Lemon Loaf

I came across a lemon loaf recipe on Pinterest from Jenn's Random Scraps blog.  It taste great but it was heavy.  After doing some adjustment to the recipe, it came out light and more to my liking.  I didn't use all the glaze in this picture.  I keep it to the side so I can control my calories.

• 
  
  I still can't figure out why my loaf cracks at the top, but it does make a nice glaze catcher.  If you do know why and how to fix it, please message me.
  
  
  Difficulty: Easy to Medium
  
  
  1 1/2 cups organic flour
  1 tsp baking powder
  1/2 teaspoon salt
  3 eggs, room temp
  1 cup organic sugar
  3 tbsp organic butter, softened
  1 tsp vanilla extract
  2 tsp of gourmet lemon extract
  Juice from one large lemon 
  1/2 cup oil
  zest of one lemon
  
  
  Glaze:
  1 cup powdered sugar
  2 tbsp whole milk
  1/2 tsp lemon extract
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour your loaf pan.  Tap out any excess flour.  Flouring your pan is very important, so don't skip this step (like I did the first time and couldn't get the loaf out.)
  
  
  Allow for the butter and eggs to sit on the counter until it reaches room temperature.  If you don't have a micro-planer or a zester, use a peeler to zest the lemon.  Take the outer of the lemon off and run you knife to chop it finely. In a bowl, combine all your dry ingredients and sift it.  In another bowl, combine the butter, eggs, vanilla extract lemon juice, and lemon extract.  When you have creamed it together, add the flour mixture in slowly, Fold the mixture together with the oil.  Add the lemon zest at the end.
  
  
  Bake for about 40-45 minutes or until your toothpick comes out clean.
  
  
  Combine the glaze ingredients and whisk together well until there is no lumps.
  
  
  Allow the loaf to cool completely before glazing it.
  
  

Bánh Cam/Bánh Rán - Fried Sweet Rice Ball with Mung Bean Filling

I remember the first time I seen a bánh cam. My mother was frying these little delicious sweet snack outside. When I asked her what was it, I examined it closer and said to her that they do look like little oranges.  I remember when I took a bit into it, it was spicy!!!  My mother had put ginger in with the mung bean filling.  I still love them to this day, but I replaced the ginger with coconut now.

They are a variation of the Chinese balls made with red beans or lotus paste.  In northern parts of Vietnam, you can get these balls lacquered in a sugary syrup.

Mung bean filling
12-14 oz split peeled mung beans
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (or freshly grated ginger)
pinch of salt

Dough
1.5 cups plus 1/3 cup water
1 cup sugar
16 oz bag glutinous rice flour
1 cup rice flour
2 Tbsp baking powder, single acting
100 grams boiled potato, mashed
       or 40 grams mash potato flakes
1 Tbsp oil
White sesame seeds, a lot in a bowl
Oil to fry


Filling:
Soak the mung beans overnight or for at least 2 hours.  In a steamer, steam them until they easy mash with two fingers.  Add to a bowl and mix in the remaining filling ingredients.  When it is cool to the touch, roll into ping pong ball size.  Cover and place in the fridge to firm up.

Dough:
Add water into a pot and when water is warm, add the sugar and stir to dissolve.  Add the oil and remove from heat.  Add potato and combine well.  Allow to cool to handle.
In a large bowl, add the glutinous rice flour, regular rice flour, baking powder, and combine. Add syrup mixture.  Knead the dough until it is well combined and can hold a ball shape.

Pinch off a piece of dough about the size of a golf ball and roll it in the palm of your hands to shape it into a ball.  Flatten the ball.  The edges should be thinner than the center. You want it to be wide enough to wrap around the ping pong size filling.  If there is any excess dough, pinch it off.  Shape it by rolling it in the palm of your hands.  When it is round, place it in the bowl of sesame seeds.  Roll and pat the seeds, making sure that it adheres well.

In a sauce pan, fill with oil.  Make sure that it is enough to cover the balls.  On a medium high heat, heat up the oil until it feels warm when you hover your hand over it.  Add the balls in and make sure that they are touching so they don't float to the top when frying.  If they do, just turning them to ensure that it is evenly browning.  When it is a golden brown color, remove and place on paper towels to remove excess oil.
Allow to cool and enjoy!

Madeleines

I discover that my eldest son loves Madeleine cookies whenever I would buy these beautiful buttery cookies at the Starbucks.  The package comes in 3's and I always end up with one.  The little guy eats them so fast. I decided that I need to learn to bake these so that he can have as many as he likes.

