Thit Heo Quay - Crispy Pork Belly

The nearest Chinatown is roughly 2 hours away from us, therefore food such as roasted pork or duck is just out of the question.  We have to travel all the way to Chicago just for some good BBQ meat.  It's such a shame because there are so many Vietnamese dishes that calls for roasted pork.

Last fall I got the chance to learn how to make roasted pork at home.  It was so incredibly easy and to be honest it was better than store bought; the skin was so incredibly crispy.  It's as easy as dumping salt on a slab of pork belly and popping it in the oven.  All you really need to do is make a rub out of salt, sugar, and whatever spices you prefer.  I usually go for a classic five spice rub to go with my Vietnamese dishes.  But be creative with your rub, crispy pork belly is such as universal dish.

Crispy roasted pork is good on it's own but here are some my favorite ways to eat thit heo quay.  I will eventually post recipe for each of the dish below, bare with me!

1.  Banh Hoi:  Thinly woven vermicelli noodles with sweet garlic fish sauce and plenty of fresh greens.

2.  Bun Mam Nem:  Vermicelli noodle with fermented fish paste, pickled carrots, and assorted fresh vegetables.

                

3.  Chao:  Shredded roasted pork congee with 1000 year old duck egg.

                

Ingredients:  

A slab of pork belly
vinegar

Five Spice Rub:
(This is the ratio of the rub, you want to use just enough to cover the size of your pork belly)
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of salt (a little less than 1/2)
1/4 cup five spice powder
2 tablespoon ground pepper
1 tablespoon of garlic powder
1/2 tablespoon of paprika

1.  Wash your pork belly well.  Use paper towel to absorb as much moisture as possible.
2.  You want to use something sharp or pointy to poke holes in the surface of the skin, this pretty much allows the fat underneath to rise up and crisp up the skin.  I like using a razor or the pointy tool below (I have no idea what it is, but I found it in my dad's garage).  Razors are harder to handle especially on tough pork skin, so you might want to go with some pointy to be safe.

3.  Marinate the meat side of the pork belly with the rub.  Don't forget the rub above is a ratio.  You just want to use enough of it to cover the meat.  You can poke holes or cut into the meat so the rub will season the inside of meat better.  I usually keep it whole unless it's a thicker slab of meat.  You don't really need to a marinate the pork belly for a really long (about and hour or less for me), because once you pop it in the oven the rub is not going anywhere it's just going to form a flavorful crust.

4.  I like placing a cooking rack on top of pan and then putting it in the oven.  When cooking the fat will drip down to the pan. Try to position the cooking rack as low as you can in the oven because you will be using the broiler.  It would be better if the pork belly is not to close to the heat source otherwise it will burn too fast.

5.  Set the oven at 350 degrees on broil.  Place the pork belly meat side up and let it roast until it browns (approx. 25-30 minutes).
6.  Take pork belly out and wipe the skin dry from all the moisture.  Brush some vinegar on the skin, this will keep the skin dry and allows the skin to crisp up.  Place the pork belly back in the oven skin side up until it browns and crisp up.  Keep eye on the skin because some parts may burn faster so you might need to re-position your pork belly in the oven.  Whenever there is too much moisture on the skin, you'll want to take it out and wipe of the moisture.  Brush more vinegar on the skin and pop it back in the oven.
7.  When the skin has brown and crisp up enough, remove and let it cool.
8.  Cut up your pork belly and enjoy it however you like.

