Bun Bo Hue Pt. 2

It's been four years since I posted my recipe for Bun Bo Hue, and I lost count on how many times I have made it again after that day.  Bun Bo Hue is my favorite Vietnamese soup, my guilty pleasure.  I love everything about it; the broth, the meat, the vegetables, and most of all the spiciness!

One day as I was reviewing my blog and looking through old recipes, I came across the one for Bun Bo Hue.  As I was reading through it I realized I don't do some of these steps anymore or I do this step differently now.  I definitely need to update this post!  Instead of re-writing the whole recipe I will just make a new post on it.  Hope these tips will help all the Bun Bo Hue lover out there in the kitchen!  A lot of these tips can be applied to other recipes as well.   Happy cooking!

1.  Beef Bones vs. Pork Bones
Before I only use beef bones when making Bun Bo Hue.  I guess because it is a beef soup we all assume we can only use beef bones.  But to be honest pork bones produce a better broth, and you can definitely get by making a pot without using zero beef bones.  I have been doing this for the last couple years and nobody can tell the different.  People actually think my broth have gotten better over the years.  The downside of pork bones is you'll need to use more of it and it cooks a lot faster than beef bones.  For that reason, if you leave pork bones in the pot for too long it will fall a part and your broth will not be as clear.  You can mix and match pork neck bones and pork hocks to make the broth.  Just remember you'll want to remove it from the broth before they fall apart.

2.  Fermented Shrimp Paste (Mam Ruoc)
Ok this was the most time consuming step for this recipe.  You have to constantly add water to mam ruoc, mix it up and then only use the liquid at the top.  I thought this was the only way to use mam ruoc and produce a clear broth.  So glad I got rid of this step.  Now I just sauteed the mam ruoc together with the minced garlic and lemongrass.

3.  Rare Beef

Who said you can only eat thit tai (rare sliced beef) with only Pho?  Ridiculous!  Thit tai is my favorite meat with pho and my family always have it with Bun Bo Hue as well.  People use to think it was strange that I have it with my Bun Bo Hue.  Oh well I like thit tai and I will have it whenever I want!

4.  Annatto Seeds
Cooking annato seeds in oil produce an orange color to give the broth that unique orange/red color. Annato seeds is a pain to cook up because it pops and the oil splashes on stove top, shirts, counter, skin, and etc.  Sometimes it will stain your counter.  I never really liked this step.  Instead of using annatto seed, I just cook paprika in oil.  I like using paprika from the American groceries store because it produce more of red color than the orange color.  Cook the paprika in oil on low heat will produce a beautiful color for your Bun Bo Hue Broth without splashes.

5.  Chili Powder

For spiciness I relied a lot of fresh chili or dried whole chili. It took a lot to make the broth spicy and I felt like I was wasting a lot of chili.  I suggest search for a really spicy chili powder, I recommend using Thai or Indian chili powder.  Add the chili powder the same time as you are cooking the paprika in oil.

6.  Lemongrass

Before I used pre-minced lemongrass in a container in the frozen section.  It was convenient to use but it definitley lacked a lot of lemongrass flavor and aroma.  Now I take the extra step and minced and grind my lemongrass in a food processor.  I suggest doing a lot at once and then storing it in the freezer for later use.

7.  Salt vs. Fish Sauce
This took me a couple years to realize but salt is better for cooking broth.  It takes a lot of fish sauce to flavor a pot of broth, and with the cost of fish sauce lately that's just a total waste.  When you use too much fish sauce in your broth not only does it alter the color but it will alter the taste of your broth.  Fish sauce is pungent and will mask the natural flavor that the bones and vegetables give off for your soup.  Now I will only taste my broth with salt until the right amount of saltiness is produce, this way you can still taste the natural sweetness from your ingredients.  You only want to add fish sauce once you are done cooking or at the very end if needed.  Remember to add the salt gradually and always taste your broth.  You may not taste the salt right away and your first instinct is to add more salt; do not add additional salt right away.  Once you add salt to the broth give it time to marry with your broth and then re-taste.  You can fix bland food but once you make something salty it's a lot harder to fix.

