A Vietnamese Moment

My mom has probably made this dish hundreds of times. It's a very easy and quick appetizer for a crowd or can even be a heartier meal if paired with veggies and fish sauce. This is a Vietnamese style deep fried shrimp. Ingredients - Peeled and deveined shrimp (leave the peel around the tail on) - fish sauce - sugar - garlic powder - panko - pepper - chicken bouillon (very small amount) Shrimp  1. In a bowl, add fish sauce, pepper, garlic powder, and chicken bouillon. Let sit for a few minutes to soak up the marinade. Breading 1. In a bowl, pour the panic. 2. In a separate bowl, add ** flow and ice cold water (could also put in the fridge to get cold prior to frying. Batter needs to be dry to be crispy).  3. Add maybe 1/2 teaspoon/tablespoon sugar,  about 1/8 teaspoon/tablespoon chicken bouillon. Add a sprinkle of pepper and garlic powder. 4. Dredge shrimp in the batter and then in the panko. Deep fry.  

Banh Xeo is a savory Vietnamese crepe. There are many instant Banh Xeo pre-made bags out there that are actually quite good! However, in a pinch, you can mix together a home-made version of rice flour, tumeric, and coconut. I believe this recipe is something I will be constantly updating in the future. It's one of those things that you will constantly tweak. I got it off a Vietnamese cooking blog. Some notes: - thought coconut milk taste was a bit strong, may want to add a little bit more water in the future to off set that - consider cooking protein and filling separate from batter, or before, or after batter poured - consider switch to coconut water rather than coconut milk - if no beer, can do all water in the future, club soda, or even sprite Ingredients: 1 cup rice flour 3 tablespoon of cornstarch 1/3 cup of coconut cream (slight coconuty, consider decreasing amount to add more water) 1/8 teaspoon of salt 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder 1.5 cup of warm water...

Garlic and Chives is a popular modern Vietnamese restaurant in my home town. When I found this recipe online (from the chef who created that restaurant), I knew I had to make it! Incredibly simple to make and very fast!  You can either saute, deep fry or even bake the salmon belly. We prefer deep fry for the most crispy texture. Skin on or off is up to you, but leaving the skin on keeps the meat intact better.  https://www.theravenouscouple.com/2018/09/salmon-belly-spring-rolls.html?fbclid=IwAR1ieAamHGSnnFIG551DgS4RCUEg0bdMqpGb5BHXrzbstLKL6cfVPE_VjD0 ingredients -  8 strips of skin on salmon belly, roughly 5 x 1 inch strips -- can use salmon fillet, any fatty piece of salmon will do  2 Tb oyster sauce -- or to taste 1 ts sesame oil Filling:  1.5 cups leafy greens, coarsely chopped 1/2 cup of Vietnamese herbs such as perilla, mint, basil, roughly chopped 3 peeled and sliced cucumbers cut in small strips length wise 1/2 cup pickled ca...

This is a lovely side dish that you can whip up in a 5-10 minutes with *minimal* ingredients. It's simple and very homey, reminds me of Vietnamese comfort food. Ingredients Green beans 2-4 eggs garlic fish sauce chicken bouillon 1. Slice green beans 2. In a pan, add oil and sauté garlic. Add green beans. 3. Add small amount of chicken bouillon and small amount of fish sauce to taste. 4. Add eggs. 5. Can add pepper as desired. 6. Season to taste. 

I was craving shrimp earlier today and instantly thought of home. My mother makes this savory caramel shrimp in less than 15 minutes. It's super easy to make with minimal ingredients! Ingredients: About 1   lb   fresh water prawn or shrimp, shell-on and head-on 1   shallot, finely chopped 3 garlic cloves, chopped (optional) 1   bunches   scallion (optional) fish sauce black pepper to taste  2   tablespoons   sugar (for caramel sauce) Some chicken bouillon  Instructions Caramel Sauce Place sugar in a small pan, spread to an even layer.  Cook at medium heat (without stirring) until the sugar starts melting. Now, you can start stirring the sugar and keep cooking until this turns into a dark amber or brown color. Turn off heat. Note that the sugar will continue to turn a darker color. Wait for about 30 seconds to one minute before adding the 2 tablespoons of water which will arrest the cooking pro...