Nui Xao Bo - Stir Fry Beef Rice Macaroni

This fun and delicious stir fry wasn't around when I was little but nowadays it's all over Vietnam.  It is the Vietnamese take on Western pasta, which have gain a lot of popularity amongst children and teens.  I remember trying it for the first time several years ago in Saigon, it was an awesome mix of both worlds.  You get the rich tomato flavor but then you get hints of familiar Asian seasoning.  Unlike Western pasta where the sauce is pile on top, Vietnamese pasta is more dry.  The sauce is part of the the seasoning that coat the macaroni, the sauteed beef seasoned perfectly is piled on top, and then you get some fresh veggies on the side to help cut some of the oil.  I make this almost weekly because it doesn't take a lot of time and effort.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 bag of rice macaroni 14 oz
1 lb sliced beef (1 cup)
1 yellow onion (sliced)
4 stalk of green onions (cut into 1 in)
2 tablespoon of minced garlic
1 shallot thinly sliced
2 tablespoon of sugar
1/2 tablespoon of mushroom seasoning
3 tablespoon of oyster sauce
2 tablespoon of soy sauce
1/4 cup of tomato paste
cooking oil
wok
cilantro (garnish)
tomato (garnish)
cucumber (garnish)
fish sauce

1.  Boil rice macaroni until about 75% done, otherwise it will break when you stir fry it.  Drain water and set aside for later.
2.  Marinade beef with 2 tablespoon of oyster sauce and 1/2 tablespoon of mushroom seasoning.

3.  Heat up oil in a wok, add the garlic and shallots until fragrance. Add the sliced onions and green onions, then add the beef.  Stir fry everything until beef is cooked.  Remove and set aside.

4.  Heat up 4 tablespoon of oil in a wok, add the rice macaroni, 1/4 cup of tomato paste, 2 tablespoon of soy sauce, 2 tablespoon of sugar,  1 tablespoon of oyster sauce.  Make sure you coat the macaroni with all the liquid ingredients and tomato paste evenly. Stir fry macaroni until it's al dente or tender to your liking.

5.  Add the sauteed beef and all its liquid from earlier back in the wok and mix.   Your stir fry is ready for eating.
6.  Transfer to a plate and garnish with chopped cilantro, cucumber, tomato, and a dash of ground pepper on top.
7.  Enjoy!

Bo Vien - Vietnamese Beef Balls

I'm a huge fan of bo vien, Vietnamese beef balls, made popular by pho.  Frozen bo vien nowadays is not the same quality as before.  I get that it's processed meat but lately i'm unsure if it's meat i'm eating or just a bunch of fillers.  A year ago I decided i'm never going to buy frozen bo vien again, i'm making my own from now on!

I was fortunate to learn the basics of making bo vien from my friend's mother several years ago.  She always had homemade bo vien in the freezer.  It was so good, we would eat it by itself with Sriracha.  Unlike the frozen bo vien, you can actually taste and feel the meat.  Don't mistake dense bo vien as quality bo vien, the denseness is actually just flours mixed in with the meat.  Homemade bo vien are chewy and spongy!  

I never got the chance to write down the exact measurements but I knew exactly what goes into making bo vien. Took several tries but I came up with something i'm satisfied with.  Beware homemade bo vien is A LOT of work because the process is very time consuming. The key to making good springy bo vien is the process of stretching and binding; which require using the food processor over and over again and time in the freezer.

What kind of meat should you buy?  You can buy the mot expensive cut like shank or you can buy something more wallet friendly like ground chuck or even ground beef.  I usually wait for a sale on ground beef so I can stock up.  Go for something with more fat (I use 80/20), lean meat tends to be dry.  I like trimming the fat on beef products and save it to make bo vien.

Why is it time consuming?  Once you mix all the ingredients together, the next step is to grind it into a paste in the food processor.  You want to grind it at least 3 times, the more times you grind your meat the springier the texture of the beef balls.  That doesn't sound too bad right?  There is more!  In between using the food processor, you have to let the meat rest in the freezer so that the meat will bind together.  Basically you grind your meat, you let it rest in the freezer, and then you repeat that at least 2 more times.  After every round of grinding, the meat will get heavier and heavier.  Therefore you have to grind less at a time or you might risk breaking your processor.  Now just imagine doing all that with 4 pounds of meat, it literally take up the whole of the day.

If you are still reading this, let's go make some bo vien!

