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 Hen - Baby Clam Vermicelli

I've recently been introduced to this lovely dish, originated from the city of Hue.  My parents never had this dish while they were in Vietnam, which led to my late meeting with this dish as well.  It's crazy how vast the Vietnamese cuisine is for my parents in their 60's have not had this dish.  Being from the North and migrated to the South when they were very young may have an impact.  I am truly overjoyed that we have finally met because I know we will be friends for a very long time.

This dish can be eaten with rice noodles or rice, but I always prefer noodles over rice.  In Vietnam, the baby clams are picked right out of the freshwater and steamed with lemongrass.  I can imagine how fragrance and fresh the baby clams taste.  Unfortunately, we do not have that luxury here in the States, often have to settle for canned our frozen clams.  Even so, I still love eating Bun Hen. I love that this dish requires fresh vegetables and herb, and can be eaten with sesame rice cracker.  The clams is sauteed and seasoned with shallots, garlic, and black peppers.  Like most bun dish, there needs to be a sauce.  It's not he limey fish sauce that we have become familiar with.  For this dish, we make the sauce from fermented fish paste (mam ruot) and the clam juice.  The sauce is salty and pungent, but is needed to bring this dish together.

I've tasted Bun Hen made by different people, and there are certainly some differences.  Some seasoned the clams a lot more and some makes a lighter sauce than others.  But no matter how different each Bun Hen taste, the one thing that makes the dish so delicious is the vegetables and herbs.  I always tell people that herbs is an essential ingredient to Vietnamese cuisine.  I cannot claim that this recipe is authentic, but this what I have come up with after tasting different Bun Hen.  Perfect dish for the summertime, enjoy!

Ingredients:
rice noodles
3 10 oz cans of baby clams
fermented fish paste
1 tablespoon of minced shallots
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
romaine lettuce
Vietnamese coriander
diep ca
cucumber juliened
sesame rice cracker
salt
sugar
chili powder
black pepper

1.  Cook the vermicelli rice noodles and let it dry.  If you are using rice, cook the rice a little bit dryer than usually.  Mushy rice will ruin this dish.
2.  Open the canned clams and drained the liquid, setting the liquid aside to make sauce.
3.  Washed all the vegetables and herbs, and let dry.  The lettuce and herbs should be chopped for easier eating.  You can mixed the two together as well.
4.  In a pan, heat up about two tablespoon of cooking oil.  Add 1/2 of the shallot and garlic and cook until fragrance.  Add the baby clams to the pan and sauteed together with the shallot and garlic.  Seasoned the clams lightly with some of salt, sugar, black pepper and chili powder.  I like to eat spicy food, therefore you can omit the chili powder if you do not like spicy food.  Continue to cook this mixture, and if like it a little burned you can cook the clams a little longer.
5.  In a small pot, heat up two table spoon of cooking oil.  Add the remaining garlic and shallots and sauteed until fragrance.  Add the juice of the canned clams (about 2 cups) to the pot, and then stir in 4-5 tablespoon of fermented fish paste.  I added 2 tablespoon of chili powder for spiciness.  Once the sauce has come to a boil, turn off the heat.
6.  In a bowl, add rice noodles, vegetables, cucumber and herbs.  Scoop however much of the sauteed clams you want on top.  Add some sesame rice cracker and then add sauce to your liking.  You can cut in additional chili if you like it really spicy.  Mix everything together and enjoy!

Ca Tai Chanh - Vietnamese Style Ceviche

My first ever ceviche experience is through the Travel Channel. Every time Anthony Bourdain or Andrew Zimmern travel to any places near water, they always get to eat the most amazing ceviche. Yes I know we can't possibly experience what they experience with their taste buds but it was still a beautiful experience with my eyes.

The Midwest is probably the last place you would ever find ceviche but I lucked out. I went to lunch with a friend at this Peruvian restaurant in a shady area of town. Yelp boast it was the best ceviche in town but I took it with a grain of salt, we do live in corn country after all. The ceviche arrived on a huge plate, and still the shrimp, squid, and fish were spilling every where. I knew I would love it just by looking at it and I did! It was so amazing, I can't imagine how even more amazing it would be to have ceviche made fresh right out of the water.

I wanted to recreate the ceviche I had but of course with a Vietnamese twist. This is a great dish to beat the summer heat, enjoy!

