Banh Trang Tron - Rice Paper Salad

Banh Trang Tron - Rice Paper Salad

Appetizer Salad Street-food Vietnamese

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Banh trang tron 'rice paper mix' is a street food that has won the hearts of children and teenager all over Vietnam.  I was first introduced to this popular street snack several years ago while I was in Saigon.  My cousin picked up a bag on his way home from class.  He walked in with a clear plastic bag dangling from his fingers with two skewers (used as chopstick) poking out from the bag.  I opened up the bag to examine what was inside; strips up rice paper, julienned green mango, shredded beef jerky, quail egg, roasted peanuts, and chopped Vietnamese coriander (rau ram).  It was such an unusual concoction but had all of my favorite components.  I'm always excited to try new food so I had no problem digging in.  While I very much enjoy the explosion of flavors, my mom thought it was 'nonsense' food.

Upon my first tasting of banh trang tron, I thought it tasted similar to padd Thai.  After a few more bites the flavor became more coherent; it was tangy and spicy similar to other Vietnamese goi but more salty and dry.  I can see why adults would be against this type of snack, it's not very nutritious.  But it's FUN food, something I like to make every now and then.  I hope you enjoy my interpretation of this popular street food!

Ingredients:

8-10 sheets of rice paper cut into 3 inch strips

1 cup of julienned green mango (adding more green mango will add more moisture to this salad)

1 cup of chopped rau ram

1/4 cup of dried proteins (shredded beef jerky, shredded squid, dehydrated field shrimp, or none)

quail egg (or 1 hard boil egg cut into 8 pieces)

2 tablespoon of cooking oil

3 tablespoon of minced green onion

shrimp salt 'muoi tom' ( or sea salt)

sugar

1 lime

maggi seasoning

chili oil

fried shallot

crushed peanuts

large bowl

plastic gloves

1.  Sauteed the green onions in the oil until fragrance.  If you are using tep kho (dehydrated field shrimp) add it to the oil and sauteed until fragrance.

2.  Add the rice paper strips to a large bowl and the add the hot oil with green onions and tep kho.  Use your gloves to mix as much of rice paper and oil together to help soften the rice paper.

3.  Season the rice paper with 1 lime, some shrimp salt (sea salt is a lot saltier so use it sparingly), a sprinkle of sugar, juice of 1 lime, hot chili oil, and a couple dash of maggi seasoning.  Mix well or it will get clumpy.  Make sure every portion of the rice paper is season thoroughly.

4.  Once you are satisfied with the seasoning add the green mango, shredded protein, quail egg, chopped rau rau, crush peanuts, and fried shallot.  Toss and mix so that all the components are evenly distributed.

5.  Enjoy!

Hen Tron Banh Trang - Clam Sauteed w/ Sesame Rice Cracker

Hen Tron Banh Trang - Clam Sauteed w/ Sesame Rice Cracker

Appetizer Clam Salad Vietnamese

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I had the opportunity to try this delicious dish in Hoi An.  The baby clams were fresh picked from the river earlier that morning. The meat was so sweet and firm, not something I can find at home.   The clams were lightly sauteed with no seasoning just some fresh onions. It was eaten with rice cracker and mam nem (fermented fish sauce). Even though I was already full from breakfast and lunch, I pretty much inhaled a plate within 3 minutes.  

Whenever I make this at home,  I usually have to settle with canned clams or frozen clams. While it no longer has its natural sweet flavor, I still prefer using frozen clams because it has better texture than canned clams.  I use fresh minced garlic and shallots to help fragrance the clams and just a tad of fish sauce to season.  I also like adding some julienned green mangoes for tartness and freshness. For the sauce you'll want to dilute the mam nem with fresh lime juice, sugar, crushed garlic, and fresh chili.  The sauce can be eaten on the side but a lot of times I just mix some in because everybody in my family loves mam nem.  If you prefer to omit the mam nem, I would use more fish sauce when seasoning the clams. Of course this dish cannot be complete without Vietnamese coriander (rau ram), crushed peanuts, and fresh chili.   Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 pack of frozen baby clams

1 teaspoon of minced garlic

1 teaspoon of minced shallots

1 stalk of green onion minced

1/2 green mango (julienned)

chopped Vietnamese coriander

fresh chili

crushed peanuts

sesame rice cracker

cooking oil

fish sauce

sugar

Sauce:

3 tablespoon of mam nem

2 teaspoon of crushed garlic

1 tablespoon of sugar

1/4 of fresh lime (juice)

chili (your preference

1.  Thaw out the frozen clams.   The clam has absorb a lot of water you'll want to squeeze out as much as you can.

2.  Heat up cooking oil in a pan.  Add the minced garlic and shallots and cook until fragrance.  Add the clams and green onions.  Season lightly with fish sauce and sugar.  Transfer to a bowl.  

