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Showing posts from May, 2012

Thit Heo Kho Chung (Vietnamese Braised Pork with Egg)

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HEO YEAH :) Get it?!! Thit heo kho chung is something I grew up with. It's very savory and the perfect dish for when I'm craving meat and eggs. This isn't my mom's recipe (I'll get that someday!). It's actually my cousin's - who I think is a better cook than my mom. She lives about two hours from us though so I don't see her often but when she visited, I asked her to show me how to make this. This is a multi-step dish that takes HOURS to make. If you have a lot of free time, or will be spending the day at home doing miscellanious things, then this is a great dish to make. It takes around 2-3 hours to make. Braised pork (or braised any type of meat) means to first sear or blanch the meat and then simmered in very little liquid on low heat over a long period of time. The outcome is very tender meat that falls off the bone or falls apart in your mouth. 3 lb pork meat (some with bone, a little fatty) 10 small red onion 4 cloves of

Tom Rim Ca Chua (Caramel Shrimp with Tomato)

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Hi guys, I know it's been a while since my last post. I know you've been eagerly waiting to see what concoctions I've been making. Well, wait no more! I'm back with a bunch of new recipes. :) I learned this recipe from my aunt. She learned it from a woman who learned it from another woman who got it from another woman. Needless to say, it's a well known Vietnamese recipe. Actually, I've never had this dish before my aunt showed me how to make it. There is a variation of it (which I will post soon) that I'm more familiar with but this dish is just as tasty. It cooks REALLY fast, you're done in 15 minutes, tops! It's great for when you're short on time but have a big appetite. 10-15 shrimp; about 1 lb (some peeled and some unpeeled or whatever your preference is) nuoc mam salt pepper sugar 2 green onions (cut lengthwise into 1.5 inch sections) 1/2 small red onion 1/4 small white onion (cut into small half moon-like rings) 3 cloves of

Creme Brûlée

Okay, I know this next recipe isn't Vietnamese... but it's French. And the French occupied Vietnam for over 100 years. And Vietnamese people love egg-based desserts. Does that count? Whatever, this is my blog and I can do whatever I want. :) I wanted a place to store my creme brûlée recipe so decided to put it on this site. This comes from experimenting with several other recipes and finally coming up with something I like. It's a very basic recipe and I change it based on my mood. 2 cups heavy cream 5 egg whites 1/3-1/4 cup of sugar 1 tsp of vanilla extract some brown sugar (to carmelize the top) 1. Boil water. 2. In small pot, heat 2 cups of heavy cream, 1 tsp of vanilla extract, and 1/4 cup of sugar. You can add more sugar if you want more sweetness. Stir and heat until you see steam rising from the mixture. 3. Beat egg whites until it forms small peaks at the end of your whisk and slowly add to the heated cream mixture. Taste it and add a little bit of suga