Category: recipes

Almond Biscotti

Adapted, slightly, from Cooks Illustrated

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 C (10 ounces) of unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 C of almond flour (instead of regular flour)
  • 1 teaspoon of baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon of salt
  • 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter (1/2 stick), softened but still cool
  • ½ to ⅔ C of sugar to taste (instead of 1 C )
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon of almond extract
  • ¾ cup whole almonds (or hazelnuts) without skins, toasted, cooled and chopped coarse
  • 2 tablespoons of orange zest (from 1 orange), minced
  • add Grand Marnier to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Bake Once

  1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees;
  2. line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or use non-stick cooking spray).
  3. Whisk dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and set aside.
  4. In a separate large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and smooth (about 2 minutes) either by hand or with an electric hand mixer.
  5. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing to combine, and then add in the vanilla and almond extracts.
  6. With spoon, stir in hazelnuts and orange zest.  Sprinkle dry ingredients over the batter, and fold in gently, until just mixed.
  7. Divide the dough in half and turn each portion out onto the prepared baking sheet.  Using floured hands, shape each mound into a 13-inch by 2-inch loaf making sure to work quickly.  Leave about 3-inches of space between the loaves on the baking sheet. Pat loaves smooth.
  8. Bake about 35 minutes, or until just starting to crack, rotating the pan half way through baking.
  9. Remove from oven to wire rack to cool for 10 minutes.

Bake Twice

  1. Lower the oven to 325 degrees.  Transfer cooled loaves to a cutting board (a wide metal spatula will work best).  Cut diagonally with a serrated knife into 3/8-inch slices. Lay slices 1/2-inch apart on baking sheet (cut side up) and return to oven to finish baking.
  2. Bake for about 15-20 minutes (up to 25 mins if you want very crispy biscotti), flipping cookies over once, until crisp and golden on both sides.  Remove from oven and transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to two weeks – 1 month (longer if you don’t mind a little stale cookies)

 

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Thịt Kho Trứng

INGREDIENTS

  • hard boiled eggs
  • pork (2 lbs), with meat, fat and skin, cut into chunks 2×2 or 3×3
  • coco rico coconut juice (or carbonated drink)
  • onion (halves or quartered)
  • rock sugar (1 chunk, less if using sweetened carbonated drink)

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. place boiled eggs in bottom of pot
  2. add chunks of meat on top
  3. pour coconut juice (or carbonated drink) to cover
  4. add onions
  5. add rock sugar
  6. boil on high, skim foam
  7. reduce heat, cover halfway
  8. simmer 2-3 hrs or overnight
  9. watch pot and add juice if it reduces.  water should always covered meat
  10. when done, season to taste with sugar, salt and fish sauce

 

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Curry Chicken

INGREDIENTS

  • chicken
  • curry powder
  • salt, pepper
  • onions (chopped)
  • potatoes (cubed)
  • carrots
  • (canned) peas
  • chicken broth
  • coconut milk
  • cornstarch (optional)
  • cilantro

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Marinate cut up chicken with oil, curry powder, salt, and black pepper for about half an hour.
  2. Heat oil, sauté sliced or chopped onions for a couple of minutes,
  3. Add garlic and ginger and sauté well but do not burn.
  4. Add chicken and sauté until barely done.
  5. Remove and keep covered so meat won’t dry out.
  6. Heat oil and barely fry potatoes.
  7. Add carrots and chicken broth and cook until desired doneness.
  8. Remove about a cup of the vegetables, smash well, and add back to broth. (If broth is not thick enough and there is not enough vegetables to smash more, mix about a teaspoon of cornstarch in cold water, add to broth and cook a couple of minutes/until thicken.)
  9. Add coconut milk.
  10. Sometimes I add a handful of peas at this point.
  11. Add chicken and check for seasonings.
  12. Turn off heat.
  13. Serve with a sprinkle of chopped cilantro on top and bread on the side.