I googled some recipes and this was the recipe that had all the ingredients I had on hand at the time.

Difficulty: Medium

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup flour, sifted
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 large eggs, room temp
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 375.
Cream your butter, both sugars, vanilla and eggs together.
Add baking powder and salt to flour.
Add 1/3 of flour mixture to wet mixture and fold in well and repeat until gone.


Grease the Madeleine pans with butter well.  Flour each mold and tap out any excess. Spoon batter in to fill only half way.  Bake for 9-11 minutes for the large, 5-7 for the mini ones. Tap out Madeleines and allow to cool complete.

Serve by dusting some powdered sugar.

Chocolate Chip Cookie

This is my variation of the Nestle Toll House cookie recipe from the back of the bag. I have made this variation for years and every kid loves it. It is always a hit at the holiday parties. I love it warm out of the oven with a nice tall glass of cold milk.

Difficulty: Easy

2-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, room temp.
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed coconut brown sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, room temp
1 cups mini chocolate chips
1 cup Heath's toffee chips


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cream the soften butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla together. Set aside. Mix the remaining dry ingredients together. Toss the chips in and blend well into flour mixture. Add the dry ingredients in two parts, mixing well into the wet ingredients. Place in refrigerator for about 5-10 mins so the mixture will not spread too much in the oven.

Drop tablespoon size batter on cookie sheet and bake for 10 (+/-) 1-2 minutes.  Allow for the cookie to completely cool on baking rack.

Bánh Ít Nhân Dừa - Pandan Flavor Sweet Rice Dumpling with Sweeten Coconut Filling

Difficulty: Medium (Time Consuming)

The thing about most Asian desserts is that it isn't very sweet.  There is just a hint of sweetness in this banh it. Banh it is traditionally a pyramid shaped dumpling wrapped in banana leaf.  I love the history behind this dessert.  My father told me that once there was a king with 3 sons.  He was getting old and didn't know who to leave the kingdom to.  So he made a decree that each one of his daughter in-laws make a feast for him and whoever makes him the most delicious meal, will inherit the kingdom.

The eldest daughter had the staff make him a lavish banquet filled with wild game and elaborate desserts. The middle was very fancy and tasted very delicious but wasn't as grand as the eldest.  By the time it come to the youngest, there wasn't much money left in the budget work with.  With the little money they had, one of the course was banh ut it.

250 g (2 cups) glutinous rice flour
175 ml (3/4 cup) water
1 Tbsp coconut palm sugar or brown sugar
25 g (1/4 cup) unsweetened shredded coconut flakes
1 tsp milk
Sesame seeds
1 tsp pandan extract
2 drop green food coloring, optional
16 round cut parchment paper or banana leaf


Place flour into a bowl.  Make a well and add water and pandan extract.  Be careful with the water. When adding the water, leave a tablespoon or so behind.  Depending on the moisture content of your flour and humidity, you may not need all the water.  Mix together until you can get a ball shape.  Poke a hole in the ball and add the two drops of food coloring.  Knead well. Roll dough out to a log shape and cut into 16 equal size pieces.

In a small bowl combine the coconut flakes and coconut palm sugar.  Mix well.  Your coconut maybe moist enough where you don't need the milk.  Add one or two drops in at a time.  You are looking for the sugar to be melted but not runny.

Take a piece of the dough and roll it into your hand and form a ball.  Flatten out the ball, making the outside edges thin and there is a bulge in the middle. Take a small amount of the coconut and sugar mixture and add it to the middle of the dough.  Pinch it close like an empanada.  Push the points in and roll it into the palm of your hands to make a ball.  Place on a piece of parchment paper or greased banana leaf. Repeat.

Steam for about 10 minutes.  You can't really overcook this dessert.  Sprinkle a little sesame seeds before allowing them to cool.

The dough can have cracks in it.  Just pinch it close if the crack is too wide.

It is done when it is glossy and looks like a perfect piece of jade.

Bread by Artisan Bread in Five in a crockpot

Artisan Bread in Five minutes a day has this really great recipe that is absolutely simple.  I stumbled across the recipe on Pinterest when I was looking for a recipe to make bread at home.  Go check out their website and learn to save your family BIG BUCKS by baking these beautiful  loaves at home.  There is only 4 ingredients to this bread vs commercial breads that have a zillion different things in it.  I never understood the use of high fructose corn syrup in making bread.  Anyone looking for a bread without the added sweetness, this is the recipe for you.

