Whew, I'm still completely occupied by the NBA playoffs. But the good news is that I'm back for a quick post! But first, I need to get something critical off my chest...
Although I'll always be a "LakerGal4Life" (that's my screen name when Phoenix or New Orleans aren't playing), I have to say that the Houston Rockets were robbed last night by miserable officiating. Those NBA refs are about as anti-Ron Artest as you can get! Here's my post-game commentary: There's no way that Artest committed a flagrant foul, especially when Vujacic got away with a lot worse earlier in the evening. Thankfully, the Rockets aren't one of "my" teams, otherwise, I would probably be bed-ridden right now.
...But seriously, enough of the irrelevant ranting about corrupt NBA refs, I need to post already! This is called a food blog after all.
For today's post, I'd love to share one of my favorite salad recipes for Vietnamese green papaya salad. I actually don't consider this a "salad" per se, but a cooling, delicate slaw.
Vietnamese Green Papaya Salad (Goi Du Du)
1 large green papaya, with skin peeled away with a vegetable peeler
1 large carrot, peeled and shredded on the large holes of a grater
3 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 scallion, finely minced
1/4 cup of high-quality fish sauce
1/4 cup of granulated sugar
1/3 cup of lime juice (or the juice from 2 to 3 limes)
1/4 tsp of lime zest
2 Thai bird chilies, sliced cross-wise (optional)
roasted cashews or peanuts, to garnish
basil or cilantro, to garnish
First, peel the hard green papaya with a vegetable peeler (if you haven't done so already). Then, cut the papaya in half, lengthwise, and use a spoon to scrape away all of the seeds from the inside. Now, you can either use a fancy mandolin or a knife to finely julienne the papaya into thin matchstick-sized strips. You want the strips to be as narrow as possible, so that they can absorb the bright salad dressing. However, I would advise against using a shredder here, because shredded papaya makes the salad look a tad sloppy and unrefined.
However, you can shred the carrots with a regular grater because the green papaya is the star of this slaw, while the carrots are almost an afterthought.
Meanwhile, combine the lime juice, lime zest, fish sauce, garlic, scallions, Thai bird chilies, and sugar with a whisk, making sure that the sugar is completely dissolved. Drizzle the finished dressing over the shredded carrots and julienned papaya strips, and stir well to combine. You can serve this immediately, or marinate it in the fridge for an hour to allow the flavors to meld. This slaw keeps in the fridge for up to a week. When you serve it, just strain away the excess dressing.
Finally, serve the slaw with cilantro or basil, and roasted cashews or peanuts as garnish, and enjoy!
I have been noticeably absent from the food blogging world for a few days, but I can explain! I have been feverishly preparing for my entry to Foodbuzz's 24, 24, 24 contest regarding my Mardi Gras celebration!
New Orleans is one of the most diverse "melting pot" regions of America, with heavy Native American, African, and French influences in its cuisine. As seen by novel New Orleans foods such as the muffaletta, the impact of many other cultures is also uniquely apparent in New Orleans cuisine. (The muffaletta is a part of "Creole-Italian" cuisine, which started when Sicilians began immigrating to New Orleans in the 1880s.)
After the end of the Vietnam War, a huge influx of Vietnamese immigrants came into the New Orleans area because of the presence of the Catholic church in Vietnam and the population of Catholic church sponsors in Louisiana. Therefore, recently, Vietnamese culture and cuisine has slowly been influencing the already diverse and historically rich culture in New Orleans. For this year's Mardi Gras, I wanted to celebrate all of New Orleans' cultures, with a particular focus on Vietnamese food. I believe that it is more important than ever to preserve the wonderful culture of New Orleans. Furthermore, although I just moved from New Orleans to San Francisco a few months ago, New Orleans is still in my heart and home.
Mardi Gras is a huge holiday in Catholic communities and the South (and it goes without saying, in New Orleans). Furthermore, although the cuisines of New Orleans and Vietnam are distinguishable, they are also surprisingly similar. Both have (1) a prominent focus on fresh, seasonal, and locally available ingredients, such as the seafood catch of the day and both cuisines have (2) an underlying and strong French influence. Vietnamese cuisine has inherited cooking styles and traditions from the Chinese during the Chinese occupation of Vietnam, and from the French during the French colonial occupation of Vietnam. New Orleans and Vietnamese cuisines have adapted and evolved throughout time, and will continue to do so. My unique approach to my Mardi Gras celebration is to honor tradition, and also celebrate diversity. Therefore, my ultimate Mardi Gras meal is a fusion of the two cuisines.