My husband LOVES this soup. It's a very simple, minimalistic soup that can be made for a lazy indoor day! There aren't a ton of ingredients but it did take me a solid 2 hours to do! Ingredients - 2 yellow onions (charboiled) - 1 generous large knob of ginger (charboiled) - 1 whole chicken (about 5-6 lbs) - rock sugar - fish sauce - salt - chicken bouillon Noodles - Cellophane or glass noodles (cook according to instructions): can also use bean thread noodle, mung bean noodle ---- place noodles in hot water and let sit for 10-15 minutes, or until perfect texture 1. Charboil the ginger and onions. Shave the charboil parts off ginger and smash the ginger. Wash the charboil parts off the onion. *note: mom says I used too much onion and ginger - oops. I would probably just stick to 2 onions in the future, and probably just 1/2 or even 1/3 of that ginger. 2. Add ginger, onions, and chicken to large pot. Add water until chicken is submerged. Add 1 tablespoon of...

This sauce is great for dipping boiled chicken. I found this recipe off VickyPham's website and tried it. The measurements are SPOT on delicious. The lime and chili I did to taste - used about 1/2 the lime. Vietnamese Ginger Fish Sauce Makes 1 cup INGREDIENTS 1/4 cup fish sauce 1/3 cup granulated white sugar 2-inch piece fresh ginger (peel and thinly slice against the grain) 5 garlic cloves (peel) Juice of half a large lemon/lime 1-2 red chili peppers (slice thin; remove seeds to reduce heat if needed) INSTRUCTIONS In a medium bowl, mix together fish sauce and sugar until completely dissolved. Pound ginger and garlic cloves with a mortar and pestle until completely pulverized. Alternatively, run both through a garlic press or smash with the back of a large knife. Add smashed ginger and garlic to the fish sauce/sugar mixture. Add lime juice and chili peppers. Stir to combine.

A very basic, simple porridge recipe for rainy days or sick days. Very minimal ingredients and very easy to make. Ratio:  1 cup of rice: 8-10 cups of water Ingredients  - 1 whole chicken - ginger  - salt - pepper  - sugar  - chicken bouillin - onions (about 2-3), can be white, yellow, or shallot onions  - rice 1. In a large stock pot, add water and bring to boil (almost enough to cover 1 whole chicken). Take about 1-1.5 cup rice (depending on how much you want) and place in cold water for 1 hour - after an hour, rinse the rice and set aside.   2. Add 2-3 onions, some ginger, and about 1 tablespoon of salt. Add chicken and bring to boil on medium heat. Remove scum. Once it boils, turn heat to low and cover - should be about 30-40 minutes depending on the size. I usually stick a chopstick in the chicken to make sure it's done. Skim the scum off the broth. 3. Remove chicken and strain broth. Rinse chicken under cold ...

My mom recently visited me in Chicago and asked what I wanted to eat. Immediately I had childhood cravings of her soy, which is a sweet sticky rice. It's a very simple sweet rice that requires minimal ingredients.  Yellow soy 1. Soak grains overnight. Place 1-2 cans of coconut juice in the refrigerator overnight to harden the juice.  2. Add mung bean. Add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of salt.  3. Scoop out the coconut juice into a small boil. You can also substitute in 1 fresh coconut. Add 2-3 soup lades of sugar to the boil and mix.  4. Add to taste the coconut and sugar combination.  Red soy Recipe pending ...  You can make the sticky rice less sweet and eat with a sugar, salt, peanut topping. My mom initially made the soy less sweet than I would have liked. She then created a sugar, salt, peanut topping mix and we used that as a dipping for the sweet sticky rice. It worked out well! 

Pho is the quintessential Vietnamese soup that every mom knows how to make. It simmers over hours to create a delicate broth. Surprisingly, it is very easy to make! Ingredients - pho seasoning bag (heat over skillet to wake up the aromatics) - rock candy sugar (about 1-2 inch chunk) - salt (about 1-2 tablespoons) - beef ox tail bones (about 2-3) - pork bones - fish sauce (optional) - ginger - 3-4 onions 1. Clean beef ox tail bones and pork bones. Submerge in cold water, add salt and vinegar. Rinse and exchange water. Do this twice. 2. Boil water, when it comes to a rolling boil - add bones. Parboil the impurities out for 2-3 minutes. Dump out the bones and water into a clean sink. 3. Wash bones again in cold water. Lightly scrub off the residues with your fingers. 4. Boil a pot of hot water, on high heat. Heat ginger and 4 onions over fire to make it more aromatic. Add 1 large ginger, 4 onions that have been grilled on the stove. 5. Add rock candy sugar. Add 1-2 ...