Ingredients:

sushi grade tilapia or cod

sushi grade octopus tenacles

shrimp (I bought already cooked cocktail shrimp)

red onions (thinly sliced)

cilantro (rough chopped)

Vietnamese coriander (rough chopped)

2-3 lime

fish sauce

sliced habanero pepper (or whatever you like)

crushes peanuts

fried shallots (hanh phi)

1. Cut the tilapia into flat pieces.

2. Squeeze enough lime to cover the fish and let the fish cook in the lime juice.

3. Thinly sliced the octopus.

4. Add the octopus and shrimp to the lime juice with the fish.

5. Drain about half of the lime juice from the seafood mixture.

6. Add two tablespoon of fish sauce to the sea

food mixture.

7. Add the sliced onions and pepper, toss thoroughly.

8. Right before serving add the cilantro and coriander.

9. Top off with peanuts and shallots.

Bun Rieu - Crab Cake Vermicelli Noodle Soup (Lent Friendly)

Sorry for posting this up when Lent is about to end. I promise you won't notice a big difference from the traditional recipe, so feel free to use this recipe year round. I actually prefer the meatless version of Bun Rieu, so I have an excuse to LOAD up on seafood. When I was younger, I was not a fan of pork products so my mom usually makes meatless Bun Rieu anyways.

I buy canned crab meat in the refrigerated seafood section at Costco or Meijer, I prefer Costco crab meat even though it is more expensive. Believe me they are good right out of the can!

Usually we use pork neck bones to make the broth but dried prawns will work just fine. Ground pork is usually added to the "rieu" to glue all the wet ingredients together but ground dried prawns actually does a better job. I also listed V8 vegetable juice as an ingredient but you definitely can leave that off. I actually bought a case of it from Costco thinking it was something else so I'm just trying to get rid of it in my cooking. The vegetable juice add a really nice color to my broth and an extra umphh of tomato flavor. Try this recipe out and see if anybody can tell a difference, my boyfriend sure didn't!

Ingredients2 lb of shrimp with head
2 cups of dried prawns (tom kho)
1/2 can of crab meat
2 eggs
1 jar of crab paste in soy bean oil (cach cua)
6-8 large tomatoes cut in quarters
1 daikon
shrimp paste (mam tom)
salt
sugar
fish sauce
mushroom seasoning
black pepper
green onions
water

1. Soak dried prawns in warm water until it is more tender to use. Peel the shrimp but save the shells and heads.
2. Fill pot with  4 quarts of water and add 1/2 of the dried prawns rough chopped, shrimp heads, shells, and daikon.  Simmer until daikon and dried shrimp is tender. 
3. Season broth with 2 tbl of salt, 1 tbl mushroom seasoning, and 1/2 tbl sugar. 
4. With a food processor, finely mince the other half of the dried prawns and shrimp. 
5. Place mixture from step #4  in mixing bowl; add the crab meat, crab paste from the jar, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon of shrimp paste, and a couple dash of black pepper. Mix thoroughly until it become a uniform mixture.

6.  Once your broth is finish (meaning you have extract all the flavors from the ingredients) remove shells, shrimp heads, and daikon from the broth. 
7. Sauteed tomatoes with a little bit of fish sauce and transfer to broth. 
8. Bring pot to a boil and spoon in mixture from step #5 to the broth.  Let the rieu cook thoroughly. 
9. Do one last tasting, add nuoc mam if needed.
10. Cook your noodles and get your garnishes ready.
11.  Serve and enjoy!

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!

Canh Bun - Ricefield Crab Noodle Soup

Meet Bun Rieu's sister, Canh Bun, which also originated in Northern Vietnam.  During the short time I lived in Saigon, Canh Bun was my breakfast of choice. It is called "canh" because you cook the noodles and vegetables in the broth the same way we use the term Banh Canh.  Canh Bun is a tad lighter than Bun Rieu, but made in a similar way with smashed rice field crab (cua dong).  The usual suspect we find in Canh Bun are tofu, blanched morning glory, and pork blood.  All the ingredients are cooked in the broth with the noodles, which add their own flavors to the broth.

It may appear similar to Bun Rieu but definitely have some difference.  The crab mixture in Bun Rieu is sturdy and becomes almost like a cake. Canh Bun's crab mixture is fluffy and easy to break apart. To achieve that fluffy texture fresh rice field crabs are smashed, shell and all, into a paste.  The paste is use to flavor the broth, the cooked crab paste then floats to the top of the pot similar to bun rieu.  I use frozen ground rice field crab to flavor the broth, no Canh Bun is complete without the aroma and bits of rice field crabs in every bowl.  I use a jar of crab meat in soya bean oil instead of the jar we use to make bun rieu, there is less seasoning because it's just crab meat in oil.  Some canh bun vendor does not use tomato, I like tomatoes in mine so it's your call.

