March 29, 2010

Opo Squash Soup with Shrimp | Canh Bau Tom

A light, slightly sweet, and refreshing soup that basically consists of 2 ingredients, shrimp and opo quash, you can pretty much find the rest of the ingredients in your seasonings cabinet and fridge.



Winter melon can be used instead too, but I like the way opo quash holds up in the soup. Winter melon tends to overcook easily and has a mushy texture. Up until maybe a year ago, I could not tell the difference between these two vegetables. How I distinguish the two: Opo Squash is usually light green in color and has a smooth skin; Winter melon is a little bit of a darker green and has a fuzzy skin.


Lightly pound deveined shrimp; marinade with fish sauce, chili flakes, scallions whites, and minces garlic.


Remove the skin and cut opo squash into thin (not paper thin) pieces. I cut mine into half circles, but you can cut it anyway you prefer - you don't want it too thick either.


As always, I like to start many dishes by infusing the oil and sambal chili paste


Heat on high: Add the shrimp mixture and let cook for about a minute - stirring to break up the clump of shrimp.


Add water and bring to boil. Season broth with salt and fish sauce.


Add opo squash - cook until just almost translucent. Remove from heat and it will continue to cook.


Garnish with chopped scallions and enjoy simply as is or with rice.



March 28, 2010

Avocado Shake | Sinh To Bo

A favorite anytime of the year - but best on warmer days.


Blend together peeled and pitted ripe avocados (Hass avocados work great), ice cubes, spoonfuls of condensed milk, a couple spoons of sugar, and a splash of milk.


Serve

More March Celebrations

So late. Last weekend we went to the Rochester Chop House and Oyster Bar in downtown Rochester to celebrate Miss Tammy Pham's 19th Birthday and Laura's 'baby dinner'. Instead of a baby shower before the birth of the little one, Lisa and Anthony decided to surprise Laura with a small dinner celebration. She's due any day now!



Bread basket starter: Seasoned toasted pita, fresh bread, and a mix of assorted beans and vegetables in a clam juice vinaigrette. So good!


Caribbean Breeze Cocktail




Flash Fried Calamari and Caribbean Spiced Mussels for appetizers


Opening presents as we wait for the entrees. Baby clothes - So cute!

Served:


Gulf Shrimp Scampi


Roasted Chicken


Alaskan King Crab Legs


Birthday Girl attacks her New York Sirloin - thing was huge!


Most of us went with the Steak with Zip sauce.


If I remember right - Hazelnut Ice Cream inside a cream puff topped with whip cream and chocolate syrup.



Nice nook in a beautiful area. Great ambiance. Delicious food (except the Zip sauce was a bit on the salty side). Awesome service.

March 23, 2010

See Ya Later Brother

The time has come. Time for big brother Cuong to pack up, move out, and move on, hopefully to bigger and better things. It's comfortable living at home, but unless we venture out, we'll never learn how to survive on our own.

The days before the leave:




Sunday Mornings + Mom's Pho = L.O.V.E.


Sucks that he won't be here to cook on his days off so I didn't need to. Monday's dinner:



He made Thit Heo Tom Rim


I made Canh Chua.


Met up for lunch at Golden Harvest on Tuesday. Must eat: Salt and Spicy Squid. It's the best.


Farewell dinner on Tuesday.



Kieu made Tofu in a tomato sauce | Dau Sot Ca


Lisa and Phuong's Grilled Pork | Thit Heo Nuong


Made Spicy Mayo Baked Mussels again. Thanks to MissxxMai, my niece, who introduced it to me during my visit to Florida. Tweaked a little bit.


Mom's Clear Dumplings | Banh Bot Loc. We all helped out pinching and stuffing the deliciousness. Phuong cooked it.


Dinner is served.


Lisa came down from State to join us. Love her! After dinner, she made a pitcher of yummy Avocado Milkshake | Sinh To Bo.


Lisa and Khanh bought Cheesecake to share. =)


Yea...most likely gained 5-10 lbs within the 3 days...Yikes! Take care Bro!



March 20, 2010

New Banner

New temporary banner created by the lil bro. Until I can get around to make a new one, this will do. This is what my brother thinks of me. Cracks me up everytime I look at it.

March 19, 2010

Smoked Sausage Fried Rice | Com Chien Lap Xuong My

Wrong translation? Added the 'My', not to be confused with Chinese Sausage.

Simple fried rice dish for when you're hungry and you want something quick and easy. It's also a good way to use up that left over rice from last night's dinner.



Day old rice, eggs, thawed frozen vegetables, smoked sausage, and minced garlic (scallion too -but didn't have any around - what?!)


In skillet, fry the eggs slightly and remove into a bowl.


In the same skillet, fry the diced smoked sausage, garlic, chili flakes and sambal chili paste.


After a minute, add vegetables.


After a minute, add the rice and a drizzle of light soy sauce - breaking up any clumps.


After a minute, add the eggs from earlier.


Serve (forgot the dusting of black pepper)

March 11, 2010

LOL Random 4

Last Saturday, the family and I was invited to a wonderful dinner prepared by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.



Dining on the floor Vietnamese Style is the way to go!


Beef wrapped in grape/pepper(?)leaves | Bo Nuong La Nho/La Lot


Lemongrass Chicken Stirfry | Ga Xao Xa


Braised Catfish in a Caramel Sauce | Ca Kho To (this dish is showing up a lot in the last few posts huh?)


Wouldn't be complete without a Vegetable Platter | Rau Song

Sour Fish Soup | Canh Chua Ca also on the menu - not pictured.


On Sunday, the munchkins were over. They got a little bored after watching T.V., youtubing disney videos, and hearing my short answers to their questions. To give us something to do, I gathered up some paper, crayons, and colored pencils so we could draw. They decided we should make a book.



The first few pages of our book. The kid's imagination gave me a pretty good laugh. Kel's M&M flower and triangular shaped leafs. Lyn's blue gray sun and flowers made of star and heart shaped petals. Kids are so creative and imaginative - I love it! Can't wait to add more pages and see what else they've got to throw down paper. Being a kid again is nice.


Yesterday, little bro turned a whopping 18 years old! Happy Birthday young one!


Birthday Dinner: Hot Pot with the family and cousins


Hot Pot with Butter | Chien Bo


Hot Pot with Soup | Nhung Nuoc


MiGnon Cake from Produce Palace. One of our family's favorite.


Watching:

Amazing race: Not so great season so far - but rooting for my cowboys!
Undercover Boss: Great show. Very touching.
Stars Falling From the Sky: The "it" Kdrama right now. The first 5 episode had me in tears. Not draggy. Great cast. Good storyline. And super cute! Started it a week ago, now I'm all caught up for the last two episodes to air next week.