Vietnamese Coffee

I found this brand of Vietnamese Coffee at the Ranch 99 store.

It is very dark, very strong and a bit oily.

Once the coffee has been added to the hopper, 

add the tamper, and 1-2 Tbs. boiling water, 

then once dampened, fill the hopper and cover.

As the coffee drains it fills the mug it is resting on, that 

has been pre-filled with 1 Tbs. of sweetened condensed milk.

The coffee assembly rests on a mug with and additional 

filter screen below the hopper. 

Vietnamese coffee can be served hot or cold.  It is very strong

rich coffee and wonderful at the end of a meal.

This was the end  of our Vietnamese Christmas Eve meal.

A meal that was thoroughly enjoyed and produced by the whole family!!

As Always, 

ENJOY!

Bananas in Coconut Milk

So simple and surprisingly delicious. 

There are not many desserts in Vietnamese cuisine, at least not for a 

regular meal.  Most of them are for celebrations.

I have a tiny little old Vietnamese cookbook, where I found this recipe.

My daughter, Claire prepared this dish and everyone loved it so much,

they came back for seconds!

As Always,

ENJOY!

Recipe Source: A little vietnamese cookbook by Terry Tan

3 Tbs. Sago(pearl tapioca)

2 cups coconut milk

2 Tbs. palm sugar

1 tsp. granulated sugar

2 large bananas sliced thickly

2 Tbs. roasted peanuts, ground

Bring a pot of water to a boil and add sago.  simmer, stirring constantly to prevent sticking, until sago turns  translucent.  Drain thoroughly under cold running water and set aside.  In a saucepan, combine coconut milk and sugars, and bring to a gentle boil.  Add banana slices and simmer  until they are soft. Do not boil fiercely as coconut milk will turn oily.  Add sago and turn off heat.  chill.  Serve sprinkled with ground peanuts.

Cucumber Salad

Crispy and refreshing a cucumber salad is practically mandatory 

at an asian meal.  With all the spicy flavors, this seems to balance 

the meal out.

Thanks to Caro for preparing this for our Vietnamese meal.

As Always,

ENJOY!

Recipe Source:  Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table by Mai Pham

1/4 cup rice or white vinegar

1 Tbs. lime juice

3 Tbs. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

6 pickling cucumbers, halved and sliced

2 shallots, thinly sliced

1/2 serrano chili

6 sprigs cilantro chopped

combine sugar, vinegar, lime juice, and salt in a bowl.  Stir well and add the cucumbers, shallots and chili if using, and cilantro. let stand for 15 minutes and serve.

Lime Marinated Beef Salad

A spicy, herby, cold meat salad is one more delicious 

accompaniment to the array of foods we had at our 

Vietnamese Christmas dinner. 

Thanks to my sister-in law, Caroline and her helper Joe.

As Always,

ENJOY!

Recipe source: KOTO by Tracey Lister

INGREDIENTS

4 tablespoons	lime juice
3 tablespoons	fish sauce
2 tablespoons	caster sugar
2	garlic cloves, chopped
1	lemongrass stem, chopped, white part only
1	long red chilli, seeded and chopped
	vegetable oil, for frying
500g	beef fillet
4	red asian shallots, thinly sliced
1 large handful	thai basil leaves
1 handful	rice-paddy herb
1 handful	mint leaves
4 tablespoons	roasted unsalted peanuts, chopped
2 tablespoons	Fried shallots

METHOD

1. Prepare the marinade by combining the lime juice, fish sauce and sugar. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Add the garlic, lemongrass and chilli.
2. Heat a little oil in a frying pan over medium heat and cook the beef fillet for 8–10 minutes, evenly browning all sides. Remove from the pan and rest for 5–7 minutes before slicing thinly and tossing through the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
3. To serve, remove the beef from the marinade and combine with the fresh shallots, herbs and peanuts. Gently toss and place on a platter. Scatter the fried shallots on top.

Grilled Lime Chicken

So many tasty dishes to choose from when planning a big 

Vietnamese Feast!  Thank you to my sister-in-law, Jill, for preparing

this dish. 

Sometimes the simplest dishes, help to make very complementary dishes

when eating many foods with varying flavors.

As Always,

ENJOY!

Recipe Source: Vietnamese Collection

12 oz. chicken breast cut into cubes

2 tsp. honey

2 tsp. fish sauce

2 green onions, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

16 kaffir lime leaves, shredded

oil

salt and pepper

herbs to garnish

Mix the chicken with honey, fish sauce, salt and pepper, leave to stand.  In a small food processor, 

mix spring onions, garlic and lime leaves, add a little water if necessary.  Add to the chicken and marinate for two hours. 