3 cups warm water

1 package yeast

1 tsp salt

6.5 cup unbleached all purpose flour (add 1/4 cup more if you are using King Arthur)

Pour yeast and salt into water.  Combine.  Add flour.  Stir well.  Proof for 2 hours.  Weigh out a pound. Shape into a round ball.  Dust top with flour and make 3 slashes with sharp knife.  Make sure that it is deep slashes.

Place a piece of parchment in crockpot and set on high for about 1 hr.  Brown in oven on broil for a few minutes.  If you don't have a crock pot, bake in oven for 30-35 mins on a stone.  If you don't a stone, place the loaf on parchment paper and a baking sheet.

Allow for loaf to cool completely, otherwise the bread will be nasty looking on inside when you cut into it.

Xôi Gà - Sweet Rice with Roasted Chicken

There is 2 ways to make sticky rice: steam or in a rice cooker.  The steaming process produces a drier texture and makes it more for eatting with your hands.  The rice cooker version makes a wetter version.  Above is a healthier version of this dish.  Normally you would have this dish with the Chinese sausage lap chuong.  If you choose to make the more traditional version, just slice the sausage on the diagonal, render some of the fat out, and serve with the rice.


Difficulty: Medium

1 whole chicken, trimmed and cleaned well
2 tsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp honey
1 tsp black pepper
         or purchase a rotisserie chicken at the supermarket deli and shred


2 cups sweet rice
Water

2 bunches green onions, chopped
2 Tbsp oil


Steam method for rice:
Soak rice overnight or for at least for 2 hours.  Drain rice and pour into a steamer.  Cook until the grain is tender.

Rice cooker method:
Rinse rice well and pour rice into colander to remove extra water.  Add to the rice cooker pot with 2.5 cups of water.

Chicken:
Pre-heat oven to 375-degrees.  Pat chicken dry with paper towels.  Mix honey and soy sauce and rub on the chicken skin.  Pour any remaining sauce into the cavity of the chicken.  Ground some black pepper into the skin and cavity.  Place the chicken on a rack so that the bird doesn't sit in its own juice.  Bake for about 45 mins.  Take the chicken out and allow for it to rest for 10 minutes before cutting into it.  Slice it however you choose.

Onion oil:
Heat up the oil in a small saucepan and add the onions when the oil is hot.  Stir the mixture until the onion is wilted by still retains it green color.

Place some sticky rice on a plate and add some onion oil to the rice.  Eat with the chicken.

Bánh Khọt - Bite Size Savory Pancakes

Difficulty: Medium (Time Consuming)

Normally, when I go visit my mom, there is never anything to eat!  On my last trip to to see her, she actually showed me how to make banh khot.  I didn't like her version because she loves to alter recipes to make it more healthy (bland and tasteless.)  In the recipe below, I added glutinious rice to give the cake an extra texture.  After reading a million recipes in Vietnamese (who uses the metric system) I came up with 6 Tbsp because it was 1/5 of a standard 1 lb bag of rice flour.

Batter:
1 lb rice flour (454 gr)
6 Tbsp glutinous rice flour (90 gr)
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 can 13.5 oz coconut milk (400 ml)
2 stalks green onions, chopped
1.75 cups water (414 ml)

Topping:
35 shrimp, peeled, de-veined
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp sugar
Black pepper
2 ounces pork belly, minced
Fish sauce

Nuoc Cham


Add the rice flour, glutinous rice flour, turmuric, coconut milk together in a large container or bowl.  Mix well and add the water.  Stir the batter to combine and allow for the batter to rest.  Add the chopped onions when you are about to start cooking.

Heat up a pan and add the minced pork belly and garlic.  Sprinkle on the sugar to help caramelized the pork belly.  Stir until almost cooked and add the shrimp.  Add the black pepper and a small splash of fish sauce. Cook until the shrimp is on the verge of turning pink and take off heat.

Heat up your aebelskiver pan on a medium-low heat.  Grease up each cup with a little oil.  Fill each cup about 1/3 way and turn the pan so the batter will coat the sides.  Drop the pork belly and shrimp in, and cover the pan.  It only take a minute or so to cook, depending on how hot your pan gets.  Poke the middle with a wooden skewer or toothpick to check for doneness.