I also included rice paper (banh trang) in the ingredient list.  I'm not sure if vendors still sell Canh Bun with rice paper nowaday but it's a must for me.  Rice paper was used as another form of noodle.  Since rice paper is cheap, vendor would add it to Canh Bun to make it more filling.  I personally love it because the rice paper absorb all the flavor and the texture is just amazing. 

Ingredients:

pork bones (1 lbs)

1/2 cup of dried prawns (tom kho)

1 container of frozen rice field crab paste

1 jar of crab meat in soya bean oil

2 eggs

salt

mushroom seasoning

fish sauce

shrimp paste (mam tom)

rock sugar

3-4 large tomatoes (quarterd)

1 large bunch of morning glory

tofu 

pork blood (cubed)

large rice noodle (use for Bun Bo Hue)

Vietnamese chive

lime

herbs of choice (optional)

rice paper (optional)

1. Par boil pork bones.  Rinse bones well under cool water.  Transfer clean bone to a 6 quart pot and fill with water.

2. Let bone simmer in pot.

3. Soak dried prawns in warm water until soften, and add dried shrimp to the pot.

4. Season the broth with 4 tablespoon of salt, 1 chunk of rock sugar, and 2 tablespoon mushroom seasoning.
5.  Sauteed the crab meat in soya bean oil in a smal sauce pan and then add it to the pot.

6.  Combine the ground rice field crab with 2 eggs, and blend them together in a blender.
7.  Pour the crab mixture into a microwave safe container.  Wrap the container with plastic wrap and cook this crab mixture for 10-15 in the microwave.  Let the crab mixture cool. There might be excess liquid in the crab mixture, drain as much of it as you can add it to the pot.  Set the crab mixture aside for later.

8. Wash morning glory and then blanch, drained and let dry.

9. Cook the noodle until al dente, drained and then let dry.

11. Transfer 1 cup of the broth to a sauce pan, add 2 tablespoon of shrimp paste and let it cook.  Once the shrimp paste dissolved completely, add the shrimp paste liquid into the pot.  This will help flavor the broth.

12. Add tomatoes, tofu and blood cubes.  

13. Add more sugar, and fish sauce if needed.
14.  The broth is ready for eating.You can put noodle and morning glory right into the pot and start cooking it. I like to use a separate smaller pot to prepare each bowl. Cook a little bit of everything in the broth.  Since the crab mixture is very delicate, keep it on the side until the very end when you are about to transfer the soup to the bowl.  Since it is already cooked, I just scoop a little bit of it into the bowl.  Enjoy!

Mi Hoanh Thanh - Wonton Noodle Soup

   

I posted a recipe for Wonton Soup before but this version is with egg noodle and the broth is slightly different. I really despise the pictures quality of the previous post so this give me a chance to redeem myself.

I am a huge fan of wonton noodle soup especially with roasted duck. Roasted duck is not exactly easy to make at home so I usually make Xa Xiu instead. There's something about adding BBQ meat to the broth, it take the flavor to another level. With that being said I think it's best to let the meat marinade in the xa xiu seasoning overnight. Enjoy this recipe and the pictures!

Broth:

1 lb pork neck bones
1 large chunk of ginger
1 medium yellow onion
fish sauce
rock sugar
mushroom seasoning
salt
black pepper

Wonton Filling:

1 lb of shrimp (cut into smaller pieces)
a couple dash of salt
ground pepper
finely minced green onions
1 teaspoon of mushroom bouillon
2 teaspoon of oyster sauce
2teaspoon of sugar

Other Ingredients:

Xa Xiu
1 package of egg noodle soup
green onions
wonton wrappers


Cooking:



1. Marinade pork in xa xiu seasoning over night.
2. Rinse and clean the pork bones with plenty of salt.
3. Pre-boil bones.
4. Add ginger and onion to broth. Season broth with 1/4 tablespoon of salt, a good chunk of rock sugar, and 1 tablespoon of mushroom seasoning. Let simmer for an hour.
5. Prepare the wonton filling by combining all the listed ingredients. Let the mixture sit in the fridge until ready so it will get a chance to stick together.
6. Pan fry the Xa Xiu. Let it cool down and then slice into thin pieces.
7. Boil egg noodle with water and a pinch of salt. Rinse with cold water and let it dry out a bit.
8. Season the broth with 1-2 tablespoon of fish sauce and a couple dash of black pepper. Add more sugar if needed.
9. Once the broth is ready, start preparing the wonton. Scoop a teaspoon of shrimp filling onto a wrapper and pinch the corners together with warm water.
10. Add wonton to broth to cook. I like to make each bowl of soup individually in a small saucepan. There is more heat to cook the wonton faster.


