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Showing posts from October, 2011

Ca Ro-Phi Kho (Tilapia in Caramel Sauce)

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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)

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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!

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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 ...