Scallion Butter Baked Mussels, Banh It, Canh Chua, Thit Heo Luoc w/ Dua Mon, Banh Tet & Ga Bop.
January 27, 2011
Snapshot 7
Farewell to 2010 dinner.
Scallion Butter Baked Mussels, Banh It, Canh Chua, Thit Heo Luoc w/ Dua Mon, Banh Tet & Ga Bop.
Scallion Butter Baked Mussels, Banh It, Canh Chua, Thit Heo Luoc w/ Dua Mon, Banh Tet & Ga Bop.
January 23, 2011
LOL Random 7
First week of bringing lunch to work everyday? Success! I found it pretty enjoyable packing snacks and lunch instead of walking to one of the nearby restaurants to get food. Plus, it beats going out in the bitter cold! I was using brown paper bags and plastic zip locks - but tossing those out after every use, I found it wasteful. So I decided to buy a lunch bag and some tuber-ware.
Picked up a BYO chomp lunch bag and a thermos for my soups on clearance at Target! Looking forward to packing more lunch! I'm strange, I know. hah
With Quoc Khanh. Handsome isn't he? hehe I was hoping he'd sing Tinh Xuan, which is on the playlist, but bummer, he didn't
With the awesome Nhu Quynh.
Fun night with Phuong, TP, and Brandi.
Picked up a BYO chomp lunch bag and a thermos for my soups on clearance at Target! Looking forward to packing more lunch! I'm strange, I know. hah
Not to mention Birmingham Restaurant Weeks during Jan 31-Feb 3 & Feb 7-Feb 11. Working in this area doesn't help much at all...
I attended the Mung Xuan Tan Mao 2011 concert at Motorcity Casino tonite, thanks to TP for the extra ticket. The show included performances by Helena Hong Ngoc, Tran Thai Hoa, Ngoc Ha, Nhu Quynh, Quoc Khanh, and the awesome Liberty Band. My favorite performances was TTH's Co Hang Nuoc, NH's Ai Ra Xu Hue, NQ's Nua Vang Trang and Nguoi Tinh Mua Dong, and QK's Tinh Yeu Vang Trang.
With Quoc Khanh. Handsome isn't he? hehe I was hoping he'd sing Tinh Xuan, which is on the playlist, but bummer, he didn't
With the awesome Nhu Quynh.
Fun night with Phuong, TP, and Brandi.
Currently Listening to: Suy Nghi Trong Anh Duet
Also, I brought back the Nhac Xuan playlist to make it feel a little more like Spring. =)
January 21, 2011
Clear Shrimp & Pork Dumplings | Banh Bot Loc
A must have dish at all the family gatherings - reunions, house warmings, death anniversaries, dinner to end the year and welcome the new lunar year, and so on.
This is my first time time making banh bot loc almost all on my own (mom helped form the dumplings). I think this might be my first banh post too, I'm not big on making any kind of banh because it takes so much time to prep all the ingredients. Here, I'm making it bare and boiled - most people I know prefer it this way, so do I. There's also the ones wrapped in banana leaves and steamed - which are more aromatic when cooked because of the banana leaves.
The shrimp and pork filling:
Cut shrimp into small pieces, season with fish sauce, chili pepper flakes, minced garlic, salt, and pepper.
Cut the pork belly into small pieces, also season with fish sauce, chili pepper flakes, minced garlic, salt, and pepper.
Cut leeks into small pieces, fried in a little oil to release flavor. I love the smell of fried leek - smells so good! Remove the leek oil to a small bowl.
In the same pan, saute some shallots in a little bit of oil.
Add the pork. When the pork is cook, add the shrimp, leek oil, and sugar. The sugar will help it to caramelize.
When the shrimp is cooked and everything is nicely caramelized, add cut scallions and more black pepper. Set aside.
The dough, forming the dumplings, and cooking:
Forming the dough seems to be the toughest part. If it's too dry or too wet, it's hard to work with. For each bag of banh bot loc flour (tapioca starch) you use, you'll need 1 cup (give a little) of boiling hot water. Put some oil on your hands so it' won't get too sticky.
