Bí Ngồi Xào Quế

Sautéed Zucchini with Basil

2 cups zucchini, sliced
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup basil, finely chopped
1 T vegetable oil
salt and pepper to taste

In a medium pan, add oil and sauté onion over medium heat, cook until translucent, add zucchini stir for 5 minutes or until tender. Add basil, salt and pepper.

Cá Thu Sốt Cà

Pan-fried King Mackerel with Tomato Sauce

1 lb king mackerel (2 pieces)
2 ripe tomatoes, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 green onion, chopped
1 T white wine
2.5 T vegetable oil
salt and fish sauce to taste

Fish: Pat dry, sprinkle some salt on both sides.

Tomato: Wash tomatoes, cut stem end, and core an X through the skin on the other end. Blanch them in boiling water for 5-30 seconds. Check the skin on the X, if it looks like it's peeling away then take them out, peel the skin off in cold water. Cut tomato in half crosswise between stem and bottom. Lightly squeeze over bowl to remove seeds then chop until almost smooth.

Put 2 T oil into a medium pan over high heat. Add king mackerel, reduce heat and fry until golden brown, one side at a time, let it cook throughly before flipping. About 3-5 minutes each side. Remove king mackerel.
Put 1/2 T oil into a small pan over high heat, add garlic and stir until fraggrant, add tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes, add white wine and simmer for 5 minutes, season to taste with fish sauce, add green onion. Pour over pan-fried king mackerel.

Cải Ngọt Xào

Stir-fried Cai Ngot with Pork



3 cups chinese flowering cabbage, cut into 3-inches length.
1/3 lb pork tender loin, sliced
1 shallot, sliced
1/2 T fish sauce
1 T vegetable oil
pepper to taste

Seperate white stems and green leaves after wash them thoroughly.
Heat wok, add 1/2 oil, shallot, cook until fragrant, add pork, stir-fry for 3-5 minutes, add some fish sauce and pepper to taste. Remove pork. Add remaining oil into wok, stir-fry the white stems first. When they are nicely soft (about 3 mins), add the green leaves and stir-fry for 2 more minutes. Add pork, fish sauce and stir evenly. Pepper to taste.

Tép Rang

Pan fried tiny shrimp



1 lb tiny shrimp (head on)
1 t sugar
1/2 t sea salt or to taste
2 shallots, minced
2 green onion, chopped
1/2 T vegetable oil
1/2 lemon

Heat oil on medium pan over high heat, add shallot, cook until fragrant, add shrimp and salt. Stir for 5 minutes, add sugar, cook for 5 more minutes or until the juice evaporates completely and the bottom of the pan dries out, add green onion. Squeeze lemon juice over when served.

Bún Gỏi Dà

Spring Noodle Soup



2 lb pork bones
3 quarts cold water
1/2 cup dried shrimp
5 T hoisin sauce
2 T tamarind paste
2 T fine shrimp paste
2 T fish sauce or to taste
salt to taste
3 shallots
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 T vegetable oil
3 red hot chili pepper
1/3 cup roasted peanuts, crushed
1/2 lb fresh pork ham, cooked and thinly sliced
20 medium shrimps, cooked, remove shells
10 oz fine rice vermicelli
2 cups chopped green salad
1 cups bean sprounts, rinsed and drained
2 cups shredded banana blossom
1/2 cups chive, cut into 3-inches length


Place pork bones, dried shrimp and shallots in large pot, add water, bring to a boil over high heat, skim off foam, lower the heat and let simmer for 2 hours. Add tamarind paste, shrimp paste, fish sauce, bring back to boil. Strain broth with a double layer of cheesecloth. Add 2 T hoisin sauce into strained broth and let it simmer.

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

In a small pan, add oil and cook garlic until fragrant, add 3 T hoisin sauce, 1 T broth, stir well until cooked, about 2-3 mins.

To serve: distribute salad greens, banana blossom, bean sprouts into large bowls, noodle on top, place shrimps, pork, and chive on top, ladle the hot broth over.
Add peanut, garlic hoisin sauce, hot chili pepper as desired.

Gỏi Bầu Cá Nướng

3 cups wax gourd, thinly sliced
1 cup carrot, julianed
2 cup grilled fish (filet)
1 T ginger, crushed
1 T vegetable oil
2/3 cup Vietnamese coriander leaves, julianed
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
3 T lemon juice or to taste
2 T fish sauce, or more to taste
1 T sugar, or more to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 red hot chili pepper, minced
2 shallots, thinly slice in rings and pan fried
2 T sesame seeds, roasted

Prepare wax gourd: peel off skin and scoop out seeds, slice, plunge into boiling water for 30 seconds, remove and plunge into ice water, dry off.

Grill fish: Wash fish (stripe bass) well, pat dry, brush fish with oil, ginger, salt and pepper. Grill, then debone.

