Bánh Canh Giò Heo - Pork Hock Udon Soup

There is a fear when my generation hear the words 'Giò Heo' which translates to pig's feet/hock/trotter.  But I promise it is one of the best piece of meat you can gnaw on!   When you bite through that soft skin, you will then sink into the sweet tender meat.  After you finish all the meaty parts you will have to work through the chewy tendons and cartilage, my favorite part.   I love the layers of texture of 'Giò Heo' and if you love that too, you will love this soup!

Unlike the familiar thicken soup from Banh Canh Cua, Banh Canh Gio Heo has a more traditional soupy broth.  It's simple, clean, and to the point that brings out the natural flavor of each ingredients.
While most Banh Canh Gio Heo has more of a pork base broth I like to use ground shrimp for that extra sweetness. 'Giò Heo' is already heavy as it is so I try to lighten the broth as much as possible by using shrimp.  

Ingredients:

2 lbs of shrimp
8-10 pork hock
1 large sweet onion ( quartered)
green onions
cilantro
fried shallots
lime
fresh chili
fresh banh canh noodles
salt
sugar
mushroom seasoning
vinegar
food blender

1.  Par boil the pork hock with plenty of salt and 1/4 cup of vinegar.  Drain dirty water and wash hock thoroughly with cold water.
2.  Rinse and peel the shrimps but save the shell.
3.  Add the shrimp shells, pork hock, and 3/4 of the sweet onions to a pot and add 4 quarts of water.  Simmer everything in pot to make the broth.  Season with 2 tablespoon of salt, 1 tablespoon mushroom seasoning, and 1/2 tablespoon of sugar.  Remove scum as needed.

4.  Divide peeled shrimp in half.  Take 1/2 of the shrimp and ground it with a food blender then set a side.

5.  Take the other half and cook the shrimp whole in the broth from step #3.  Once shrimp is cooked remove from broth and set aside.

6.  Pay attention to your pork hock, I like mine on the chewy side.  Cook hock to your preference and remove from broth.
7.  Remove the shrimp shells from the broth.

8.  Scoop ground shrimp into the broth, let broth come to a boil and then turn down heat.  Remove any scum as needed.

9.  Make final tasting by adding additional salt and sugar as needed.

10.  Chop up cilantro, green onions, and sliced the 1/4 sweet onions for garnishing.  Prepare lime wedges and chili for eating.
11.  Boil the banh canh noodle ahead of time.
12.  Add noodles to a bowl top with pork hock and cooked whole shrimp.  Ladle in the broth, add cilantro/onions mixture, fried shallots, lime, and fresh chili to your liking.  Enjoy pork hock by dipping it in a little bit of fish sauce mixed with fresh chili.
13. Enjoy!

Cháo Gà - Chicken Congee

When I was little I always correlate chao with being sick.  Supposedly you are not suppose to eat anything fatty or overly seasoned because it might irritate your stomach while your sick.  Therefore when I was sick my mom makes chao with very little seasoning and no meats, it totally scarred my taste buds.  I don't think I ever liked eating chao until I reach my 20s when I finally learn how to cook it myself.  Chao doesn't have to be bland, remember you control the seasoning and flavors when you cook.  I will show you a few tricks that will give your chao wonderful flavors and aromas!

Everybody likes chao a certain way!  Some people like it very watery and the rice grain still intact while others like the rice grain to be cooked down into a thick paste like consistency.  I love my chao to be cooked down completely, in which you can't even see any sign of the rice grain or liquid, as if the rice and the broth has become one.  The best way to achieve this is to avoid washing your rice, rice is covered in starch which will naturally thicken your broth.  Add unwashed rice straight to the broth.  Be patience and let your rice grain cook down until it disintegrate into the broth.

I like my chao to be well seasoned and aromatic from ginger, garlic, and shallot.  And like most soups, the best way to bring out the flavors from your roots is to roast them before ending them to the broth.  The best way to season chao is with just salt, that will give your chao enough taste without overpowering like fish sauce will.  

Ingredients: 

1 cornish hen or 1/2 whole chicken or 5 drumsticks 

4 quarts of water 

1 cup of rice 

2 knob of giner

2 shallots

3 garlic 

3/4 tablespoon of salt

1/2 tablespoon of sugar

1/2 tablespoon of mushroom seasoning

chopped green onions/cilantro/onions mixture 

ground black pepper

fried shallots

fresh chili 

1.  Par boil the chickens and drain the dirty water.  Rinse chicken clean with cool water.

2.  Add clean chicken to pot cook for 30 minutes, remove and let cooled down.

3.  Roast your roots either in the oven or in  pan on the stovetop.

4.  Add the rice to the broth along with the roasted garlic,shallots, and ginger.   Season with 3/4 tbl salt, 1/2 tbl sugar, 1/2 tbl mushroom seasoning. 
5.  Let rice cook down on medium heat.  It will be faster if you cover with lid.  Every now and then scrape the bottom of the pot to ensure rice isn't sticking to the bottom.

6.  Once chicken has cooled, remove bones and shred into smaller pieces.  

7.  Taste your chao, add additional seasoning if needed  

8.  Once the rice has cooked down to your liking, add the chicken to the chao.

8.  Your chao is done!  Enjoy with garnishes to your liking and ground black pepper.  f