Stir Fried Chicken with Mango and Peppers

Chicken is stir-fried with onions, red bell peppers, and spices; mangoes are stirred in at the end to create a nice balance of sweet and spice.

Ingredients

• ♥♦♥♦Chicken and Marinade: 1/4 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, sliced
• 1 1/2 tsp soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 pinch pepper
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• ♥♦♥♦Sauce: 2 tsp cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 tsp ketchup
• 1 1/2 tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 star anise
• 1 tbsp fresh grated ginger
• 1 tbsp canola oil
• 1 green bell pepper, sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 tsp chopped fresh garlic
• 1 large shallot, chopped
• 2 large mangoes, peeled, pitted, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup toasted pecan halves
• 2 sprigs cilantro

Directions:

Mix the marinade ingredients in a bowl.

Put the raw chicken in and let it sit for half an hour.

Mix the sauce ingredients in another bowl and put aside.

Break off the star arms of the anise and throw away the middle.

Carefully press between your fingers until you hear a crack.

In a non-stick frying pan or a wok, heat the oil and the star anise on high heat.

Put in the chicken and stir-fry for about 4 or 5 minutes, until the chicken is opaque.

Put in the pepper slices, ginger, garlic and shallots and stir-fry for another minute.

Put in the sauce ingredients and stir to mix until it thickens a bit.

It should take about another minute.

Add the mango slices and mix gently until they’re warmed through.

Garnish with the pecans and cilantro and serve immediately.

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Banh Xeo (Vietnamese Crepes)

Banh Xeo – a southern Vietnamese recipe. This is a rice flour crepe flavoured with coconut milk and turmeric and is usually made with pork, prawns and bean sprouts. They look like they have eggs in the batter, but they don’t.

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb boneless pork loin
• 20 medium shrimp
• 10 fresh cilantro stems
• 10 fresh basil sprigs
• 10 fresh mint sprigs
• 2 cups rice flour
• 1/2 cup self-rising flour
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 green onion, chopped
• 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
• 3 cups bean sprouts
• 5 tbsp oil
• Nuoc cham sauce
• Red leaf lettuce

Directions:

Place pork loin in a saucepan; cover with water and bring to a boil over medium heat; simmer until cooked through, about 20 minutes.

Allow pork to cool, then julienne into strips.

Shell and devein shrimp; slice each one in half lengthwise.

Rinse herbs and drain; set aside.

In a mixing bowl, prepare batter by mixing rice flour, self-rising flour, water, coconut milk, curry powder, sugar, salt, and green onion until smooth.

Divide pork, shrimp, onion, and bean sprouts into 5 separate little piles for easy access during cooking.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in non-stick frying pan until hot; cook pork shrimp and onion until it starts to sizzle; add 1/2 cup of batter and swirl to cover pan and get batter underneath.

Place one pile of bean sprouts towards the center of the crepe, then cover the pan tightly.

Turn the heat down to medium and cook for 2-3 minutes, then uncover and loosen edges of crepe and fold over with a spatula to form an omelet.

Transfer the crepe to a serving platter.

Repeat process with rest of batter.

Do not cover the cooked crepes or stack them (they will lose their crispness- they should remain light and airy).

To serve, place one crepe on a plate with some lettuce leaves, herbs also with a small bowl of nuoc cham.

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Banh Mi Burgers

A marinated cucumber and carrot pickle mix top off grilled pork burgers that have been flavored with sesame oil and ginger.

Ingredients

• ½ cup of chopped cucumber, seeded if large
• ¼ cup of thinly sliced green onion
• ¼ cup of chopped carrot
• ½ cup of rice vinegar
• 3 tbsp of mirin (Japanese rice wine)
• 1 tsp of white sugar
• 2 pounds of ground pork
• 2 tbsp of tamari sauce
• 1 tbsp of toasted sesame oil
• 1 tbsp of grated fresh ginger
• 1 tbsp of chili garlic sauce
• 1 tsp of fish sauce
• 6 sesame seed hamburger buns
• 1 tsp of chopped fresh basil
• 1 tsp of chopped fresh mint

Directions:

In a bowl, mix together the cucumber, green onion, carrot, rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons of mirin, and sugar until the mixture is well blended

Refrigerate for 5 hours to overnight

Place the pork in a mixing bowl, and lightly combine with tamari sauce, sesame oil, 1 teaspoon of mirin, ginger, chili garlic sauce, and fish sauce

