Posts

Showing posts from 2011

Ca Ro Phi Hop (Steamed Tilapia with Oyster Sauce)

Image
You might recognize this dish at Chinese restaurants... It's pretty common. My mom makes it at home and it's super easy! Tastes just like the dish at a Chinese restaurant :) I need to make this some day for my Taiwanese boyfriend... hopefully he likes it! Ingredients: 1 whole tilapia Ginger Salt and pepper Maggi Seasoning sauce Oyster Sauce 2-3 Green onions Chicken broth Vegetable Oil Start with one whole tilapia - Remember to sprinkle some salt into it and rinse it with water to clean. 1. Use a steamer of some sort. Steam the tilapia on high heat for fifteen minutes. You can place the tilapia into a bowl and just put it into the steamer. 2. Slice and shave a 1-2 inch knob of ginger and place into bowl. 3. Add 1 tablespoon maggi seasoning. 4. Add 1 tsp oyster sauce. 5. Dash of sesame oil if you have it. This is optional . I didn't have any when I made it and it still turned out really well. 6. Add 1/4-1/2 tablespoon sugar. 7. Add 1/4 tablespoon of bot n

Nuoc Mam (Fish Sauce)

Image
Anyone who has tried Vietnamese food has definitely used Nuoc Mam as a dipping sauce at one point or another.... it's a sauce Vietnamese people dip everything into! Egg rolls, pork chops, Vietnamese crepes, the list goes on and on. It's a staple in almost every Vietnamese home. Today I made it with my mommy! Warning: this recipe yields A LOT so cut it down accordingly if you wish! I would say, cut it into 1/4 and you're good for the next MONTH! It's a great sauce because it's super tasty and lasts 3-4 weeks! Ingredients: Water Garlic Lime Sugar Fish Sauce Chili garlic sauce (optional) Ratios: 3 parts water (can do 2.5 parts water if you want more intense flavoring) 1 part sugar 1 part fish sauce 1-2 thai chilis to taste limes to taste - about 1/2-1 limes to taste  garlic to taste 1. Boil water  2. Let cool to medium warm. My mom says that if it doesn't cool, it will taste weird. 3. Cut chilis in half lengthwise and then chop or mince them. You can ta

Ca Ro-Phi Kho (Tilapia in Caramel Sauce)

Image
3 whole tilapia fish (cut in halves) salt & pepper (salt to clean the fish; pepper to taste) 1 small red onion lots of sugar lots of nuoc mam chicken granules or chicken bullion broth 1. Cut tilapia fish in half and put in large bowl. Salt generously & mix. Add water to rinse! This process cleans the fish so don't worry about measuring salt b/c it will be washed out. Soak the fish in a little bit of water then rinse again. 2. Cut one small red onion into slices. Slice 3 scallions (the white part of a green onion). 3. Heat up a stove pot (preferably something similar to a dutch oven) with heat set to small. When the pot is hot, add 1 PS of oil. Let that heat up for a minute or so, then add 1.5 PS of sugar. Stir. This is the beginning of the caramel sauce. 4. Pour in scallions and red onions into the pot and stir until golden brown. 5. Add 3 PS of nuoc mam, 1 PS sugar, 1/4 PS chicken broth, 1/4 PS pepper, 1/2 cup of water (yes, a real cup, not the American cup mea

Fried Salmon (Ca Chien)

Image
Ingredients: 1 lb (a little more than 1 lb) of salmon filet cut into sections 1/2 PS nuoc mam 1/4 PS chicken granules or chicken bullion cubes 1/4 PS sugar 4 heads of garlic (diced) 1 small red onion (diced) flour pepper 1. Cut salmon filet into 1.5 inch sections. 2. In a small bowl, add salmon. Marinate with 1/2 PS nuoc mam, 1/4 PS chicken granules, 1/4 PS sugar, garlic, and onions. Sprinkle pepper on top. 3. Let marinate for at least an hour. The longer the better! 4. Place salmon filets in plastic bag and add about 1/4-2/3 cup of flour (American portion). Mix it around. You want the flour to coat the salmon filets nicely but not too much. 5. In a skillet, pour plenty of oil for deep fry. Heat up the oil on high until steam rises. 6. Add salmon filets to the oil. Deep fry until golden brown, turning occasionally (a few times is fine). This should take around 10 minutes! 7. Soak oil dry by inverting the salmon filets onto a paper towel. Personally, I didn't real

Inaugural post!

Image
Hi guys, this is a blog I've created dedicated to my mother's recipes. This blog is mainly for family and friends who love Vietnamese home cooking; it details my mother's recipes and my attempts to recreate them. To my siblings (yes, the other four Khongs out there in the world), this is something you can look back on years from now. We've always talked about how delicious mom's cooking is and how we want to someday learn her recipes. Well, consider this blog as your guide to mommy's home cooking. Let the fun begin.... Some caveats: I couldn't convince mom to use tablespoons, etc. so bear with me. Many of the measurements were based off eyeballing mom's measurements and her use of the ever so sophisticated pho spoon. For future use, PS = pho spoon. In addition, most of these recipes are for at least 4 servings so reduce the portions as you see fit! And, all of her cooking is done to taste so add things to your liking. I suggest adding little by little