Ingredients:
pork neck bones/pork hock/beef bones (4-5 lbs would be plenty but the more bones the better the broth)
2 beef shank
sliced rare beef (opitonal)
Vietnamese ham (optional cha lua/cha hue)
lemongrass (8-10 stalks the more the better)
2-3 knob of ginger
2 yellow onion
1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 tablespoon minced shallot
1 tablespoon of of fresh Thai chili
1 tablespoon of minced lemongrass
chili powder (there are many different kind some more spicy than others)
paprika
shrimp paste(mam ruoc)
whole pineapple (peeled)
cooking oil
salt
black pepper
mushroom seasoning
rock sugar
fish sauce

1. Par boil the all the bones and then rinse thoroughly with cool water.  If you are using pork hock I would recommend par boiling at least twice and use a little bit of vinegar to get rid of smell.
3. Place clean bones in an 8-10 qt. pot and fill with water.
4. Let pot simmer on low-medium heat.  Remove any scum.
5. Char ginger roots and onion (by broiling).  Remove charred skin and add to pot.
6. Add lemongrass stalk to pot.
7. Now you'll want to season your broth with 1/4 cup of salt, 3 tablespoon of mushroom seasoning, rock sugar the size of a knob of ginger, and 1 tablespoon of black pepper.  Let everything marry for about 1 hours.  
8.  Make sure you are checking on the bones/pork hocks.  Pork bones cook fast and you'll want to remove it before it falls apart.  I don't like my pork hock too tender I actually like it chewy.  It's up to you when you feel it's ready to your liking.
9.  Par boil the beef shank and rinse with cool water.  Add to the pot.  You can add more salt if needed but remember you still have the shrimp paste (mam ruoc).
10.  Add the pineapple.  Squeeze some of the juice out and then put the whole thing in the pot.
11.  Remove the shank when ready.
12. Heat up two tablespoon of vegetable oil on low heat.  Add about 4 tablespoon of paprika and chili powder to your liking.  Constantly stir so it doesn't burn.  Add to the pot.
13.  Heat two tablespoon of vegetable oil on low heat.  Add the minced garlic, minced lemongrass, and shallot.  Cook until fragrance and then add the fresh chili, and 4 tablespoon of shrimp paste.  Cook everything with the oil for a few minutes and then add to the pot.
14.  Do last minute seasoning.  At this point add fish sauce if needed or you can just add fish sauce to your bowl.  Turn heat down to the lowest setting and let it sit until you are ready to eat.
15.  Cook noodles, sliced shank, prepare ham, sliced rare beef, and prepare garnish.
16.  Enjoy!

Pho Ga - Chicken Rice Noodle Soup

The last few days I kept thinking about Vietnam and when I will get the chance to go back.  And the more I reminisce, the more I thought about all the wonderful foods I had in Saigon.  Pho ga was one of the dish that stood out in my mind.  People close to me know I am obsessed with food and cooking.  I have a keen memory when it comes to food no matter how long ago, if it made me happy and made an impression on me I will never forget the taste.  It amazes my family when I can go on and on describing and praising a dish I had years ago.

In Saigon, there is a noodle shop name Ky Dong who are known for their chicken noodle soup. My first time there it was completely packed.  I can smell the fragrance of chicken stewing away.  I remember I was very hungry at the time because I ordered a bowl of pho ga and mi ga. When the soups arrived I couldn't devour my bowls any quicker.  The chicken was firm, fragrance, and chewy (a good chewy).  The chicken skin was actually a pale yellow unlike the chicken here in the U.S. that just blends in with the meat.  The soup was light and sweet.  I never would have thought out of all the things I ate in Saigon I would be amazed by a simple bowl of pho ga.

Chicken makes a great broth in very little time.  It doesn't require half a day to achieve a great broth like beef pho.  The chicken here in the states does not even come close to the free-range chicken in Vietnam.  Whenever I make any kind of chicken soup I would only use cornish hen or organic free-range chicken for better quality meat.  The broth for pho ga is lighter in taste and sweeter than the broth of pho bo.  I like using a lot of roots vegetables to help achieve a natural sweetness such as yellow onions and leeks.

The steps for making pho ga is similar to pho bo but the time is cut down tremendously.  For pho bo we have to take the extra time to wash, par boil, and again wash the beef bones.  These steps are essential to achieve a clear broth.  I usually do not par boil chicken, I just make sure I wash the chicken thoroughly with salt and water.  You will achieve a clear broth by skimming the scum.