Pour hot broth and wonton over egg noodle. Add the xa xiu meat and garnish with some green onions. Enjoy!

Bun Oc - Snail Noodle Soup

Don't mistake Bun Oc for a bowl of Bun Rieu, they do appear very similar. Both soup has a reddish hue from the tomatoes simmering in the broth. The misconception of these two soups started when people often add Oc to their Bun Rieu, which I love by the way. The broth to Bun Oc is much lighter and there is more emphasis on the tomatoes.

This recipe is inspired by my first visit to Maryland. After a long 4 hour ride I was welcomed with a bowl of noodle soup with fresh conch meat. Upon slurping the broth I can smell the sweet aroma of ginger, lemongrass and taste the sourness of the tomatoes. I added fresh fish mints, dills, and perillas to the steaming bowl, and flavor it with a teaspoon of fermented shrimp paste(mam tom). The conch meat was incredibly sweet and it felt like the lemongrass was created just to be use for this soup. At that moment I felt like I was eating at a street stall back in Vietnam, a taste of Que Huong.

Since it is lent season I used dried shrimp (tom kho) for the broth, otherwise a pork broth would be just as great. I used frozen snail meat labeled as Oc Buou (the larger snails), which saved me a lot of time on removing the shell. To flavor the broth I used a lot of ginger and lemongrass. Since snail meat is not exactly filling I added tiger shrimp to fill in the voids. Enjoy!

Ingredients:


1/2 cup of dried shrimp (tom kho)
2 chunk of ginger (about the size of your thumb)
4-5 stalk of lemongrass
6 large tomatoes (cut into large pieces)
2 tablespoon of tomato paste (for color)
1 package of frozen snail meat
1/2 lb of tiger shrimp (remove shell)
1 shallot minced
fish sauce
salt
rock sugar
fermented shrimp paste (mam tom)
mushroom seasoning
cooking oil
green onions/red onions (optional) chopped
1 package of rice vermicelli

Cooking:


1. Rinse and soak dried shrimp in warm water. When it has soften rough chop it into smaller pieces.
2. Bring a pot of water to boil, add the dried shrimp, lemon grass stalk, and ginger. Let this simmer for about 30 minutes.
3. Add rock sugar, 2-3 teaspoon of salt, and 1 tablespoon of mushroom seasoning to the broth.
4. Heat up a large pan with cooking oil. Caramelized the shallots and then add the snail meat. Season the snail meat with 1 tablespoon of fish sauce and 1 teaspoon of mushroom seasoning.
5. Add the tomatoes and tomato paste to the snail meat and stir fry. Add 1 tablespoon of shrimp paste. Stir fry for a couple minutes.
6. Add the snail meat/tomatoes mixture to the broth and let simmer.
7. Add another 1 tablespoon of fish sauce and additional sugar if needed.
8. Add shrimp and let it cook through.
9. Prepare the rice vermicelli.

Pour boiling broth over noodles and garnish with some onions. A simple and healthy meal, enjoy!

Banh Canh Cua - Tapioca Noodle Crab Soup

I never liked this soup growing up. I thought it was bland and boring, but of course my mom would always make it. I'm sorry foodies; I was a clueless child then and did not appreciate the essence of this soup. I remember throwing a tantrum one time when I was little because I did not want to eat it. My brother was like you are eating wrong! When you eat banh canh you're suppose to add a squirt of lime, extra fish sauce, and a lot of pepper. You know it's just right when you can taste the sourness from the lime and the saltiness of the fish sauce. It was perfect! Luckily I grew to love this soup but only with extra lime, fish sauce, and pepper of course. I guess big brothers are good for some things.

 This recipe was inspired by my friend's mom. I had a bowl of her banh canh and instantly was intrigue by her broth. As I was slurping her broth I noticed a familarity. It looks like banh canh but why does it have a hint of Bun Rieu in it? Well that's because she uses the crab paste from the jar commonly use to make the "cach" for bun rieu. I like to use canned crab meat from Costco.  You can add a lot of different ingredients to banh canh such quail eggs, pork blood, and fish cakes.

