Vietnamese Food Recipes

Pork noodles soup

2010-01-23T09:48:00.003+07:00

Serves: 4
Preparation time: 10mins
Cooking time: about 35 mins

Ingredients:
1.5 liters broth
300g (10 oz) pork (soft lean pork shoulder)
300g (10 oz) dried egg noodles
3 teaspoons stock granules (optional)
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 teaspoon ground pepper
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon browned shallots
100g (3 ½ oz) bean sprouts
1 lettuce head
3 sprigs scallions, minced
5 sprigs cilantro, well washed
100g (3 ½ oz) Chinese chives, well-washed, cut into 3 cm lengths
1 jalapeno pepper, sliced
2 limes, each cut into 3 pieces

Recipe:
Bring broth to a boil. Add pork and boil for a bout 30 minuteas, take pork out and slice thinly.

Heat a skillet. Add cooking oil, then add minced garlic and brown until yellow.

Scald noodles in boiling water for about 2 minutes, drain noodles. Wash bean sprouts and chives, scald in boiling water, then drain them in a basket.

Season broth with salt and stock granules. Add browned shallots and browned garlic.

Serving: put bean sprouts in a bowl, add noodles to 2/3 of te bowl, then arrange pork on top. Add boiling broth. Sprinkle with scallions, cilantro and pepper.

Serve with a dish of lettuce, jalapeno pepper and lime.

Quang noodles

2010-01-22T14:20:00.003+07:00

Serves: 4
Preparation time: 20 mins
Cooking time: 60 mins

Ingredients:
1 liter broth
300g (10oz) pork ham, cut into thin slices
200g (7oz) Vietnamese Sausage (or Hue Sausaga), cut into thin slices
300g (10oz) small fresh shrimps, deveind
1kg (2.2lbs) fresh Quang noodle (or 500g of dried flat rice noodles)
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon annatto seeds (or annatto powder)
3 teaspoons stock granules
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon ground pepper
1 cup cooking oil
2 sesame rice paper wrappers
60g (2oz) roasted peanuts, pestled
4 cloves garlic, bruised
200g (7oz) mint leaves and lettuce, well-washed, thinly sliced
1 cup bean sprouts
1 tablespoon minced saw-leaf herbs
100g (3 ½ oz) shredded bananaflower, soaked in water with a teaspoon of lime juice
5 shallots, thinly sliced
1 lime, quartered
10 small green chilies

Recipe:
Heat a tablespoon of cooking oil in a skillet. Add annatto seeds and stir-fry over low heat to lose their color. Discard the seeds. Set annatto oil aside in a bowl.

Add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil, shallots and garlic to the skillet and fry. Add pork, stir-fry for about 3 minutes. Season with 2 teaspoons of stock granules, a teaspoon of fish sauce, a teaspoon of sugar, a pinch of turmeric powder. Add shrimps to stir-fry togather. Add ½ cup of broth to the skillet. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Mix well and season again to have a pleasant taste. Add annatto oil and ½ teaspoon of pepper.

Heat a pot with broth. Bring to a boil, season again and keep it hot on the cooker.

Scald Quang noodles in boiling water. If using dried flat rice noodles, soak in hot water for 5 minutes, then scald in boiling water for 2-3 minutes until just soft. Take out and drain noodles, mix with a tablespoon of cooking oil to prevent the noodles from sticking together.

Grill sesame rice paper wrappers until yellow.

Add noodles (of flat rice noodles) to a bowl. Arrange sausages, pork, shrimps over. Sprinkle with a little sauce from the skillet with shrimps. Then, add hot broth to wet noodles. Sprinkle with roasted peanuts and saw-leaf herbs on top.

Serve with grilled rice paper wrappers, a dish of mixed vegetables, lime and small green chilies.

Notice: Quang noodles is eaten in a dryness style, which means noodles is only wetted with broth and do not pour too much broth like pho or hutieu. To have a good taste, Quang noodles must be eaten with a lot of vegetables. You can add crab meat, chicken breast meat, fish ballds, chicken eggs or thinly sliced squids to have a more attactive and plentiful bowl of Quang noodles.