Cover a grill rack with foil, add chicken pieces, brush with oil  and place under a preheated grill for 15 minutes.

Garnish chicken with herbs and serve.

Cashew Coconut and Cabbage Salad

This salad prepared by my sister-in-law, Irene, was quite the surprise.

It far exceeded my expectations and was super delicious! 

Try it the next time you grill meats and you may be quite surprised as well!

As Always,

ENJOY!

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon coconut oil
• 1/3 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
• 2 tablespoons grated lime rind
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon canola or other neutral oil
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 small red Fresno chile or jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped
• 2 1/2 cups shredded red cabbage (about 7 oz.)
• 1 1/2 cups matchstick-cut peeled jicama (about 5 oz.)
• 1/4 cup unsalted roasted cashews
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro, mint, and/or Thai basil

• • How to Make It

    Step 1

    Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Add coconut oil; swirl until oil melts. Add coconut; cook 5 to 7 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring frequently. Remove pan from heat; cool.

    Step 2

    Combine lime rind, juice, sugar, soy sauce, canola oil, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Stir in chile.

    Step 3

    Combine cabbage and jicama in a large bowl. Add juice mixture; toss to coat. Let stand 1 minute. Sprinkle with coconut, cashews, and herbs.
    Recipe Source: The Pho Cookbook.by Andrea Nguyen

Vietnamese Grilled Pork

Displayed beautifully, thanks to my sister-in-law, Irene. 
Delicious nibbles of grilled pork, marinated to perfection!
Slide these off the sticks, and pop into a leaf of lettuce, topped
with peanuts and dipping sauce, roll up and bite in!

As Always,

ENJOY!

Recipe Source:  Vietnamese Collection by Jackum Brown

500 g lean pork loin cut into thin slices

3 garlic clove chopped

3 shallots chopped

1 Tbs. palm sugar

1 tsp. pepper

2 Tbs. vietnamese fish sauce

1 Tbs. Chinese rice wine

2 Tbs. peanut oil

To Serve:

rice noodles

crushed roasted peanuts

salad plate

nuoc cham dipping sauce

 To make marinade: combine garlic, shallots, sugar, pepper, fish sauce, rice wine and oil.

Place pork slices in marinade and refrigerate overnight.

Thread pork on bamboo skewers.  cook for 4 minutes on each side.

Serve with noodles, peanuts, salad and dipping sauce

Crab with Pomello Salad

A salad of contrasting flavors, but very appealing taste and texture, which is 

easy to prepare and adds unique variety is always 

a great recipe to try!  Why stick with the ordinary and expected?
A huge thank you to my sister-in-law Jill for preparing this dish
for our Vietnamese dinner.

As Always,

ENJOY!

Recipe source: KOTO by Tracey Lister and Andreas Pohl

Ingredients

1 pink pomelo or 2 small pink pomelos
200 g mud crab meat
50 g dried shrimp (soaked in water for 1 hour, then drained)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 garlic clove, finely diced
5 mint leaves, sliced
5 perilla leaves, sliced
5 Vietnamese mint leaves, sliced
5 Asian basil, sliced
1 tablespoon fried red Asian shallot
½ tablespoon fried garlic chip
1 chilli, sliced
3 tablespoons dipping fish sauce (see dipping fish sauce recipe)

Instructions

Add vegetable oil to a hot fry pan then add garlic and cook until fragrant.
Add dried shrimp and stir fry for 3 minutes or until crispy and golden brown. Remove from pan and allow to cool.

Peel and segment the pomelo, break into bite sized pieces then place in a large mixing bowl. Add crab meat, dried shrimp, sliced herbs, fried red shallots, fried garlic and dipping fish sauce. Combine and mix well.

Transfer to a dish and garnish with peanuts and chilli.

Note

• Pomelo can be substituted with grapefruit.
• Mud crab can be substituted with blue swimmer or spanner crab.

Salad Plate

Almost every meal in Vietnam, and definitely with Pho, 

a salad plate is served.  Full of lettuces, herbs and fresh vegetables. 

Thank you Vermille for your beautiful contribution to our 

Vietnamese meal.

As Always, 

ENJOY!

Round lettuce

Leaf lettuce

cucumber

carrots

bean sprouts

Spring onions

Fresh herbs, such as coriander, basil, mint and dill

Beef Pho

Lifting the lid of the cooking Pho, a heady aroma of spices fills the air.

My sister-in-law Kim, prepared the Pho for our Vietnamese dinner on 

Christmas Eve.   There are many variations for Pho and we went over a number of 

recipes. In the end, I think she combined a few recipes and the results 

were absolutely delicious!