Basil is usually the herb that is synonymous with pho.  I, however, prefer eating pho ga with ngo gai, known as sawtooth herb to some and culantro to others.  The spicy and explosive flavor of ngo gai goes so well with the light and sweet chicken broth.  Whenever I eat any kind of chicken noodle soup such Mien Ga, it just doesn't taste the same without ngo gai.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken (The picture show an organic free-range chicken and 1 cornish hen because I was using the hen's meat for goi ga)
2 leeks
2 onions
2 stub of ginger
rock sugar
mushroom seasoning
salt
fish sauce
5-6 star anise
2 cinnamon stick
5-6 cloves
chopped green onions, cilantro, sliced onion, and sawtooth herb for garnish
lime
hoison/sriracha
rice noodles

1.  Wash your chickenwell.
2.  Place chicken in an 8 qt. stock pot and fill pot with water.
3.  Let chicken cook on medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of salt.  You'll want to skim the broth whenever necessary.
4.  You can roast the ginger and onions at this point. Peel the skin.
5.  Once the chicken has cooked all the through remove the chicken.
6.  Add all the roots vegetables to your broth (ging
er, onions, and leeks).
7.  Remove all the chicken meat from the bones, and throw the bones back in the pot.
8.  Let the broth simmer for about another hour or more on low heat.  Add more salt (about 2 tablespoon, don't put it all at once remember to taste your food), rock sugar, and about 2 tablespoon of mushroom seasoning or granulated chicken base.
9.  While you wait for the broth, you can shred the chicken meat and prepare the garnish and noodles.
10.  Roast the spices in the oven and throw it in the pot.  Season with more fish sauce if needed.
11.  Remove the spices after about 15-20 minutes.
12. Broth is ready for you to enjoy!

Ca Ri Ga - Vietnamese Style Chicken Curry

                            

Since November I have cooked curry about 20 times, before that I have never cooked curry or even care to eat it.  I know plenty of people who enjoy eating Thai curry made with coconut milk, hot Indian curry, or Japanese saucy curry.  I, however, never really develop a taste for curries; I guess we all have a kryptonite.

So what happened last November that changed my mind about curry?  I tasted the best curry at Thanksgiving dinner, made by my boyfriend's aunt.  She used to be a cook for a living, and he raves about a cooking all the time.  I was very skeptic at first, but he said ca ri ga was one of her best dish!  To my surprise her curry was delicious!  It had a lot of curry flavor and the right kick of spiciness. I didn't taste any coconut milk but I can tell a little bit of milk was use.  If only I tasted her curry first, my feeling for curries may not be same as before.

I spent the last 6 months trying to re-create that curry, bless my family and boyfriend for eating so much curry and being my guinea pig.  I made curry so many times I can probably make it in my sleep.  But I don't regret any of it, actually learned a lot through trial and error.  For optimal flavor, I suggest marinading your chicken over night.  To achieve curry flavor in your broth, you'll need to cook curry powder into your broth similar to the way you would make Bun Bo Hue.  If you choose to use milk, you should add your milk a little at a time on very low heat.  I find it best to add milk at the very end.

This curry does not have that rich flavor from the coconut milk.  It's not as saucy because I prefer it to be like a broth so you can eat it with noodles or bread.  If you like it more saucy, I would use less water.  This curry is more savory, with a kick of chili in every bite.  You'll definitely be sweating when eating curry at my house.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

One whole chicken cut into smaller pieces
1 can of coconut juice
1 can of chicken broth
2-3 stalk of lemon grass
1 stub of ginger
1 tablespoon of minced shallots
1 tablespoon of minced lemongrass
1/2 tablespoon of garlic
1 bay leaf
1 bag of curry powder
1 teaspoon of chili power
3 lbs bag of Yukon potato
fish sauce
sugar
salt
mushroom seasoning
water cooking oil

1.  Marinade chicken with 3 tablespoon of cooking oil, 1 teaspoon of salt, 4 tablespoon of fish sauce, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1 tablespoon of mushroom seasoning, 1/2 a bag of curry powder (about 3 tablespoon), minced garlic, minced shallots, and minced lemongrass.  Marinade overnight if possible.
2.  Peel the potatoes and cut into cubes, soak in water until ready to use.
3.  In a pot, brown the marinaded chicken.  Does not need to be cooked all the way.
4.  Add the coconut juice and chicken broth.  Let chicken simmer in this mixture for about 10 minutes. If you want the curry to be saucy then you can go ahead and the lemongrass stalk,ginger, and bay leaf.  Season the broth with salt and sugar.
5.  In a pan add 2 tablespoon of cooking oil on very low heat.  Add the other half of the curry powder and cook into the oil.  Add this mixture to the broth.
5.  If you want more of soup broth, then you'll want to add more water as if you are making a noodle soup.  Season the broth with salt and sugar to your liking.  Let everything marry in the pot for another 20 minutes.
6.  Add the potatoes at the very end because they will cook very fast.  Just before the curry is done add about 1 cup of milk a little bit at a time on very low heat, mixing it into the broth.  Turn off the heat.
7.  Curry can be eating noodle, bread, or rice.  Garnish with some green onions and cilantro.  Enjoy!

