Sticky Sweet Rice, originally uploaded by simpleviet.

If you frequent Asian markets, you may have seen packages of sweet, sticky rice in orange or green colors.  Growing up, mom used to make the green sticky rice so I’m partial to those! Most recipes will call for a bamboo steamer or rice cooker (not common in most kitchens) and soaking the glutinous/sweet rice for 4 hrs or more.  The longer you are able to soak the rice; the shorter the cooking time.

In the spirit of simplicity, I’ve soaked the rice for an hour and made it on the stove top with a non-stick pan.  Also, this is a lite version of sticky rice but you can opt to use full fat coconut milk and increase the sugar to 6 tbsp for a sweeter version.

Some prefer to eat this as a breakfast treat but I like it as a snack.  The cooked sticky rice can be stored at room temperature for a day and reheated in the microwave when desired.

Sweet Sticky Rice (Xoi Dua)

• 2 cups of glutinous or rice (soak in warm water for at least 1 hr)
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup of lite coconut milk
• 3 drops of green food coloring
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 4 teaspoon of sugar
• 1/4 cup of unsweetened shredded or shavings of coconut (optional)

1. Drain the glutinous rice in colander.
2.  Place drained rice to mixing bowl and add salt, sugar, and food coloring. Mix well until all the grains have an even color.
3. Add water, coconut milk and rice mixture to a non-stick pan with a lid.  Turn heat to medium high and keep lid on, periodically stir the rice.  Rice is done when rice is sticky and translucent green.
4. Remove the rice from the stove and let it cool for about 5 minutes. Stir in shredded coconut if desired.  Serve at room temperature.

This is one of the easiest fish dish with amazingly flavors – and healthy!  Traditionally this is made with whole striped sea bass but any type of flaky, white fish will work.

You will need a steamer or a very large skillet with a lid or a bamboo steamer.  By steaming the fish, it will naturally create a broth so make sure you use a sunken plate/dish.  When serving, I suggest drizzling some of the broth over the fish and the rice.

Tip:  Black bean paste is rather salty so use sparingly.

Steamed Fish with Black Bean and Ginger

(Serves 4)

• 2 sprigs of green onion
• 1-2 inch piece of ginger
• 1 lb fish filets (striped sea bass)
• 4 tbsp Chinese black bean paste

1.  Prepare the onion and ginger.  Chop the white part of green onion and set aside for fish marinade.  Slice the green part of green onion at a diagonal for garnish.  Peel ginger and slice ginger into thin rounds.  Stack 3-4 rounds and julienne the ginger into slivers.

2.  On a large plate, sparingly smear with your hand each side of the fish with the black bean paste and then sprinkle on the green onion and ginger.  Cover and let sit for 30 minutes in the refrigerator to marinade.

3. Place fish onto an oven-safe plate and steam fish in a bamboo steamer or a very large skillet with a lid.  Fill the bottom of the steamer/skillet with 2 cups of water and cover.  Steam over high heat for 10 minutes or so depending on the thickness of the fish fillets.

4.  Garnish with chopped green onions and serve immediately with steaming white rice.

(Picture to come!)

It’s unusual to see recipes include whole hard-boiled eggs.  I can assure you that this is an authentic Vietnamese dish.   The sauce is also used as a dipping sauce for steamed or boiled vegetables like water spinach.

Consistent with braised dishes, it requires a slow simmer for at least 1-1.5 hours so that the meat is very tender.  I’ve used country-style pork ribs in this recipe but other cuts of pork would work.  I suggest trimming as much of the fat off as possible.

Braised Coconut Pork / Thịt Heo Kho Duong

(Serves 6)

• 2 lbs of boneless pork, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1 tsp salt
• black pepper to taste
• ¼ cup of chopped onion
• 3 chopped cloves of garlic
• 5 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 cup water
• 1 can lite coconut milk, 13.5 oz
• 3 hard-boiled eggs, shells removed
• chopped green onion for garnish

1.    Heat a large sauté pan (6 quartz) on medium high heat.

2.  Add pork to hot pan, season with salt and pepper.  Braise until lightly brown on all sides (3-5 minutes).

3.  Add the onions and garlic.  Continue to stir-fry until the onion is wilted.

4.  Add the fish sauce, water, and coconut milk.  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium-low.  Place lid on the pan and simmer for at least an hour, until meat is tender.  Thirty minutes into the simmering period, add the shelled hard-boiled eggs to the stew.

