Pho Ga - Chicken Rice Noodle Soup

Pho Ga - Chicken Rice Noodle Soup

Chicken Noodle Soup Vietnamese

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The last few days I kept thinking about Vietnam and when I will get the chance to go back.  And the more I reminisce, the more I thought about all the wonderful foods I had in Saigon.  Pho ga was one of the dish that stood out in my mind.  People close to me know I am obsessed with food and cooking.  I have a keen memory when it comes to food no matter how long ago, if it made me happy and made an impression on me I will never forget the taste.  It amazes my family when I can go on and on describing and praising a dish I had years ago.

In Saigon, there is a noodle shop name Ky Dong who are known for their chicken noodle soup. My first time there it was completely packed.  I can smell the fragrance of chicken stewing away.  I remember I was very hungry at the time because I ordered a bowl of pho ga and mi ga. When the soups arrived I couldn't devour my bowls any quicker.  The chicken was firm, fragrance, and chewy (a good chewy).  The chicken skin was actually a pale yellow unlike the chicken here in the U.S. that just blends in with the meat.  The soup was light and sweet.  I never would have thought out of all the things I ate in Saigon I would be amazed by a simple bowl of pho ga.

Chicken makes a great broth in very little time.  It doesn't require half a day to achieve a great broth like beef pho.  The chicken here in the states does not even come close to the free-range chicken in Vietnam.  Whenever I make any kind of chicken soup I would only use cornish hen or organic free-range chicken for better quality meat.  The broth for pho ga is lighter in taste and sweeter than the broth of pho bo.  I like using a lot of roots vegetables to help achieve a natural sweetness such as yellow onions and leeks.

The steps for making pho ga is similar to pho bo but the time is cut down tremendously.  For pho bo we have to take the extra time to wash, par boil, and again wash the beef bones.  These steps are essential to achieve a clear broth.  I usually do not par boil chicken, I just make sure I wash the chicken thoroughly with salt and water.  You will achieve a clear broth by skimming the scum.

Basil is usually the herb that is synonymous with pho.  I, however, prefer eating pho ga with ngo gai, known as sawtooth herb to some and culantro to others.  The spicy and explosive flavor of ngo gai goes so well with the light and sweet chicken broth.  Whenever I eat any kind of chicken noodle soup such Mien Ga, it just doesn't taste the same without ngo gai.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken (The picture show an organic free-range chicken and 1 cornish hen because I was using the hen's meat for goi ga)
2 leeks
2 onions
2 stub of ginger
rock sugar
mushroom seasoning
salt
fish sauce
5-6 star anise
2 cinnamon stick
5-6 cloves
chopped green onions, cilantro, sliced onion, and sawtooth herb for garnish
lime
hoison/sriracha
rice noodles

1.  Wash your chickenwell.
2.  Place chicken in an 8 qt. stock pot and fill pot with water.
3.  Let chicken cook on medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of salt.  You'll want to skim the broth whenever necessary.
4.  You can roast the ginger and onions at this point. Peel the skin.
5.  Once the chicken has cooked all the through remove the chicken.
6.  Add all the roots vegetables to your broth (ging
er, onions, and leeks).
7.  Remove all the chicken meat from the bones, and throw the bones back in the pot.
8.  Let the broth simmer for about another hour or more on low heat.  Add more salt (about 2 tablespoon, don't put it all at once remember to taste your food), rock sugar, and about 2 tablespoon of mushroom seasoning or granulated chicken base.
9.  While you wait for the broth, you can shred the chicken meat and prepare the garnish and noodles.
10.  Roast the spices in the oven and throw it in the pot.  Season with more fish sauce if needed.
11.  Remove the spices after about 15-20 minutes.
12. Broth is ready for you to enjoy!

Ca Ri Ga - Vietnamese Style Chicken Curry

Ca Ri Ga - Vietnamese Style Chicken Curry

Chicken Curry Noodle Soup Stew

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Since November I have cooked curry about 20 times, before that I have never cooked curry or even care to eat it.  I know plenty of people who enjoy eating Thai curry made with coconut milk, hot Indian curry, or Japanese saucy curry.  I, however, never really develop a taste for curries; I guess we all have a kryptonite.