Chicken congee

2010-01-18T13:50:00.000+07:00

Serves: 6
Preparation time: 5 mins
Cooking time: about 90 mins

Ingredients
200g (7oz) jasmine rice
½ chicken (about 1kg)
2 teaspoons stock granules (optional)
5 sprigs scallions, well-washed, minced
3 shallots, grilled to brown
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground pepper
50g (2oz) cilantro, well-washed, minced
Dipping souce: Salt with pepper and lime juice

Recipe
Wash inside and outside the chicken, drain it. Add 2.5 liters of water to the pot, add the chicken and bring to a boil. Then, add shallots and ½ teaspoon of salt. Cook the chicken over medium heat for abour 40 minutes.

Wash the rice well, then drain it. Heat a skillet, add the rice and fry to yellow.

Pick the chicken up and put in a large bowl with cold water. After it is cold, pick up and chop it into small pieces.

Add fried rice to the pot with the broth that was boiled with the chicken. Cook over low heat for about 40 minutes. Add shredded ginger. Season with stock granules and salt. Add scallions.

Ladle congee out into bowls. Arrange chicken pieces on the congee. Sprinkle with minced cilantro and pepper on top. Serve to eat hot with a dish salt with pepper and salt. Add scallions.

Ladle congee out into bowls. Arrange chicken pieces on the congee. Sprinkle with minced cilantro and pepper on top. Serve to eat hot with a dish salt with pepper and lime juice.

Note:
- in the North and the Middle of Vietnam, people do not usually fry rice before cooking congee.
- People usually boil the chicken first, then taking the water to cook congee. After that, the chicken is chopped into small pieces, scattered with minced lime-leaves and served with salt with pepper and lime juice. Or the chicken can alseo be mixed with salad and served with the congee.

Chicken glass noodle soup

2010-01-12T16:00:00.000+07:00

Serves: 6
Preparation time: 20 mins
Cooking time:50 mins

Ingredients
200g (7 oz) dried glass noodles
½ chicken (about 2.2 lbs/1 kg)
6 yolks
2 cloves garlic, bruised
5 sprigs scallions, minced
1 finger-length chili, thinly sliced
1 onion, peeled, thinly sliced
5 sprigs of cilantro, well-washed, mined
100g (3 ½ oz) canned bamboo shoot
100g (3 ½ oz) bean sprouts
1 inch thick ginger, smashed
3 shallots, tellow-fried
200g (7 oz) vegetables (Thai basil, shredded water spinach, Vietnamese coriander, shredded banana flowers, etc)
3 teaspoons stock granules (of 3 chicken flavor cubes)
1 teaspoon ground pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons cooking oil
Dipping sauce: salt with pepper and lime juice

Recipe
Drain canned bamboo shoots.

Add a tablespoon of cooking oil to a hot skillet, drop 2 bruised cloves of garlic to brown. Add bamboo shoots to stir-fry over high heat for 10 minutes. Season with a teaspoon of stock granules.

Boil 2 liters of water. Add chicken, smashed ginger, shallots and a little salt. Cook for about 40 minuteas. Don’t cover the pot. Remove the foam to keep the broth clear.

Remove and place the chicken in a pot with cold water. Remove chicken and let it dry. Thinly slice chicken meat.

Season the broth with 2 teaspoons of stock granules and ½ teaspoon of sugar. Add bamboo shoots. Bring to a boil and season again. Before serving, add onions to the broth and bring to a boil.

Soak glass noodles in water for about 20 minutes. When it expands, drain and cut into 4 inch lengths. Quickly dip and remove glass noodles in the boiling water. Then, mix noodles with a tablespoon of cooking oil.

Fill individual bowls half full with glass noodles. Sprinkle each bowl with shredded chicken, bamboo shoots and a cooked yolk. Then, pour boiling broth over. Sprinkle with minced scallions, cilantro leaves and ground pepper.

Serve with a dish of vegetables, thinly sliced chili and a bowl of salt, pepper and lime juice.

Note:
- Glass noodles and canned bamboo shoots can be bought at every asian food store.