I attempted to use the Kitchen Aid mixer I bought for Phuong last year to make the dough, but....FAILED. It was sticky, I added more starch - it got dry, I kneaded some more water into it by hand - it was runny. I ended up making another dough, kneading it by hand. Mom shook her head when she found out I tried to make the dough in a mixer...
To press the rounds out faster, I put a ball of dough in between sheets of wax paper and press down with a glass cup.
Form the dumplings by spooning some of the filling onto the center of the round, fold in half, and seal by pinching the edge together.
In a large pot of, boil the dumplings until they float to the top.
While the dumplings are cooking, make a scallion oil: Heat up some oil and toss in cut scallions. Fry for a few seconds.
When cooked, drain and run the dumplings under cold water or dunk into cold water bath. Let drain. Toss in the scallion oil - which adds flavor and helps the dumplings from sticking to one another. Plate right away.
Serve with a sweet fish sauce (fish sauce, crushed garlic, sugar, water, cut chili peppers). I added fried shallots to mine because i like the texture and flavor.
Slightly overcooked the first batch...this one turned out better, but maybe I should have cooked it just a lil longer.
Yum.
This is my first time time making banh bot loc almost all on my own (mom helped form the dumplings). I think this might be my first banh post too, I'm not big on making any kind of banh because it takes so much time to prep all the ingredients. Here, I'm making it bare and boiled - most people I know prefer it this way, so do I. There's also the ones wrapped in banana leaves and steamed - which are more aromatic when cooked because of the banana leaves.
The shrimp and pork filling:
Cut shrimp into small pieces, season with fish sauce, chili pepper flakes, minced garlic, salt, and pepper.
Cut the pork belly into small pieces, also season with fish sauce, chili pepper flakes, minced garlic, salt, and pepper.
Cut leeks into small pieces, fried in a little oil to release flavor. I love the smell of fried leek - smells so good! Remove the leek oil to a small bowl.
In the same pan, saute some shallots in a little bit of oil.
Add the pork. When the pork is cook, add the shrimp, leek oil, and sugar. The sugar will help it to caramelize.
When the shrimp is cooked and everything is nicely caramelized, add cut scallions and more black pepper. Set aside.
The dough, forming the dumplings, and cooking:
Forming the dough seems to be the toughest part. If it's too dry or too wet, it's hard to work with. For each bag of banh bot loc flour (tapioca starch) you use, you'll need 1 cup (give a little) of boiling hot water. Put some oil on your hands so it' won't get too sticky.
I attempted to use the Kitchen Aid mixer I bought for Phuong last year to make the dough, but....FAILED. It was sticky, I added more starch - it got dry, I kneaded some more water into it by hand - it was runny. I ended up making another dough, kneading it by hand. Mom shook her head when she found out I tried to make the dough in a mixer...
To press the rounds out faster, I put a ball of dough in between sheets of wax paper and press down with a glass cup.
Form the dumplings by spooning some of the filling onto the center of the round, fold in half, and seal by pinching the edge together.
In a large pot of, boil the dumplings until they float to the top.
While the dumplings are cooking, make a scallion oil: Heat up some oil and toss in cut scallions. Fry for a few seconds.
When cooked, drain and run the dumplings under cold water or dunk into cold water bath. Let drain. Toss in the scallion oil - which adds flavor and helps the dumplings from sticking to one another. Plate right away.
Serve with a sweet fish sauce (fish sauce, crushed garlic, sugar, water, cut chili peppers). I added fried shallots to mine because i like the texture and flavor.
January 19, 2011
Snapshot 5
Lunar New Years is right around the corner (February 3rd - 5th). It's that time of year, the preparations begin.
The first of which...
Mut Tet: Candied Coconut (which has been enhanced with food coloring), Carrot, and Ginger
Mut Tet: Candied Coconut (which has been enhanced with food coloring), Carrot, and Ginger
January 15, 2011
Vietnamese Hamburger | Banh Hambuhguh
I got sick earlier this month because of some food I bought for lunch, so one new year resolution for 2011: Try to bring lunch everyday instead of going out to buy it. The other day I packed a vietnamese hamburger. Yes, vietnamese hamburger - the burger I grew up on, because way back when, when we couldn't afford to eat at the fast food restaurants, Mom would make these. I still prefer them over any fast food burger. Our family always try to make them anytime we have a backyard BBQ in the summer.