Serve with lettuce, perilla leaves, cucumber round slices, lemon basil, and mint leaves.

Just added the filling

Đậu Phụ Xốt Cà Chua - Tofu in Tomato Sauce

Difficulty: Easy

1 pkg medium to firm tofu

1 large tomatoes, diced
1 shallot, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp fish sauce

1/2 tsp sugar
Salt

Pepper
2 Tbsp water or chicken stock
Cilantro, optional

Drain tofu well and wrap in some paper towels.  Place a plate on the tofu to make sure you get any excess water out.  Cut into cubes.  Heat up a small saucepan with some oil and fry the tofu until golden brown. Place tofu on paper towels after frying to remove any excess oil.

In a frying pan, heat up on high with enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan.  Toss in garlic and shallots. Saute until they are fragrant.  Toss in the dice tomatoes with a pinch of salt to draw the liquid out of the tomatoes. Stir well and add the sugar.  Add water, reduce to low heat and cover the pan.  Allow for the tomatoes to start breaking down into a sauce.  It will take about 4-5 minutes for it to start breaking down. Add the fish sauce and taste.  It has to be on the salty side, but still pleasant tasting.  (When you add the tofu cubes, the salt will mellow out.)  Add the tofu and combine well.  Finish with some black pepper and cilantro.  Serve over a hot bowl of rice with an herb platter.

Spicy Eggplant

1/2 lb of ground pork or  chicken
3 large Japanese eggplant, cut into 3 inch long wedges like cucumber spears
8-10 cloves ginger, minced
3 inch knob ginger, julienne
Water or stock
2 Tbsp corn or wheat starch and 2 Tbsp water, stir to make slurry

Sauce:
1 Tbsp chili sauce
5 tsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp hoisin sauce
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
2 tsp sugar
2 stem green onion, chopped


Combine all the sauce ingredients and set aside.  Heat up pan with oil.  When the oil is hot, add the ginger and garlic.  Stir until fragrant.  Add the ground protein and brown until the pink is gone.  Add the sauce and combine well.  Drop in the eggplant, add enough water or stock to cover the eggplant mixture, and the cornstarch slurry.  Allow for it to simmer on medium heat until the eggplant is translucent. 

This can be made vegetarian by substituting the ground meat for tofu and woodear/black fungus mushrooms.

Krab Rangoon

Difficulty: Medium (wrapping)

1lb krab, imitation crab, preferably not made with pollock fish

1-8oz package cream cheese

2 Tbsp shallots, minced

1 tsp black pepper

1 Tbsp dried minced onion, optional

1 package dumpling skins, round Hong Kong style preferred (picture below of the brand I use)

Mince the krab into small pieces.  Add all the remaining ingredients except the wrappers together and combine well.  You can put the mixture in the microwave for a minute to soften the cream cheese to aid you in combining it.

For the wrappers/skins, you can use the round or the squares.  I prefer the round because they don't end up with burnt edges as often.  Place skin on a flat surface and add a little filling.  I use a little less than 1/2 tsp.  You want them to be fat but no so fat that they don't close.  Wet half of the edge and and fold the other end to close it and make a half moon shape.  If you are lazy, you can stop at this stage.  But if you fold it like a tortellini, it makes a scoop for your dipping sauce.  Take the two pointy edges and bend it back so they can meet.  Wet one point and lay the other point on top and press it together.

In a saucepan, heat up so oil on medium-high heat.  You want to make sure that it is hot before putting it in.  It will cook very quickly.  You are looking to cook the wrapper and heat up the filling.  It takes about 1-1.5 minutes to cook both sides.

For the sauce, you can use duck sauce or the springroll sauce.

Korean Fried Chicken

Difficulty: Easy to Medium

If anyone has gotten to really know me, knows that I am a bit of a scatterbrain. Becoming a mom made it worse with my children distracting me. Googling pandan waffle recipes made a right turn to fried fish, which lead to Malaysian style fried fish, which lead to a Malaysian fried chicken, which lead to Southern fried chicken, which made me think of Roscoe's chicken and waffles, which lead to Korean Fried Chicken. Oh I have left over coconut that taste good with pandan. Yes, Korean fried chicken with coconut pandan waffles.

For the fried chicken (inspired and adapted from Maangchi's seasoned and sweet and crispy)
20 pieces wings
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp adobo seasoning
1 large egg

For sauce:
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp corn syrup
1 tsp ginger powder
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp of hot pepper flakes


For sauce:
Add all ingredients into a saucepan and simmer until thicken.