Ca Chua Nhoi Thit - Pork-Stuffed Tomatoes

I adore this dish because it's beautiful and delicious.  The sauce produced by marrying all the ingredients together is so divine.  It's salty and sweet; tomato, sugar, and fish sauce equals the best sauce EVER!

This is quite a popular recipe on the web so I was a little reluctant to write an entry on it. I mean there are already so many great recipes out there, I should just focus on something else?  Well the bag of tomatoes I brought last week sitting in the refrigerator beg to differ.  

For this recipe you want to use firm tomatoes and try to pick out the flattest one if you want a pretty presentation.  You'll want to remove the core of the tomatoes but save them for the sauce.  For the pork mixture I used wood ear mushroom, minced garlic, minced green onions, paprika, chili powder, soy sauce, mushroom seasoning, salt, and vegetable oil.  Adding vegetable oil to the pork mixture will help it stay soft and moist after cooking.  The sauce is a combination of fish sauce, sugar, chili powder, ketchup, the core of the tomatoes, and green onions.  I often add chili powder to my recipe for that extra kick, omit if you prefer a mild taste.  Once you have mix all the ingredients together for the pork mixture, refrigerate this mixture for a couple hours.  Refrigerating the mixture help it bind together and it will less likely fall apart during the cooking process. 

Ingredients:

1/2 lb of ground pork

6 medium size tomato

1/2 cup of wood ear mushroom (rehydrate and finely chopped)

1 teaspoon of minced garlic

1 tablespoon of minced green onions

soy sauce

fish sauce

salt

sugar

chili powder

paprika

mushroom seasoning

vegetable oil

chopped green onions

1.  Prepare the pork mixture by mixing together the pork, wood ear mushroom, garlic, green onions, 2 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of chili powder, 1 teaspoon of mushroom seasoning and 2 tablespoon of vegetable oil.  Combine and refrigerate for a couple hours. 

2.  Cut the top of the tomatoes off and remove the core of the tomatoes.  Save the core and top part of the tomatoes for later use. You'll want to cut them into smaller pieces.

3.  Fill the tomatoes with the pork mixture.

4.  Heat up cooking oil in a pan.

5.  Place the tomatoes top down into the oil and let brown.  Let this brown slowly because you'll want the pork to cook all the way through.  

6.  Once the meat has brown flip the tomato over.  We can begin making the sauce.

7.  Add about 4-5 tablespoon of fish sauce to the pan ( you can add more if you would like to make more sauce).  Add the rest of the tomatoes, 3 tablespoon of sugar, and 1 tablespoon of ketchup.  Just let it simmer on the stove on very low heat.  This will produce the sauce and the tomatoes will soak up the sauce as well.  You want to make sure the bottom of the tomatoes doesn't overcook and burst.  Just be patience and let this cook on very low heat.  Add the green onions at the very end.  

Best eaten with steamed rice, 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!

Bo Kho - Vietnamese Beef Stew

I had a holiday party around Christmas time and I made a pot of Bo Kho and Ca Ri Ga.   I have to admit I don't make stews very often but I figure it would be a hearty meal and will definitely warm up my guests. That night I had many compliments on my pot of Bo Kho.  My friends requested that I post the recipe to my blog with the exact measurements.  So for this recipe I actually measured what I can out, but sometimes during the cooking process I forget.  But I really want to emphasize the importance of tasting your food.  It will help you improve your cooking skills tremendously.

Bo Kho would probably not make my top 20 of favorite Viet food to eat because it's simply too heavy for me.  I prefer eating pho or bun bo hue over bo kho, but stews are great during the cold Indiana winter.  The day after the party, I brought home some bo kho to my family.  My sister-in-law showed me a great way to lighten a hearty bowl of bo kho and it made it so incredibly delicious.  She squeezed two lime wedges to a bowl of bo kho and top it with lots of cilantro.   The lime and cilantro added depth and tanginess to the broth.  I didn't even care about the star  of the dish, the shank, it was all about that broth.  If you haven't tried lime and cilantro with your bo kho, you have to give it a try!