3.  Prepare mango, coriander, sauce, rice cracker, peanuts.

4.  Add green mango and fresh chilies to the clams and toss.  At this point you can add prepared mam nem or serve it on the side.   

5.  Transfer to a serving plate topped with crushed peanuts, chopped coriander, and additional fresh chilies.  Rice cracker

on the side.

6.  Scoop clams with rice cracker and enjoy!

Rau Muong Tron Thit Bo - Beef Water Spinach Salad

Rau Muong Tron Thit Bo - Beef Water Spinach Salad

Appetizer Beef Salad Vietnamese

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Firstly I like to wish everybody a happy new year!  May 2014 bring you lots of luck, love, prosperity, laughter, and of course good food!  I'm sorry for my absence but it was much needed.  I got the opportunity to travel so I disconnected myself from all social media and just appreciate what was in front of me.  This upcoming year marks my 6th year blogging, thank you everybody for your support all these years.  I can't wait to share new recipes inspired from my travels.

I'm a huge fan of Vietnamese drinking food.  Whenever I'm on vacation, I always look for a good restaurant to "nhau".  Nhau refers to getting together to eat and drink.  Getting together to drink is a way of life for Vietnamese men, they often get together several times a week.  They meet each other at a small restaurant that specialize in a specific protein.  Men sit for hours slowly drinking and enjoying delicious food.  You rarely see women at those type of establish but why deprive yourself from good food?

Rainier BBQ in Seattle, Washington is one of my personal favorite.  They have a variety of drinking food and everything I've tried has been pretty good.  One of my favorite dish is a beef salad with rau muong (water spinach).  It reminds me of Bo Tai Chanh another one of my favorite.  It's so refreshing with the finely julienned water spinach stem and dressed in a tangy dressing.  It's so addicting to eat, one serving is never enough!  The best part is how easy you can recreate this dish at home.  If anyone is complaining about eating too much salads this is the one you need to try!  I hope you like my interpretation is flavorful dish, enjoy!

Ingredients:

water spinach stem (julienned)
1 lb beef (thinly sliced)
1/2 onion (finely sliced)
garlic (minced)
shallots (minced)
lime
fresh chili
fresh mint leaves (rough chopped)
vinegar
sugar
fish sauce
cooking oil

1.  Prepare the water spinach.  There is a tool you can use to julienned your water spinach easily.  Or you can use a razor but that require a little experience. http://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/2007/06/water-spinach-s.html  Let it soak in water so it will curls and then drain completely.
2.  You can use eye round beef if you prefer lean meat but I like some texture and fat so I used rib eye.  Marinade the beef with garlic, shallots, and fish sauce (~2 tablespoon).
3.  Marinade the slice onion with 1/2 tablespoon of sugar and 1/4 tablespoon of vinegar.
4.  For the dressing combine 5 tablespoon of sugar, 4 tablespoon of lime juice, 1/2 tablespoon of sugar, and 5 tablespoon of fish sauce.  The sauce should be sweet, tangy, and salty.  You can add more sugar, vinegar, and fish sauce to your liking.  Make sure you mix the sauce well so the sugar dissolves.
5.  Heat up a frying pan with some oil and cook the beef.  I cook mine about medium rare, the dressing will cook it some more.
6.  Mix the water spinace, sliced onions, and mint leaves together.  Move it to a serving platter.  Pour the meat mixture on top, and then the dressing on top.  I use about half the dressing, and reserve the remainder for later if needed.
7.  Top with chopped chili and more mint leaves if prefer.
8.  Toss lightly before eating, enjoy!