Asparagus crab soup

2010-01-11T14:16:00.001+07:00

Serves: 6
Preparation time: 10 mins
Cooking time: about 25 mins

Ingredients
1.5 liters broth
200g (7 oz) crab meat
3 eggs
300g (10 oz) fresh asparagus (or 200g/7oz canned asparagus)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 teaspoons stock granules or 3 bouillon cubes (optional)
1 teaspoon ground pepper
1 tablespoon cooking oil
2 cloves garlic, bruised
1 tablespoon browned shallots
3 sprigs scallions, minced
5 sprigs cilantro
Pinch of salt

Recipe
Cut canned asparagus into 1 inch lengths (or peel fresh asparagus, cook until it is soft and cut into pieces).

Heat a skillet, add a tablespon of cooking oil. When the oil is just hot, drop 2 bruised cloves of garlic to brown. Then, add crab meat and stir quickly, add a teaspoon of stock granules.

Boil the broth, add crab meat and cook for 10 minutes. Add asparagus, continue cooking for 5 minutes. Add stock granules and a little salt. Season the mixture depending on your taste.

Beat eggs, pour them gradually into the soup. Stir the mixture regularly while pouring eggs. Cook for about 2 minutes. Stir cornstarch with ½ bowl of water, add this mixture to the soup so that the soup turns biscid. Bring to a boil, add minced scallions.

Remove the pot from heat. Ladle the soup out into bowls. Scatter browned shallots, cilantro leaves and pepper on to for seasoning and garnishing.

Crabmeat soup

2010-01-07T09:08:00.001+07:00

Serves: 4
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: about 20 mins

Ingredients
1 liter broth
200 g (7 oz) crab meat
2 eggs
2 teaspoons stock granules or 2 bouillon cubes (optional)
½ teaspoon ground pepper
1 tablespoon cooking oil
2 garlic cloves, bruised
1 tablespoon browned shallots
2 tablespoons cornstarch
5 sprigs cilantro
3 sprigs scallions, minced
Pinch of salt

Recipe
Heat skillet with a tablespoon of cooking oil. When the oil is hot, add 2 garlic cloves and fry until golden. Add crab meat and stir fast, add a teaspoon of stock granules.

Pour the broth into a cooking pot, bring to a boil. Add crab meat. Flavor with sotck granules and salt. Beat eggs well and slowly pour into the pot with soup, stir continuously while pouring.

Mix cornstarch with ½ bowl of water and pour into the pot with soup. Stir to thicken. Boil and flavor again. Add minced scallions.

Remove from heat. Place crab soup in a dish or a bowl. Sprinkle with browned shallots, cilantro and ground pepper on to to garnish and make the soup more delicious.

Broth

2010-01-05T08:59:00.000+07:00

Broth
Preparation time: 15 mins
Cooking time: about 2 hours

The soup is good if the broth is good. Peaple can cook the broth in advance to use later in many cases.

Chicken and pork meat have quite similar tastes as well as some root vegetables have. We can use the broth to process many kinds of sauce and soup such as crab soup, asparagus crab soup, pork hu tieu soup, pork noodles, rib with root vegetables soup, etc.

To make 1.5 liters of broth, we need:
Ingredients
1.4 kg (3 lbs) soup bone )which can be used to cook soup), finely-chopped , well-washed
½ teaspoon salt (optional)
1 ginger root of thumb-size
2 onions, peeled, cut into 4 parts
450g (1 lb) daikon, cut into large cubes
3 shallots, peeled and grilled to brown
Pinch of salt

Recipe
Add bones and 2 liters of water to a pot, bring to a boil for 5 minutes. Then, remove the pot from heat and pour off the water.

Add 2 liters of water to the pot with bones. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and let the mixture boil slightly. Simmer over low heat for about an hour (Do not cover with a lid because the broth can be opaque). Use a ladle to remove the foam from the surface until the broth is clear. Add daikon and grilled shallots. Continue cooking for abour an hour.

Grill the ginger, cut into pieces, smashed and put in the pot. Add salt. Then, put onions in the pot. Boil the mixture.