Ingredients:

2 lbs shirmp
2 cup of crabmeat (thawed if frozen)
fresh store brough banh canh noodle from the freezer section
1 tablespoon of minced shallot
2 tablespoon of crab paste
cooking oil
4 quart of water
1.5 tablespoon of salt
fish sauce
3/4 tablespoon of sugar
1 tablespoon mushroom seasoning
1 shallots minced
ground pepper
yellow onions (3 quarters for broth, 1 quarter thinly sliced for garnish
green onions (finely chopped)
cilantro (finely chopped)
fried shallots
lime
fresh chilies

1. Ground 1/2 of the shrimp in a blender
2. Sauteed ground shrimp with some oil in soup pot.  Add 4 quart of water to the pot, along with salt, sugar, and mushroom seasoning.  Let it come to a boil and then turn down to medium for 30 minutes.  Remove any residue from broth.
3.  Peel the other half of the shrimp and cook them right in broth.  Once the shrimps are cooked, remove and set aside for later.
4. Heat up 1/2 tablespoon of oil in a small pan. Add the minced shallot (you can use the white part of the green onions as well) and saute until fragrance.
5. Add the crab meat and saute with the shallots. Season with a little bit of fish sauce and ground pepper. Add the crab paste and continue to stir.
6. Add the crabmeat into the broth and let simmer for 15-20 mins.  Your broth is done.
7.  If you like your soup thick like gravy, you want to have water and tapioca start handy.
Some people like to add the noodles directly into the pot but I can't risk overcooking the noodles. I prefer to transfer a portion of the broth to smaller pot and prepare individual bowls. Bring the pot to a boil, add shrimp and noodle and let cook. Dissolve about 1-2 tablespoon of tapioca with enough water.  Add this to your broth  to thicken the broth.  Once the noodle is soft enough to eat, transfer to bowl immediately. Top off with green onions, sliced onions, and cilantro.
8.  Enjoy!

Sup Chua Cay Thailand - Tom Yum

I love themed dinners...I'm such a dork! As I was getting groceries for the Thai Papaya Salad, I just had this urge to make Tom Yum to go with it. I order Tom Yum every time I eat Thai, it is a must or I will not be satisfied. A lot of people compare Tom Yum to the Vietnamese Canh Chua. I guess I can see the similarity due to the tartness of both soup, but they both have their own unique flavors. Tom Yum has a sharp fragrance from the lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves, definitely a sinus clearing smell. The broth of Tom Yum is more briny and sour whereas canh chua is more sweet and sour. I guess it just irritates me when people tell me we are going to eat Lau Thai (Thai Hotpot) but we are really eating Canh chua?

What I really wanted to get out of this soup is as a lot of fragrance and flavor from the lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves. I did this by letting the lemongrass and lime leaves simmer in chicken broth for over an hour, to the point where the lemongrass falls apart. Believe me it will make a difference! Another thing I love about Tom Yum is you can a lot of different type of proteins. Don't get me wrong because I do love Canh Chua, but I feel it taste best with catfish. For this recipe I will stick with shrimp and squid. Feel free to use other shellfish or even meat!

Ingredients:

4 cans of chicken broth
1/2 lb of shrimp (peeled)
1/2 lb of squid (cut into smaller portion)
3 stalks of lemongrass
4-5 kaffir lime leaves
4 roma tomatoes (cut into quarter)
1/2 yellow onions (cut vertically into medium strips)
1 cup of sliced button mushroom
cilantro for garnish
sugar
fish sauce
mushroom seasoning
tamarid
fresh chilies

1. Cut the lemon grass in half and bruise it with the handle of your knife.
2. Bring chicken broth to a boil and throw in the lemon grass and kaffir lime leaves. Cover the pot and let simmer for an hour. If the broth reduces too much just add water.
3. Flavor the broth with 1-2 tablespoon of fish sauce, 1/2 tablespoon of sugar, 1/3 tablespoom of tamarid powder, 2 teaspoon of mushroom seasoning, and fresh chilies.
4. Add tomatoes and let cook for 5 minutes and then add mushroom and onions.
5. Once the vegetables are cooked, add the shrimp and squid. Cook them last so they will be fresh when you are ready to serve.
6. Top off with little bit of cilantro.