So what happened last November that changed my mind about curry?  I tasted the best curry at Thanksgiving dinner, made by my boyfriend's aunt.  She used to be a cook for a living, and he raves about a cooking all the time.  I was very skeptic at first, but he said ca ri ga was one of her best dish!  To my surprise her curry was delicious!  It had a lot of curry flavor and the right kick of spiciness. I didn't taste any coconut milk but I can tell a little bit of milk was use.  If only I tasted her curry first, my feeling for curries may not be same as before.

I spent the last 6 months trying to re-create that curry, bless my family and boyfriend for eating so much curry and being my guinea pig.  I made curry so many times I can probably make it in my sleep.  But I don't regret any of it, actually learned a lot through trial and error.  For optimal flavor, I suggest marinading your chicken over night.  To achieve curry flavor in your broth, you'll need to cook curry powder into your broth similar to the way you would make Bun Bo Hue.  If you choose to use milk, you should add your milk a little at a time on very low heat.  I find it best to add milk at the very end.

This curry does not have that rich flavor from the coconut milk.  It's not as saucy because I prefer it to be like a broth so you can eat it with noodles or bread.  If you like it more saucy, I would use less water.  This curry is more savory, with a kick of chili in every bite.  You'll definitely be sweating when eating curry at my house.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

One whole chicken cut into smaller pieces
1 can of coconut juice
1 can of chicken broth
2-3 stalk of lemon grass
1 stub of ginger
1 tablespoon of minced shallots
1 tablespoon of minced lemongrass
1/2 tablespoon of garlic
1 bay leaf
1 bag of curry powder
1 teaspoon of chili power
3 lbs bag of Yukon potato
fish sauce
sugar
salt
mushroom seasoning
water cooking oil

1.  Marinade chicken with 3 tablespoon of cooking oil, 1 teaspoon of salt, 4 tablespoon of fish sauce, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1 tablespoon of mushroom seasoning, 1/2 a bag of curry powder (about 3 tablespoon), minced garlic, minced shallots, and minced lemongrass.  Marinade overnight if possible.
2.  Peel the potatoes and cut into cubes, soak in water until ready to use.
3.  In a pot, brown the marinaded chicken.  Does not need to be cooked all the way.
4.  Add the coconut juice and chicken broth.  Let chicken simmer in this mixture for about 10 minutes. If you want the curry to be saucy then you can go ahead and the lemongrass stalk,ginger, and bay leaf.  Season the broth with salt and sugar.
5.  In a pan add 2 tablespoon of cooking oil on very low heat.  Add the other half of the curry powder and cook into the oil.  Add this mixture to the broth.
5.  If you want more of soup broth, then you'll want to add more water as if you are making a noodle soup.  Season the broth with salt and sugar to your liking.  Let everything marry in the pot for another 20 minutes.
6.  Add the potatoes at the very end because they will cook very fast.  Just before the curry is done add about 1 cup of milk a little bit at a time on very low heat, mixing it into the broth.  Turn off the heat.
7.  Curry can be eating noodle, bread, or rice.  Garnish with some green onions and cilantro.  Enjoy!

Ga Kho Gung - Chicken Braised in Ginger and Caramel Sauce

Ga Kho Gung - Chicken Braised in Ginger and Caramel Sauce

Chicken Vietnamese

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Ga Kho Gung is a dish that brings a lot of laughs to my family. My mom goes to work really early in the morning and she usually wake up extra early to prepare lunch in advance for my the rest of the family. On occasion when she doesn't get the chance to cook in the morning my dad becomes the cook for that day. Even though my dad has great taste in food, he cannot cook. Whenever I come home after school and see fried eggs and boiled green beans on the dining room table, I know my dad made lunch that day. Sometimes it's edible, other times it's not. My dad likes to flavor his cooking with only one ingredients, salt. My mom and I always have a good laugh anytime my dad cooks.

One afternoon I came home from school to a huge pot of ga kho gung. It was incredibly good! When my mom came home from work I complimented her pot of ga kho gung. She, however, did not make the ga kho that day. We both thought for sure it cannot be my dad, but who else could it be? The next day, I praised my dad on his ga kho. It made him really happy to hear that both my mom and I love his ga kho. When I came home after school that day, my dad had made another pot of ga kho. Again it was delicious. The next day I told him again he did a great job on this chicken. After school of that day, again there was another pot of ga kho. My dad made ga kho FIVE days in a row! Even my brothers, who never really have much to say about food were getting tired of chicken. That weekend we had an emergency family meeting with my dad. No more ga kho please! My dad learned a valuable lesson that day, less is more. Recently, my sister-in-law reported that my dad had pulled another ga kho week at home. It made me laugh but that's my dad!