5.  Garnish with reserved green onions and serve with steamed rice.

 

Bean Sprouts Snap Peas Stir-Fry, originally uploaded by simpleviet.

I’ve posted a similar recipe with beef previously.  This time, it’s a quick and tasty vegetarian stir-fry.  This can be a great side dish or a simple week day dinner for one or two served with rice.

Bean Sprouts and Sugar Snap Peas Stir-Fry
(Serves 6 as side dish)

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2-3 chopped garlic cloves
• ¼ lb of sugar snap peas
• 1 lb of washed bean sprouts
• 2 tsp of oyster sauce
• 2-3 tbsp fish sauce
• cracked black pepper (optional)

1.      Heat oil in a large 12 inch skillet over medium-high heat and quickly sauté the garlic

2.      Add sugar snap peas, bean sprouts, oyster sauce, fish sauce, cracked black pepper and and stir –fry for 2-3 minutes until bean sprouts are slightly wilted and snap peas are bright green.

3.       Serve immediately with rice.

Cassava Coconut Cake, originally uploaded by simpleviet.

Most people are mystified by taro and cassava.  Both are root vegetables that can be used in sweet and savory dishes.  There are many variations to cassava cake, here I’ve tried to keep the recipe to only a few number of ingredients and to keep down the fat/calories.

You can find taro and cassava roots at Asian markets.  Also, look for grated cassava in the frozen section of the Asian market and save yourself some prep time.

To prepare the cassava, peel the tough exterior skin with a peeler.  Soak in a cold water bath for a few hours to abstract the milky sap.   Cut the cassava in chunks and use a food processor to grate the cassava into texture of grated cheese.

Cassava Coconut Cake

(Serves 4-6)

• 2lbs of cassava, grated
• 1 cup of grated coconut
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 can (14 oz) of sweetened condensed milk

1.  Heat oven at 400° F.

2.  In a large bowl, mix all ingredients together.

3.  Spray an 8×8 glass baking dish with oil and pour the cassava mixture into the dish.

4.  Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown.

Egg Noodles with Tofu Stir-Fry, originally uploaded by simpleviet.

This is a simple Chinese-Vietnamese fusion egg noodles or mì dish.  If you can’t get to the Asian market for fresh egg noodles, you can substitute cooked angel hair pasta.

Egg Noodle and Tofu Stir Fry (Mì Xaò)

(Serves 4-6)

• 4-5 quarts of water
• 1 package (14 oz) of fresh egg noodles (mì)
• 3 tbsp of olive oil
• 3-4 cloves of chopped garlic
• 1 bundle of baby bok choy, roughly chopped
• 1 package of soft tofu, drained

1.     In a large pot, bring water to boil.  Follow the cooking directions for the egg noodles.  If you are using the Vietnamese version of egg noodles (mì), only cook the noodles for TWO minutes.  Pour noodles into a strainer, gently toss with chopsticks to loosen the noodles and set aside.

2.     Heat 3 tbsp oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat and stir in the chopped garlic.  Add to the garlic, the chopped bok choy and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes.  Next, incorporate the drained tofu into the stir-fried bok choy and bring to a gentle simmer.  Lastly, gently toss the drained noodles in with the tofu bok choy mixture.

Cilantro Shrimp Salad, originally uploaded by simpleviet.

This is a great salad any time of the year – light and refreshing.  I’ve made this with salt and pepper shrimp (see link below for recipe) or you can use left over meat or shrimp.

http://simplyvietnamese.wordpress.com/2008/06/18/salt-and-pepper-shrimp/

Cilantro Shrimp Salad

(Serves 4)

Dressing

• 1 bunch of cilantro roughly chopped (about 1 to 1 ¼ cup)
• 3 cloves of chopped garlic
• ½ cup of low-calorie/non-fat mayonnaise
• 1 chopped jalapeno, seeded and chopped
• ¼ cup lime juice
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp white pepper
• 1 cup of olive oil

Salad

• 1 lb mixed greens
• 1 yellow peppers, chopped
• Salt and pepper shrimp (see link above for recipe)

1.  Place into a blender or food processer the first 7 ingredients and blend until smooth.  On low speed, slowly drizzle in olive oil until the dressing is well blended. (Can be stored for 1 week in the refrigerator.)