Enjoy!

Sup Do Bien - Seafood Soup

Would you like soup or salad? Soup please! Indeed I am a soup fanatic! I could be sitting in 90 degrees weather and I'd still order a steaming hot bowl of soup. Not only are they delicious but I just love the whole soup concept. You don't need the best cut meats or the finest vegetables. Just use what you have and throw it in a pot. Soup is about slowly cooking the ingredients and extracting all the unique flavors. Cooking with love :)

Seafood soup is often serve as a starter for wedding banquet. You can find them on most Chinese menu but most of the time you don't get actual seafood or very little of it. This soup reminds me of Sup Mang Cua but more subtle. The crab flavor just stand out more in a soup. Since it's home made I just had to use whole scallops and shrimps! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/2 lb shrimps peeled
1/2 lb bay scallops
1/2 cup of peas and carrots mixture
1 cup of tofu cubed
1 cup of mushroom quartered
1 cup of white fungus rough chopped
2-3 chicken legs (you can also use 3-4 can of chicken broth instead)
1 teaspoon of minced garlic
1 teaspoon of minced scallion

egg whites (or whole eggs)
salt
fish sauce
sugar
chicken bouillon
ground pepper
corn starch

1. Cook the chicken legs in 6 cups of water to make a stock.
2. Taste the stock with salt, sugar, fish sauce, and chicken bouillon. It's ok if it is a little bit salty because once you the vegetable and corn starch it should balance it out.
3. Heat up a pan with cooking oil, scallion, and garlic. Add scallop and shrimp and saute with ground pepper, sugar, and a bit fish sauce. You don't have to fully cook them.
4. Dissolve about 1/2 cup of cornstarch with cool water.
5. Add cornstarch mixture to the soup and stir. The soup should thicken, then add the rest of the ingredients. If the soup is too thick then add a little bit of water until it's to your liking.
6. You can add more fish sauce and ground pepper at this point.

7. Add the eggs at the end and stir into the soup. You can just turn off the heat and the eggs will continue to cook.
8. Garnish with some green onions and you are ready to serve.

Sup Hoanh Thanh Xa Xiu - Shrimp Wonton Soup with BBQ Pork

I was hoping to have some leftover xa xiu from the hu tieu because that will give me a chance to make more food. I've been wanting to make some wonton soup for a while now because I love getting them at Chinese restaurant. One of the places I've eaten at actually use xa xiu in their wonton soup so this works out very well. I like wonton soup because it's light yet filling to eat. Some are made with a subtle chicken broth while others are flavored with the fragrant sesame oil. I particularly love the buffet version that has a hint of soy sauce. I made a pork broth since I still have extra bones but I'm sure chicken broth will be just as good. Nothing beats homemade soup so enjoy!

Broth:

1 lbs of pork neck bones

2-3 quart of water

2 teaspoon salt

1 and 1/2 tablespoon of sugar

1-2 teaspoon mushroom bouillon (i'm sure chicken will work as well)

a couple dash of fish sauce

1 tablespoon of soy sauce

1. Rinse bones with plenty of salt.

2. Pre-boil bones.

3. Let bones simmer in water with the reck of the ingredients

Wonton:

wonton wrappers

1/2 lb of shrimp

a couple dash of salt

ground pepper

finely minced green onions

1/2 teaspoon of mushroom bouillon

1 teaspoon of oyster sauce (optional but it helps to bind the shrimp together)

1 teaspoon of sugar

1. Cut the shrimp into smaller pieces.

2. Add the dry ingredients, oyster sauce, and green onions to the shrimp and mix.

3. Scoop a teaspoon of shrimp mixture to a wonton wrapper. Bring all the corners of the wrapper to the middle and twist.

4. Add to the broth to cook.

Other:

1. Pan fry the prepared xa xiu. Sliced thinly and add to the bowl before cooking(avoid adding to the soup while still cooking because you will lose some of them yummy flavor).

2. Chopped green onions for garnish.

Hu Tieu - Pork and Seafood Noodle Soup

I had an awesome bowl of seafood egg noodle soup (mi do bien) at Hai Ky Mi Gia at Eden Center in Washington D.C. My friend got the dry version (mi kho) so I had a few bite of it too. I am now a fan of mi kho, especially the sauce that came with it! My intention for this weekend is to try to recreate the mi kho I had at HKMG. I just couldn't get the sauce right and the sauce really makes this dish. It’s a good thing I have a backup and made the broth version with hu tieu noodle.