This is a very simple soup for busy week nights that takes less than 20 minutes to make with little ingredients. You can use any variation of box choy vegetables. Ingredients - salt - chicken builloin - fish sauce - moc - vegetables 1. Boil hot water 2. Add chicken bouillon, salt, and fish sauce to taste 3. Add moc 4. When moc is almost done, add vegetables.

This is a basic marinade for meat that my cousin taught me. I call it Australian beef stir fry because she's from Australia but it really is just a simple, basic marinade for beef stir fry. She used beef flank purchased at Costco, thinly sliced. The first time I sliced this, I accidentally did it WITH the grain which made it extra chewy. Be sure to slice it ACROSS the grain! It is a great stir fry base with any vegetables. I believe we used a box choy but can be substituted for broccoli or whatever you want. Sorry there are no good measurements, this is done to taste. We didn't use salt because of the chicken bouillon. Ingredients: - beef flank - maggi sauce (?2 tablespoons) - garlic powder (?1/2-1 tablespoon) - oyster sauce (?2-3 tablespoons) - fish sauce (just a few splashes) - olive oil (~1-2 tablespoons) - chicken bouillon (?1 tablespoon) 1. Slice beef flank across the grain. 2. Add oyster sauce, Maggi sauce, garlic powder, fish sauce, olive oil, and chic...

This is one of my husband's favorite dishes that my cousin makes. He requests it almost every time he's in Chicago. It is a VERY simple recipe and warms up the stomach (and heart)! Moc is a pork-based meat paste that you can shape into meatballs. I use frozen ones that my mom sells at her store. Ingredients: - 3-4 onions (grilled on stove) - fish sauce - rock sugar - about a 1-2 inch chunk (and additional sugar at the end for tasting as needed) - salt (about 1-2 tablespoons) 1. Bring a pot of hot water to boil on high heat. Add parboiled (and cleaned meat) to the pot. 2. Add the onions, salt, and rock candy to the broth and let boil. Remove the bubbles that are created to purify the broth. 3. Once the broth is more clear, turn the heat to low-medium and simmer for 1.5 hours. 4. In a separate pot, boil about 2 large ladles of fish sauce. Add to the broth (a little at a time to season). 5. Add moc and re-season the broth as needed with salt and sugar. Enjoy ove...

1 bunch of green onion 1 head of garlic 10 lbs bbq meat 1 large bottle of korean bbq sauce (red bottle) 1 small bottle of bulls eye bbq sauce 1 orange, 2 tangerines 1.5 tablespoon oyster sauce (1 large pho spoon) 2 tsp sugar 1 tablespoon sesame oil 4 tablespoons of canola oil 3/4 tsp pepper (1 full tsp if only adults eating) 3/4 tsp salt (fine pink salt, can do 1 tsp if want it saltier) 1. wash galbi in water, add 3 tablespoons of water - let soak for 30 mins 2. rinse dry twice - then let dry for 30 mins 3. blend onion and garlic then massage onto meat 4. in a separate bowl, combine juice of orange, tangerine, sugar, salt, sesame oil, pepper, canola oil, and oyster sauce let sit in marinade overnight

This is a delightfully refreshing salad I learned from my cousin. This recipe is incredibly simple and the sauce can be made before hand and stored for many months! So easy to make with minimal ingredients.  Ingredients:  - green mango (1-2 mangos) - salt - sugar - fish sauce - shrimp - thai chilis  - lemon  FISH SAUCE DRESSING:  1. Mix together a 1:1 ratio of sugar and fish sauce (may add more sugar to your tasting) 2. Heat on medium heat until just before boil (watch the pot carefully so the sugar doesn't burn!) SALAD:  1. With a special slicer knife, cut small strips of green mango.  SHRIMP:  1. Lightly salt shrimp and submerge in boiling water until cooked.  2. Slice shrimp in half.  Combine mango and shrimp in a bowl. Add 2-3 spoons of the fish sauce dressing, some thai chilis, and squeeze some lemon into the mix. You can also had some minced garlic for an extra kick. Mix thoroughly!...

