Home baked Vietnamese cracker

I just found that Farmer Direct - a supermarket near UCI sells a  lot of Vietnamese crackers and rice papers. I got one today for myself: sesame cracker with baby shrimp (Banh trang me tom). Though the instruction is using microwave, but as I know, people in Vietname use charcoal to bake, so I decided to use my beloved Breville oven. Just set toast function for 4 slices, level 4, then here is the result:

Happy Pho - shiitake mushroom

I love Pho, a traditional breakfast in Vietnam, but I don't like to eat pho outside (it doesn't not taste good, usually). I also don't want to buy instant pho from asian market, because they use so much MSG and other chemical for soup base. So, It's really happy that we found this product at Wholefood market (around $3 for w servings per box). Unlike other instant noodle, this soup base powder does not include much salt, so I add a tea spoon of fish sauce. The most important thing: no MSG.

To make a bowl of pho has more flavor, some slices of onion and chopped green onion (it will be better if you add cilantro) are added.

As it advertised, the noodle is made from brown rice, so even I use a mixture of water and chicken broth to cook, the final product's color looks so so brown !!!!

In amazon website, they sell 6 box/pack, but it's still very expensive. I will buy more once I see it in wholefood market, much much cheaper.

A very good Vietnamese Restaurant in Campbell

We went to Lequy restaurant because we search Vietnamese food in Yelp, and this one has the highest  stars. This is the first time we see a Vietnamese restaurant declares that they don't use MSG and use  free range chicken. So, let's try!

We arrived when there is only several customers in the restaurant because it was quite early for dinner time. It was so clean and beautiful. Here are some dishes we ordered:

Fried spring rolls with crab meat and shrimp: This one was expensive, around $8 for 3 big pieces. But when we ate, omg, this is the best spring roll we can find in California.

I ordered pho (beef) with the choice of well-done meat. The pho's soup is almost the same to what you can have in Vietnam. The owner told me that he cooked beef stock for 3 days. That sound amazing!

BBQ pork with shrimp: this dish was about $13 and it came with a bowl of soup: a must-try. 

Fresh spring rolls with avocado. We ordered this dish because we observed all the herb and vegetable in other dishes were so clean, that's why we dare to try vege rolls like this. Though it's expensive ($6) compare with other store, but I think it's worth the price.

Vietnam Airline

We traveled with Vietnam airline between the South and North of this country. The business class was terrible. Though the seat was extremely roomy, but the quality of maintenance was just horrible (you can see though the photos). Additionally, the food made me disappointed. I expected when we were in business class, we could have a more traditional Vietnamese food than economy class, but it was not. I think they serve Chinese food instead Vietnamese food.

Stuffed shitake

1. Ingredients (for 2 people)

- 1/2 pound ground pork
- 5 to 7 shitake mushroom: choose the big one, I often buy at farmer market

- 2 green onion, cilantro (optional)

- 1 tomato

- 1/4 onion

- salt, pepper

- 1 spoon of bread crumbs or flour

- 1/2 cup of water

2. Method:

- Clean the mushroom, remove the stem from the cap

- Chop the stem, 1 green onion, and onion

- Mix meat, bread drums, chopped vege, pepper, and salt

- Preheat oil in a pan, medium heat,

- Stuff the mushroom caps with the mixture and put into the pan each side 5 minutes 

- Chopped tomato then add into the pan, if you have fish sauce, add 1 spoon, add 1/2 cup of water (here I change to another pot)

- After 5 to 10 minutes, add chopped green onion and cilantro

Chicken curry - Vietnamese flavor

1. Ingredients
- I box of cut chicken thigh ( I bought from Mistuwa: chicken thigh for nabe)
- Curry powder (the best one is Vietnamese curry powder)
- Chopped lemongrass: 1 spoon (if you don't have Vietnamese curry powder
- 1/2 tea spoon of sugar
- 1 tea spoon of salt (or 2 spoons of fish sauce if you have)
- 1 tea spoon of flour
- 1/2 cup of water
- Green onion and 1/2 onion

2. Method
- Marinate all ingredients with chicken for 5 to 15 minutes (except onion)
- Add 1 tea spoon of oil into a preheated pan, than put all the chicken and marinate sauces, use medium high heat, stir well for 5 minutes.
- Add flour, stir well in 30 seconds,
- Add water, Close lid for 10 minutes, stir well every 5 minutes,
- Finally, add green onion and onion,
DONE!