This year, in addition to serving the classic "N'Awlins" fare for a group of my friends, I also tried my hand at making some innovative Vietnamese fusion items. The foods on the menu for my party (and the links to the associated recipes and step-by-step pictures) are as follows:
MENU
Several of these recipes call for extensive use of peeled and cooked shrimp. Thus, here is a little primer, or "shrimpy" orientation on how I peel shrimp.
First, I like to purchase shrimp with the "head-on." I was taught that head-on shrimp stay fresher longer and retain more shrimp flavor. With large prawns (see upper pictures) and smaller shrimp (see lower pictures), the removal is the same. Just use your thumb and forefinger and carefully pinch off the head.
Next, starting with the underside of the shrimp (where the legs are and the shell is "open"), grab a hold of and peel off the shrimp's calcified armor. Use your pinched fingers to pry open the shell from the shrimp meat. The legs will fall off with the shell. You could also remove the legs first, with a pinching and pulling motion, and then remove the shell.
Finally, score a slight vertical line on the back of the shrimp, where the natural line of symmetry is located. Delicately open the incision and using a paring knife and a paper towel, remove the black intestinal vein from the shrimp. Don't worry about cutting the vein, but don't cut too deeply into the shrimp. And don't throw away those shells! You can use them for making shrimp stock later!
And now that we've peeled the shrimp, here is my first recipe for my Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24 post, for Creole-Spiced Shrimp.
Creole-Spiced Shrimp
6 medium-sized peeled and deveined shrimp
1 tbsp of butter
1/4 cup of water
1/2 tsp of Creole seasoning
tabasco sauce, to taste
Heat the butter in a non-stick pan on medium-high, until melted. Add the shrimp, the Creole seasoning, water, and the tabasco sauce and cook until the shrimp is fully pink and firm and springy to the touch.
Please check out the other recipes (which are linked to above) that I wrote up for this Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24 post. Just to recap, here are the links again:
Happy Mardi Gras and get to cooking! (Also, I just wanted to make a special shout-out to Wandering Chopsticks, for always inspiring me to get in touch with my roots and with her great Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24 post on her Asian Fusion Thanksgiving!)
Here is another recipe as a part of my "Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: Celebrating Mardi Gras, with Vietnamese Flair" post!
Savory Vietnamese Turmeric Crepes (Banh Xeo) with Creole Shrimp
1 1/2 cups of long-grain rice flour (not glutinous rice flour and can use 1 to 1 1/4 cups only, for a lighter, less dense, and more translucent and glassy crepe)
1 can of unsweetened coconut milk (13.5 fl oz)
1/2 tsp of turmeric powder
3 green onion sprigs, chopped finely (with whites and greens)
cooking oil, for frying
12 cooked Creole shrimp
1/2 lb of cooked pork, cut into bite-sized slivers
1/4 lb of mung bean sprouts
1 head of tender lettuce, such as red leaf lettuce
1 bundle of fresh mint
nuoc cham dressing, for serving
Whisk the rice flour, coconut milk, and tumeric powder together until it reaches the consistency of pancake batter. Add the flour into the milk, slowly, making sure the batter is not too thick. Meanwhile, heat approximately 1 tbsp of cooking oil in a non-stick pan on high heat. Swirl the oil around evenly. When the oil begins to shimmer, pour the crepe mixture onto the pan, spreading the mixture on the surface of the oiled pan with a heat-resistant spatula. Sprinkle green onions on the surface of the uncooked crepe. Flip when the crepe when it is crisp and browned on the pan-side. The crepe is finished when both sides are crisp and lightly browned--just like a well-done omelet.
Plate the crepe, and fill it with the shrimp, pork, mung bean sprouts, lettuce, and mint, and fold the crepe over the filling like an omelet. Serve with a small bowl of nuoc cham.
I hope you enjoy this traditional Vietnamese recipe, with a New Orleans-style addition!
Here is another recipe as a part of my "Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: Celebrating Mardi Gras, with Vietnamese Flair" post!
Vietnamese Tamarind Soup with Catfish, Pineapple, and Okra (Canh Chua Cá)
3 quarts of fish or shrimp stock
1 yellow onion, sliced
3-inch piece of ginger, bruised and scored
2 stalks of lemongrass, cut into 2 inch segments
5 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 lb boneless and skinless catfish filets, cut into 1 inch squares
1 can of pineapple chunks, with juice
2 large tomatoes, cored and segmented into wedges
3 stalks of celery, sliced on a bias
1/2 lb okra pods, with stems removed and roughly sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
1/4 lb of bean sprouts
1/2 cup of tamarind concentrate
1 tbsp of fish sauce
1/4 cup of sugar
salt, to taste
In a large stock pot, bring the stock, onion, ginger, lemongrass, and garlic to a boil. Skim off any foam or residue and simmer until the stock is reduced to approximately to half. Then, add the tamarind concentrate, fish sauce, sugar, pineapple and the reserved pineapple juice from the can, tomatoes, celery, and okra.