Ingredients:

4 lbs of ground beef ( 80/20)
1 bulk of garlic (finely minced)
1 teaspoon of coarsely ground pepper
5 tablespoon of fish sauce ( I used the Squid brand which is saltier than most other brand)
3 tablespoon of sugar
1 bag of alsa baking powder
3 tablespoon of tapioca starch
crushed ice
vegetable oil

1.  Combine all the ingredients except for the crushed ice and tapioca starch.  Thoroughly mix everything together.

2.  I divided the mixture into 3 batch, maybe more or less depending on the size of your food processor.
3.  Start the first round of grinding, the easiest round. Put the first batch in the food processor and start grinding.  Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of tapioca starch for each batch as it is grinding.  Continue to let it grind until it become paste like, see picture below.

 

 4.  Once you grind all three batch into a paste, combine in a bowl and let it rest in the freezer for about 20-30 minutes.  Make sure you wrap the bowl up well so it doesn't harden.
5.  Take the beef paste out of the freezer.  Start round 2 of grinding.  The meat should be heavier than before so you might want to grind it in smaller batches.  Adding a little bit of crushed ice will help the grinding.
6. Start the second round of resting in the freezer, don't forget to wrap it up well again.
7. Repeat the grinding and resting at least one more time.
8.  Remove from freezer.  Now you begin balling your beef paste.  It's up to you how large or small you want it to be.  I like making mind large to save time, and whenever I eat it I just cut it up.  Rub some vegetable oil on your finger and hand to help you ball more easily.

9.  Once you ball up all the beef paste, cook them in boiling water.
10.  Remove cooked beef balls and place in an ice bath.
11.  Remove from ice bath.   They are now ready to eat or for storage in the freezer.

Lau Thai - Thai Style Hotpot

It seems like for every occasion my family always rely on hotpot. Not only is it delicious and easy to eat, it is also fun and interactive for gathering.  We love eating all kinds of hotpot; there is lau mam (fermented fish hotpot), lau nam (mushrom hotpot), lau cua (crab hotpot), lau hai san (seafood hotpot), and lau Thai (Thai style hotpot).  Our favorite has to be Thai style hotpot because it's salty, sweet, spicy, and sour; a little bit of everything.  If you are a fan of Thai Tom Yum soup, you will love this hotpot!  It is eaten with rice vermicelli noodle and a varieties of meats, seafood, and vegetables.

Hotpot is pretty easy to make as well, it's just a lot preparation.  The thing I love about eating hotpot is you can eat it all day!  We usually eat hotpot for lunch, again for dinner, and then if we have some leftover we'll have it again the next day.  For that reason I usually make a huge pot of broth and after every eating session I replace the old broth with new broth.  If you are planning to have a hotpot marathon make sure you buy a lot vegetables and meat.

My Thai style hotpot is made very similar to Thai tom yum soup.  I actually use a store brought paste that is labeled as seasoning paste for Canh Chua (Vietnamese Sour Fish Soup) but it taste more like Tom Yum to me.  There are a lot of these paste at all Asian grocery stores but Golden Boy brand (picture below) is my favorite.  I sauteed this paste with lots of minced shallots and lemongrass which helps fragrance the broth.   There is one other secret ingredients that nobody every gets after eating my broth but I will happily share it with all of you.  I also add mam ruoc (Vietnamese fermented shrimp paste) with the seasoning paste, which give the broth its saltiness.  I basically make my broth very similar to Bun Bo Hue but without the beef broth.  The broth is made with canned chicken broth, pineapple juice, lemongrass, tamarind pulp, kaffir lime leave, and my seasoning paste.  I also add one can of coco rico soda for sweetness and also as a tenderizer for meats.  Last but certainly not least, it has to be spicy.  I add a special hot chili oil to the broth for spiciness (picture below).

Now onto the meats and vegetables!  No hotpot can be without meats and vegetables; there should always be an abundant amount for both.  Thai hotpot is the most versatile because almost any meats and vegetables will be great with the broth.  Most common ingredients are mushrooms, water spinach, banana blossom, beef, shrimp, squit, clams, mussels, tomatoes, tofu, and the list goes on.  Since I have limited access to Asian vegetables I usually go with watercress, enoki mushrom, oyster mushroom, and nappa cabbage.  As for as meat you litterally can you any type of sliced beef and seafood.  Today I felt like only using seafood.  Happy eating!