Divide the meat into 6 equal parts, and form each part into a patty

Refrigerate for 1 hour

Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat, and lightly oil the grate

Grill the burgers until the meat is no longer pink inside and the outside is crisp and brown, about 5 minutes per side

To assemble, place a burger on a sesame seed bun, and pile about 1/4 cup of the pickle mixture onto the burger

Sprinkle with a bit of fresh basil and mint, if desired

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Banh Mi Thit (Pork Sandwich)

This sandwich is a specialty of Hoi An, a charming old fishing village in central Vietnam. Its interplay of textures – cold cuts (pork loin, ham, or chicken; home-cooked or purchased), ground pork, greens, and cucumbers – is distinctive.

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon five-spice powder
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup shallot , chopped
• 1 garlic clove , minced
• 12 ounces ground lean pork
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons red chili paste or 2 tablespoons asian red chili sauce
• 12 ounces pork tenderloins, cooked and thinly sliced
• 2 cups English cucumbers, thinly sliced
• 3 cups mesclun
• 1/2 cup fresh Thai basil
• 1/2 cup fried shallots (optional)
• 3 French baguettes, use light baguette with soft interior and thin crisp crust (8 oz ea.)

Directions:

In an 8- 10 inch sauté pan over medium/high heat, stir five spice until fragrant, about 30 seconds

Stir in oil, shallots and garlic

Add ground pork and stir often until meat is crumbly and no longer pink

Add soy sauce, sugar and salt and pepper to taste; set aside

Cut baguettes in half crosswise then split almost all the way through, leaving halves attached on one side

Spread 1 tsp of chile paste on one cut side of each baguette section

Spoon 1/6 of the warm ground pork mixture (including juices) over the chili paste

Tuck 1/6 of the pork tenderloin slices evenly into each sandwich

Place sandwiches on a sheet pan and bake at 375°F for about 5 minutes or until filling are warm and crust is crisp

Remove from oven and fill each with 1/6 of the cucumbers, mesclun, basil and fried shallots.

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Banh Mi Vietnamese Style Baguette

You can usually find the high-caloric sandwich (variety of meat on mayonnaise) in your local Vietnamese baguette shop but here is a hearty Vegetarian version (if you do not use fish sauce) using portabello mushrooms.”

Ingredients

• 2 Portobello mushroom caps, sliced
• 2 tsp of olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1 carrot, sliced into sticks
• 1 Daikon radish, sliced into sticks
• ½ cup of fresh lime juice
• 1 cup of rice vinegar
• ½ cup of cold water
• ½ cup of chilled lime juice
• 2 tsp of soy sauce
• 1 tsp of fish sauce
• ½ tsp of toasted sesame oil
• 2 tbsp of canola oil
• 2 tsp of minced garlic
• 1/3 cup of white sugar
• 1/3 cup of cold water
• 1 jalapeno pepper, thinly sliced
• 8 sprigs fresh cilantro with stems
• 1 medium cucumber, sliced into thin strips
• 2 sprigs fresh Thai basil
• 2 (7”) French bread baguettes, split lengthwise

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F

Place the mushrooms on a baking sheet

Drizzle with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper

Roast in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes

Cool slightly then slice into strips

While the mushrooms are roasting, bring a saucepan of water to a boil

Plunge the carrot and radish sticks into the boiling water and after a few seconds, remove them and plunge them into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking

In a separate bowl, stir together the rice vinegar, 1/2 cup of lime juice and 1/2 cup cold water

Transfer the carrot and radish to the vinegar and lime marinade and let them soak for at least 15 minutes, longer if it’s convenient

In a small bowl, stir together the remaining lime juice, soy sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil, canola oil, 1/3 cup sugar and 1/3 cup water

Sandwich sauce:

To assemble sandwiches, sprinkle a little of the sandwich sauce onto each half of the French loaves

Place the roasted mushrooms onto the bottom half of each roll and sprinkle with a little more sauce

Top with a few slices of jalapeno, a few sticks of carrot and radish (minus the marinade), cucumber, basil and cilantro

Close with the tops of the bread and serve.

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Banh Phu The (Vietnamese Husband and Wife Cake)

The conjugal cake is normally served at Vietnamese weddings and used as a wedding invitation or taken by the man’s family to the woman’s family on engagement day. The stickiness of the cake is said to signify the stickiness of the marriage ties. Traditionally, a guy would offer these to the girl he wants to marry. Now these cakes are still an essential part of a wedding banquet, or the gift packages that the groom’s family send over to the bride’s.