For chicken:
I know that there is a proper method to breading chicken, but I found for this recipe, you get extra crunchiness from breading ignorance. I threw the wing pieces into a large bowl. I combine the dry ingredients and blend well. Threw it on the chicken and mix well. Then I threw a beaten egg in and mixed it all up. It was clumpy and just a plain ol' mess.

I heated up a deep frying pan or wok. Added some oil, just enough to cover the chicken when frying in the pan. Fry them for about 10-12 minutes and pull them out of the pan. Allow 2-3 minutes to rest. Scoop out any free floating pieces and fry the wings an additional time to get it to be extra crispy. Place them on a paper towel to remove any excess oil. Toss the wings with the sauce or have sauce on the side.

Coconut Pandan Waffles

Difficulty: Easy

Growing up, I never had pandan anything.  I was very unfamiliar with pandan and actually thought it was a vanilla leaf.  I tried pandan waffles for the first time in Houston at the grand opening of Lee's Sandwich on Bellaire.  They pour a thin batter on a waffle iron, which produce this thin crispy waffle.  It's texture was very similar to the waffle cones.

If you have access to fresh pandan, use it instead of the paste that is readily available in stores. Just cut up the leaves, blend with some water, pour through sieve, and filter the juice with a coffee filter.  What's left in the coffee filter is the paste.

I came up with this recipe by using different Belgium waffle recipes that I googled online.  I replaced milk with coconut milk and replaced vanilla with pandan.

For the pandan coconut waffles:
2 egg
1 1/2 cup coconut milk
1 tsp pandan paste
1-1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tbsp wheat or corn starch
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1 tsp salt

Beat eggs until fluffy. Add sugar and coconut milk. Combine well. Add the pandan paste. Set aside.
Combine flour, starch, baking powder and salt. Mix well. Combine the dry ingredients with the wet in two portions. Mix well each time to make sure that there is no lumps. Add the coconut flakes. Let the batter rest for 15 minutes.

Heat up your waffle iron. Please refer to your individual owners manuals on how to use it.  

Gỏi Cuốn - Spring Rolls

Difficulty: Medium to Hard

Goi means salad mixture and cuon means rolled.  As you can see in the picture, it is a pork and shrimp salad. The great thing about goi cuon is that you build your own.  You can put as much or as little as you like of something. The majority of people who have eaten Vietnamese food have tried goi cuon and know this is a classic dish served in every Vietnamese restaurant in America.  This post will serve as an introduction to people who have never eaten goi cuon before.  The post will also show people how to roll it in a nice and tight fashion. I hope you enjoy.


1/4 lb large size shrimp, peeled, deveined,  cut in half lengthwise
1/4 lb boiled pork or chicken, sliced thinly
1 pkg rice paper
1 head soft large leaf lettuce or iceburg cut into strips
1 cucumber
1 bundle rice sticks / noodles (not banh pho noodles)
Garlic chives, optional
Mint, optional
Perilla, optional

Peanut Sauce


Boil your pork and/or chicken until cooked.  Allow for it to rest before slicing it thinly.  Boil your shrimp before cutting lengthwise, otherwise the shrimp will curl up into a tight wad.

There's usually 2-3 bundles in pkg.

Heat up some water in a kettle. Take a bundle out of package and place it in a large bowl.  Pour boiling water of the noodles and cover your large bowl so the noodles can cook.  After about 10 minutes, check the noodles.  You want the noodles to be soft and not al dente.  Rinse the noodles in cold water and set aside.

Cut cucumber in half lengthwise and slice it to 3-4 inch long strips.

Prepare your lettuce and allow to dry.












Prepare the table with a bowl or large pan of warm water to dip the rice paper in.

Dip the rice paper in water.  You don't want it to be soft and limp.  It will become soft and pliable as you make the roll.

Add noodles first if you are using iceberg (other lettuce would be first)

Add iceburg lettuce (otherwise the noodles would sit in the soft leaf lettuce)

Add cucumber

Add your pork and/or chicken

take the bottom up and fold it up. pull back towards you if needed to keep it tight

add shrimp with the pretty facing the bottom

roll up sides so it is straight

fold the sides towards the center. if you are using the garlic chives, this is the stage you would tuck it in

roll it up

Bánh Cuốn - Rice Sheet Rolls

Bánh cuốn made in Vietnam is made by stretching a piece of cotton fabric over a pot of steaming water and pouring a thin layer of batter over the fabric to produce a thin round sheet of noodle. This dish is very similar to the dim sum dish called rice paste.  My parents use to slave over the stove to make these sheets.  Spread it thin to make these rolls or spread it thick to dry them out in the sun to make rice crackers.   