    * Don’t cook coconut milk too long or with high heat, it will curdle. Only simmer and for a short time.

Vegetarian Spring Rolls

INGREDIENTS
All the ingredients are optional. Just use whatever you have on hand.

  • carrot,
  • daikon,
  • white radish,
  • jicama,
  • potato, either deep fry or stir fry it first, as it takes the longest.
  • white or yellow onions or whatever you prefer.
  • cellophane (miến) or vermicelli (bún)Softened and prepared by either let it sit in warm to cool water for however long it takes and/or boiled and rinsed dry.
  • any kind of mushroom (the more the merrier). If you use dried mushroom, you can also soften it by letting it sit in warm water for an hour or more, before slicing them into thin strips.

FRESH INGREDIENTS

  • lettuce,
  • bean sprout,
  • cucumber,
  • fresh basil,
  • mint leaves,
  • cilantro

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. In the following order, add the sliced onions, carrot, dried-softened mushrooms, daikon, white radish, and everything else. Basically, you start with the tougher ingredients first. Sprinkle in some water when needed so as not to burn the ingredients.Adjust the heat accordingly.
  2. Sprinkle in some salt (with ground white or black pepper optional).
  3. The cellophane can be added in lastly.Mix everything gently but thoroughly and turn off the heat.
  4. That’s it; you’re ready to rock and roll with rice paper and the fresh ingredients.

SAUCES
Your choice of thick sauce or thin sauce.

Thick sauce:
Hoisin sauce, peanut butter, and minced roasted peanut.Add some Sriracha or Chili sauce if you like it hot.

Thin sauce:
1 part light soy sauce, 1 part sugar, 1 part lime or lemon juice (you can substitute with vinegar, just add it gradually to taste), 1 to 2 part water to taste. If you like garlic, use a clove or two or ten, finely sliced. Let the garlic have some time to marinate with the sauce. Sriracha sauce or hot chili sauce, or minced/sliced hot pepper can always be added if you prefer (or you can let the individual add it later.)

You can prepare the sauce between time, after you soften the mushroom, for example.The kicker here is to add some hoisin sauce to taste.It makes the sauce that much richer in after-taste.

If you use the thin sauce, the roasted peanuts can be added when you roll up all the goodies in with the rice paper.

Thịt Bằm

Simmered ground pork.

INGREDIENTS

  • If possible, ask for some fat in the ground pork; otherwise you can add bacon as an ingredient.  If you want it lean, that’s fine too.
  • Dice some white or yellow onions (to about a quarter of the size of your pinky fingernail.)  Remember the function of onion is to sweeten the dish.The sweetness lingers unlike with sugar; sugar brings the sweetness to the forefront.
  • Marinate the ground pork lightly with salt, pepper, and diced onions.  You’re ready to go right away.
  • If you use bacon, slice it to the size of your thumb nail.
  • Mix a teaspoon of sugar with a teaspoon of soy sauce (for about a quarter pound of ground meat) in a small bowl.

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Put a pot on the stove on high heat, toss in the bacon (if you only have lean ground pork). 
  2. Otherwise, use some vegetable or corn oil.  Toss in the marinated ground pork.Brown the meat, stirring it frequently to separately it into small chunks (it’s up to you how small the chunk.)
  3. Turn the heat to medium low and add the sugar/soy sauce mixture, a little at a time.
  4. Start simmering the pot. A total of 15 minutes of cooking is enough if you want a quick meal. You can add water if you want more sauce (and more soy sauce/sugar too, to taste.)
  5. Or you can simmer the pot until the onion disintegrates; it’s totally up to you.
  6. Use it for your salad or eat with cooked rice.The sauce is for the rice.  It goes exceptionally well with fresh cucumber.
  7. You can cook once and live with rice and thịt bằm for a whole week.  Just put the leftover in a plastic container and save it in the refrigerator.  When you’re hungry, just take it out, mix it with cooked rice, put it in the microwave for a minute or so.  Add a little fish sauce and few slices of fresh cucumber.  One of the quickest meal ever, and yet very tasty.
  8. Note: I didn’t add fish sauce while cooking so as to avoid the smell; but if you’re going to finish it all in one serving, add the fish sauce toward the end of simmering.