Bring the soup to a boil on a low simmer. Add the catfish and bring to a boil again. Add the bean sprouts just before serving.
I hope you enjoy this traditional Vietnamese recipe!
Here is another recipe as a part of my "Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: Celebrating Mardi Gras, with Vietnamese Flair" post!
Summer Rolls (Goi Cuon)
1 pkg of 15 to 20 rice paper wrappers
1 head of tender lettuce, such as red leaf lettuce
1 lb of mung bean sprouts
1 lb of cooked Creole shrimp (or 20 shrimp)
1 bundle of Chinese flat-leaf chives (these are not the traditional chives you see in the regular markets)
1 bundle of mint
1 bundle of basil
warm water
nuoc cham dressing, for serving
Just as a note, this ingredients list is based on my family's preference! You can add traditional Vietnamese herbs such as rau ram, and other vegetables and proteins, such as julienned carrots, tofu, boiled eggs, pickled daikon, baked fish, thinly sliced meat, and slivers of cucumber. Also, many people like to add vermicelli rice noodles too, but I don't really because I feel that there is enough carb substance in the wrapper. But really, the sky is the limit! Also, I use nuoc cham (a fish sauce salad dressing) as the dipping sauce, but you can use a mixture of hoisin sauce, peanut butter, crushed peanuts, and a bit of hot water for a delicious peanut dipping sauce.
Now, onto the assembly! First, you want to briefly dip the thin rice paper in warm water. Then, put it on a plate and wait for it to moisten. It helps to have several "holding" plates to hold the rice paper as it becomes pliable. Then, when the brittle paper has become malleable, in the middle to lower region of the wrapper, place the shrimp face down first. (Some people like to cut their shrimp in half, lengthwise, so put the outer shrimp portion facing the wrapper.) You want the shrimp to show through the thin and translucent rice paper wrapper, so the shrimp placement is key. Next, add your other ingredients, being careful not to overfill the wrapper and leaving the sides bare. Don't fill too closely to the sides, because you want to fold the sides over, like a burrito. Add a little bit of each ingredient.
When you have filled the rolls to your heart's delight, then fold the sides inward (like the picture), similar to a burrito. If you so desire, add a long chive stem (that will protrude through the summer roll), for decorative effect. Then, begin rolling tightly, using your fingers to firmly squeeze the filling and using the skin of the summer roll to adhere to itself.
You should get something beautiful, that looks like this:
And if you don't succeed at first, don't fret! You can combine the carnage from the "mistake rolls" as a delicious salad for later. Practice makes perfect!
I hope you enjoy this traditional Vietnamese recipe, with a New Orleans-style addition!
Have you ever heard of annatto seeds from the achiote plant? If not, I would love to make an introduction. These seeds are one of nature's most vivid forms of food coloring and are commonly used to color cheddar cheeses, butters, and margarines. Therefore, if you have ever eaten cheese, butter, or margarine, you should not be afraid of cooking with these seeds. I know you are thinking, "What in the hay-hole are these seeds, and how do they taste?" The seeds themselves are mild in flavor. If you pop a crunchy one in your mouth, it will taste similar to a bland peppercorn, leeched of any spiciness, with an almost indiscernable aftertaste of saffron or clay. (How do I know what clay tastes like? Okay, I did try clay when I was a kid, but I thought it was chocolate pudding!) However, these seeds are not used for flavor, but more for the stunning rust-colored hue. Grown and harvested in South and Central America, you simply heat these seeds in oil to release the dark and potent jasper coloring. These seeds lend their vibrantly rich, Sedona red color to the Vietnamese soups of bun bo hue and bun rieu. Latin American cuisines also often employ achiote paste (a flavorful paste made of a panapoly of spices and annatto coloring) in their cuisine to deepen the color of mole sauces and even enrich the visual colors in tamales.Check out your local Asian or Latin American market for packs of these seeds, and start experimenting!
Although I am part Vietnamese, there are many Vietnamese foods that I grew up eating only in restaurants. Such dishes were simply were too much trouble to make at home because they required out-of-the ordinary or expensive ingredients (not readily available to my family in rural Arizona) or required many difficult cooking steps. To our family, pho bo, or Vietnamese beef noodle soup was one of those foods. It was only consumed in restaurants, and never made at home. It required bean sprouts and basil (which are very rare in rural Arizona, and if we brought bean sprouts or basil back from our trips to Los Angeles, they would be wilted by the heat and miserable by the time we arrived back at home). It also required the chef to parboil the beef bones, to babysit a boiling pot for more than six hours, and to repeatedly skim off foamy scum and slippery pockets of uncoagulated oil. Pho bo was just simply easier and tastier to eat at the restaurants.