The process to make Ga Kho Gung is very similar to Thit Heo Kho. You basically braise the chicken in the same caramel sauce and then add ginger. The ginger turn the caramel sauce into a totally different flavor. This is a great recipe if you like spicy food, adding chilli powder to the chicken elevate the flavor even more.

Ingredients

1/2 chicken (fat trimmed , chopped into smaller chunk with the bones)

1 small knob of ginger (julienned)

1 shallot (minced)

sugar

fish sauce

mushroom seasoning

black pepper

onion powder

chicken broth or water

chili powder (optional)

1. Marinade the chicken with the minced shallot, 4 tablespoon of fish sauce, 2 teaspoon onion powder, 2 teaspoon of mushroom seasoning, and 1 teaspoon of chili powder. Let chicken marinade for an hour or so.

2. Heat up a pot on medium heat.

3. Once the pot is hot, add 2 tablespoon of sugar. Let he sugar melt and caramelized.

4. Add all content of the marinaded chicken to the caramelized sugar. Make sure every pieces of the chicken is coated with the sauce. The caramel sauce should give the chicken some color.

5. Add enough liquid to the pot to braise the chicken (enough liquid to barely cover the chicken). I like using chicken broth or you can use water.

6. Add the ginger and turn the heat down a bit to let the chicken simmer in the liquid.

7. Let the liquid reduce into a rich sauce.

8. Once the cooking process is done, top some black pepper on top.

Serve with white rice and enjoy!

Thit Ga Ham Khoai Tay Ca Rot - Chicken Soup with Potatoes and Carrots

Thit Ga Ham Khoai Tay Ca Rot - Chicken Soup with Potatoes and Carrots

Chicken Everyday Vietnamese

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Yet another dish that takes me back to my childhood. This soup is the epitome of Vietnamese comfort food. The broth is simple and clean, flavor by the sweetness of the vegetables and bones. I love eating this soup when I'm feeling under the weather, it make you feel like everything is going to be alright.

This soup is quite versatile because you have a lot of choices for ingredients. For the meat you can use chicken, pork, or beef. I prefer using pork neck bones but I had some left over chicken from another dish. You can also use ground beef or pork instead of bones. Choices of vegetables can also varies depending on your taste or whatever you have available at home. My mom usually makes it with potatoes, carrots, and sometimes beets. Beets has to be my favorite, it's incredibly sweet, but unfortunate beets are not on my weekly grocery list. For this recipe I used carrots, red potatoes, and cauliflower. Play around with the ingredients, you really can't go wrong with this recipe. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/2 chicken
3 red potatoes
3 carrots
1/2 cauliflower
1/2 an onion
cilantro
salt
rock sugar
mushroom seasoning
fish sauce
black pepper
water

1. Rinse your chicken and remove some of the fat if needed.
2. Place the chicken in a pot, add about 5 quart of water an half the onion. Add half a tablespoon of salt and let the pot come to a boil. Remove the excess scum from the pot. Once the scum has been removed, turn down the heat to medium heat until chicken get cooked.
3. Wash the vegetables and cut them into desired size. I like my vegetables pretty chunky so it doesn't overcook as easily.
4. Throw in a quarter size chunk of rock sugar and a couple teaspoon of mushroom seasoning to he broth.
5. Once the chicken is done, remove from pot and let it cool enough to handle.
6. Taste the broth with 2 tablespoon of fish sauce and a couple dash of black pepper.
7. After tasting he broth throw in the carrots first and then potatoes. The vegetables should be soft enough to eat but should still have texture. Throw in the cauliflower at the very end.
8. Last minute tasting with more sugar and fish sauce if needed.
9. Serve with chopped cilantro and more black pepper.