Goi Du Du Kho Bo - Beef Jerky Papaya Salad

Goi Du Du Kho Bo - Beef Jerky Papaya Salad

Beef Salad Vietnamese

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My family is very fond of this salad, unfortunately we do not have access to good Vietnamese beef jerky in the Midwest.  This recipe calls for a specific kind of beef jerky.  It's red in color and it's wet not dry like what you would think.  My aunt uses the Bach Cuc brand she get from out of state.  I recently visited Seattle and notice the same brand at the Vietnamese market in Seattle.  Even though it's $10 per package, I just had to get a few bag to bring home.  Thai basil is also a must have for this dish, you cannot substitute basil for another herb.  You only have to worry about three ingredients; Thai basil, green papaya, and Vietnamese beef jerky. 

                         

Hand downs, this is the easiest Vietnamese salad to make.  There is literally no cooking involve, except to boil some water to make the sauce.  You just prepare all the raw ingredients, cut the beef jerky into strips, and then prepare the sauce.  The hardest part to this recipe is making the sauce, it's always the sauce!  I've tried quite a few sauces from restaurants and my aunt, and it never quite satisfy my taste buds.  So I've experimented a few time and came up with something I like very much and it was well received by my family.  I hope you will enjoy this easy and refreshing salad, just in time for summer!

Ingredients:

1 green papaya julienned

Thai basil rough chopped

Vietnamese beef jerky

Sauce

1.  Soak the julienned papaya in water.  Papaya tend to very slimy, so you'll want to change the water a couple time.

2. Once the the papaya is clean and ready to eat, you'll want to squeeze all the excess water out of it.  The best way is to use paper towel to help absorb the water.  Place the already squeezed papaya in a clean container.

3.  Remove beef jerky from package and cut the jerky in smaller strips.

4.  Prepare the sauce, recipe below.

5.  Put some already prepared papaya in on a plate, top off with some chopped Thai basil and beef jerky strips.  When you are ready to eat add the sauce to your liking, mix, and enjoy!

How to make the sauce:

1/4 cup of water

1-2 clove of garlic

2 tablespoon of sugar

1.5 tablespoon of soy sauce

3/4 tablespoon of rice vinegar

fresh chili or chili paste

1.  Crush the garlic with a mortar and pestle (or a knife).

2.  You'll want to cook the garlic into the water on low heat for 5-10 minutes.

3.  Discard the garlic and just keep the garlic infused water.  Remove to a bowl.

4.  Add the sugar, soy sauce, and rice vinegar to the water.  Mix everything together.

5.  Add chili to your liking for some heat.

Ca Tai Chanh - Vietnamese Style Ceviche

Ca Tai Chanh - Vietnamese Style Ceviche

Appetizer Salad Seafood

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My first ever ceviche experience is through the Travel Channel. Every time Anthony Bourdain or Andrew Zimmern travel to any places near water, they always get to eat the most amazing ceviche. Yes I know we can't possibly experience what they experience with their taste buds but it was still a beautiful experience with my eyes.

The Midwest is probably the last place you would ever find ceviche but I lucked out. I went to lunch with a friend at this Peruvian restaurant in a shady area of town. Yelp boast it was the best ceviche in town but I took it with a grain of salt, we do live in corn country after all. The ceviche arrived on a huge plate, and still the shrimp, squid, and fish were spilling every where. I knew I would love it just by looking at it and I did! It was so amazing, I can't imagine how even more amazing it would be to have ceviche made fresh right out of the water.

I wanted to recreate the ceviche I had but of course with a Vietnamese twist. This is a great dish to beat the summer heat, enjoy!

Ingredients:

sushi grade tilapia or cod

sushi grade octopus tenacles

shrimp (I bought already cooked cocktail shrimp)

red onions (thinly sliced)

cilantro (rough chopped)

Vietnamese coriander (rough chopped)

2-3 lime

fish sauce

sliced habanero pepper (or whatever you like)

crushes peanuts

fried shallots (hanh phi)

1. Cut the tilapia into flat pieces.

2. Squeeze enough lime to cover the fish and let the fish cook in the lime juice.

3. Thinly sliced the octopus.

4. Add the octopus and shrimp to the lime juice with the fish.

5. Drain about half of the lime juice from the seafood mixture.

6. Add two tablespoon of fish sauce to the sea

food mixture.