Hu Tieu is to south Vietnam as Pho is to the north, and Bun Bo Hue is to central Vietnam. Hu tieu stalls are EVERYWHERE in Saigon. There are so many version of hu tieu such as Nam Vang, My Tho, bo vien, xa xiu, do bien, and so on. I actually prefer some hu tieu to pho because I like having a variety of meat and toppings and of course the chewy texture of the noodle. I will continue to practice for the mi kho but until then enjoy a steamy bowl of hu tieu!

Broth:

2 lbs pork neck bones

1 cup of dried prawns (rinse and soaked in warm water)

1 dried squid

1 small daikon ( cut into small portion)

1 yellow onion (charred)

rock sugar

salt

fish sauce

msg (optional)

water

1. Rub bones with plenty of salt and rinse with cold water.

2. Pre-boil bones, then repeat step one wit

hout using salt.

3. Return bones to a pot of water. Let bones

simmer and remove as much scum as possible.

4. Add dried prawns,daikon, and yellow onion.

5. Taste broth with salt, rock sugar, and msg.

6. Let the broth sit for an hour or two.

7. Retaste broth, add fish sauce if needed.

Toppings:

xa xiu

shrimp (Tiger Shrimps are great because

they are plump and sweet!)

squid

quail eggs (optional)

ground pork

How to make Xa Xiu:

1 lb pork shoulder

1/2 tablespoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon of five spice

1/2 talbespoon of sugar

1 package of xa xiu seasoning

couple dash of salt

1/2 cup of water

1. Rub a little bit of salt on the pork.

2. Combine garlic, five spice, sugar, water, and xa xiu seasoning to make a marinade.

3. Let pork shoulder marinade for as least 1-2 hours.

4. Then pan fry when ready to eat.

How to prepare other toppings:

1. Use 1 can of quail eggs. Rinse and boil the eggs before eating.

2. Use 1lb of squid and cut it to your liking. Pre-

cook the squid by boiling in water.

3. Sauteed 1/2 lb of ground pork with minced shallots, sugar, ground pepper, and fish sauce.

4. Prepare 1 lb of shrimp. I like cooking them in the microwave so it retains the sweetness.

Garnish:

green onion

chives

bean sprout (optional)

lime (optional)

fresh chili (optional)

Noodle:

I use tapioca noodle from the asian market label as Hu Tieu My Tho. It doesn't require any boiling (but i'm sure it depends on the brand). I just soak it in warm water for 30-45 minutes. Once you pour hot broth over the noodle it will be soft and chewy.

Ca Hap Xi Dau - Fish Steamed in Soy Sauce

Some friends and I recently went "camping" at Virginia Beach.    I guess you can't really call it camping since half of us brought our laptop, ipod, and coffee maker.  We did, however, made it up by catching our own fish and cooking them in a "fire pit".  Between the five of us we managed to accumulate 23 croakers for dinner.  The plan was for each of us to create a dish of our choice. We made a quick stop at a near by asian market to gather a few ingredients.  The first thing that came to my mind is steamed fish in soy sauce with ginger and green onions, commonly found at Chinese restaurant.  After several hours of scaling and gutting our fishy, we finally got to play.

We eventually ate all 23 croakers and some even vow to not eat fish for a really long time. Overall it was a fun experience and you definitely could say we were roughing it!

Ca Hap Xi Dau - Fish Steamed in Soy Sauce

Ingredients:  

5 small croakers

2 stalk of green onions cut into 1 inch portion

1 table spoon of ginger cut into thin strips

1 cup of soy sauce

1-2 tablespoon of sugar

1 cup of cellopane noodle soak in warm water

a couple of ice cube

heavy duty aluminum foil

1.  Use the foil two make a steamer.  Make two batch so it will steam more quickly.  

2.  Place 2-3 fish in enough foil to complete wrap around the fish.  

3.  Combine soy sauce and sugar and mix together until sugar is dissolved. 

4.  Stuff enough cellophane noodle in the belly of the fish.

5.  Pour the soy sauce mixture on each fish.

6.  Top off the fish with ginger and green onions, you can even stuff some in the belly of the fish.

7.  Place a few ice cube in the foil along with the fish (A neat trick I learned to help the fish stay moist).

8.  Wrap up the fish in the foil and throw in the oven (in this case the fire pit) for about 30-45 minutes. 

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 :)

