Fish Noodle Soup | Bun Cha Ca

When I was younger and living in Louisiana, I remember watching my mom make fried fish patties (Cha Ca) quite often. I'd eat them right as she finished frying them. Fresh, hot, and good! Our family moved to Kansas after Hurricane Andrew hit and during the 3 or 4 years that we lived there, I can't recall mom ever making this. We moved to Michigan and it is back on the menu - YES!

Mom usually makes the fish paste by combining the meat of King fish, pork belly, shallots, garlic, fish sauce, salt, pepper flakes, black pepper, and baking powder in a food processor. The fish paste is formed into patties and fried in hot oil to make the fried fish patties or formed into balls and not fried to make fish balls (Ca Vien). Both types can be used for Sour Fish Soup (Canh Chua Cha Ca) or Fish Noodle Soup (Bun Cha Ca).

You can buy the fish paste labeled 'Cha Ca' in plastic tubs in the frozen food section of your local asian market. I've also used the already fried and frozen patties a couple times - they taste pretty good. Eventually, I will get around to making my own batch of fish paste. For now, I will use Mom's since she makes a lot, packs them into zip lock bags, and freezes them for whenever we want to use them. The latest batch was made from the King fish I brought back from my trip to Florida in late September.

Making Fish Noodle Soup:

Sour bamboo shoot, cut sour mustard, sliced shallots, minced garlic, and sliced fresh pineapple.


The fried fish patties flavored with fish sauce, pepper flakes, and salt.


Start off by infusing the oil, shallots, and garlic.


Add water, bamboo, sour mustard, and pineapple. Bring to boil.


Add the fish patties and bring back to a boil. Cook for 5 more minutes and its ready!


Serve in a large bowl with rice vermicelli, a handful of raw lettuce mix, and sliced scallions. Condiments: Sriracha and Light Soy Sauce

Out and About

I should really make it a habit of posting more frequently. Wait too long and there's too much content. I'll try my best to organize the last couple week's events and dishes in a couple posts.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY OLDER SISTER PHUONG!

Last Saturday, Phuong made LOTS of Steamed Buns(Banh Bao)

So many!

A sweet bun filled with savory pork meat mixture, chinese sausage (lap xuong), and half a boiled egg.

On Sunday I had dinner with Phuong, Lisa, and Kimmie at our favorite Thai restaurant, Sala Thai. The food is always delicious, the service is great, and I just love the oriental atmosphere. There are 3 locations here in Michigan, but I've only been to the one in Sterling Heights since its closer to home. The other two are located in Detroit, one at Eastern Market and the other on Lafayette. Check out the website for the menu, awards, and info on all 3.

For appetizers, we had Chicken Wings and Spring Rolls.

Lisa had Chicken Pad Thai (one of my favorites)

I ordered the Seafood Curry

Phuong had the Pad Cashew

Kimmie had Pad See-ew if I remember correctly. We also order Chicken Fried Rice to go for the brothers. The fried rice is sooo good!

On Monday, Hanh and I went to see the Jersey Boys show at the Fisher Theater. When I saw the commercial back in June or July I had to make sure I bought tickets. Not only was I fascinated by the rags to riches story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, but I fell in love with the familiar songs.

A Medley of Sherry, Walk Like a Man, and Big Girls Don't Cry by Jersey Boys' London cast.

Other great favorites:
Begging
Oh, What A Night
My Eyes Adore You (Beautiful song!)
Fallen Angel
Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You
Rag Doll

We headed out a little early to get dinner before the show. After getting lost for about 30 or so minutes (due to my awesome sense of direction), we finally settled with The Majestic Cafe. We just ordered a few dishes and shared.

The restaurant was darker than most and light came from the candles at the tables.

Potato Chips and Fried Cheese Raviolis for appetizers

Chicken Carbonara with Basil Fettucini. This was good, especially because of the prosciutto.

Grill Greek-Style Pizza. My first time having Humous and I didn't like it too much. The pizza itself wasn't bad though.

Crowded Kitchen

I am so fortunate my siblings can cook and I love that everyone has their own style.

Phuong - She's willing to step out of the box when it comes to anything, cooking as well. She makes all sorts of banhs and dishes that I have yet to attempt- like Chao Banh Canh or Swedish Meatballs. She has even stepped into the baker's world. A few nights ago, she cooked semi-homemade Super-ghetti with Turkey Meatballs. I've always wonder why our parents and other Vietnamese call spaghetti SUPERghetti. What-ever the reason - I like it ^_^


All these bottles combined to create the sauce - along with ground turkey, diced onions, and minced garlic.


Baked turkey meatballs.


Parmesan and Parsley breadsticks ready for the oven


Gorgeous!


Dig In!

Jimmy - he cooks when he feels like it. Pretty good stuff this kid dishes up. Jimmy made these Spicy Sweet Chicken Wings last Saturday. Pictures taken by the chef himself.


Par-boiled wings


Baked with a spicy and sweet glaze in a little chicken broth.


I ate about 5 of these when I came home from work.

Cuong - He never really cooked until a few years ago. He takes on big dishes that requires a little bit of time. I notice he makes a lot of American dishes such as meatloaf and lasagna, which is good because we need something different once in a while. Not too long ago, he made the ribs below (pictures by the brother).


The marinade. Not sure what's in it exactly - only that it's asian flavoring.


Marinating.


After 4 hours in the oven, the meat was almost to the point of falling off the bone. Very delicious!