Ingredients:

4 lbs of beef shank
10 stalk of lemongrass (cut 1/2 and then crushed)
3 tablespoon of tomato paste
10 carrots (cut into 1 inch pieces)
salt
rock sugar
mushroom seasoning
chili powder (if you like spicy)
fish sauce
minced shallots
minced lemongrass
paprika
star anise
cinnamon
roasted ginger
all purpose flour
roasted sweet onions or 5-6 whole shallots
cooking oil
bay leaf


Marinade for 4 lbs of beef shank:

1/2 cup of fish sauce
2 tablespoon of mushroom seasoning
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of pepper
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
1 teaspoon of chili powder (this depends on the spice level of your chili powder and how spicy you want it to be)
1/2 cup of minced lemongrass
1/2 cup  of minced shallots
3 tablespoon paprika


1.  Cut up the beef shank into cubes.  Keep in mind beef shank shrink during the cooking process.
2. Marinate the beef shank with the marinade over night if possible or at least 2-3 hours before cooking.
3.  In a large pot, heat up a little bit of vegetable oil and pour the marinated beef shank in the pot.  You want to brown the outside of the meat.
4.  Once the meat has brown evenly, add 3 tablespoon of tomato paste and 2 tablespoon of flour.  Stir well and make sure the you cook the flour. 
5.  Add enough water to submerge the meats about
6.  Add two bay leaves, lemongrass stalks, roasted ginger, and roasted onions  to the pot, season the pot with 2.5 tablespoon of salt, 3 rock sugar, 2 tablespoon mushroom seasoning.
8.  In a separate pan, heat a tablespoon of cooking oil.  Add 1 tablespoon of the paprika to the oil.   Let paprika cook on low heat, be careful not to let it burn.  This will add color to the broth.

9.  Let pot simmer on medium heat with lid on until meat is tender.  At this point the broth should be at the right consistency, not too water but not too thick.  In about 1.5 to 2 hours meat will be tender.
10.  Add the carrots last.   If you put the lid on the carrots will cooked pretty fast.  You don't want to overcook the carrots and become mushy.
11.  Prepare yourself a bowl of bo kho with French baguettes or rice noodles (hu tieu).
12.  Garnish with chopped cilantro and green onions, squeeze a little bit of lime to your bo kho .
13.  Enjoy!

Ga Xao Xa Ot - Lemon Grass Chicken

If you like sweet and savory flavors with a kick, you will love Vietnamese lemongrass chicken!  This is a dish you will find at most Vietnamese restaurants but it just never taste as good as homemade because they just  never make it spicy or aromatic enough.  I love using lots to of minced lemongrass because lemongrass smells amazing and it's even better when you stir fry chicken and lemongrass together and let all the flavors melds.

I would highly recommend using bone in and skin on chicken, instead of just chicken meat.  If you don't want to butcher the whole chicken you can definitely just use chicken wings. 

Ingredients:

2 lbs of chicken of whatever cut you like

1/2 cup minced lemongrass 

1 shallot minced

1/2 tablespoon of mushroom seasoning

1 tablespoon of crushed Thai chili( add this your liking base on your preference)

1 table turmeric powder
1 tablespoon of fish sauce
cooking
sugar
salt

fresh chili 

1.  Marinade chicken with 1 tablespoon of turmeric, 2 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 tablespoon of mushroom seasoning, 1 shallot minced, crushed Thai chili to your liking, and 2 tablespoon of cooking oil.  Marinade for 1-2 hours.  

2.  Heat up a good amount of oil in a wok and start browning your chicken on low-medium heat.  Make sure you turn your chicken so ensure all sides will get brown.
3.  Once chicken are brown, season with 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1 tablespoon of fish sauce, and approximately 1 tablespoon of sugar.  If you like your food sweeter you can always add more sugar to your liking a little bit at a time.
4.  Add minced lemongrass to the chicken and turn up the heat.   Start stir frying the chicken and minced lemongrass to melds the flavors together.
5.  Add more cooking oil to the chicken if needed.
6.  Continue to the stir fry until lemongrass is fragrance and become crispy.
7.  Add fresh chili at the very end for more heat.
8.  Enjoy with steamed rice!