Bun Cha Ca - Fish Cake Noodle Soup ( Lent Friendly)

One of my favorite dish I was introduced to in Da Nang was their Bun Cha Ca.  It was the very first dish I ate when I first got off the plane.  Their take on Bun Cha Ca was so delicious and light, and I love the sweetness from all the vegetables they use like cabbage and squash.   This is my my quick take on this soup and it's Lent friendly.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 lb of ground shrimp
1/2 cup of dried prawn (tom kho)
cha ca (fish cake)
1 cup of pineapple
1 cup of kabocha squash (optional)
1 cup of bamboo tips
2 cups of cabbage
2 roma tomato (quartered)
4 quart of water
2 shallots (minced)
1 tablespoon of salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon mushroom seasoning
fish sauce
cooking oil
1 teaspoon of paprika
vermicelli noodle
lettuce
green onions

1.  Cook down the dried prawns in water to start the broth. Sauteed ground shrimp with 1 minced shallot and season with some fish sauce.   Add ground shrimp to the broth.  Add salt, sugar, and mushroom seasoning to the broth.

2.  Sauteed the pineapple, tomato, and bamboo with some fish sauce.  Add this mixture to the broth.

3.  Add the cha ca and cabbage to the broth.  Let everything cook thoroughly.

4.  Sauteed remaining minced shallots in some oil, add the paprika and cook on low heat.  Add this mixture to the broth for color.

4.  Make noodles, and prepare lettuce and green onions.

5.  Enjoy with some shrimp paste and chili!

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!

Canh Chua Ca - Sour Fish Soup

The word sour and fish doesn't sound too appetizing together does it?  But don't let that hinder you from trying out this delicious soup.  Canh chua is a sour soup produce by fresh vegetables and one key ingredient tamarind.  Whole tamarind pulp, pineapple, and tomatoes is used to produce sourness to the soup. Okra, bean sprouts, and a strange stalk called elephant ear (bac ha) is also unique to this recipe.  The spongy like elephant ear and slimy okra soaks up the broth and every time you take a bite your mouth is gushing with sweet tangy flavor.

Canh chua is usually made with fish therefore it is commonly accompanied by ca kho, Vietnamese braised fish.  This recipe also works well with shrimp and again you can use extra shrimp to make tom kho (Vietnamese braised shrimp).  I prefer to make this soup with fish especially whole cat fish.  While visiting home this weekend, my uncle brought over some freshly caught striped bass and catfish, they were 5 - 8 lbs a piece.  Nothing beats fresh ingredients when it comes to Vietnamese cooking!  Without even thinking, my mom and I already know what's in store for dinner.

I don't order this dish when i'm eating out very often because everybody like it a different way.  We all have our own interpretation of the perfect canh chua and that is best achieved at home in our own kitchen.  Even though it is called sour soup, I like to make mine sweet as well and let's not forget I like everything spicy.  When I taste this soup I want to get a punch of sourness, a flicker of sweetness, and kick of spiciness.  It's like a party in your mouth, flavors fighting to get your attention.  While this soup is usually eaten with rice you can also eat it as a noodle soup with vermicelli noodles.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 whole pineapple or 1 can of pineapple in syrup (I like to use the canned pineapple in syrup because it does a good of sweetening the broth so I don't have to add so much sugar)
4-5 tomatoes quartered
2-3 stalks of elephant ear cut into 2 inch section
1 lb of okra cut in half
a handful of beansprouts
Thai chili
ngo om 
4 - 5tablespoon of fresh tamarind pulp ( I like my soup pretty sour so I would start w/ 3 tablespoon)
tamarind powder
sugar
salt
fish sauce
mushroom seasoning
catfish 2-3 lbs cut into smaller portion will do but the more the better

1. Marinade the fish by sprinkling it evenly with salt and dash of fish sauce and some green onions. My mom likes to pan sear her fish ahead of time so it won't break a part when you put it in the pot.
2. Fill a 8 qt. pot 3/4 of the way with water.
3.  Add the fish to the broth on medium heat, if you use high heat the fish may break apart easier.  Let the fish thoroughly cook in the broth for a 10-15 minutes depending how much you use.
4.  Remove fish from broth and set a side for later.
5. Add the tamarind and if you are using canned pineapple drain the syrup into the pot.

6. Let the tamarind break apart and flavor the water.  Then you'll want to scoop it out and discard.

7. At this point you'll want to flavor your broth with salt, sugar, and additional tamarind powder if you like it more sou.  Start off with about 2 tablespoon of salt, and more sugar if needed.  I went ahead and added a bit more tamarind powder.  At this point the broth will seem really overwhelming with a a lot of flavor but once you add all the vegetables it will lighten it up a lot.  So seasoned everything very aggressively before I add the vegetables.  

8.  Add the vegetables.  Okra and elephant ear will take a bit more time to cook so i usually put that in first followed by tomatoes, pineapple, and bean sprouts.  Try not to overcook the vegetables to much or the vegetables will lose its texture.  

9.  Season more fish sauce if needed.

10.  Turn off the stove re-the fish to the pot if you plan to eat it right away.  Add chopped ngo om and thai chili.

Goi Xoai Ca - Mango Salad w/ Cod

I went a little mango crazy this past week, the local grocery store was having a sale and the mangoes looked very promising. I love eating mangoes by itself but decided to switch things up as a salad. The mangoes were a tad bit unripe and very firm, perfect for a salad. It was till very tart which I like, but I know if I had made this for my mom she would be squirming. If you can't handle the sourness then I would suggest marinading the mangoes in a lot of sugar. For proteins I used some left over cod, it would have been great if I had some sashimi grade fish to make a mango ceviche but maybe next time. For little time and effort, you can take dinner to a tropical paradise!