Normally Pho, is a main course, and so served in huge bowls.  Since the pho was 

only the starter for our meal, we served it in small bowls.  Here, you see only the broth,

noodles and  meat.  On the table were all the condiments and vegetable toppings. 

As Always,

ENJOY!

Recipe Source: KOTO cookbook

Ingredients

For the broth:

• 2 beef shanks with meat on them (about 2 1/4 pounds total)
• 3 large yellow onions, halved
• 1 6-inch piece ginger, halved lengthwise
• 1 head garlic, halved crosswise
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• Kosher salt
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 4 star anise pods
• 3 tablespoons black peppercorns
• 3 quarts low-sodium beef broth
• 1/3 cup fish sauce

For the soup:

• 1 pound flat rice noodles
• 8 ounces deli-sliced roast beef, torn into pieces
• 4 cups bean sprouts
• 1 large bunch Thai basil or mint, leaves torn
• 2 jalapeno peppers (red and/or green), thinly sliced
• 1 large red onion, thinly sliced
• Hoisin sauce and/or Sriracha (Asian chile sauce), for serving

Directions

Make the broth: Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees F. Toss the beef shanks, onions, ginger and garlic with the vegetable oil on a rimmed baking sheet and season generously with salt. Roast, turning once halfway through, until the meat and vegetables are slightly charred, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a large pot.

Meanwhile, toast the cinnamon sticks, star anise pods and peppercorns in a small skillet over medium heat, shaking the pan, 5 minutes.

Add the beef broth, 2 quarts water, the toasted spices and the fish sauce to the pot with the beef shanks. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook, skimming off any foam that rises to the top, until the meat is tender, 1 hour to 1 hour, 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer the beef shanks to a cutting board; strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve into another large pot. (The broth can be made up to 2 days ahead; let cool, then refrigerate in a covered container.)

Shred the meat from the shanks with two forks, discarding any bits of cartilage, then stir back into the broth. Discard the bones.

Cook the noodles as the label directs. Divide the broth and shredded meat among bowls, then add the noodles and roast beef. Top with the bean sprouts, basil, jalapenos and red onion; serve with hoisin sauce and/or Sriracha

Fried Sticky Rice

Simply amazing!

These have really got the texture thing going on!

Super chewy inside, with a great crunchy outside crust.

Served with Soy chili dipping sauce.

As Always,

ENJOY!

Recipe Source: KOTO by Tracey Lister and Andreas Pohl

Ingredients

500g glutinous rice
1/3 teaspoon salt
50g split, peeled yellow mung beans (Vietnamese pantry)
1 tsp baking powder
Vegetable oil for deep-frying
Soy and chilli dipping sauce, to serve

Instructions

Wash the rice under running water, until the water runs clear. Transfer the rice into a saucepan or rice cooker, then add 750 ml water and the salt. Cook for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, put the mung beans into a saucepan and cover with cold water. Cook until the beans are soft, then drain.

Put the cooked rice, mung beans and baking powder into a large bowl. Using a pestle, work the rice until all of the grains are broken and the ingredients combined. Put the mixture into a 4cm deep 30 × 24cm tray and smooth out with dampened hands. Set in a refrigerator for about 4 hours, or until chilled.

When set, cut the rice into 5 cm batons, or use a spoon to scoop out the rice to make a ball shape. Fry immediately in hot oil. When lightly coloured, remove from the oil and drain on paper towel.

Arrange the fried sticky rice on a central platter and encourage guests to dip the pieces in soy and chilli sauce. In Vietnam, a cold beer often accompanies this dish. Enjoy!

Rice Paper-Wrapped Salad Rolls

Delicious bundles of freshness that everyone enjoys!  A great appetizer

when feeding a crowd, plus it is fun to have others help out in the assembly.

Once again, at Thanksgiving the family made the big vote, and Vietnamese Food

was selected as our country of choice for Christmas Eve.

Every year it is a surprise as to what the final choice will be, and this 

years choice was wonderful.

We all love the fresh flavors of Southeast Asian cooking and luckily the 

diverse ingredients were not to difficult to find. 

Two giant platters of these salad rolls were prepared, since we were a 

group of 24. Satisfying but not overly filling. The dipping sauce gives

just the right amount of seasoning and heat!

As Always,

ENJOY!