Roast shrimp with shelf - Vietnamese style

1. Ingredients:

- Shrimps: 6 (for 2 people), I bought these shrimps at Mitsuwa super market, Irvine

- Chopped garlic (2 gloves), shallot (half one), lemon grass (1 spoon), 

- Fish sauce (1 spoon) or Salt (1/4 spoon), sugar (1/2 spoon), dry red chili (1/4 spoon) 

- Olive oil (1 spoon)

2. Method:

- Mix all seasonings well

- Devein and clean the shrimps, dry well with paper towel 

- Marinate shrimp with the sauce for 15 minutes

- If you have skewers, use it, otherwise the put the shrimp into baking tray

- Use roast setting with Breville oven, 420 degree for 15 minutes

How to cook fish with dill and tomato, Vietnamese style

Using dill to cook with fish is very popular cooking style in Vietnam. This is very simple dish, everyone can make it. All ingredients you can buy from any supermarket here, or a better choice: farmer market next to UCI every Saturday morning.

1. All you need
- A whole or fillet or steak of fish, almost all kind of fish is suitable for this dish. Today I have a fillet of mackerel imported from Norway.
- 2 green onion
- Some dill
- 2 tomatoes
- Seasoning: black pepper, 2 tea spoon of fish sauce (if you don't have, try sea salt, it will not tasty but still can be acceptable)

2. Cooking
- Heat 1 spoon of oil and cook the fish until its two sides brown (small piece of fish like mine take 5 mins per side) at medium heat

- While waiting for the fish, prepare the vege: chop the tomato, cut the onion and dill (may be 1/3 inch long)

- After 10 mins, add the white part of green onion and chopped tomato in to the pan, add black pepper, fish sauce, close lid for 5 mins,

- Add 1/2 cup of water, cook for another 5-10 minutes, then add dill and green onion, stir with the sauce inside the pan. Then DONE!

How to Bake ground pork with lemon grass skewers

Lemon grass is very good for health because it contains beta carotene, a kind of antioxidant, that's why it is used a lot in Vietnamese food, Thais food, especially  in summer.

You can find it in whole food, asian market like Mitsuwa, or 99 ranch, Hmart. I often buy it at farmer market every Saturday morning (next to UCI): only $1.5 for a big bunch.

With lemon grass, you can cook a lots of dish, here is a very simple baking dish with my beloved Breville Compact Smart Oven . All you need are:

1.Ingredients:

- Ground pork (or chicken): 1/2 pound

- Lemon grass: 3 to 4 

- Onion: 1/2

- Garlic: 2 gloves (None is ok)

- Green onion: 3

- Seasoning: black pepper, fish sauce: 1,5 spoon. If you don't have fish sauce, use some salt (depend on how salty you want, normally: 1/2 tea spoon)

- Sauce: lemon juice  (or rice or white vinegar): 1/2 spoon, sugar: 1 spoon, garlic: 1 glove, fish sauce: 1,5 spoons, water: 1/2 cup

If you don't have fish sauce in your kitchen, you can use salt: 1 tea spoon to replace it, or you can make any sauce you want: like tomato sauce

- Optional (but better to have): cilantro, mint, lecture for wrap

2. Method

- Use a big bow or even a small pot, add meat in

- Mix the meat with chopped garlic, onion, green onion and all seasonings. Leave it there for 15-30 minutes.

- Wash lemon grass, throw the outmost layer, cut into two pieces (6 inches long), then you will have 10 skewers. You can cut them thinner if you don't have enough lemon grass

- Preheat the oven to 400 degree F

- Use a little bit oil to make to baking rack not stick to meat

- Form the meat around lemon grass skewer, try to make it flat (but not two flat, otherwise the meat will be too dry)

- Bake in 15 mins, then turn over the meat, bake for another 5 mins.

Make fish sauce  If you dont have time to make Vietnamese fish sauce, use this way.

It with vege wrap, or rice, or use it as an appetizer 

A traditional Vietnamese dinner

Vietnamese love catfish. This is how it is cooked for a delicious dinner.

Stewed fish steaks with caramel sauce and fish sauce

The fish's tail is cooked for sweet and sour soup (add pineapple)

Stir-fried octopus and celery, garnished with cilantro and green onion