Sunday, May 28, 2006

Gà Ram Quế

Spicy Basil Chicken

8 chicken drumettes
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
1 T vegetable oil
1 T fresh basil leaves, chopped
Black soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, pepper to taste

Friday, May 26, 2006

Đu Đủ Trộn Tép Bạc

Papaya and green bean salad with bay shrimp

Đậu Hũ Dầm Tương

Marinated Tofu

Nước Rễ Tranh Mía Lau

Herbaceous Sugarcane and Woolly Grass Rhizome Drink


1 package (7 oz) of Cane & Arrow Root Stock
3 quarts drinking water
4 oz rock sugar (or to taste)


Wash the sugarcanes, dried roots (Woolly Grass Rhizome), and Arrow root slices in the package. Add water and bring to a boil, skim off foam. Turn down the heat and simmer for 2-3 hrs. Add rock sugar, serve hot or cold.


Saturday, May 20, 2006

Friday, May 12, 2006

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Samosa

On the street in New Delhi

Dough
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 t salt (or to taste)
2 T vegetable oil
oil to fry
6-8 T ice water


Filling
3-5 medium size boiled potatoes
1 cup chopped onions
2 hot green chilli peppers, minced
1/2 t minced fresh ginger
1/4 t turmeric powder
1/4 t salt
red chili powder to taste
1/2 t aniseeds, dry mint powder (or 2 t chopped fresh mint leaves)
1/4 t garam masala (hot spices)
1/2 cup par-cooked and drained green peas
2 T chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 t fresh lemon juice


Sift the flour and salt into medium bowl. Add 1 T oil and rub the mixture between the palms of your hands to evenly distribute. Add 6 T water, mix, and work until the dough comes together. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes into a medium firm dough. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rest for 30 minutes.

Put 4 T oil in a pan over medium high heat. Add onion and fry until golden brown. Add all the spices and potatoes, mix well and cook until potatoes start to color and become dry, about 5 minutes. Add the peas and cook for 1 more minute. Remove from the heat and add the cilantro and lemon juice.

Take a piece of dough little bigger than a betel nut, roll into a thin circle, about 6-inches in diameter. Cut in half. Make each semi-circle into a cone (using water to seal it), fill 2 t of filling in. Brush the edges with water and fold the dough over, press the edges together to seal.

Preheat the oil in a large pot until bubbling. Add the pastries and deep fry at 300 degrees F, turning, until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Remove and drain on paper towels. Serve hot with chutney.

Chutney
1 bunch of coriander
4 oz of curd
1/4 t ginger
1/2 t salt
1/2 t curmin seeds
2 t green chilli

Put all ingredients into a blender and blend well. Add 1/2 t lemon juice then serve.
Variations: Instead of curd, you can use tomato or mango. This chutney can serve with any snack.

Kiki learns how to make Samosa in Udaipur


Samosas are similar to bánh gối, bánh xếp (Vietnam), pierogis (Russia and Poland), jiaozi (northern China, Japan, and Korea), momos (Nepal and Tibet), pasties (UK, particularly in Cornwall), empanadas (Latin America), calzones (Italy), knishes (Jewish) or turnovers (America).

Samosa origins

Vietnamese Samosas (Bánh Gối) in Hà Nội

Malai Kofta



8 medium potatoes
corn flour
3 T green chilli
2 t ginger
1/2 t salt
1 t red chilli powder
8-10 cashewnuts
10-12 raisins
2 ounces cottage cheese


Wash and boil potatoes until tender. Peel and mash them, add salt, cornflour, hot spices or 1/2 t red chilli powder.

Cashewnuts + raisins + ginger + green chilli + cottage cheese, mix well.

Oil your palms and take 1 T of potato mixture and flatten it, put 1 t cottage cheese mixture in, seal the edges and shape into stuffed ovals.
Deep fry each kofta until golden brown. Drain and set aside.



For the gravy:
2 red onion, chopped
1 t green chilli
1 t ginger
3 cloves garlic
2 bay leaves
2 blanched tomatoes, pureed

Spices:
1/4 t tumeric powder
1/2 t red chilli powder
1 t salt
1 t hot spices (1/4 t garam masala)




Blend together onion, ginger, garlic.
In a pan, heat 3 T ghee or butter. When it's hot add 2 bay leaves, add onion paste, fry until lightly brown. Add 1/2 cup water + all the spices except garam masala. Cook until butter begins to seperate. Add pureed tomato, bring to a boil, add 1 cup of water, bring to a boil, turn off heat.

Put koftas in a serving dish, pour hot gravy over, sprinkle with garam masala, coriander leaves, fresh cream.