The steaming process seems very daunting, but worth it if you have the patience to do it old school. When I was in college, a student at Florida State showed me that it can be made in a pan. That was 15 years ago!!! It's easy and doesn't require lots of practice to make it.

Difficulty: Hard (Time Consuming)

Batter:

1 - 16 oz bag rice flour

1.5 cups tapioca starch (which is about 1/2 - 14 oz bag)

1 Tbsp oil

1/8 tsp salt

6 cups warm water

or

2 -12oz  package of prepared banh cuon flour (see picture below for reference)

Filling:

1 lb ground chicken or pork

1 cup wood ear mushroom, re-hydrated in warm water, drained well, chopped finely

1 cup chopped onion

1 tsp fish sauce

Black pepper

Topping:

Fried Shallots

Fried Garlic

Assembly:

Flat plate, tray, or counter-top

Foil, piece larger than your pan cooking surface

Neutral oil or non-stick cooking spray

Sheet of paper towel or a pastry brush 

     

Plating:

Nuoc Cham

Cucumber cut into match sticks

Lettuce

Cha Lua

 

These are the two pre-packaged brands I have tried.  I like the white bag.

Empty the batter ingredients into a large bowl and stir well.  Set aside for about an hour for batter to "bloom" before using it.

Make the filling by heating up a pan with some cooking oil.  Add chopped onions and sauteed for a couple of minutes.  Add your ground protein and brown it.  Make sure that you break up the meat well so there aren't any large chunks.  Right before finishing, add the remaining filling ingredients.  Combine well.  Set aside to cool.

Heat a 8-10 inch non-stick frying pan on low-medium heat.  Use a paper towel or brush to coat the pan with oil. Stir the batter well, then ladle the batter into the pan.  Swirl the pan so that the batter covers the bottom of the pan.  Place a lid over the pan for 1 or 3 minutes.   You are looking for smooth sheet.  It is has bubbles in it, it means the heat is too high.  Bubbles isn't a bad thing.  It eats just as good.

Flip the rice sheet onto a greased aluminum foil lined plate, tray or counter-top.  Spoon the filling mixture in the middle of the sheet.  Fold the sides towards the center. The bottom and top towards the center.  Place the bánh cuốn, seam side down, on a plate and top it with some fried shallots and/or fried garlic.

Photo courtesy of Hieng Kayla Kim

Penne with Sausage

Pictured here with portobello mushroom and light sauce

Difficulty: Easy to Medium

After having my first child, food changed for me.  One of the first things that changed for me was spaghetti.  I didn't enjoy eating spaghetti any longer and give up on it but it is one of my husband's favorite cheap and fast go to meals.  After adding more organic foods to the family's meals, my husband re-approached the red sauce because I was buying organic canned tomatoes to make bun rieu/crab or shrimp dumpling noodle soup.

After trying this recipe, you will never need to give Ragu and Prego your money again.  It is simple, flavorful, and it is delicious.  I have tried this recipe with conventional canned tomatoes and it isn't as good.  Spend the extra dollar on the organic because it is worth it.

Red sauce:
1- 28 oz can organic whole peeled tomatoes
8 leaves sweet basil, chopped or chiffonade
2 cloves crushed and minced garlic
1/2 medium onion, diced

Sausage:
1/2 lb ground pork, turkey, or chicken
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp fennel seed
1/3 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp sage
1/4 tsp thyme
or
3 sweet Italian sausage without the casing

1/2 box penne

Prepping the sausage:
Start by making the seasoning for the sausage.  Add the dry ingredients together and blend it well.  Add the ground meat and mix it well.  Make sure that the spices is evenly distributed throughout the meat.  Set aside and allow the mixture to set for at least 1 hour.

Prepping the canned tomatoes:
Pour the contents of the canned tomato in a large bowl.  With very clean and dry hands, crush the tomatoes with your hands. You don't want large chunks.  Aim at tearing each whole tomato into 4-6 pieces.

Prepare the pasta based on the package instruction.  Do not rinse the pasta after you finish.