Goi Ga - Shredded Chicken and Cabbage Salad

Goi Ga - Shredded Chicken and Cabbage Salad

Chicken Salad

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Goi Gai is one of my favorite salad, it only comes in a close second to Goi Vit(Vietnamese Duck Salad). I always have to have some when I'm back in Vietnam. Vietnamese chicken, often refer as walking chicken, is so much better than chicken from the States. The meat is firm and more fragrance. The skin, my favorite part, is chewy not mushy. My mom would buy live chicken around the holidays, slaughtering them is a hassle but so worth it. Whenever I visit home, I would turn the outside freezer inside out hoping there is still some left. You can also use Cornish hen at the American supermarket, there is some firmness to their meat. They are quite small so you might have to use two. Goi ga is often made with shredded cabbage but be creative. I like to add lotus roots and shredded banana blossom if I have some lying around. The herb is especially important for this salad, it's just not the same to me if I did not use Vietnamese coriander. Each bite should have a tang from the lime, the aroma of the ground pepper, and finally the spiciness of the coriander leaves. Every single ingredients makes a difference!


Ingredients:

1 Cornish hen
1/2 head of cabbage
1 medium sweet onion
Vietnamese coriander
limes
fresh chili
sea salt
ground pepper
fish sauce
sugar
vinegar

1. Shred the cabbage into thin stripes.

2. Combine 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/4 cup of vinegar and then pour over cabbage. Let it soak in the fridge.
3. Boil the chicken in a pot of water. When chicken is fully cooked, remove and cool. You can use the broth to make soup.
4. Thinly sliced the onions, set aside for later use.
5. Rinse the coriander, and let dry. Once dry, rough chop and set aside.

6. Once the chicken has cooled, begin to shred the meat and skin. You want to have a good size bite so don't over shred. Don't strip the bones clean, leave some meat. The bones goes in the salad as well.

7. Drain the excess liquid from the cabbage. You don't have to squeeze it so it stays crispy.
8. Combine cabbage, chicken, and onions in a mixing bowl. Add a couple dash of fish sauce, 1 teaspoon of sea salt, 1/2 teaspoon of ground pepper, and the juice of 1 lime. Mix thoroughly and then taste. Add more lime juice if needed as well as salt or pepper.
9. Minced some fresh chili and add to the salad.
10. When the salad is to your liking, add the chopped coriander leaves.

Serve and enjoy!

Nui Ga - Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup

Nui Ga - Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken Noodle Soup

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I like to change things up every now and then. I can't eat rice everyday, and yes I do prefer noodles over rice. I love slurping noodles and the warmth of hot broth in my tummy. So at least 2-3 times a week I have to make a pot of some kind of noodle soup. But on those busy days when I don't have time to hover over the stove all day, nui ga is my quick fix.

Nui ga is definitely my ideal comfort food. It always bring me back to my childhood when I use to experiment with my mom's nui ga. I use to put different condiments in my soup to give it a little something more. One day it could be soy sauce, sometimes ketchup, but mostly hoison sauce. Of course my mom did not approve of this behavior but I was just a kid. I don't do it as often now but I do grab the bottle of ketchup if I ever feel nostalgic.


Ingredients:

1 Cornish hen
1 piece of ginger
1 can of chicken broth
1 box of pasta of your liking
salt
sugar
mushroom seasoning
fish sauce
black pepper
green onions
cilantro
water



1. Wash chicken and remove excess fat.
2. Place chicken in pot and add 2-3 quart of water with a 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
3. Let pot come to a boil and remove any scums.
4. Let chicken cook on medium heat.
5. Once chicken is cooked, remove from pot and let chicken cool down.
6. Peel ginger and throw in pot.
7. Add the can chicken broth and 1/2 tablespoon of mushroom seasoning.
8. Taste with more sugar and fish sauce.
9. Once chicken has cooled, remove from broth and shred chicken.
10. Throw chicken bones back into the pot.
11. Continue to taste the broth with fish sauce, sugar, and black pepper.
12. Finely chop the green onions and cilantro.
13. Cook your pasta so that it is ready to be eaten. I prefer the pasta soft not al dente.


Before serving I like to warm up pasta in the microwave. Place shredded chicken on top of pasta and pour boiling broth over. Top off with green onions, cilantro, and black pepper. Enjoy!

