Moon Boats

Tuna Avocado with Agave Sauce

Tuna Avocado - 1 (12 oz) can solid white tuna - 1 T chipotle mayonnaise - 1 green onion, thinly sliced - 1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced - 1 ripe avocado - a squeeze of lemon or a dash of balsamic vinegar - 1 T toasted almond ( I used toasted cashew nut, crushed) - 1 head Endive, leaves separated - Salt and pepper to taste Mustard Agave Sauce - 1 T organic Blue Agave - 1/4 T honey mustard (stir until combined evenly) Directions Mix together tuna, mayonnaise, green onion, bell pepper, lemon or vinegar, 1/2 avocado. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon mixture into Endive, garnish with sliced avocado, crushed cashew nuts, and a dash of black pepper. Drizzle Mustard Agave sauce over and served.

Herb-Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

- 1 lb of French Fingerling Potatoes - 1 T of olive oil - 1 T of dijon mustard - Herbs fresh (1 T) or dried (1/2 T) (rosemary, sage, thyme, oregano) - Salt and pepper to taste Preheat oven to 400F Scrub the potato under water until clean (potato is lighter and white scrubber stays white). Dry them (strainer or towel). Rub all ingredients onto the potatoes evenly. Spread them out in one layer on baking pan or rimmed baking sheet Bake (covered or uncovered, turn them in half time if uncovered) for 30-35 minutes or until fork tender. Serve immediately. They are my favorite after the Red and Peewee ones. Their elongated and knobby shape which slightly resembles fingers, hence the name, will give visual addition to any dish. Their buttery waxy texture and sweet flavor are perfect for roasting plus the nutty taste from their skin would make them unforgettable.

Artichoke Tea

Trứng Nhồi Chả Cá

Fish Paste stuffed Eggs

5 hard boiled eggs, cut in half lengthwise
1/4 lb fish paste
4 fresh water chestnuts, julienned
2 green onions, chopped
1 sprig cilantro, chopped
vegetable oil
salt and pepper to taste

Combine fish paste, water chestnut and green onion in a bowl, add salt and pepper to taste. Remove the egg yolks from the egg halves. Stuff the egg whites with the mixture, forming a slight mound. Fry in hot oil, deep enough to cover the mixture, fish side down until golden brown, turn over and fry the egg side until golden crisp.
Sprinkle chopped cilantro and grated egg yolk on top. Serve with sweet and sour sauce or cucumber fish sauce.

Canh Bò Rau Củ

Beef and Vegetable Soup


3 T-bones (from the steaks)
and a few cubed beefsteak
(this is what I have in the fridge, you can use beef stew meat instead)
2 small carrot, cubed
1 small daikon, cubed
2 red potatoes, cubed
1 spring onion, chopped

Bao Tử Làm Nguội

Andouille Sausage

Cuốn Diếp

Lettuce Roll

Ngỗng Nướng Cam

Orange Roasted Goose

Thanksgiving Feast 2007

Vietnamese Pumpkin Soup
Autumn Salad with shrimps
Dijon Mustard Turkey
Homestyle Gravy
Mushroom Cornbread stuffing
Shanghai Cranberry Sauce
Green bean Casserole
Baked Japanese yam with scallion oil
Japanese Scalloped corn
Chocolate Raspberry pie

Vietnamese Pumpkin Soup

6 cups chicken broth
3 cups pumpkin
1/2 cup boiled peanut
1 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup coconut milk
salt and white pepper to taste

1) Cook peanut, pumpkin, and onion in chicken stock until nicely soft (20 minutes). Remember to soak peanut for couple hours before cooking, it takes much longer to cook than pumpkin.
2) Use mixer to puree soup.
3) Put back to simmer for a few minutes, add coconut milk. Season with salt and pepper.
Option: Use a large hollowed pumpkin for the soup, warm up in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes before serve.

Autumn Salad with Shrimps
8 cups mixed greens
1 cup shredded carrot
1 cup cooked shrimps
2 hard boiled eggs, sliced
1 can pear
1/4 cup roasted walnut
1/4 cup rasin
5-6 prunes, chopped
French dressing

Top salad greens with shrimps, eggs, nuts, fruits and dressing. Mix well when served.