I tweaked it just a little from how it's usually made.
For 8 Burgers:
Dice half a yellow onion and mince 2 cloves of garlic
The tweak: Instead of raw onion and garlic, I browned it in a little oil first to bring out more flavor.
Mix together 2 lbs of ground beef, the sauteed onion and garlic, 1 tbsp. of sambal chili paste, 3 tbsp. of fish sauce, chili pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper to taste.
Form 8 quarter-pound patties.
It's winter with a blanket of snow outside, I'm not crazy enough to go start up a grill...plus I don't even know how. hehe Pan grill will do, because thats how it was done growing up. On medium high heat, grill the patties a few minutes on each side. Don't press down on the patties to retain the burger juice.
Juicy! Serve with a sesame bun, lettuce, and your preferred condiments. I like it with or without ketchup. Might have to try it with a little sriracha next time. Bar Louie used to have an Angry Burger that was served with sriracha, pretty good. I don't see it on the menu anymore though...
with Lemon Grass Flavor
with Pickled Carrot and Daikon
I tweaked it just a little from how it's usually made.
For 8 Burgers:
Dice half a yellow onion and mince 2 cloves of garlic
The tweak: Instead of raw onion and garlic, I browned it in a little oil first to bring out more flavor.
Mix together 2 lbs of ground beef, the sauteed onion and garlic, 1 tbsp. of sambal chili paste, 3 tbsp. of fish sauce, chili pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper to taste.
Form 8 quarter-pound patties.
It's winter with a blanket of snow outside, I'm not crazy enough to go start up a grill...plus I don't even know how. hehe Pan grill will do, because thats how it was done growing up. On medium high heat, grill the patties a few minutes on each side. Don't press down on the patties to retain the burger juice.
Juicy! Serve with a sesame bun, lettuce, and your preferred condiments. I like it with or without ketchup. Might have to try it with a little sriracha next time. Bar Louie used to have an Angry Burger that was served with sriracha, pretty good. I don't see it on the menu anymore though...
Cut back on the spices if kids are eating. Unless they eat spicy, the kick will get them.
with Lemon Grass Flavor
with Pickled Carrot and Daikon
January 9, 2011
Food Venture: Tom's Oyster Bar
During the summer, some friends and I went to Arts, Beats, and Eats in Royal Oak. One of the food stalls was for Tom's Oyster Bar. We tasted the crab cakes, which were pretty good, so today me and some gal pals went to check it out for dinner.
Started off with soups...
Seafood Chowder
Lobster Bisque
Clam Chowder
Oysters Rockefeller
New York Sirloin
Chicken and Shrimp Curry w/ Rice
Crab Cakes (I liked!)
Started off with soups...
Seafood Chowder
Lobster Bisque
Clam Chowder
Oysters Rockefeller
New York Sirloin
Chicken and Shrimp Curry w/ Rice
Crab Cakes (I liked!)
The food wasn't awesome, but it wasn't bad either.
December 30, 2010
Happy Xmas and Happy Birthdays 2010
Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!
Hotpot dinner (late lunch): Soup based or fried with butter.
Cutie!
Mom and Phuong made Taro and Tapioca Pearl sweet dessert. Mom suggested we add vanilla flavoring and I suggested ginger. The two flavors together, delish.
Happy Birthday to my two favorite Phuongs!
QQ Bakery Vanilla Fruit Cake
Sweet Dreams Venetian Delight Cake
Hotpot dinner (late lunch): Soup based or fried with butter.
Cutie!
Mom and Phuong made Taro and Tapioca Pearl sweet dessert. Mom suggested we add vanilla flavoring and I suggested ginger. The two flavors together, delish.
Happy Birthday to my two favorite Phuongs!
QQ Bakery Vanilla Fruit Cake
December 24, 2010
Vietnamese Egg Rolls | Cha Gio
We had a Secret Santa gift exchange on Wednesday at the company and held a potluck to open the gifts while enjoying good food. I signed up to bring in egg rolls. This was my second time ever making them, usually I just help with prepping, rolling, or frying while Phuong or Mom does the seasoning. I'm substituting what usually would call for ground pork with ground chicken.