Mi Quang - Quang Nam Noodles

Mi Quang - Quang Nam Noodles

Chicken Noodle Soup Pork Shrimp Vietnamese

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Whoever came up with the idea for mi quang, thank you!  Mi quang originated from Quang Nam province in central Vietnam, hence the name mi quang.  According to my dad mi quang was created during tough times when food were very scarce.  People made the most out of whatever ingredients they have at home.  For that reason, there are many different ways you can make mi quang.  I guess that's why I love this dish so much because you can can throw whatever you want in the pot.

Mi quang is eaten with a lot of fresh vegetables another reason why it appeals to me because i'm a veggie lover.  It is not exactly a soup but it's not like hu tieu kho either.  You add just enough broth to the bowl so you can easily mix all the ingredients together and slurp that thick noodle.  Because you add very little broth, it is important that you season your broth and meat very well.  That's the one thing I notice when I eat a bowl of mi quang from Vietnam versus a bowl from the states.  Mi quang from Vietnam is seasoned very well and I find the mi quang I've had from the states to be too bland.  You almost want to over salt your broth and meat because the vegetables and noodles will balanced everything out.

The most common version of mi quang contain shrimp and pork belly.  Chicken mi quang is a close second.  I've tried it with king crab and beef as well.  Honestly, anything will work!  One day i'm going to have to experiment with fish.  To me the most important part about mi quang is the broth.  It doesn't matter to me if you use pork or chicken to make the broth, the deal breaker is the shrimp head.  I always use shrimp with the head to make mi quang because it gives the broth so much flavor.  I also like using fresh pineapples to give the broth a very subtle tart.

Ingredients:  

1 lb of pork bones
2 lb of pork belly
1 lb of shrimp w/ head
1 can of quail egg

2 yellow onion

2 cups of fresh pineapple (1in chunk)
sesame rice cracker
roasted peanuts
lettuce/bean sprouts/herbs
dry mi quang noodles
rock sugar
mushroom seasoning
salt
fishsauce
paprika
cooking oil
onion salt
garlic powder
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3 tablespoon of minced shallots
8-10 green onion head ( optional for sweetness)
minced green onions/cilantro (garnish)
lime
chili
water

1.  Par boil your pork bones with plenty of salt.  Rinse with cool water.
2.  Fill a 6 quart pot with water.  Add the clean pork bones to the pot.  Let simmer meat on the bone begin to fall apart and remove scum when necessary.
3. Add the yellow onions, 4 tablespoon of salt, 1 tablespoon of rock sugar, and 1 tablespoon of mushroom seasoning.
4.  Thinly slice the pork belly.   Marinade with a little bit of sugar, 4 tablespoon fish sauce, 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper, 1/2 of the shallots, 1/2 of the minced garlic, and 1 tablespoon of paprika.
6.  Trim your shrimp, you can peel the shell or leave the shell on your preference.
7.  Now it's time to cook all the proteins.
8.  Heat up 1/2 tablespoon of cooking oil in a pan,  add the shrimp season with just a dash of fish sauce, paprika and sugar.   Cook shrimp all the way through.
9.  Drain any extra liquid from cooking the shrimp to the broth.   Set shrimp aside for later.
10.  Repeat step #9 with the marinaded pork belly.  You can sprinkle additional paprika for more color.  Don't forget to drain left over liquid to the broth.

11.  Add pineapple chunk to to the broth.
12.  Heat up 1/8 cup of oil and cook the rest of the garlic and shallots until fragrance.  Lower your heat source and then add two tablespoon of paprika.  Let the paprika dissolve into the oil.  This will be the coloring of the broth, add the oil mixture to the broth.
13.  Remove pork bones (you can munch on this) and onions from the pot.  You are left with only the liquid and pineapple chunk.
14.  Taste your broth, remember it's ok to over salt the broth slightly.  Add additional sugar and fish sauce if needed.
15.  Your broth is done!  Prepare green onions, cilantro, lime, quail eggs, roasted peanuts, and fresh greens for eating.

How to Serve
1. At the bottom of the bowl add your lettuce and bean sprouts.
2. Add noodles.
3.  Add the pork belly, shrimp, and quail eggs.
4.  Add the sesame cracker and roasted peanuts.
5.  Add herbs, green onions, and cilantro.
6.  Ladle enough broth to the bowl.
7.  Squeeze some lime and add chili to your liking.
8.  Mix and enjoy!