Dijon Mustard Turkey
1 fresh young turkey, 10 lbs
2 T dijon mustard
2 lemon
1 t paprika
1 T chopped fresh rosemary, oregano and thyme
1 gallon brine

1) Soak turkey in brine for 10 hrs. Make sure you have a big enough container for your turkey and enough brine to cover ans also enough room in you refrigerator for it. If not, use a bag and put in you cooler.
Brine: 4 cups orange juice, 1 cup table salt, 1/2 cup sugar and enough water to cover turkey (about 1 gallon all together). Make sure salt and sugar all dissolved.

2) Rinse the bird throroughly, pat dry and massage the bird with fresh squeezed lemon juice, dijon mustard, chopped fresh rosemary, oregano, thyme. Finish with a coat of papprika.

3) Turn oven to 475 degrees. Cover turkey breast and wings (or you can fold wings back) with foil. Bake for 30 minutes, reduce to 350 degree. Bake for 1 hr 45'. Remove foil. Brush butter or oil on turkey (after basting, if you do). Bake for 30 more minutes.

4) Remove and let turkey stand for 20 minutes before carving. Reserve pan drippings for gravy.

Baked Japanese Yam with Scallion oil

6 Japanese yams
2 T scallion oil
salt and pepper

Bake yams in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. You can prick yams before baking (optional). Make a slit along yam, use a kitchen towel to push the ends to make yam open up. Season scallion oil with salt and pepper, stir in yam with a fork.

Shanghai Cranberry Sauce

4 cups fresh cranberry (1 12 oz bag)
1.5 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 cinamon stick
12 kumquat candies, cut in half
1 T port or cognac

Wash cranberry and place in a sauce pan with sugar, water and cinamon stick. Stir and simmer until cranberry bursts (about 10 minutes). Add kumquat candies and cognac in, stir well. Chill and serve.

Gà Ram Hành

Sauteed Onion Chicken

4-5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1/2 onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T caramel sauce (light)
1 T vegetable oil
1 T Vietnamese coriander leaves, schiffonaded (optional)
Salt, pepper, fish sauce, sugar

1) Wash and cut chicken thigh into strips (or any size and shape you want).
2) Heat 1 T oil over medium high heat, add garlic and stir-fry until fragrant. Add chicken and saute for a few minutes. Add onion and cook until liquid is reduced. Add caramel sauce (if you are making it fresh, make it lighter than you normally do). Season with salt, pepper, fish sauce and sugar to your taste.
3) Top with Vietnamese coriander leaves, then serve.

Cải Tây Hầm Tỏi

Stewed Turnip Green

1 turnip green bunch
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup chicken broth or water
1/2 T vegetable oil
1 dried banga mary fish

1) Wash and cut turnip green (2-3 inches). Separate stems and leave.
2) Thinly slice garlic (or crush, mince, any way you want) then put into a pot with chicken broth (or water, I used water) and vegetable oil (you can also skip this). Bring to a boil over medium high heat.
3) Add turnip green stems in to cook (partially cover) for a few minutes. Add leave and cook, turn to cook them evently. When turnip is tender, season them with salt and pepper.
4) Pan fry dried banga mary fish (or any dried fish you have in your pantry) while cooking the turnip green. Cool off, remove bones, shred the meat by hand and serve with stewed turnip green.

Petit Pate Chaud

4 sheets puff pastry
1/2 lb ground pork
1 T pork liver pate
1/2 small onion, minced
1/2 T dry sherry
salt and pepper
2 egg yolks

1) Allow pastry sheets to defrost (40 minutes)
2) Mix ground pork, pate, onion, sherry, salt and pepper (to taste) until smooth paste. In a small cup, beat 2 egg yolks evenly.
3) Use small cookie cutter to cut circular pieces from the soften puff pastry.
4) Use a small spoon to put filling in pastry piece, put another piece of pastry on top. Use the back of a fork to gently press both round pieces of the pastry together around the outer edge. Brush egg yolk on.
5) Turn oven to 350-375 F (should do this 5' before you finish filling up the pate).
6) Place the finished pate on an oven tray lined up with baking paper (or foil).
7) Cook in oven at mid position, 15'.

Notes:
- You can make pastry ring and add around the filling, right at the circular edge to make your pate higher but it's not nessecery.
- You can brush egg york on when pate is cooked and move up on higher rack in the oven to finish it.
- Any kind of filling will do, feel free to create your own. And size does not matter, too. I made these "bite size" for milo to bring to potluck lunch so people have room to enjoy other dishes. I prefer bigger one for breakfast.