Heat up some oil in a large stock pot, enough to cover the bottom of the pot.  Make sure that your sausage is near by. Cook the garlic and diced onions until the onions are soft.  Add the sausage.  Use a spoon to break up the sausage into small pieces.  Pour the tomato sauce in and lower the heat.  Allow for the sauce to simmer for about 5-7 minutes.  Finish the sauce off with the sweet basil.  Add the pasta to the sauce and combine it.  Add cheese if you desire.

Cánh Gà Chiên Xì Dầu/Nước Tương - Cambodian Chicken

Difficulty: Medium

I was introduced to cánh gà chiên xì dầu in college by my roommates. We called it Cambodian chicken because the girl that introduced it to us was Khmer Krom.  Cánh gà chiên nước tương is another name for the dish.  Xì dầu is Cantonese and nước tương is Vietnamese for soy sauce. Who knew I spoke some Cantonese.

I am going to share the version I learned in college.  But I will also share the link for the recipe from a true Khmer Krom.

10 whole wings
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp sambal oelek
Oil

Cut wings at the joint.  Wash and drain well.  In a large saucepan, heat up some oil and fry the wing portions. It should take about 12 minutes for it to be cook through, about 15 minutes to be crispy.  When done, place the wings on some paper towels to remove any excess oil.

Mix the soy sauce, sugar, and sambal oelek.  Toss the wings in the sauce.  Allow for the wings to sit in the sauce for about 5 minutes before serving.

Tôm Rim Thịt Ba Chỉ - Shrimp with Pork Belly

Difficulty: Medium

This dish is pure gluttony.  Fattiness for the pork belly and the sweetness of gulf shrimp comes together like a well tuned orchestra.  Shrimp can be inexpensive if you buy the farm raised ones from Thailand.  But due to my conscience, I stopped purchasing the Thai shrimp because of workers' rights issues surrounding the shrimp.  I opted to purchase gulf shrimp, which offers a superior taste.  It does cost more but I buy the smaller size shrimps and use more pork belly.

1/2 lb pork belly

1/2 lb medium sized shrimp

1-3 cloves of garlic, minced

1-2 shallots, minced

2 tsp organic sugar

2 tsp fish sauce

Salt

Black pepper

Annato Oil

Boil some water to scold the skin side of the pork belly.  Scrap the skin with the side of you knife.  Slice the pork thinly.

With a pair of kitchen scissors, trim the shrimp by removing the pointy part of the tail.  Cut off the legs.  Cut the back to open it up to take the vein out while keeping the shell on.  Pat dry with some paper towels.

Heat up some oil in a pan.  You want to make sure that the pan is bigger than the stuff you will cook.  A small pan will boil it and the taste would be awful.  Saute the garlic and shallots until it gets a little color.  Add the pork belly.  Fry the pork belly about half way and add the salt and sugar.  Allow for the sugar to caramelize.  When the pork belly is almost done, add the shrimp.  When the shrimp is almost done, add some annato oil and black pepper.

side note:  I like my pork belly cooked until the edges is almost crispy and burnt.  Cooking it that far allows for the sugar to "candy" the pork.  You don't have to allow for it to get that crispy.

Dầu Hạt Điều - Annato Oil

Annato oil is used to color different dishes in Vietnamese cuisine.  It also adds a slightly nutty warm flavor to the dish.

Difficulty: Easy

1 tsp annato seeds
1 tbsp neural oil

Start with a cold pan and add the oil and annato seed.  Heat pan on a medium low heat and occasionally shake the pan.  As the oil heats up, the annato seed will release it's color and flavors.  The more seeds you add, the darker and richer the color is.  About 3-7 minutes (depending on how hot your oil gets) take the pan off the stove and remove the seeds.

You can store the oil in a glass container in the fridge for a couple of weeks.

Tương Đậu Phộng - Peanut Sauce

Springrolls with peanut dipping sauce

I am still unsure how peanut sauce is suppose to really taste like.  Every Vietnamese restaurant has a variation on this sauce, but I am almost positive the version that is eaten in Vietnam has liver in it and there is no hoisin.  This is my husband's sauce that he learned from the Thai ladies at the county jail kitchen.  The jail version is a lot sweeter and thinner.

Difficulty: Hooker Easy

2 Tbsp chunky natural peanut butter
5 Tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tsp sriracha sauce
1 Tbsp water or milk

Combine all and stir well. Add a little more water if you don't like it thick.