Pick the daikon and onions up. Filter the broth and boil it again.

Pickled bean sprouts

2009-12-28T14:45:00.000+07:00

Ingredients
2.2 lbs (1kg) bean sprouts
4 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 jalapeno pepper, thinly sliced
300g (10 oz) Chinese chives, well-washed, cut into 2 inches lengths

Recipe

Wash bean sprouts well. Drain them.

Mix a liter of water, sugar and salt. Boil, remove foam and leave to cool.

Combine chives and jalapeno pepper pieces with bean sprouts and put them in a glass pot. Add water mixed with sugar and salt. Notice that the bean sprouts must be drowned in water, so press them down by putting a dish and a stone on them. Tightly cover the pot.

Pickled bean sprouts can be used after a day. People usually serve this dish with braised pork with eggs and coconut juice.

Pickled carrots and daikons

2009-12-22T11:21:00.000+07:00

Ingredients
1 large carrot
1 large daikon
2 cups (1/2 liter) vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar
2.5 tablespoons salt

Recipe
Use a tool for creating wavy shapes to cut carrot and daikon into 3 inches long and 0.5 inch wide pieces.

Combine carrot, daikon pieces with 2 tablespoons of salt. Put them aside for 20 minutes for absorption. Then, clean well and dry them.

Mix ½ liter of vinegar, 3 tablespoons of sugar and ½ tablespoon of salt. After boiling, leave the mixture to cool.

Place carrot an daikon pieces in a pot. Notice that the pot must be well-washed, rinsed with boiling water and really dried before you place the vegetables inside.

Add mixed vinegar to the pot. The vegetables must be drowned in vinegar. Pickle carrots and daikons can be used after a day and preserved in a refrigerator in 1 week.

Pickled vegetables in fish sauce

2009-12-21T16:19:00.000+07:00

Ingredients
10 oz (300 g) carrot, cut into 1.5 inches lengths, 1 inch widths
10 oz (300 g) daikon, cut into 1.5 inches lengths, 1 inch widths
10 oz (300 g) kohlrabi (or green papaya), thinly sliced
1 cup (1/4 liter) fish sauce

Recipe
Dry all vegetables in sunlight for 2 days (if there is no sunlight, you can use and oven or a microwave oven at the lowest temperature to dry). Notice that vegetables must be really dried and shrunk.

Stir fish sauce with sugar. Boil the mixture and leave to cool then.

Put the vegetables in a glass pot. Notice that the pot must be well-washed, rinsed with boiling water and really dried before you place the vegetables inside.

Add the fish sauce to the vegetables. Because the vegetables must be drown in sauce, press them down by putting a dish and a stone on them. The pickled vegetables can be used after a week and preserved to eat gradually in some months.

Pickled mustard greens

2009-12-21T09:58:00.000+07:00

Ingredients
2.2 lbs ( kg) mustard greens
3 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon sugar

Recipe
Dry mustard greens in sunlight for 6 hours to wither, then choose the good ones and wash well. Cut the large ones in half.

Parboil the mustard greens in boiling water. Dip sterns first because they are harder and thicker.

Place the hot mustard greens in a basket to drain off water and cool. Then place them in a glass pot.

Mix 4 tablespoons of salt, a tablespoon of sugar and 1 liter of water. After boiling, leave the mixture to cool.

Add the mixture to the mustard greens must be drown in water, press them down by putting a dish and stone on them. They can be used after 3 days and preserved to eat gradually in some weeks.

Pickled leeks

2009-12-18T09:17:00.003+07:00

2.2 lbs (1 kg) leek
2 cups (1/2 liter) vinegar
8 oz (240g) sugar
10 oz (300g) salt

Cut off leek roots, cut stalks short to have 1-15 inches long leeks. Cut off leaves outside, wash well.

Mix 8 oz of salt and 2 cups of water in a porcelain or enamel basin. Soak leeks for 2 days for absorption. During this time, leeks will grow longer, so we need to cut them once more.

Clean the leeks well again. Drain them to wither. Dry them in sun light for 8 hours (if there is no sunlight, you can wither them by using a microwave oven or an oven at the lowest heat).