7. Add the sliced onions and pepper, toss thoroughly.

8. Right before serving add the cilantro and coriander.

9. Top off with peanuts and shallots.

Goi Vit - Duck Salad

Goi Vit - Duck Salad

Duck Salad

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Like I have mention many times before, Goi Vit is my all time favorite salad. Today was such a hot day, it just put me in the mood for something light and flavorful. In Vietnam a plate of Goi Vit usually consist of sweet, tender duck meat on top of shredded banana blossom and morning glory. All the ingredients is soaked in this wonderful concoction of fish sauce, lime juice, and sugar. It is so good that I always slurp up all the excess dressing at the very end, when my mom isn't watching of course.

Like Goi Ga, you HAVE to use coriander leaves in Goi Vit. It must be poultry thing! When there is coriander leaves, I just can't leave out the onions. You get spicy sweet from the onions and spicy bitter from the coriander leaves, they are just meant for each other! I don't always have access to banana blossom so I replace it with cabbage and carrots. Cabbage doesn't really have a lot of flavor, it's really there for texture. So all the ingredients I use such as the mint leaves and cilantro really compliment the shredded cabbage. I want this dish to set a pace for my cooking for the rest of the summer, lots of flavor!

Ingredients

1/2 a duck

1/2 cabbage

2-3 carrots

1 sweet onion

sugar

vinegar

fish sauce

2 lime

fresh chili

cilantro

Vietnamese coriander

cilantro

roasted peanuts

1. Boil your duck in a pot of water until fully cooked. You can use the broth to make soup such as Bun Mang.

2. Finely shred the cabbage, thinly slice sweet onions, and julienned carrots.

3. Marinade the cabbage, carrots, and onions with 4 tablespoon of vinegar and 1 cup of sugar for like 15-20 minutes in the fridge.

4. Rough chop the cilantro, coriander, and mints, set aside for later.

5. Crust roasted peanuts and set aside for later.

6. Remove the duck and let cooled. Butcher into smaller pieces.

7. Drain excess fluid from the cabbage mixture, no need to squeeze the juice out.

8. Add the duck pieces to the cabbage mixture.

9. Squeeze one whole lime to the cabbage/duck mixture, add 2 tablespoon of fish sauce, fresh chilies to your liking and mix thoroughly.

10. Mix in the fresh herbs right before serving and top off with some crush roasted peanuts.

Enjoy!

Goi Xoai Ca - Mango Salad w/ Cod

Goi Xoai Ca - Mango Salad w/ Cod

Fish Salad Seafood

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I went a little mango crazy this past week, the local grocery store was having a sale and the mangoes looked very promising. I love eating mangoes by itself but decided to switch things up as a salad. The mangoes were a tad bit unripe and very firm, perfect for a salad. It was till very tart which I like, but I know if I had made this for my mom she would be squirming. If you can't handle the sourness then I would suggest marinading the mangoes in a lot of sugar. For proteins I used some left over cod, it would have been great if I had some sashimi grade fish to make a mango ceviche but maybe next time. For little time and effort, you can take dinner to a tropical paradise!

Ingredients:

2 firm mangoes (julienned)

1 red bell pepper (julienned)

2 small carrots (julienned)

1 red onions (thinly sliced)

1 lb of cod

a bunch of Thai basil (rough chopped)

a bunch of Vietnamese coriander (rough chopped)

1 lime

Thai chili to your liking

fish sauce

sugar

olive oil

1. Marinade the mango, carrot, bell pepper, and onions w

ith 3 tablespoon of sugar. Let sit int he fridge for about 1-2 hours.

2. Heat up some olive oil in frying pan. Pan-fry the cod but

try not to over cook it. Remove from and let cool.

3. Removed the mango mixture and drain all the excess liquid.

4. Break the cod into large chunks with your chopstick and add squeeze half a lime on it.

5. Add 1-1.5 tablespoon of fish sauce to the mango mixture, 1/2 a lime, and chili to your liking. Mix together well. Add more fish sauce if the mango is still too sour for your taste.

6. Add the cod chunks and the chopped basil and coriander.

7. Serve and enjoy!