Ingredients

• 4 cups water
• 1 lb starch flour
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup flaked coconut
• 5 ounces mung beans , soaked in water
• 2/3 sugar syrup
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon extract or 2 tablespoons pomelo blossom fruit essence

Directions:

Mix water, flour, sugar and shredded coconut, heat on low flame and stir for about 10 minutes

Cook mung bean until tender, may take up to 1 hour on stove top

Drain then put back on stove

Pour in sugar syrup and oil

When most of the liquid has evaporated, add extract and remove from heat

Put a thin layer of dough in small individual molds or cupcake tins

Layer a small spoon of stuffing on top and top with another layer of dough

Place them in steamer for about 20 minutes or until the dough is transparent

Remove from molds, let cool and serve with green tea

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Bánh bèo/Banh beo (Vietnamese water fern-shaped cakes)

Banh beo is sometimes translated as “water fern cake,” but “fern-shaped cake” would be more accurate. And the plant in question is actually a thin, perfectly round water lily found on the surface of many ponds.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of rice flour (do not use glutinous rice flour)
• ♥♦♥♦To make batter:
• 3 tbsp. of cornstarch
• ¾ teaspoon of salt
• 1 ½ tbsp. of canola or other neutral oil
• 1 ¾ cups of water
• ♥♦♥♦To make scallion oil:
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp. of canola oil or other neutral oil
• ♥♦♥♦To make shrimp topping:
• 1/3 pound of medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 pinches of salt
• 1 tbsp. of canola oil or other neutral oil
• 1 tbsp. of finely minced shallot
• Pinch of sugar
• 2 pinches of white pepper
• ½ teaspoon of fish sauce
• ♥♦♥♦To make sauce:
• 2 tbsp. of sugar
• 1 ½ tbsp. of unseasoned rice vinegar
• 1/3 cup of water
• 2 tbsp. of fish sauce

Directions:

Batter: In a bowl, add rice flour, cornstarch and salt and stir well. Make a hole in the center, pour oil and water into the hole, and whisk together to create a thin and smooth batter. Leave the bowl for 30 minutes.

Scallion oil: In small saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat until hot. Add scallions and stir immediately to expose them quickly to the oil. When scallions have collapsed and become soft, after about 30 seconds, remove scallions along with the oil from the pan and transfer to a small heatproof bowl and let it cool.

Shrimp topping: In a small saucepan, add shrimp and salt, and pour water to cover. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook for about 8 minutes (or until the water is evaporated). Transfer shrimp into a small bowl and let it cool for 10 minutes. Then minced the shrimp to fluffy texture (or you can use a food processor). Return shrimp to bowl. In a small non-stick pan, add oil and heat over medium heat. Add shallot and sauté for about 1 minute. Add shrimp and stir to combine. Sprinkle in sugar, pepper and fish sauce. Continue to cook and stir for 3-4 more minutes to dry shrimp, until crumbly and brilliant orange. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Sauce: In a small bowl, add sugar, vinegar, water and fish sauce, and then stir until sugar is dissolved completely. Taste and make any adjustment to create light and slightly sweet sauce.

Fill bottom of the steamer with water and place steamer tray on top. Bring to a boil over high heat. Ready the batter, a ladle, a metal spatula and serving plates.

To make the cakes, you should prepare 8 small dishes, each about 2-½ inch wide and at least ½ inch deep. Put dishes into steamer tray (place them away from the edge where there is condensation). Cover steamer and let the dishes preheat for 2 minutes. Do not let water drops from the lid drip into the dishes. Ladle batter to a depth of ¼ inch into each dish (about 1 tbsp. of batter). Use another lid and steam for 3 minutes, or until the cakes are shiny and firm having a shallow indentation in the center. Reduce the heat to low and wait for the steam to subside before lifting the lid, and then carefully lift it to avoid condensation dripping onto the cakes. Use a tongs to transfer the dishes to the counter. Let the cakes cool for 2-3 minutes.

Dip the tip of the spatula in water (you can use a knife instead) and run it along the edge of a cake to loosen it. Use your fingers to gently prize the cake from dish, and then place it on a serving plate. Repeat until you unmold all the cakes.

 Return steamer to a boil over high heat. Give the dishes a quick rinse and wipe before returning them to the steamer tray for another patch. Keep repeating until all the batter is used.

