbo engine. What did you accomplish last year? Well…I finally found my path in life. As you all may know, for the past couple of years I’ve been going through life asking myself on what I want to do with my life. In 2006 I finally decided upon a major (Drama) to complete my BA at UW, which I’m due to complete in just 2 more quarters, that’s 20 weeks that’s…OMG…that’s just a few months! *Yuppie* :D I’ve also been firmly holding onto my dreams of entering the culinary world. Thus, after my BA is complete I’ll be entering a culinary arts college as soon as this coming September….well…at least that’s my plan for now.

With that being said, 2007 looks like it’s going be a landmark in the road map of my life’s journey. I know I’ll be entering cooking school in the very near future but the problem now is figuring out which school to go to. I love Seattle and would love to stay here. However, there aren’t many culinary schools here that I’m attracted to…there aren’t many culinary schools here at all. So I’m seriously considering Johnson and Wales or Le Cordon Blue. The hard part is those schools are all out of state schools…so I would have to move…leaving behind my family and friends and an absolutely love city. Furthermore, I’m still undecided if I want to be a chef or a pastry chef (I’m leaning towards pastry). On the other hand, I also wouldn’t mind working in the field of drama…drama is my major for a reason…I like it just as much as I like being in the kitchen. And….yeah, I’m currently working as a wedding florist and fashion designer…which I also love doing. So many choices! I’ll be happy with whatever density takes me but…I’ve always believed that the pilot of one’s life is one’s passion. Passion is the key to success. Thus, my destiny and success are in my hands. Although, there’s a slight overcast over my parade, I refuse to let it get to me. There’s too much to look forward to in my future and I do not have time to pause for a few drops of rain.

I’ll be graduating in a few months, and will be traveling to Asia. I’ll be walking the streets of Malaysia, Korea, and Vietnam…how fun will that be? :D Upon my arrival to the States, a page will turn and a new chapter will begin in my life…

Bring it on 2007…I’m ready for ya!!!

Happy New Year everyone…may 2007 be a happy, prosperous year for you and you family. May world peace finally come true…so that we can all share a world empty of hate while bursting at the seams with forgiveness and compassion for one another.

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Christmas Dinner 2006

Happy Holidays Everybody!

Roasted Acorn Squash stuffed with Ricotta and Freshwater Prawns...spent a little too much time in the oven lol

Ingredients:
-1 large acorn squash
-1 cup ricotta cheese (approx)
-1 egg
-1 stalk celery
-1/4lb fresh prawns
-3-4 mushrooms
-salt, pepper

What to Do:
Cut squash into 1” thick slices, remove seeds. Chop mushrooms, celery and prawns (save a few to garnish later). Mix together cheese, egg, celery, prawns, and mushrooms. Add salt and pepper to taste. Fill the squash slices with cheese mixture. Bake at 375’F until squash is knife-tender. Place reserved prawns on top to garnish and broil for a few mins until golden.

Roast Beef

Same recipe as last year: http://pwmf.blogspot.com/2005/12/christmas-dinner-2005.html

Honey Ham Greens

Ingredients:
-2 large bunches of collard greens
-1 ham bone
-1 tbs honey
-1 tbs butter
-2 cloves garlic
-salt, pepper
-1/4 cup chicken stock (approx.)

What to Do:
Wash and chop greens. Mince garlic and fry in butter until fragrant. Add ham bone and greens, sprinkle on some s&p, add stock and honey. Cover and cook until tender.

Green Beans with Baby Scallops and Hazelnuts

Ingredients:
-1lb green beans
-1/2lb baby scallops
-1 clove garlic
-1 tbs olive oil
-1/3 cup hazel nuts (approx.)
-3 tbs chicken stock, wine or water

What to Do:
Trim and wash beans. Crush hazel nuts and mince garlic. Fry hazel nuts in oil until fragrant, add garlic and scallops, sauté for about a minute. Remove scallops and add beans and chicken stock. Cover and steam beans until tender. Once beans are tender, add the scallops back in and continue to cook for another minute or two before serving. Do not cook the scallops; they’ll become dry and chewy.

Peppermint Marbled Cheesecake

Basic Cheese Cake and Variations:

Crust:
-200g graham crackers
-100g butter
-1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)

*Crush crackers, melt butter and mix everything together. Press into cheese cake pan or a springform pan to form crust.

Filling:
-450g cream cheese
-450g sour cream
-200g sugar
-5 eggs

*Everything should be at room temperature. Cream cream cheese until fluffy; add eggs one at a time. Add sugar once all of the eggs are incorporated. Lastly, fold in sour cream. Pour filling into curst. Bake at 325’f for about 1h to 1h15m with a pan of water underneath the cake. The cake should jiggle like jello when done (it’ll firm up when cooled).