Ingredients:  I won't be listing amounts for the vegetables, meats, and seafood because it really depends on how much you want to eat.  Make sure you get plenty because it would be a damper if you run out!  Prepare the ingredients below for eating.

Napa Cabbage
Watercress
Enoki Mushroom
Oyster Mushroom
Tilapia filet
Shrimp
Cuttlefish
Rice Vermicelli Noodle

Broth:  

6 cups of canned chicken broth
2 cups of pineapple juice
1 can of coco rico
6 cups of water
1 cup of Golden Boy brand paste (or similar seasoning)
1/4 cup of mam ruoc (fermented shrimp paste)
1/4 cup of sugar
4 lemongrass stalk
2 kaffir lime leave
1/4 cup of minced lemon grass
3 tablespoon of minced shallot
4 tablespoon of cooking oil

1.  Combine chicken broth, pineapple juice, water, lemongrass stalk, and kaffir lime leaves in a pot.   Let everything cook for about 30 minutes on medium heat.
2.  Heat up oil in a sauce pan.  Add the minced lemongrass and shallots and let it cook in the oil until fragrance.  Then add the Golden Boy paste, mam ruoc, and sugar.  Sauteed everything on low heat.   I usually make extra of this paste so that I can add more to the broth, because as you eat and put in more ingredients the broth will get diluted.  Unless you want to keep replacing the broth.

3.  Transfer to the broth. Let the paste cook into the broth.  

4.  Broth is ready for eating, transfer broth to a hotpot.  Add the hot chili oil to your liking.

5.  Once the hotpot comes to a boil add the fresh ingredients to cook and enjoy everything with vermicelli noodle.

Banh Canh Do Bien - Seafood Tapioca Noodle Soup (Lent Friendly)

I already post a recipe for Banh Canh Cua (Crab Tapioca Noodle Soup), which is made with a pork base broth and requires fresh crabs.  This version has no meat product (beef, chicken, poultry) and does not require fresh crabs.  I usually tell my family it's my "lazy" version of banh canh, meaning I spend less time on the broth.  I usually make the noodles from scratch because it taste better and it's cheaper then store brought banh canh noodles.  Please refer to my Banh Canh Cua recipe for instructions to make homemade noodles.

For this recipe I use dried prawns and a lot of mushroom to make the broth.  It is said that mushrooms give a natural umami taste, savory taste, so I go crazy with the mushrooms.  Instead of fresh crabs I use jar crab meat in soya bean oil (the same jar I use to make bun rieu).  Shrimp, mushroom, and fish cake (cha ca) contribute to the "meat" of the soup, you can also use frozen shrimp and fish balls.

Ingredients:

Banh canh noodles
1/2 cup of dried prawns (rehydrated)
1 daikon (or 2-3 carrots)
1 onion
3 cups of mushroom
1 lb of shrimp(cooked in the microwave)
fish cake (cha ca usually already cooked)
1/4 cup of crab meat in soya bean oil
1 tablespoon of minced shallots
salt
fish sauce
sugar
lime
green onions(garnish)
cilantro(garnish)
cooking oil
tapioca flour

1.  Fill a 6 quart pot with water,the rehydrated dried prawns, onion,
and daikon. Let these ingredients cook on the stove to make the broth.
2. Once you have extract all the sweetness from the dried prawns and daikon, you can remove daikon and onions.
3.  Season the broth with salt and sugar.
4.  Heat up some cooking oil in a pan.  Add the minced shallots and the crab meat, sauteed the two together so the crab meat is more frangrance.  Add this to the broth.
5.  Add the mushrooms to the broth.  Let it cook in the broth.
6.  Season the broth with additional sugar and fish sauce if needed.
7.  It's best to make banh canh per bowl.  I usually have a little sauce pan to make each bowl of banh.
8.  Transfer enough broth for one bowlto the sauce pan.  Add the
noodle to the broth.  If you like the broth more thick(especially if you use store brought banh canh noodles),have some tapioca flour handy.  Add more tapioca flour to the broth base on your personal preference.
9.  Add the shrimp and fish cake to the broth.
10.  Once the noodle has soften, transfer to a bowl.
11.  Top off with green onion, cilantro, and a squeeze of of lime juice.
12.  Enjoy!