Đọt Đậu Sốt Chao

Snow Pea Sprout with fermented Tofu Sauce


1 bag of Snow pea sprout
3 cubes fermented tofu
1/2 T vegetable oil
hot chili sauce
sugar

Remove hard or dead leave, wash sprout throroughly.
Bring water to a boil in a pot, boil sprout, drain.
In a small sauce pan over medium heat, stir fermented tofu, oil and sugar (some water maybe added) until smooth, add hot chili sauce (tou your taste)in.
Dress over boiled sprout.

Cá Chim Chiên Sốt Cay

Crispy Pomfret in Spicy Sauce

Cá Tuyết Hấp Gừng Hành

Steamed Sea Bass with Ginger and Green Onion


1 slice Sea bass (10-12 oz)
1/4 T sake (or white wine)
1 T soy sauce (light)
1/2 T vegetable oil
few drops of sesame oil
1 small piece fresh ginger, peeled and julienned
1 green onion, julienned
salt, pepper and sugar

Clean and place Sea bass in a large shallow bowl. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on the fish. Add soy sauce, sake, vegetable oil, some sugar, ginger, green onion (white head only, leave green part for garnishing) into the bowl.
Fill some water in a wok or a skillet that deep enough (or one has a big lid cover) to hold the bowl and some room for the steam, place bowl in, cover. Bring to a boil over medium high heat then reduce to medium heat to let the fish steam for 10-15'.
Turn off heat and remove the fish bowl. Drop some sesame oil in, sprinkle some green onions shreds on top then serve.

Bong Bóng Cá Dồn Thịt

Stuffed Fish Maw

Bông Cải Xanh Trứng Cháy

Vietnamese Broccoli Frittata

1/2 cup chopped broccoli
4 eggs
1 green onion, thinly sliced
1/2 clove garlic, minced
1/2 T vegetable oil
salt, sugar, pepper to taste

Heat oil in a medium pan until bubbling hot but not smoky, add garlic, stir until fragrant, add broccoli and green onion, stir fry for 3 minutes or until nicely cooked. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle sugar to the pan and let it melt so it will form a crunchy crust later. Beat eggs evenly in a bowl with some salt and pepper, pour into the broccoli and cook on each side until golden brown. Serve with steamed rice.

Rau Muống Chiên Xù

Water Spinach Tempura with Peanut Sauce


2-3 cups water spinach, cut into 3-inches length
Tempura mix
Oil to fry
1 green onion, cut into 2-inches length
1/4 onion, cut into strips
Carrot strips to garnish

Water Spinach: Just leave some young leaves, cut and wash thoroughly.
Mix tempura batter as directed in the box, dip water spinach in, turn to cover evenly. Deep fry over high heat, remove when it turns lighly yellow. Drain on paper towel. Stir-fry onion and scallion to garnish the dish. Serve with peanut Sauce.

Peanut Sauce
3 T creamy peanut butter
1 T coconut milk
1/2 T lime juce
1/2 T soy sauce or to taste
1/2 T sugar
1/4 T siracha hot sauce
1/2 clove garlic, minced

Mix all in a small bowl, add water if needed.

Cá Nục Kho Thơm

Mackarel braised in Pineapple Coconut Juice

3 Mackarels, clean and cut in half
1/4 Pineapple, sliced
1 can coconut juice
2 cloves garlic, lightly crushed
1/2 cup fish sauce
Vegetable oil

Pan fry mackarel with oil until skin turn golden. Transfer over pressure cooker, add coconut juice, fish sauce, garlic, pineapple, some oil in. Cover, lock lid and cook over medium high heat for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to simmer for 50 minutes. Turn off heat. Let it cook in steam for 10 more minutes. Release steam, open lid. Fish are ready to serve. The bones can be eaten (very soft) too.

Canh Khoai Sọ Rau Nhút

Water Mimosa and Taro Corm Soup

4-5 taro corms (small), peeled
2 cups water mimosa, cut into 3-inches length
4-5 shirmps, shelled, deveined and minced

Water mimosa: remove the white foam and root around the stem, cut into 3-inches length and wash thoroughly.
Put taro corms in a pot, cover with water, bring to boil and cook taro corm until soft. Add shrimp, bring back to boil, skim off foam, add water mimosa. Season with salt, sugar and pepper. Serve hot with rice.