In a medium salad bowl, mix wax gourd, carrot, red onion, lemon juice, sugar, fish sauce, garlic, chili pepper and chill for 30 mins. Add baked fish and Vietnamese coriander leaves, mix well. Top with roasted sesame seeds and fried shallot rings.

Mực Xào Ruốc Sả

Lemongrass cuttlefish


2/3 lb cuttlefish filet
1 T lemongrass, minced
1 T fine shrimp paste
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 white onion
10 dried chili pepper
1 T vegetable oil
fish sauce, sugar, pepper to taste

Make diagonal cuts to 2/3 deep on the inside surface of the cuttlefish filet, turn and make diagonal cuts to 2/3 deep to form diamond-shape cuts. Cut into pieces, it will curl when cooked.

Heat pan and add oil, add garlic and cook until fragrant, add cuttlefish and stir-fry. when they start to curl, add lemongrass, chili pepper and onion, stir evenly, add shrimp paste and continue to stir until onion are translucent. Add sugar, fish sauce to taste. Sprinkle with black pepper.

Bông Hẹ Xào Tôm

Stir-fried Chive Blossom with Shrimp

1 lb chive blossom, cut into 3 inches-length
1 cup medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 T vegetable oil
fish sauce and pepper to taste

Heat pan and add oil. Fry 1/2 garlic until fragant, add shrimp and stir-fry until 3/4 cooked. Add chive blossom and 1/2 garlic lightly stir about 5 minutes or until nicely cooked. Fish sauce and pepper to taste.

Gỏi Cuốn

2 ounces fine rice vermicelli, cooked
15 medium shrimp, cook, shell, devein and cut in half lengthwise
10 8-inches diameter rice paper
5 large lettuce leaves, chopped
1 cup fresh bean sprouts
1/2 cup mint leaves
chive sprigs (optional)
1/4 cup shredded carrot
1/4 cup roasted peanuts, finely crushed
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 T peanut butter
Siracha chili sauce
1 T tamarind paste, soak in warm water, remove seeds and pouches
Sugar to taste

Sauce:
Put hoisin sauce, chicken broth, peanut butter, tamarind paste in a small pan, cook and stir evenly. Add sugar.
Top with peanut, carrot and Siracha chili sauce when served.

Roll:
Moisten rice paper with warm water. Place on flat surface until soften. Top with 1 T lettuce, 1 T noodles, few bean sprouts and several mint leaves.

Roll up paper halfway into cylinder. Fold sides of paper inward. Place 3 shrimp halves. Tuck few chive sprigs under shrimp, leaving about 1 inch extending outside (optional). Continue to roll paper into cylinder.

Cut each roll in half and serve with the sauce.

Chè Sen Huế

300 dried lotus seeds
3 cups water
1/3 lb rock candy

In a medium pot, add water and lotus seeds bring to boil and reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes until the seeds are nicely soft. Add rock candy.

Đậu Bắp Chao Mè

10 okras
2 cubes fermented tofu
1/2 t sesame seeds, roasted
1 t sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
1 lemon wedge
Siracha chili sauce to taste

Cut off the hat from the bottom of the Okra, wash throughly. Cook in microwave for 1.5 minutes.
Mix fermented tofu, sugar, lemon juice, garlic. Add sesame seeds and siracha chili sauce.

Canh Bí Cạo

1 small hairy gourd
1/2 cup shrimp, peeled and minced
2 cups water
1 green onion, chopped
4 sprigs cilantro, minced
1 T. fish sauce
pepper to taste

Scratch the gourd's skin with a knife just enough to leave some skin on the flesh. Clean out the seeds, wash and cut gourd into small triangles.
In a medium pot, add 2 cups water, bring to boil then add gourd in bring back to boil. Add shrimp and skim off any scum. Reduce heat and cook until gourd translucent. Add fish sauce and pepper to taste, add green onion and cilantro.

Canh Nghêu Thì Là

1/2 lb clam meat
2 roman tomato
1/2 cup dill, cut into 2-inches length
3 cups chick broth
1 green onion, sliced
1 t tamarind soup base (optional)
1 T fish sauce
1 red hot chili pepper, thinly sliced
sugar and pepper to taste

Put a medium pot of water (about 6-8 cups) on high flame, bring to boil.
Wash tomatoes, cut stem end, and core an X through the skin on the other end. Blanch them in boiling water for 5-30 seconds. Check the skin on the X, if it looks like it's peeling away then take them out, peel the skin off in cold water. Cut tomatoes as desired.
Add 3 cups of chicken broth into a medium pot, add tomatoes, bring to boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Add tamarind mix, sugar (If using tamarind- optional). Add clam meat, bring back to boil. Add fish sauce, dill, green onion, chili pepper. Serve hot.