Variations:
Cream cheese and eggs are the “base” of the cake, thus their amount should not be adjusted. Sour cream and sugar are the “helping hands” which means they can be adjusted to accommodate whatever flavors you want the cheese cake to have. For example, if you want mango cheese cake replace ½ or all of the sour cream with mango purée and reduce the sugar to make up for the sweetness that the mangos bring to the cake. You must also remember to match the texture of the mango with the sour cream by adding approx. 1tbs corn starch (mango purée is not as thick as sour cream, if no thickener is added the cake will be too “runny”). With that said…if you want a coffee flavored cheese cake replace part of the sour cream with coffee, add some starch to thicken the coffee, keep the sugar the same since coffee is not sweet.

For peppermint cheese cake (pictured above) reduce the sugar to 100g and fold in 100g crushed peppermint candy….you can also just add peppermint oil.

Marbled Cheese Cake:
After making the batter, save a couple tbs and mix it with some coloring, jam, juice, etc… Pour the rest of the batter into the cake pan, drizzle the colored batter over the top. Use a sharp knife to drag the color batter around to create a marbled appearance. Bake as usual.

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Buche de Noel (Vanilla Sponge with Raspberry Mousse and Chocolate Cream)

Vanilla Sponge:

-4 eggs
-120g sugar
-120g flour
-1/4 tsp baking powder
-1tbs vanilla extract

*Separate eggs and beat white until foamy, gradually add in the sugar and beat to obtain medium peaks, add in egg yolks one at a time. Mix together flour and baking powder. Sift and fold flour mixture into eggs. Bake in jelly roll pan at 350’F until lightly golden.


Filling and Icing:
-200g raspberries
-100g sugar (approx)
-400g whipping cream
-powdered sugar
-cocoa powder

*Boil together berries and sugar. Whip cream until stiff peaks. Fold in about a quarter of the whipped cream into the cooled berry mixture to raspberry moose filling. Fold powdered sugar (to taste) into the remaining whipped cream. Divide the cream into thirds; 1/3 will be used to make flowers and decorating (add coloring accordingly). Fold cocoa powder into the remaining 2/3 to use as icing.


What to Do:
Spread raspberry moose onto cooled sponge cake and roll into a log. Cut a slice off one end of the log about 1 – 1 ½ inches thick (for decorating purposes, optional). Spread a little icing onto the cake slice and place in somewhere on the log to create a “chopped off branch” on the log. Cover the log and the branch with the chocolate cream. Drag a fork along the log to create a bark like appearance. Decorate the log as you please. The poinsettias are done with red icing and a leaf tip …they’re basically a bunch of red leaves placed in a circle to resemble a flower.


Reference for Vanilla Sponge: Madam Quốc Việt of Gia Chánh Quốc Việt

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Ghẹ Hấp Lá Chanh Chấm Muối Tiêu Me (Blue Crabs Steamed with Kaffir Lime Leaves served Tamarind and Pepper Dipping Sauce)

Ingredients:
-blue crabs
-kaffir/thai lime leaves
-1 tsp tamarind powder (the kind used to make tamarind soup)
-1 tsp sugar
-thai chilies (optional)
-1/3 tsp black pepper
-3 tbs coconut juice or water

What to Do:
Steam crabs over high heat with lime leaves in the steaming water. Mix together tamarind powder, sugar, chillies, pepper and coconut juice to make dipping sauce. Give the sauce a taste all flavor should be even, adjust accordingly. Serve steamed crabs with tamarind sauce.

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Xôi Vò (Mung Bean Coated Coconut Sweet Rice)

Success to making this snack is when the rice is crumbly yet can hold together when you squeeze it (think of pie or cheese cake crust) thus the name "Xôi Vò" as Xôi means cooked sweet rice and Vò means to squeeze or roll. To make this happen mung beans are used not to just add flavor and color but to coat the rice making it crumbly and less sticky. Be warned this snack is not easy to make, but the taste is so worth the effort.

Ingredients:
-150g sweet rice
-450g mung beans (peeled and split)
-100g sugar
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/2 can coconut milk (approx)

What to Do:
Wash rice and soak overnight in water with salt. Wash mung beans and soak overnight separately. Next morning boil beans in water, once the water boils drain as much of it as you can, return the pot of beans to the stove, cover it and simmer over medium heat until tender and fluffy (this takes some kitchen experience to do, if you're a beginner it'll be easier to just steam the bean instead). Meanwhile, mix rice with coconut milk and steam over high heat until tender. Once rice is tender, mix it with sugar and rest until cool enough to handle. The beans should be cooked and cool enough to handle by the time the rice is cooling. Mash the beans and form it into logs approx. 3 inches in diameter. Use a knife to slice the logs into thin slices. "Rub" the beans with the rice so that the beans coat the rice kernels. You should get something that looks like the picture above. If everything turns into a stick mess just let it sit and air dry for a bit, the drier it becomes the crumblier it becomes.

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