Combine leeks with 8 oz of sugar. Leave 1 day for absorbtion.

Combine 2 cups of vinegar with 2 oz of salt. Boil the mixture, then leave to cool.

Put the processed leeks in a glass pot. Notice that the pot must be well-washed, rinsed with boiling water and dried before you place the leeks inside.

Add the mixture of vinegar and salt to the pot. Because the leeks must be drown in vinegar, press them down by putting a dish and stone on them. They can be used after 1 week and preserved to eat gradually in some months.

Notice that European leeks are larger than Vietnamese leeks, so the time for drying in sunlight and soaking is linger.

Salt with pepper and lime juice

2009-12-17T08:55:00.002+07:00

2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon ground pepper
1lime, cut in half

Parch salt 9in a skillet over low heat for about 3 minutes. Remove from hear.

Mix salt with pepper well.

Remove lime seeds.

Serve on a small dish (of a small bowl).

Salt with pepper and lime juice

2009-12-16T10:34:00.002+07:00

2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon ground pepper
1 lime cut in half

Parch salt in a skillet over low heat for about 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

Mix salt with pepper well.

Remove lime seeds.

Serve on a small dish (or a small bowl).

Browned shallots

2009-12-16T10:09:00.001+07:00

10 small shallots
3 tablespoons cooking oil

Peel shallots, thinly slice along their lengths, leave 3 hours to dry.

Hear a skillet, add cooking oil. When the oil is hot, add sliced shallots to brown until yellow. Pick up and place on blotting papers to drain.

Browned shallots can be preserved in a tightly closed jar for later use.

Packed crispy fried shallots can be used instead of browned shallots.

Caramel

2009-12-14T08:40:00.002+07:00

4 tablespoons sugar

Combine sugar with 2 tablespoons of water, heat the mixture. While cooking, stir the mixture until it turns brown. Gradually add 2 tablespoons of water. Stir well in order for the caramel not to be burned and too thick (Note: Cook over low heat! Keep stirring because sugar can get burned easily). Remove from heat.

You can cook a lot of caramel and preserve for later use.

Sour-sweet sauce (Xốt chua ngọt)

2009-12-12T09:16:00.002+07:00

2 tablespoons ketchup
2 large tomatoes
1 teaspoon pestled garlic
1 tablespoon pestled shallots
1 teaspoon chili sauce
1tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon stock granules
2 tablaspoons cooking oil
1 teaspoon cornstarch

Scald tomatoes quickly in boiling water. Peel, cut in half, remove seeds and minced tomatoes

Heat a skillet, add cooking oil. Then, add shallots and garlic to brown. Add minced tomatoes, ketchup and ¼ cup of water and bring to a boil. Season with stock granules and sugar. Stir cornstarch with a little water and add to the skillet to thicken. Season again to have a pleasant taste.

When serving, add more chili sauce (optional).

Mixed shrimp paste (Mắm tôm pha)

2009-12-11T10:22:00.000+07:00

1 tablespoon thick shrimp paste
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon minced lemongrass (optional)
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon minced chili

Add shrimp paste to a bowl. Stir regularly and add lime juice little by little. Keep stirring until bubbles appear. Then, add sugar, minced chili and minced lemongrass (optional). Season again.

Soybean paste (or hoisin) sauce (Tương xay)

2009-12-10T08:40:00.000+07:00

¼ cup soybean paste (or hoisin sauce)
1 tablespoon chili sauce
2 shallots (thinly sliced)
1 tablespoon vinegar
2 tablespoons pestled roasted peanuts
2 tablespoons cooking oil
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch

Add cooking oil to a skillet wok, add shallots to brown. Add hoisin sauce, stir well.

Add ½ cup of water and vinegar. Boil and season with sugar (optional). If the soy sauce is still watery, add cornstarch mixed with a little water. Stir well and boil again.