Bun Cha Ca - Fish Paste Soup (Lent Friendly)

Lent season just started and I want to make sure I post a couple Lent friendly recipes before it ends.  If you are Catholic, you cannot eat meat products (poultry, pork, beef) on Friday.  However, seafood is allowed which is fine by me since I love seafood.  There are plenty of Vietnamese recipes that uses seafood.  A lot of soups can be Lent friendly by using seafood and vegetables to make the broth.

During my last trip to Vietnam, I stayed mainly in Da Nang, which is located in central Vietnam near Hue and Hoi An.  It was my first time ever in central Vietnam and I was ecstatic because I love their cuisine so much.  Soups such as Bun Bo Hue and Mi Quang; rice cakes such as Banh Bot Loc and Banh Beo all originated from that region. Every day I got to eat all of my favorite food and got to try new dishes unique to that region, I was in heaven.  When I got back to the states, all I want do is cook those dishes over and over again while the flavors and memories are still fresh in my mind!

Bun Cha Ca is a noodle soup that really stood out, a specialty of Da Nang, and the first soup I ate when I first arrived. There was a vendor that sells this particular soup at every corner.  I've had Bun Cha Ca in Saigon before but different from the ones from Da Nang.  The ones from Da Nang are sweeter due to a very unique ingredient, bi do (pumpkin, globe squash).  The squash also added a beautiful yellow color to the broth.  This soup is usually eaten with vermicelli noodle but I used rice macaroni (nui) to change things up a bit.

I used dried prawns (tom kho), globe squash, mushroom, daikon, and onions to make the broth.  If it weren't for Lent I would also use pork bones. The globe squash makes the broth very sweet so not much of it is needed.  Globe squash is pretty heavy to me so I only add a few pieces here and there to my bowl or else I would get full just eating that alone.  I used store brought fish paste and then fried at home.  Hope you will enjoy my spin on Da Nang's Bun Cha Ca!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of dried prawns (rehydrated)
1 daikon
2 cups of mushroom (sliced)
1/4 of globe squash (peeled and seeds remove)
1 onion
4 tomato (quartered)
fish paste (or already prepared Cha Ca)
vermicelli noodle
green onion
cilantro
cooking oil
fish sauce

1.  Add the rehydrated prawns into a 6 quart pot and fill with water.  Add the daikons and onions.  Let pot cook on medium until all the sweetnes and flavor has been extracted.
2.  If you are using already fried fish cake, just cut into thick slices for easy eating.  If not, fried your fish paste in oil.  Heat up plenty of oil in a wok or pan, add the fish cake to the pan and then flatten it with a spatula.  Cook both side until golden brown.  Remove and let it cool on paper towel.
3.  Season your broth with salt and mushroom seasoning(1 tablespoon); continue to let it cook until the the prawns has been completely extracted from flavor, and daikon and onions have become mushy.  The best way to tell is to have a bite of your prawns, if it's soft and flavorless you can discard.  Remove the daikon and onions as well.
4.  If you do not plan to eat the actual squash/pumpkin and only want to use it to make the broth, add the whole thing to the broth.
5.  If you do plan to eat the squash, chop it up for easy eating and add to the broth.  Let the squash cook until tender.
6.  Add the sliced mushroom to the broth.
7.  Heat up some oil in a pan with a little bit of chopped green onions, sauteed the tomatoes with some fish sauce.  Add the sauteed tomatoes into the broth.
8.  Taste the broth with additional fish sauce and sugar if needed.
9.  Prepare vermicelli noodles, green onions/cilantro for garnish.
10.  Prepare a bowl of noodle and then add broth and fish cakes.
11.  Enjoy!