Despite these challenges, after living with my sister-in-law (who made pho bo almost every Sunday), I decided to try my hand at making this laborious beef soup. Although these pictures might look delectable, there is a huge caveat: I am still learning how to make pho bo. There is still something off about the flavor of my soup. I think it may be too much star anise, and too little coriander seed. Perhaps I need more salt, and less fish sauce. But I will update you soon when I find the perfect proportions of spices. I may need to call my sister-in-law a few more times before I can finalize a recipe, but until then, check out Viet World Kitchen, Steamy Kitchen, Wandering Chopsticks, Holy Basil, or Food Network for great takes on pho bo.
I know you are thinking, "Where is the recipe?" Well, there is none yet, but I hope that in the meantime, these pictures inspire you to make pho bo in the near future! Pho-shizzle!
Because after a long day at work, you will "mysteriously" discover a tray full of crackly, golden, and freshly-fried cha gio sitting on the kitchen table. And what do you know? They are just waiting for you to eat them.
One thing that they have in New Orleans, is a vibrant Vietnamese community. Thankfully, the Vietnamese community loves food and having fun. For me, that means . . . Food fairs! I went to one with my family a few weeks ago, and would love to share with you some of the food that we ate. This is "classic" Vietnamese fair food, so get yourself well-acquainted with the following:
Bo la lot - Seasoned ground beef wrapped in leafy greens and topped with 1) crushed roasted peanuts and 2) fried and caramelized onions. (Think dolmades or stuffed cabbage, but very, very flavorful) . . .
Nuoc mia - Sugar cane juice, flavored with the juices from tangerines . . .
Banh tieu - Sweet baked sesame buns . . .
Banh mi - Vietnamese-style sandwiches made with baguettes, stuffed with a cooling vegetable slaw, and smeared with liver pate . . .
Tiet canh - Raw duck blood with duck livers
Thit nuong - Seasoned ground pork grilled on skewers and brushed with a slightly-sweet and sticky sauce. . .
Looking for a summery, refreshing, and unlaborious idea for dinner that can be finished in less than 20 minutes? Try this Vietnamese salad made with an ethereal dressing infused with the robust flavors of citrus, mint, and piquant chili pepper flakes. The simple yet sophisticated flavors from this salad will pirouette upon your tongue and open your palate's horizons to the multifaceted world of Vietnamese cuisine.
To make the nuoc cham salad dressing for the vermicelli bun salad, whisk 1/4 cup of high-quality fish sauce, 1/4 cup of granulated white sugar, 1/2 cup of water, one tsp of crushed red chili flakes (or one minced, deseeded, red Thai bird chili), and the juice from two limes. You may also add a bit of lime zest from the limes too. After the sugar has dissolved, add about five cloves of minced garlic and one carrot, shredded on the large holes of a box grater (not the small holes, as I did here). Adding the carrots into the dressing helps to soften them slightly and allows the carrots to absorb some of the flavor from the tangy and full-bodied marinade.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add a 10 oz package dry rice noodles, and boil the rice noodles until they are soft and pliable. Be careful not to overboil the noodles because they can quickly become mushy and disintegrate. Boil the noodles for less than 5 minutes, stirring the noodles periodically to prevent them from sticking together. Keep an eye on them. After five minutes or less, immediately drain the noodles in a colander, and rinse them under cold, running water. As you rinse the noodles, use your hands to swish the noodles around in the running tap water, so that the noodles will cool completely. Shake the colander over the drain to get rid of excess water and divide the noodles evenly into large bowls.
Wash, leaf, and tear 1/4 a head of iceberg lettuce into bite-sized pieces. For more uniformity, you may also shred the lettuce finely. Also peel and thinly slice one large cucumber and coarsely chop 1/2 cup of packed mint leaves. You may also choose to add a handful or two of fresh bean sprouts and several full sprigs cilantro if you'd like. Divide the chilled salad ingredients and organize the salad on top of the noodles.
Finally, portion out the nuoc cham dressing into small bowls, to allow each person to add his or her own dressing to his or her own liking. You may also sprinkle the salad with crushed and roasted peanuts.
Wasn't that easy? Now there is just one more step: serve the salad, and enjoy it! Also, for a great recipe with barbequed pork, check out Oishii Eat's site!