Lien - She was the oldest girl in the house and the first in the kitchen. She cooks our traditional dishes like soups and stir-fry. Busy with Pharmacy school,work, and being away from home, she stopped cooking as much. Now that she's living on her own, I'm not sure what the sister is cooking up these days. She did make a delicious pot of Bun Bo Hue (Spicy Hue-Style Beef Noodle Soup) when she visited for Thanksgiving.


Chili Mix for flavor and color


Broth flavored with a seeping bundle of lemongrass and onion


Boiled and rinsed pigs feet


Sliced hanging tender slightly boiled to remove residue and foam from the meat before it goes into the soup.


Oil infused with more chili mix and minced lemongrass.


The beef, pigs feet, and oil goes into the broth. Cook and served over rice vermicelli noodles. Add purple cabbage, bean sprouts, raw lettuce mix, thinly sliced onions, parsley, lime, sriracha, and soy sauce/fish sauce to taste.

Khanh - He's all about simple and ready to eat foods like sandwiches and instant noodle stir-fry.


I finally caught the finale of this season's Top Chef on YouTube last night. The final 3, in my opinion were the best and most passionate. I've been rooting for Kevin from the start, it was kind of sad to see him not win. Came down to the two Voltaggio brothers, Michael won and he deserved it. Great Season!



Amazing Race ended last Sunday. Even though my team was eliminated far too early in the race, I was happy with the results. Just as long as those mean brothers did not win. If only my team did not misplace their passports, I know they could have made it through to the end. Not so great season.

I'm currently reading "The Last Song" by Nicholas Sparks. It's started off slow, but it's getting more interesting. Gives me something to do since there nothing for me on T.V. anymore.

Lemongrass Caramelized Chicken | Ga Kho Xa

Another movie date with the sister today. We watched "The Blind Side" and I really really liked it. A sweet yet sad movie that made me laugh, smile, and cry. Sandra Bullock was great and beautiful as always. If you have yet to see it, add it to your To do list.


Tried mixing Raisinettes with popcorn. It was okay, but I prefer to eat the two separately. For a savory-sweet flavor, I'd go with chips & cake or pancakes & sausage.

Making Ga Kho Xa:

Par-boil chicken wings and rinse off residue.


Minced garlic, minced lemongrass, and sliced yellow onion.


Put chicken wings into pot and season with salt, hot pepper flakes, oyster sauce, sugar, chili paste, soy sauce, fish sauce, garlic, onions, and lemongrass.


Mix well,cover, and braise over low heat. The chicken will give off liquid, but add water if needed.


Serve with rice.

Thanksgiving Week

Packed on some pounds this week. Chi Lien and her fiance, Andy, came to town and all we did was EAT!

Tuesday: Beef and swordfish hot pot. Mom made Cua Rang Hanh Xa (Crabs sauteed with onions and lemongrass)


Wednesday: Boil pork belly w/fermented fish (mam dua/mam chua), plate of mixed lettuce and herbs, steamed fish w/ garlic ginger soy sauce, kimchi and kimchi radish, left over crab and braised pork and shrimp.


Thanksgiving Thursday: Chi Phuong made the Turkey (a Paula Dean recipe), Anh Cuong made pumpkin pie, I made shrimp & smoked sausage jambalaya (Zatarain's Mix), Chi Lien made the oyster sauce asparagus saute, and everyone pitched in with the roast garlic mash potatoes, sweet corn, and bread baskets (rolls, biscuits, and croissants).


Beautiful!


Smelled so good out of oven




Mmm


Something simple and light


Being silly with the nieces, Kelly and Katelyn


Chi Lien, Chi Phuong, Lele, and Lisa


Serious.


Chi Phuong and nephew, Brendon ^_^


Wonderful dinner with family and friends. Not pictured: Phuong, Kimmie, David and Randy. Also missing my Florida and South Carolina families.

Ended the night with poker, karaoke (for us non-poker players), second round at the leftovers, and a few games of tien len.

Black Friday: Happy Birthday Lil Brother! Unfortunately, I had to work on Black Friday. Thought I'd come in a little early to leave a little early. Most of us just sat around talking about Thanksgiving. I left during lunch time to meet up with the siblings for Pho. On my way back to work one of my coworkers called to tell me that unless we needed to finish something - it was okay to go home. I drove back, finished up some reports and left for the day. Did a little shopping with the sister - but found nothing. That night, Chi Lien made Bun Bo Hue and we celebrated Khanh's 22nd Birthday.


Que Huong Restaurant: According to my brothers and some friends, this small restaurant that has no more than maybe 10 tables, is the best in town.


Vietnam's traditional conic hats as hanging lamp shades. Nice.


Goi Cuon w/ Nuoc Leo (Spring Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce)


Lisa, Khanh, and Andy had Banh Mi (Vietnamese Sandwich)


Me, Phuong and Khanh had Pho Dac Biet (Beef Noodle Soup) I've been craving Pho for the longest. I don't usually order Pho but I had to have it. It was good, but Mom still makes the best.


Lisa order Banh Cuon Thit Nuong Cha Lua (Rice-flour Crepes with Grill Pork and Vietnamese Pork Loaf/Ham)

Not Pictured - Lien ordered Hu Tieu (Clear Noodle Soup)

Dinner later that night...


Chi Lien cooked Bun Bo Hue


Khanh's Cake: Mocha Flavored Chinese Fruit Cake from QQ Bakery. Light and delicious.

Past birthday cakes from QQ. These are the regular flavor, but decorated differently. It's my favorite cake. Light, not overly sweet, fresh, and just good!


My Birthday


Lien's Birthday


Cuong's Birthday

Time to get back on the yogurt and granola!