 

Hủ Tiếu

INGREDIENTS

  • Xuong Ong heo (you can google for images) and/or neck bone and or pork baby back ribs and/or ground pork and/or  pork shoulder or butt.
  • Optional: Dried baby squid, dried shrimp, Daikon, jicama.These four items serve to enhance the sweetness in the broth without using MSG.  Find the smallest size of dried shrimp you can find
  • Optional: Shrimp, pork liver
  • Trimmings: Shallot or green onion
  • Salt, pepper,
  • Sugar
  • fish sauce are optional
  • Been sprout, and basil leaves are also optional.

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. As starter, it will probably be easier to go with baby back ribs, ground pork, and fresh shrimp.  The dried shrimp and the daiKon really enhances the flavor of the broth though, so try to have them.  The ground pork goes surprisingly well with the whole thing.
  2. Wash the ribs in warm salted water (do the same if you have bones).
  3. Peel and cut the daikon/jicama into a few pieces each so they can fit into the pot. A daikon or a small jicama is good for at least 4 servings.
  4. Boil water and add the ribs/bones, ground pork, squid, dried shrimp, daikon, jicama.  Season with salt and sugar.
  5. The important thing is to have a clear both so cook without lid and remove the residue from time to time
  6. Let the water come to a boil again so the residue can rise to the top for easy removal.
  7. When most of it it has been removed, start simmering the broth.
  8. Cook for about an hour, clearing the broth every ten minutes or so.
  9. Add the fresh shrimp when you’re ready to eat.
  10. Taste and season with fish sauce and or salt.

Braised tofu

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 container of Tofu, cut into cubes
  • 1/2 onion, sliced thinly1 clove of garlic (optional)
  • 2 tomatoes, cut into wedges
  • Fish sauce (if you don’t have, use salt)
  • Sugar
  • Black pepper
  • Oil (canola, veg. Etc… But not olive)

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. heat up oil (about 1/2 cup) in a pan
  2. Deep fry the tofu one side, then the other until both sides are brown
  3. put them on a plate lined with paper towel to plot out the oil
  4. heat up 1,2 tablespoon of oil in a pot
  5. when hot, put in the onion and garlic and sauté for 1,2 minutes
  6. add the tomatoes, sauté a few minutes.
  7. season with a 1/4 teaspoon of sugar and fish sauce according to taste.
  8. add the tofu in. Stir gently to absorb the sauce
  9. lower the heat and simmer for 15 min. Stir occasionally
  10. turn off heat, add black pepper if desired and serve with rice

Canh chua

Simple beef tomato soup.

INGREDIENTS

  • Beef sirloin or beef round, thinly sliced (the pinkish “thit bo tai” in Pho or used to stir fry with common stir fry dishes like Beef with Broccoli, or beef with Gai Lan, or Bun bo xao, etc.
  • Wash and rinse the beef slices and let them dry.If you don’t like gunks in the soup (if you want a clear broth), boil some water and blanch the beef for one quick minute. Use a strainer to wash and rinse the beef.Marinate the beef slices with salt and/or fish sauce.
  • Tofu (optional), soft or medium.
  • shrimp
  • Tomato, cut into wedges
  • Yellow or white onions.
    • If you like onions, use about half of a small onion, and cut into wedges
    • If you don’t care for onion, just use half of a small onion (for about 2 servings) just to add sweetness to the broth. 
  • Salt to taste.
  • Fish sauce or soy sauce (optional).