Nước Chấm - The Universal Vietnamese Dipping Sauce.

Nuoc cham with tomatoes

Difficulty: Real Easy

Nuoc cham is a very versatile sauce.  Here I am sharing a robust version of this dipping sauce that I use in a lot of my dishes at home.  You can make the milder version by omitting the garlic and use half or a quarter of the chili.

1 Tbsp Sugar
2 Tbsp of lime juice or vinegar (lime juice is better)
2 Tbsp Fish Sauce
4 Tbsp Water

1-2 garlic cloves
1 Thai Chili

Pound the garlic and chili with the sugar in the pedestal and mortar.  If you don't have one, use a mini food chopper or the handle of a hammer wrapped in plastic bag or ziplock bag.  (The sugar helps prevent the peppers from come up and hitting you in the eyes when you are pounding it.) Place the contents into a bowl and add the remaining ingredients.  Stir very well.  Adjust sugar, fish sauce or lime juice to your liking.

This sauce has a ratio of 1-2-2-4 but you can adjust it to how ever you like.  Some people like it sweet, some like it salty, some like it bland.

update 8/16/2013:

I made a 1-2-3 ratio, omitting the lime juice.  It came out very good too.  It went perfect with my banh khot recipe.

Ssamjang Dipping Paste - 쌈장

This is my adaptation of Maangchi's ssamjang paste.  This dipping goes well with all the Korean grilling specials.  According to Maangchi, it can replace the ranch dressing on a veggie platter.  Experiment to your heart's desire.

Difficulty: Hooker Easy

1 tsp chili paste
2 Tbsp soy bean paste
2 Tbsp onion, finely chopped
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 stalk green onion, green parts only chopped

Mix all the ingredients together.  Allow for it to sit for about 10 minutes before using.

Bún Riêu - Crab Dumpling Noodle Soup

Bun rieu with an organic tomato soup base

Difficulty: Easy to Medium

There is many different ways to make bun rieu.  There is a shrimp, crab, and snail version.  In Vietnam, the crab version is made from pulverizing little mud crabs and extracting their essence with a sieve and incorporating the meat into the dumpling.  Unfortunately there is no rice paddies here, so this is a more budget friendly version that my 3 year old enjoys eating.


3 to 3.5 qts water
14 oz can minced crab or prawns in spices
1 large egg
1 lb ground pork or chicken
28 oz can organic whole peeled tomato
   or 12oz can dice tomato and 4-6 fresh tomatoes
2 Tbsp Fish Sauce
1 pkg tofu
1 tsp salt
Ground black pepper
1 pkg rice noodles
Chopped green onions
Chopped cilantro
Onions, thinly sliced
Annato oil
1 medium shallot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced finely
Canned or fresh crab meat, as much or as little as you like or chopped shrimp

Optional:
Split water spinach or thinly shredded cabbage
mint
perilla
lime

Heat up the water in a large stock pot while you are working on the other ingredients.

Drain the tofu package and wrap it with some paper towels and weight it down with a plate or small pan to remove any excess water.

Take out a pan and heat up enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan.  Sautee the garlic and shallots and add the can of tomatoes.  If you are using the whole tomatoes, makes sure you crush each tomato with your hand and squeeze out any juice into the pan.  Add the can of minced prawns or crab.  Sautee to enhance the flavors.  Add the contents of the pan into the stockpot.  Wipe down the pan to prepare it to fry the tofu.

Cut the tofu to small blocks or cubes.  I normally cut it to get 32 pieces.  Heat up some oil.  Blot the tofu again to make sure it is dry when you add it to the oil.  Fry each side to get a golden brown color.  Add each finish piece straight into the broth.

Here I use a small sauce pan with enough oil to at least come half way or more of the object I am trying to fry.

In a large bowl, mix the ground meat, crab/shrimp with the salt, black pepper, and egg.  Combine well.  With a teaspoon, scoop teaspoon size ground meat mixture into the broth.

Allow for the broth to cook for about 15 minutes so that the contents can meld together.  Add 1 tsp of annato oil if needed. Add the fish sauce and taste it.  Adjust with more fish sauce if you need.

Serve with a handful of rice noodles in the bowl.  Ladle the hot broth over the noodles.  Make sure that you get some of the dumplings, tofu, and tomatoes.  Topped the bowl with some chopped green onions and cilantro plus any optional herbs.

Prawn

Crab

Rice noodles

Organic tofu