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.

Nghêu Hấp Bầu

Steamed clam in wax gourd


1 lb clams
1 small wax gourd, slice into 11/2-inch length
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 green onion, julienned
5 sprigs cilantro, minced
1/2 cup water
2 T white wine
1 t vegetable oil
salt and pepper to taste

Use a small knife or spoon to scoop the seeds out of the gourd rings, put in a medium pan, add water, white wine, garlic, oil, salt and pepper to taste. Bring to boil and reduce heat, cook for 3-5 minutes or until partly translucent. Add clams, bring back to boil for 3 minutes or until all the clams are opened. Add green onion and cilantro. Serve hot with steam rice and ginger fish sauce.

Bò Cuốn Nướng

Grilled Beef Wheels


1/2 lb flank-steak
1/4 white onion, thinly sliced
1 t minced lemongrass
1 ripe tomato, slice into 1-inch length
10 small okra, cut in half
1 green onion, chiffonade
1 T vegetable oil
salt and pepper
5 toothpicks

Butterfly the steak: holding the knife horizontally, slice the steak in half leaving 1 inch uncut. Open the steak, pound it until uniformly thick. Sprinkle with salt and pepper (and a pinch of fishsauce if desired), top with lemongrass and onion and roll tightly. Insert bamboo toothpicks through the roll's center at 1-inch intervals, cut into slices between the toothpicks.

Sprinkle tomatoes, okras with salt, pepper and oil.

Grill beef pinwheels about 5-7 minutes until well browned outside and still pink inside. Grill tomatoes and okras until soft about 3-5 minutes. Place the beef pinwheels on tomato slices, top with green onion.

Cơm Cá Hồi

1/3 lb salmon
1 small bunch cresson
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 t fish sauce
2 sprigs dill, 1 minced 1 for garnishing
1 T vegetable oil
salt and pepper
1 cup steam rice

Put 1/2 T oil into a medium pan, add garlic and stir evenly until fragant, add cresson. Cook for 3 minutes, add fish sauce and pepper.

Sprinkle salmon with salt and pepper, fry until cooked about 5-7 minutes. Scrub minced dill on when it still hot. Serve over rice and garlic cresson.

Thịt Ram

Cá Thu Kho