Fill indentation of each cake with ½ teaspoon of shrimp topping and ¼ teaspoon of scallion oil. Serve with the sauce.

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Bánh bột lọc/Banh bot loc (Vietnamese Shrimp & Pork Dumplings)

Translucent, almost gelatinous cakes of sticky tapioca flour filled with sauteed whole shrimps and sliced fatty pork. Topped with scallions and crispy rendered pork fat and served with fish sauce.

Ingredients

• ♥♦♥♦For the dough:
• 200g of tapioca starch
• ½ cup of cold water
• 1 cup of hot water
• 1 tbsp. of oil
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• ♥♦♥♦For filling:
• 100g of shrimp, washed with saltwater, deveined without peeling
• 100g of pork, cut into very small pieces
• 1 tbsp. of fish sauce
• 1 tbsp. of golden yellow sugar
• 1 teaspoon of ground black pepper
• Garlic, minced
• Cashew oil
• Scallion oil
• Banana leaves, washed

Directions:

In a small saucepan, add tapioca starch and salt. Slowly pour cold water over the starch and stir

In another saucepan, add some water and bring to a boil. Then slowly pour boiling water over the mixture of starch and water. Stirring while pouring to keep the mixture smooth and avoid clotting. Keep stirring until you feel the heaviness. Set aside for a few hours (or even overnight)

In a bowl, mix shrimp and pork. Add fish sauce, sugar, black pepper and garlic then mix well. Leave it for 1 hour.

In a frying pan, heat up some cashew oil and skim off the red oil on the surface. Add the pork and shrimp mixture and stir. Then transfer to a bowl.

Pour away the water on the surface of the flour mixture. Then pour that same amount of warm water into the bowl and add a tablespoon of oil.

Add the mixture into a small saucepan, and place a bigger one with water under it. Bring to a boil over low heat, and keep stirring for 10 minutes. When you feel the heaviness and the mixture slightly thickens, remove it from the heat.

On each banana leaf, brush a little oil and add 1 tbsp. of the dough and flatten it. Add 1 ½ teaspoon of the filling in the center of the dough. Fold the two edges so they overlap each other, and then tuck down the two ends. Repeat until all the dough, or filling is used.

Tear the remaining banana leaves into thin fibers and use one fiber for one pair of dumplings.

Use a steamer to steam these dumplings for about 20 minutes.

When serving, remove the banana leaves. Serve with dipping fish sauce.

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Bánh cuốn/Banh cuon (Vietnamese Steamed Rice Rolls)

Bánh cuốn is a Vietnamese specialty made with a very thin, steamed, loosely rolled, rice flour crêpe.

Ingredients

• ½ cup of rice flour
• ½ cup of cornstarch
• ¼ cup of tapioca starch
• 3 cups of water
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• 2 tbsp. of cooking oil (plus 2 more teaspoons for brushing)
• 2 jelly ears/tree ear mushrooms
• ¾ pound of ground pork
• 1 tbsp. of fish sauce
• 1 small or medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 large cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
• ½ cup of fried shallots
• ½ cup of bean sprouts
• Black pepper, ground
• Chả lụa/cha lua (Vietnamese ham)
• Dipping fish sauce.

Directions:

In a large bowl, whisk rice flour with cornstarch and tapioca starch. Add salt and whisk in water and 2 teaspoons of oil until blended.

In a small bowl, pour warm water over the jelly ears and leave it for 5 minutes to soften. Drain and chop the mushrooms.

In a small frying pan, heat 2 tbsp. of oil. Add ground pork and onion, and cook over medium heat while breaking up the meat with a spatula, for about 4-5 minutes. Add and stir chopped mushrooms seasoning with fish sauce, salt and pepper.

Heat up a medium (or large) non-stick pan over medium heat and brush a light oil layer. When the oil is hot, whisk the rice flour mixture well and pour 2 tbsp. of the mixture into the pan, then quickly tilt and swirl the pan around to evenly coat the pan. Cover for about 30 seconds and the crepe should be almost transparent. Invert the pan to a large aluminum tray that has been brushed with oil.

Add about 2 tbsp. of mushroom and pork mixture into the center of the crepe. Then fold over the sides and place in a medium or large dish. Repeat again and again until either the rice flour mixture or the mushroom mixture is finished.

Garnish with cha lua, bean sprouts and shallots. Serve with dipping fish sauce.

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