Homemade Banh Beo - Steamed Rice cakes with Shrimp Flakes

Out of all the steamed cakes Vietnam has to offer, Banh Beo is definitely in my top three.  Banh Beo originated from Hue city in central Vietnam, but loved throughout Vietnam.  The rice cakes are made from steaming a rice flour batter in little bowls.  Once the batter has cooked we then pile on fine shrimp flakes.  Other common toppings associated with Banh Beo are oil scallion, ground mung beans, and roasted bread.  You can eat it them in individual bowls or the rice cakes can be transfer to a plate.  Banh Beo can be unique to certain city, therefore preparation of toppings and sauce may differ.  Like most rice cakes Banh Beo is eaten with prepared fish sauce, I prefer eating them with a light and sweet fish sauce so I can slurp everything up.

About 5 years ago I learned that my soon to be sister-in-law is from Hue.  Knowing that she will be moving to the Midwest where Vietnamese food is non-existent, I decided to learn a few specialties of central Vietnam so she won't feel so homesick.  I was lucky to be able to learn how to make Banh Bot Loc from my friend's mother.  As for Banh Beo, my first attempt was following the directions on the back of a bag of pre-mixed flour.  It was pretty successful but I know the rice cakes could have been better.  My mother often mix extra ingredients whenever she use a pre-mixed flour bag to make Banh Cuon so I thought I test it out.  After many ups and downs in the kitchen, I have found a recipe which I am very satisfy with the texture of the rice cakes. Every bite is soft and chewy!

I do not make Banh Beo very often because it is very time consuming.  Nowadays I usually only make it when i'm home and with my sister-in-law, because we have develop a pretty efficient system over the years.  I posted a recipe for Banh Beo before using pre-mixed flour package a several years ago, I finally got around to writing an entry this new recipe.   I love and cherish this recipe very much so enjoy!

Batter For the Rice Cakes:

3 cups of rice flour
1 cup of tapioca flour
5 cups of water
a pinch of salt
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil

Steamer
Little shallow bowls

1.  Mix all the ingredients together and let sit a couple hours to let the flour expand.  I like to mix the flour the night before and use it the next day.
2.  Before steaming make sure you stir the flour mixture again because it may have clumped up.
3.  Add water to your steamer and heat it up.
4.  Brush some cooking oil onto the little bowls and ladle in the rice flour mixture.  How much goes into the bowls depends on how thin you like your cakes to be.
5. Transfer to steamer and let cook for about 5 minutes or until cakes are firm.  Remove and let it cool a bit.

Toppings:

1 lb of shrimp ( I use Argentina shrimp that is naturally more orange, I usually do not add any coloring to my shrimp)
4-5 green onions (minced)
4-5 carrots julienned (optional I like eating pickled carrots with Banh Beo)
cooking oil
vinegar
sugar
fish sauce
water
fresh chili

1.  Wash and peel the shrimps.
2.  Heat up some cooking oil in a pan.  On low heat, cook the shrimp in the oil.  Once cooked remove to paper towel to soak up some of that oil.
3.  Smash the shrimp flat with a pestle on a cutting board.  And then use your hand to shred down the shrimp even more.

4. Transfer shrimp to a non stick pan (NO oil is needed) on low to medium heat.  Stir the shrimp meat until it dries up.  Transfer to a bowl.

5.  Marinade the julienned carrots with half a cup of sugar and 3 tablespoon of vingear.  Mix together, this is how I made super fast pickled carrots.
6.  Heat up some cooking oil in a pan, add the minced green onions.  Let onions cook in the oil.  Transfer to a bowl.
7.  Add 2.5 cups of boiling water to 1 cup of sugar.  Let cool.  Add fish sauce, lime, and fresh chili to the sugar water to make a sauce.

How to Prepare your Banh Beo:

Spread some scallion oil on top of the rice cakes, and then shrimp. Pour lots of fish sauce and pickled carrots on top and enjoy!