Ingredients:

2 firm mangoes (julienned)

1 red bell pepper (julienned)

2 small carrots (julienned)

1 red onions (thinly sliced)

1 lb of cod

a bunch of Thai basil (rough chopped)

a bunch of Vietnamese coriander (rough chopped)

1 lime

Thai chili to your liking

fish sauce

sugar

olive oil

1. Marinade the mango, carrot, bell pepper, and onions w

ith 3 tablespoon of sugar. Let sit int he fridge for about 1-2 hours.

2. Heat up some olive oil in frying pan. Pan-fry the cod but

try not to over cook it. Remove from and let cool.

3. Removed the mango mixture and drain all the excess liquid.

4. Break the cod into large chunks with your chopstick and add squeeze half a lime on it.

5. Add 1-1.5 tablespoon of fish sauce to the mango mixture, 1/2 a lime, and chili to your liking. Mix together well. Add more fish sauce if the mango is still too sour for your taste.

6. Add the cod chunks and the chopped basil and coriander.

7. Serve and enjoy!

Ca Nuong - Baked Fish

If you could eat one thing for the rest of your life...what would it be? My mom and I had a conversation about this over dinner a while ago. We made a nice dinner spread which included ca kho (fish braised in caramel sauce), dau hu chien (fried tofu), and canh kho qua (bittermelon soup). We both agreed it was the best meal EVER, and could literally eat it everyday. Things got semi-serious when I asked her what she would eat if she could only eat one dish for the rest of her life. She said hands down it was ca kho. Then it was my turn. First I picked Bun Bo Hue, then I changed it to Canh Chua, and then it was Bo Luc Lac. I thought about it for days. I finally decide that I can seriously eat banh trang cuon (summer roll) for the rest of my life. With good fish sauce, anything rolled in rice paper will be satisfying. My protein of choice is definitely fish, baked fish!

Simplicity is key to baking the perfect fish! You just want to lightly salt both side of the fish. Brush a little oil on your cooking sheet so the fish doesn't stick and fall apart. Bake the fish in the oven at 375 degrees. I don't really have a set time, just until both side become golden brown, and the top side I will leave it in until it's crispy. In my family we fight for the crispy tail! Just before I take out the fish, I will sprinkle minced green onions on top. I don't brush any additional oil on the fish because catfish is oily enough. When the fish is ready to serve, I top more green onions as well as fried onions (hanh phi). It's really that simple. Once you combine the fish, herbs, and noodles and drench it in fish sauce, every bite will leave you wanting more. I can sit there and eat 10+ of these rolls! Honestly, I pray I NEVER would be limited to one food item for the rest of my life and wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.

Components to Ca Nuong
Rice paper ( banh trang)
Vermicelli rice noodle (bun)
Cucumber
Choice of lettuce
Pickled vegetable (optional but I usually have pickled carrots at hand)
Herbs (cilantro, basil, fish mint, etc)
Dipping sauce
Green onion in oil (sautee green onions in oil)
Crushed Peanuts

Preparing the Fish: I like to use catfish for this recipe.  If it's a bigger fish, you might want to butterfly it.

1. Lightly rub both side of the fish with salt.
2. Pop it in the oven at 375 degrees until the fish has crisp up.
3.  Mix one teaspoon of honey with one teaspoon of vinegar and brush it on top of the fish.
4.  Pop it back in the oven on broil until the fish is golden brown.  The honey/vinegar will form a sweet coating and help achieve more color.
5.  Brush the fish with some sauteed green onions and topped off the fish with some crushed peanuts.
6.  Serve and enjoy!

Ca Kho - Braised Fish in Caramel Sauce

Ca kho is one of my favorite dishes growing up. We often eat variation of this dish each week because it's simple to make and does not require a lot of ingredients. My mom loves experimenting with different type of fishes and I am always an eager guinea pig.  I especially love fatty fishes like bass and catfish because it doesn't try out as easily. 

Here are some helpful tips from my mom herself to make delicious moist ca kho.  Cooking oil will help your fish stay moist throughout the cooking process.  Avoid adding any type of liquid to your fish, mom says it will only enhance the fishy smell.  Cook the fish on low heat, this will allow fish to release their juice and also allow the sauce to reduce gradually.  I like my sauce to be savory sweet but you can definitely play around with the sweetness by adding additional sugar.  Enjoy!


Ingredients:

4-5 fish steak
3 tablespoon of sugar
3-4 stalk of green onion
salt
ground pepper
fish sauce
fresh chili
cooking oil


1. Wash and clean your fish.
2. Marinate your fish with 1/4 cup of fish sauce, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper, and 3 tablespoon of cooking oil.  Let marinate for about 30 minutes.

3.  Transfer fish to a pan.  Let pan heat up all the way and then turn it down to low. 
4.  In a separate pan heat up 1 tbl of sugar.  Once sugar turn color (caramelizes), turn off heat and then add 1 tbl of water.  This mixture will be use to color the fish.
5.  Add the color to your fish.  Gently flip fish steaks to ensure you coat the fish with the coloring.
6.  Sprinkle 2 tbl sugar to the fish, you can add more to your liking.
7.  Let fish steaks braise on low heat for about 30 minutes.
8.  Near the end add 1/2 cup of green onions and as much chili as your like.  Top off with some ground black pepper.
9.  Enjoy with a hot bowl of rice :)