Recipe Source: Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table by Mai Pham

Ingredients

• 1/3 pound pork shoulder
• 12 medium-size raw shrimp with shells
• 8 (12-inch) round rice papers 
• 1 small head red leaf lettuce, leaves separated and washed
• 1/4 pound rice vermicelli, cooked in boiling water 4 to 5 minutes, rinsed, and drained
• 1 cup bean sprouts
• 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves

Accompaniments:

• 1 cup hoisin-peanut sauce (see below) or Vietnamese dipping sauce (see below)
• 1/4 cup chopped roasted peanuts for garnish
• 2 tablespoons ground chili paste for garnish

Cook the pork in boiling salted water until just tender, about 30 minutes. Set aside to cool and then slice into 1 x 2-1/2-inch pieces. Cook the shrimp in boiling salted water until just done, about 3 minutes. Shell, devein, and cut in half lengthwise. Refresh in cold water and set aside.

Just before making the rolls, set up a salad roll station. Fill a large mixing bowl with hot water.  Choose an open area on the counter and arrange the following items in the order used: the rice paper, the hot water, and a platter holding all the stuffing ingredients.

Working with only 2 rice paper sheets at a time, dip 1 sheet, edge first, in the hot water and turn it to wet completely, about 10 seconds. stretch the sheet slightly to remove any wrinkles. Wet the other rice paper the same way and place it alongside the first.

Line the bottom third of the wet, pliable rice sheet with 3 shrimp halves, cut side up, and top with two slices of pork. Make sure the ingredients are neatly placed in a straight row. Fold a piece of lettuce into a thin rectangle about 5 inches long and place it on top. (You may need to use only half of a leaf.) Next, top with about 1 tablespoon of vermicelli, 1 tablespoon bean sprouts, and 4 to 5 mint leaves. Make sure the ingredients are not clumped together in the center, but evenly distributed from one end to the other. Using your second, third, and fourth fingers, press down on the ingredients while you use the other hand to fold over both sides of the rice paper. (Pressing down on the ingredients is particularly important because it tightens the roll.) With fingers still pressing down, use two thumbs to fold the bottom edge over the filling and roll into a cylinder about 1-1/2 inches wide by 5 inches long. Finish making all the remaining
rolls.

To serve, cut the rolls into two to four equal pieces and place the cut rolls upright on an appetizer plate. Serve with hoisin-peanut sauce or Vietnamese dipping sauce on the side. Top sauce of choice with chopped peanuts and chili paste. If you like, garnish the rolls with mint or cilantro sprigs.

Hoisin-Peanut Sauce

Makes 2 Cups

Probably one of the most versatile sauces in the Lemon Grass repertoire, this sauce is served with our signature Rice Paper-wrapped Salad Rolls. When mixed with garlic, chilies, and ginger, it's spectacular on grilled fish, chicken, or beef. It's also wonderful as a marinade!

• 1 cup hoisin sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup pureed or finely minced yellow onion
• 1 tablespoon ground chili paste, or to taste
• 1 tablespoon chopped roasted peanuts for garnish

Put first four ingredients into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for 5 to 7 minutes. Add a little water if too thick. Set aside to cool. Transfer mixture to a sauce dish and garnish with chili paste and chopped peanuts.

Vietnamese Dipping Sauce

Makes 1-1/2 Cups

If you know only one thing about Vietnamese cuisine, know that nuoc cham is the single most important table sauce. Slightly sweet and sour, this fish dipping sauce is served with almost every dish.

According to my sister Denise, a self-proclaimed fish dipping sauce master, the difference between mediocrity and greatness is in the lime pulp. Every time she made nuoc cham, Denise not only would squeeze every drop of juice from the limes, but she also would scrape out every bit of pulp. Even though everyone has his or her secret method, the truth is, the proportion of ingredients is what distinguishes one recipe from another. In the northern part of Vietnam, or so Southern gossip has it, the dipping sauce is rather bland -- just a little water has been added to the fish sauce. As you come down to the Central region, a few chilies have been added. Then, as you approach the gastronomic South, the least you can expect is a lively concoction of fresh chilies, smashed garlic, sugar, lime juice, and lime pulp -- all garnished with fine slivers of carrots and thinly sliced chili peppers. This is Denise's recipe (yes, it's the Sourthern version). It will
keep for 1 month if refrigerated.

• 2 small cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 teaspoon ground chili paste
• 1 fresh Thai bird chili, chopped (optional)
• 1/4 cup fish sauce
• 2/3 cup hot water
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice with pulp
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons shredded carrots for garnish

Instructions

Place garlic, chili paste, and chili in a mortar. With a pestle, pound into a paste. If you do not have a mortar and pestle, finely mince the garlic and chili.

Combine the garlic mixture with the remaining ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Ladle sauce into serving bowls and float the carrot slivers on top.