For 50 egg rolls:
You'll need to defrost 2 packs of wrappers (Spring Roll Pastry).
Soak a handful of dried woodear mushrooms in warm water for 10 minutes.
At the same time, soak 2-3 bundles of cellophane/bean thread noodles in warm water for 10 minutes(I used 4, but should have cut back on 1)
Meantime, shred 1 medium carrot.
Drain and mince the mushrooms. Drain and cut the softened noodles into about 1 inch pieces. Cut the carrots into small pieces. Combine 2 lbs of ground chicken with the mushrooms, noodles, carrots, 3 cloves minced garlic, and 3 shallots. Season to taste with fish sauce, salt, black pepper, hot pepper flakes, and sugar.
Mix ingredients thoroughly. (Microwave test to see if you may need to adjust seasoning)
Lay the wrapper so that it looks like a diamond and spoon some of the filling onto the corner closest to you.
Roll forward 1/3 of the way, tightly.
Fold in the two sides, and continue to roll forward. When you reach the end, dab a little water on the tip and seal.
Continue to roll the rest of the egg rolls, best to lay it on seal side.
Heat up some corn oil in a shallow pot (or deep fryer)
When oil is hot enough for frying, drop the egg rolls in and cook on medium heat, when they're golden brown and floating to the top, they're done.
Pull from oil and let drain on basket lined with paper towels and newspaper.
Phuong taught me a tip on how to transport them easily and keep them crispy (not putting them in a tubberware and covering it). Fold down a large brown paper bag and line with paper towels.
Stack the egg rolls straight up. Neat way to serve it too!
The delicious spread: Meatballs w/ BBQ sauce, Spinach Pie, Sushi, Wings, Stuffed Grape Leafs, Fruit Salad, Salad and various Pasta Salads, Turkey Chili, Hummus, Tamales, and Banana Pudding.
Yum!
All these good eats along with all the chocolate gifts scattered all around the office...will have to hit the gym for sure after the holidays.
For 50 egg rolls:
You'll need to defrost 2 packs of wrappers (Spring Roll Pastry).
Soak a handful of dried woodear mushrooms in warm water for 10 minutes.
At the same time, soak 2-3 bundles of cellophane/bean thread noodles in warm water for 10 minutes(I used 4, but should have cut back on 1)
Meantime, shred 1 medium carrot.
Drain and mince the mushrooms. Drain and cut the softened noodles into about 1 inch pieces. Cut the carrots into small pieces. Combine 2 lbs of ground chicken with the mushrooms, noodles, carrots, 3 cloves minced garlic, and 3 shallots. Season to taste with fish sauce, salt, black pepper, hot pepper flakes, and sugar.
Mix ingredients thoroughly. (Microwave test to see if you may need to adjust seasoning)
Lay the wrapper so that it looks like a diamond and spoon some of the filling onto the corner closest to you.
Roll forward 1/3 of the way, tightly.
Fold in the two sides, and continue to roll forward. When you reach the end, dab a little water on the tip and seal.
Continue to roll the rest of the egg rolls, best to lay it on seal side.
Heat up some corn oil in a shallow pot (or deep fryer)
When oil is hot enough for frying, drop the egg rolls in and cook on medium heat, when they're golden brown and floating to the top, they're done.
Pull from oil and let drain on basket lined with paper towels and newspaper.
Phuong taught me a tip on how to transport them easily and keep them crispy (not putting them in a tubberware and covering it). Fold down a large brown paper bag and line with paper towels.
Stack the egg rolls straight up. Neat way to serve it too!
The delicious spread: Meatballs w/ BBQ sauce, Spinach Pie, Sushi, Wings, Stuffed Grape Leafs, Fruit Salad, Salad and various Pasta Salads, Turkey Chili, Hummus, Tamales, and Banana Pudding.
Yum!
All these good eats along with all the chocolate gifts scattered all around the office...will have to hit the gym for sure after the holidays.
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