INSTRUCTIONS

A. For a light broth.

  1. In a pot, add enough water for two servings at high heat.Throw in the onion half (or wedges) and bring the water to a boil.
  2. Throw in the tomato wedges and let it cooked to the near-firmess that you like.Reduce the heat as necessary. If you prefer a medium soft tomato, cook it at medium  low heat.If you prefer a more tender tomato, cook it at medium heat.
  3. Reduce the heat to low and season the broth to taste with salt. Add some fish sauce or soy sauce if you like.
  4. Bring the heat back to high. Once it boils again, add the beef slices, and quickly cut off the heat. Done.

B. For a hearty broth.

  1. Heat up some cooking oil in a pot.
  2. Throw in the onion wedges  (in this case, smaller wedges, or even chopped onions is better) and shear for about 5 minutes at high heat (reducing the heat if it’s too hot.)
  3. Throw in the tomato wedges and do the same, adding chopped garlic if you like.You lose the firmness, but you gain color and flavor.
  4. Add water and continue with (1) as in the first method.

C. You can combine the two methods (use half of the tomato wedges to shear,  and half later)  to have both a hearty broth and some firm tomato wedges.

D. Another variation is to batter an egg or two, season lightly with salt, and add it to the pot before step 4.

I’ve used this broth (and other variations) with Mi Goi (packaged noodle) by adding stuffs like celery, bean sprout, and various herbs like Beef seasoning, Italian herbs, parsley flakes, beef stew seasoning or Vietnamese “Bo Kho” seasoning/paste, fresh parsley, fresh dills, etc.

 

Bà Ngoại’s Thịt Kho

INGREDIENTS

  • pork (boston butt), pork belly (2-3 lbs)
  • caramel
  • sugar (2 t)
  • salt (1 t), pepper
  • coconut juice
  • 1 medium white/yellow onion (chopped)

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. In a small pot with chopped onion at the bottom, place the meat (Boston Butt) next
  2. Add 1 teaspoon of caramel on top , about 1/2 teaspoon of salt, one teaspoon of sugar.
  3. Let it set for 30 minutes or longer as you wished (2-3hrs).
  4. When you start cooking , turn on high heat the pot covered with the a lid , keep your eyes on it  (about 5-10mins)
  5. When it is boiling around the side of the pot , you can move the meat around to avoid sticking at the bottom and burnt.  Stir the meat to get the color of its liquid , the juice should be foaming and sizzing
  6. Lower heat to medium high, cover pot
  7. When you hear sizzling sounds as the pot dries out, add about 2 tablespoons of water or coconut juice if available .
  8. Repeat this two or three times until the meat is tender .
  9. Before the last water or coconut juice you may add one tablespoon of fish sauce, stir it to combine then add water just to cover the meat , or more if you like more liquid and let it boils for one more minute then turn it off .
  10. Now you can add ground black pepper last .

Xôi gấc

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. chuẩn bị gấc – gấc để ra ngoài cho rã đông – cho 1/2 m cà phê rượu trắng vào ,trộn kỹ.
  2. nếp ngâm khoảng 12 tiếng ,đổ ra rổ vo gạo. Vo lại nếp với nước sạch 1 lần
  3. Nếu nấu bằng microwave.
    – Cho nếp vào tô,cho 1 chút muối (1 hộp gấc với 2 lb nếp ,1/2 muỗng rượu trắng ,1/4 m cafe muối),trộn đều,
    – Cho gấc vào trộn đều.
    – cho nước vào ngang mặt nếp ,
    – cho 1/2 chén nước cốt dừa.
    Đậy tô lại bằng nắp nhựa hoặc bằng nylon loại dùng cho microwave. Cho vào microwave,nấu với high power trong 6 phút,lấy ra,trộn đều. Đậy lại cho vào microwave,nấu thêm với high power trong 6 phút nữa .

  4. Nếu nấu bằng nồi hấp.
    – Phải để nếp thật ráo nước ,mới trộn muối và gấc,
    – nước trong nồi sôi ,mới cho nếp gấc vào hấp trong 45′,
    – cho nước dừa vào,trộn đều,hấp thêm 15 phút .
    – Đem ra ,khi còn nóng ,rắc đường vào,trộn đều.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lQ55lrIaco