Saturday, May 06, 2006

Bún Suông

Shrimp Worm Noodle

2 lbs shrimp in shells
6 blue crabs
1/2 lb pork paste (giò sống)
3 quarts homemade chicken stock
2 shallots, minced
2 T hot chili oil
1 T vegetable oil
3 scallions, chopped (separate white heads)
10 sprigs cilantro, finely chopped
1 small piece of rock sugar
fish sauce, salt, pepper to taste
10 oz medium rice vermicelli


Add chicken stock in a large soup pot, bring to boil over high heat.
Blue crabs: Detach the shell from the body, scoop out the butter into a bowl. Remove and discard the apron and gills. Add crabs into the soup pot. Skim off any foam that rises to the top. Lower heat and let it simmer for 20 minutes.

Shell and devain shrimp, sprinkle salt over and let stand for 15 minutes, rinse and dry. Put shrimp, scallion (white heads), salt and pepper in a food processor. Process until the paste is fine and sticky. Add pork paste, mix well. Oil your fingers and make the shrimp worms out of the paste.

Add shrimp worms into the pot and cook for 3-5 minutes until the worms turn pink and float to the top. Add fish sauce, rock sugar, salt and pepper to taste.

In a small pan, add oil and fry shallot until fragrant, add crab butter in, stir well, add hot chili oil and cook for 2 minutes. Add this chili crab butter oil into the soup pot. Turn off heat.

Put rice vermicelli in boiling water and cook for 3 minutes. Turn off heat and let it sit for 2 more minutes. Rinse over water.

To serve: distribute salad greens, herbs, water spinach, banana blossom, bean sprouts into large bowl, noodle on top, ladle the hot broth amd shrimp worms over. Sprinkle with cilantro and scallion (green part). Add some fresh squeezed lime juice if preferred.

Vegetable platter
2 cups chopped green salad
1 cup herbs (perilla, spearmint)
1 cup bean sprounts, rinsed and drained
1 cup shredded banana blossom
2 cups shredded water spinach
lime wedges, hot chili pepper

Thursday, May 04, 2006

Bắp Cải Luộc

Boiled Cabbage with Egg york Sauce


1 small cabbage
2 hard boiled eggs
3 T fish sauce
1 T cabbage stock (optional)
1/2 T lime juice
Sugar, red hot chili pepper (or mustard) to taste



In a medium stock pot, fill with water + 1/2 t salt and bring to boil over high heat.

Remove core and any discolored outer leaves, cut cabbage head into 4 wedges. Add cabbage wedges into the boiling water and cook until nice and soft (5 minutes). Drain throroughly.

Egg York Sauce:
In a bowl, put 2 cooked egg yorks (or 2 whole hard boiled eggs if preferred) + fish sauce + cabbage stock (from boiling cabbage), mix well. Add 1/2 T lime juice + sugar + mustard or chopped hot chili pepper, mix again.

Cabbage retains liquid and is likely to thin sauce so don't worry if the dipping sauce seems pasty and salty.

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Sườn Ram Đậu Hũ

Glazed Sparerib with Crisp Fried Tofu


2 lbs lean spareribs, cut into 2-inches pieces
16 pieces fried tofu (1/2 block firm tofu)
2 shallot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T vegetable oil
1/3 cup white wine
2 T sugar
Fish sauce, salt, pepper to taste


Put spareribs + garlic + shallot + 2 T fish sauce + 1/2 t salt + 1 T sugar + fresh ground black pepper, mix well, cover and refrigerate overnight or 4 hrs.

Heat oil in a heavy bottom skillet. Add the ribs and cook until brown, about 15-20 minutes. Add sugar and stir for 10 minutes. Add table wine and let it simmer for 5-7 more minutes. Add fried tofu and stir for 3 more minutes. Remove to a serving clay pot. Sprinkle with black pepper and serve with rice.

cơm trộn đáy chảo

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Cà Tím nấu Sườn

Eggplant and Pork rib Soup

























1/2 lb pork rib, cut into bite-size pieces
2 medium eggplants, cut into finger-sized pieces (1/2"x 2")
16 pieces fried tofu (1/2 block firm tofu)
1/2 cup of perilla, chopped
fish sauce, salt and pepper to taste



In a medium pot, add 6 cup water, pork rib and bring to a boil over medium high heat.
Skim off foam. Simmer for 30'.
Add fried tofu in, bring back to boil, continue to skim any foam that rises to the top. Add eggplant and cook for 5 more minutes. Add fish sauce, salt and pepper to taste. Top with perilla leaves and serve.

Monday, May 01, 2006

CuongMai's kitchen-NJ

French Foie Gras

Steamed Asparagus in Mustard Dressing


Phở


BBQ Mergeza Sausages


Chef Cuong's special deep fried Bass