2.  In a large bowl, toss mixed green and yellow peppers with ½ cup of dressing or more depending on desired taste.

3. Top with salt and pepper shrimp (hot or cold) and serve.

 

Squash and Shrimp Stir-Fry, originally uploaded by simpleviet.

In this recipe, I’ve used a squash that is called bi bau in Vietnamese – found mostly at Asian markets.  Bi bau is a long squash that is apple green rind with a white flesh.   The rind can be tough so best to peel the squach with a potato peeler.  You can easily substitute with zucchini but reduce the cooking time by a few minutes. 

Squash and Shrimp Stir-Fry
(Serves 4-6)

• 5 tbsp olive oil
• 4 chopped cloves of garlic
• 1 lb of shrimp, peeled
• ½ tsp salt
• black pepper to taste
• 1.5-2lb squash cut into bite size pieces
• ¼ cup water
• 5 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tsp chopped chives/green onions

1.      Heat 2 tsp oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and stir in garlic.  Be sure you have a lid for the skillet.

2.      Add peeled shrimp, salt and pepper.  Stir-fry for 3-4 minutes until shrimp is half –way cooked.  Remove and set shrimp aside in a bowl.

3.      Add 3 tsp of oil to skillet then the sliced squash and stir-fry for 5 minutes.

4.      Add water to pan and cover with lid, cook over medium heat for 8-10 minutes or until squash is slightly translucent.

5.      Add the stir-fried shrimp, fish sauce and green onions.  Stir-fry until shrimp is fully cooked.

 

 

Chao, a Vietnamese version of rice porridge, is often made plain, with beef or chicken.  I’m going to offer you a fusion chao recipe, making use of left over turkey meat and carcass from the holidays and adding a few Western ingredients.

Similar to making turkey noodle from left over holiday turkey, this will serve a crowd.   Very little rice is needed.  The starch from the rice will naturally thicken the stock.

Tip: if the porridge to too thick for your taste, dilute it with some water or chicken stock.

Turkey and Rice Porridge (Chao voi Turkey)

Serves 6 – 8

• 6 quarts of water
• 1 turkey carcass
• 2 tbsp salt
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 bunch of herbs tied (e.g., thyme, rosemary, sage)
• 1 cup chopped/sliced carrots
• 1 cup of uncooked white rice (jasmine or long grain)
• 1 to 2 cups of shredded left-over turkey meat
• 1 tbsp butter (optional)
• ½ cup cream (optional)
• black pepper to taste

1.      Add the water to a large stock pan and bring to boil over high heat.  Add the turkey carcass, salt, onion, carrots and tied bunch of herbs.  Bring this to a boil and then simmer over low heat for 1.5 hours.

2.      Remove turkey carcass and set aside to cool.  Add uncooked rice to the stock, stirring regularly over low simmering heat for 45 minutes.  Once the turkey carcass has cooled, remove turkey meat from the carcass and add it along with the shredded turkey meat back into the simmering porridge.

3.      Porridge is finished once it has reached a thick, creamy white consistency and not watery. Stir in the butter and cream to the porridge at the very end.

4.      Ladle into serving bowl and top with crushed black pepper if desired.
Turkey Rice Porridge, originally uploaded by simpleviet.

 

 

Sweet Baby Back Ribs, originally uploaded by simpleviet.

I wanted the ribs to have some color so opted to grill it first and then braise it in the sauce.  If you decide to skip the grilling step, just increase the amount of water to about a cup and another 20 minutes to the braising time. 

Sweet Baby Back Pork Ribs

(Serves 4)

• One rack of baby back pork ribs (~3lbs)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 4 chopped cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp salt
• black pepper to taste
• 3 tbsp fish sauce
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce (optional)
• ½ – ¾  cup water

1.      Grill rack of rib until golden brown on both sides, about 15 minutes total.

2.     Heat oil in a large sauté pan (~6 quart) on medium high heat.  Add chopped onions and sauté until soft.  Next, add chopped garlic and give it a quick stir.

3.      Reduce heat to medium low and incorporate in the rest of the ingredients and bring to a slow simmer.

4.      Cut the grilled rack of ribs into individual ribs.  Place the ribs into sauce and braise over low heat for about 20-30 minutes, until ribs are tender, occasionally flipping the ribs.

 

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