Bun Rieu - Crab Cake Noodle Soup

Bun Rieu was the first dish I learned to cook, there's always going to be a special spot in my heart for this noodle soup.  Bun Rieu is a noodle soup originated from northern Vietnam made with fresh rice paddy crab, Cua Dong.  During our visit to Vietnam in 2008 my mom actually got the chance to make bun rieu with fresh cua dong. She brought some home from the market to prepare for her pot of bun rieu.  She pound the crabs, shell and all, into a fine paste which is then use to make the rieu (the crab cake) and it also flavor the broth.  Cua dong is incredibly aromatic compare to other crabs and unique to soup like bun rieu and canh bun.  Every time I order a bowl of bun rieu in Vietnam, the first thing you smell is the rice paddy crab and it's incredible!

Here in the United States fresh rice paddy crabs in out of the question.  We have to settle for frozen cua dong, which can be very difficult to work with.  However, there is a crab paste that can be found as any Asian grocery store often labled as Gia Vi Nau Bun Rieu (seasoning for Bun Rieu).  This crab paste is already season, so you'll just need to combine with other ingredients to make it for meaty.  The usual suspects are ground pork, ground shrimp, crab meat, and ground dried prawns.  Eggs are then added to bind all these ingredients together.  When this mixture is added to the broth it form into a delicious, crab like cake.  The next best thing to cua dong!

Ingredients:

2-3 lbs of pork neck bones
1/2 cup of dried prawns (tom kho)
6-7 roma tomatoes (you can add more if you like tomatoes)
bean curd/tofu (optional)
pork blood (optional)
shrimp paste (mam tom)
rock sugar
cooking oil
salt
fish sauce
1 shallot (hanh huong)
4 stalk of green onions (chopped)
split water spinach (rau muong) or your greens of choice
lime
chili
rice vermicelli

Crab cake or rieu mixture:

1/2 cup of dried prawns
1/2 lb of groud pork
1/2 lb shrimp (I find the shrimp with head attached is sweeter)
1 cup of crab meat (frozen, canned, or fresh whatever you like)
1 jar of crab paste or gia vi nau bun rieu (save 1 tablespoon for color)
2 shallots (hanh huong)
eggs
ground pepper

1. Rinse the dried prawns and then soak it with hot water until soften. 1/2 cup will be for the broth and 1/2 cup will be for the rieu mixture.
2.  Par boil the pork bones with plenty of salt and rinse with cool water.  Transfer clean bones to a clean pot (i'm using a 6 quart pot) and fill pot with water.  Add 1/2 cup of dried prawns to the pot as well.uarter the roma tomatoes.  Let pot simmer until pork bone is tender.
3. Rinse and quarter the tomatoes.  Set aside for later.
4. While the pot is cooking, prepare the rieu mixture.   Rinse and peel shrimp.
5.  You can use a knife and cutting board for this part but a food processor would be easier.  Combine 1/2 cup of dried prawns, 1/2 lb of shrimp, 1/2 lb of ground pork, 1 cup of canned crab meat, and 2 shallot.  Ground everything finely in the food processor (picture below for reference).

6.  Combine ground mixture from step #5 with the jar of crab paste (reserve 1 tablespoon for later), 2 eggs, 1/2 tablespoon of shrimp paste, and a pinch of ground pepper.  Mix thoroughly and then let it bind in the fridge while you prepare the broth.

7.  Season the broth with salt (~4 tablespoon), rock sugar (2 tablespoon), and mushroom seasoning (2 tablespoon).  If the pork bones is tender enough, remove from broth.
8.  If you are using tofu and pork blood.  Make sure you rinse both well.  You should even par boil the pork blood.  Add both to pot.
9.  Let pot come to boil and then turn it down to medium.  Spoon the crab mixture from step #6 into the pot.  If the heat is too high, it may cause the crab mixture to break apart.
10.  In a separate pot, heat up some cooking oil to sauteed the tomatoes with 1 chopped shallots.  Season with some fish sauce (1/2 tablespoon).  Transfer the tomatoes to the pot.

11.  In that same pot, heat up some cooking oil.  Add the 1 tablespoon of reserve crab paste, and 3 tablespoon of shrimp paste. Sauteed both ingredients until they marry with the cooking oil.  Add this to the pot.
12.  Taste the broth one last time, add additional fish sauce if needed.
13.  The bun rieu is ready with vermicelli noodle and fresh greens.  Enjoy!