When serving, add roasted peanuts and chilli sauce (optional)

Mixed anchovy sauce (mắm nêm pha)

2009-12-04T09:18:00.000+07:00

½ cup anchovy sauce
2 tablespoons lime juice
½ tablespoon pestled garlic
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1/8 pineapple
½ tablespoon pestled chili
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon minced lemongrass

Mix anchovy sauce and ½ cup of water, stir well, bring to a boil, filter to retake water

Cut off the core of the pineapple, minced.

Add a tablespoon of cooking oil to a hot skillet. Add lemongrass and garlic to brown. Then, add the pineapple and sugar, quickly stir for about 2 minutes

Add lemongrass, garlic and pineapple to the anchovy sauce. Stir well. Add lime juice and chili.

Ginger fish sauce (nước mắm gừng)

2009-11-30T08:40:00.000+07:00

2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon pestled ginger
½ teaspoon pestled chili
½ teaspoon pestled garlic
1 teaspoon lime juice

Combine 2 tablespoons of boiled water with sugar and stir well. Then, add lime juice, ginger, garlic, chili (optional). Stir well. Add fish sauce and season again to have a pleasant taste.

Chili-garlic fish sauce (Nước mắm tỏi ớt)

2009-11-28T08:39:00.000+07:00

2 teaspoons fish sauce
½ teaspoon pestled chili
1 teaspoon lime juice garlic
½ teaspoon pestled garlic
2 tablespoons sugar

Combine 2 tablespoons of boiled water with sugar. Stir well. Add lime juice, garlic and chili. Stir well, add fish sauce and season again to have a pleasant taste.

Sour and sweet fish sauce (Nước mắm chua ngọt)

2009-11-27T08:54:00.000+07:00

Ways to mix fish sauce in the North, the Middle and the South of Vietnam are different. In the North and the Middle, people use very little sugar to mix sauce. They usually use pure sauce with a little garlic and chili

2 tablespoons fish sauce
½ teaspoon minced garlic
½ teaspoon minced fresh chili
3 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup vinegar
1 tablespoon lime juice
¼ carrot (shredded)
¼ daikon (shredded)

Combine carrot, daikon with salt. Leave 10 minutes to absorb, drain off water and squeeze to dry. Mix a tablespoon of sugar and 1 cup of vinegar, soak the carrot and daikon in vinegar for 30 minutes.

Combine fish sauce with 4 tablespoons of water and 2 tablespoons of sugar (optional). Bring to a boil. Leave until cool.

Add lime juice, minced garlic, minced fresh chili (optional). Pick the carrot and daikon up and add to the fish sauce. Season again to have a pleasant taste.

Dry preserved squash (Mứt bí)

2009-11-26T09:23:00.000+07:00

Ingredients
1000g squash
800g sugar
1 spoon of slaked lime
A bit of alum

Preparation
Peel the squash, remove seeds and pith, slice into 4cm strips; mix slaked lime with water and decant clear water to soak the squash over night.

Crush a bit of alum and boil in water; scald the squash; transfer to a sieve and sun-sry; when the squash is dry, sprinkle with water and sun-dry until squash becomes white.

Wash the squash again and drain; mix the squash with sugar in a pot and set aside overnight; cook over low heat until sugar becomes pearly; remove from heat; pick up each piece of squash with chop sticks, avoiding breaking.

Candied ginger (Mứt gừng)

2009-11-25T08:58:00.000+07:00

Ingredients
100g young ginger
1 spoon of salt
Vanilla extract
800-100g sugar
2 lemon, peeled

Preparation
Scrape young ginger, soak slices of ginger in water used to wash rice for 2-3 hours, wash and boil many times; or soak slices of ginger in water mixed with alum (or lemon) for some days, renew the water twice (three times) a day, then wash ginger well and boil.

Cut lemon in halt and squeeze lemon juice; add lemon juice and squeezed lemon to a pot of boiling water; add ginger and boil for some minutes; wash ginger well before boiling again in changed water with another lemon; wash ginger well and strain off the water from ginger; mix ginger with sugar and set aside for some minutes; put ginger in a pan and cook over low heat; when ginger is nearly dry, add vanilla extra and stir to separate green rice from sticking to each other; spread ginger on paper to dry.