My boyfriend and I have renamed this soup after our dog, Kiki! It's not what you think - we're not that  Asian where we eat our dogs! We used to give Kiki the pork bones from the soup and eventually stopped because it's not safe to give dogs cooked pork bones due to risk of choking. It's a nice, easy soup with minimal ingredients but does take around 2 hours to make. It takes a while to simmer the broth but it's worth it! Ingredients:  Pork bones  Winter melon  To taste:  Salt & Pepper  Sugar  Fish Sauce  Chicken Granules  MSG Onions & Cilantro (garnish - optional) 1. In a large pot, add water and boil water. Cut pork bones into pieces and wash under cold water. Add to the first pot, you don't have to wait for the water to boil to add the pork bones. In another large pot, fill it 3/4 full with water and bring to a boil.  2. When the first pot boils, drain all the pork bones into a colander and wash...

Ingredients 3 lbs of ca hong (whole snapper fish) 1 large tomato a little white onion sugar fish sauce nuoc mam dua chua (pickled mustard greens) 1. In a large skillet add oil. Pan fry the fish until golden yellow. Turn over only once. 2. Thinly slice a small chunk of white onion and add to the skillet. Add to the sides off the fish (not on the fish). Let it caramelize a little and become fragrant. 3. Slice 1 large tomato into thin 1/4 inch slices. Add to the skillet. 4. Add 1-1.5 PS nuoc mam, 1/2 PS sugar, 1/8 tsp bot ngot, 1/4 tsp of bot nem ga). Stir lightly. 5. Turn fish over once. Cover fish with the seasonings. 6. Let the fish cook on low heat for about 10 mins. This will let the fish soak in the juices. 7. When the fish is almost done, add 2 handful bunches of pickled mustard greens. Let cook for another 2 mins on high heat and let fish soak up the juices. (optional: thinly slice green onions and add to the skillet)

Ingredients 1/2 lb of pork belly (thit ba roi) ~10 pieces of shrimp with head on (*cut the tails off and the heads diagonally - meaning cut the eyes off) sugar nuoc mam bot ngot bot nem ga 3 tiny small red onions (thinly slice) 1. Thinly slice pork belly into little strips.  2. In a large skillet, add a little bit of oil. Don't add too much b/c you'll get some oil from the pork belly fat. Add the meat on high heat for about 1 min. Then turn down the heat to and cover with a lid. 3. Let the pork belly cook for 3-5 mins.  4. Add 1 PS sugar, a little bot ngot, 1/8 tsp bot nem ga, 1 PS nuoc mam. Stir and recover. Cook until softens. This should take around 7 minutes.   5. Turn down the heat to low. Add the shrimp and stir. Stir occasionally until shrimp is pink. Then add pepper.  6. You don't want to stir too much b/c you want to let the juices come out of the shrimp heads. Adding/cooking the shrimp sh...

If you like your meat with potatoes, then you'll LOVE this dish. It's very flavorful which goes perfect with the tender cuts of filet mignon. This dish is noms noms noms. Slices of filet mignon are stir fried and then poured over a bed of fried potatoes and enjoyed with jasmine rice. Not exactly the healthiest dish but will definitely make you one happy camper.  Ingredients:  4-5 potatoes 1 lb of filet mignon meat maggi seasoning sugar pepper 7 cloves of garlic (minced) Preparing the meat 1. Slice filet mignon into thin slices.  2. In a bowl, add 1/8 PS bot nem ga, 1/3 PS sugar, a little MSG, 1/2 PS oyster sauce, 3/4 PS maggi seasoning, and 1/3 of the minced garlic.  3. Toss around and let marinate for 10-30 minutes. As this is marinating, move onto the next step (frying potatoes).  Frying the potatoes 1. Peel 4-5 potatoes. Slice potatoes into 1/4 slices.  2. In a skillet, add oil. On med-high heat, add potatoes and ...

Pretty much every Asian culture has their own variation of fried rice. Why? Because it's cheap, easy to make in bulk, and already includes rice. That basically satisfies the Asian stomach. My mom taught me her frice (fried rice) recipe. Fried rice tastes the best when you use day old rice. It tastes even better if you use day old rice that was made with less water. It's a multi-step process so I suggest breaking it down into parts and then mixing everything together again. Ingredients:  Mixed frozen veggies (corn, peas, carrots, green beans) 2-4 Chinese sausage links 1 lb lean pork mea t ( Thịt  nạc  vai - pork shoulder/butt ) 1/3 bag of Chinese BBQ Char Siu Seasoning 8-10 Shrimps Small red onion (thinly slice) Sugar Maggie seasoning Salt Bot nem ga (chicken buillion granules) 6 Eggs Bot Ngot (MSG) 2-3 cups of day old rice (BEST if you make rice with little water and keep it for a day) Making the bbq pork (make this in advance as it must marinate for...