Viet World Kitchen

Countdown to Moon Festival and Moon Cakes on October 3

 

The mid-autumn festival is one of my favorite Asian celebrations because it highlights family, togetherness, and there’s the spectacular moon – the brightest of the year. (Think of Dean Martin crooning, “When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie . . .”) You’re supposed to take time out to hang out with your family and friends, walk in the romantic moonlit night and nibble on moon cake. Last week, Kathy sent an email about cooking Vietnamese food as a Vietnamese Jewish American and she got me thinking about the importance of observing Jewish Shabbat (day of rest) and taking time to maintain personal rituals. Then I realized that the Mid-Autumn Festival was coming up. It moves around as it follows the lunar calendar so I checked online. This year the festival, popularly known as the Moon Festival, falls on October 3. In Vietnamese, this holiday is called Tet Trung Thu. There is plenty of holiday folklore about what you see in the moon too. 

Yikes, I skipped making moon cakes in 2008 because I was busy polishing the Asian Dumplings manuscript. It’s one of my annual rituals and this year, my schedule will be a tight squeeze but I’m determined to make two dozen moon cakes.

Cooking to Bridge Cultures: Letter from A Vietnamese Jewish American Mom

It’s been an amazing week with Asian Dumplings coming out and all. But in the midst of all the hubbub, I received two lovely emails from women who are cooking from my recipes to feed their families well. Susie reported that the beef pho (pho bo) noodle soup recipe turned out great and is keeping her two sons very happy; she doesn’t like the MSG used at pho shops so she’s making her own at home. Chicken pho noodle soup is next on Susie’s list. And, she’s tried out the Hainan chicken recipe and ratchets up the flavor by poaching the chicken in stock. Susie – you’re a home cook and mother who rocks!

And then there was this message from Kathy in Los Angeles. Her fervor and enthusiasm overwhelmed me.  Multi-racial modern America comes together in Kathy’s letter in a remarkable way. She’s a Vietnamese-Jewish-American mom learning to cook at home because she wants to provide fabulous food for her family. I’m deeply touched that this site has inspired her in marvelous ways. With Kathy’s permission, I’m posting her message for you to read and react to:

Slanted Door’s Hue Rice Dumplings Recipe (Banh Xep Chay)

I have wanted to make Slanted Door's Hue rice dumplings (banh xep chay) at home ever since I tasted them last years. My schedule has been extremely busy but oddly enough, last Tuesday when Asian Dumplings launched, I had a break in the action. To celebrate the book's released, I pulled a few cookbooks from my library and headed into the kitchen. An afternoon of concentration and solitude and a few rounds of dumplings later, I came up with a rather nice recipe to recreate the experience of biting into the chewy, tender and rich tasting dumplings from Charles Phan's Slanted Door restaurant.

It's posted on Asian Dumpling Tips so you'll have to visit the sister site to get the recipe! Enjoy.

Slanted Door's Hue Rice Dumplings Recipe (banh xep chay)

Asian Dumplings Cookbook -- Now Available!

HURRAY! The wait is finally over. I'm thrilled to bits to announce that Asian Dumplings hit the shelves today! Where are the books sold? As my publisher Ten Speed Press loves to say, "Wherever books are sold!" That means your independent brick-and-mortar bookstore as well as retailers like Borders, Barnes and Nobles,  Amazon and Jessica's Biscuit.

If you've not checked out the book, here are helpful links on the new companion website to the book -- Asiandumplingtips.com:

• Press Release
• Sneak Peek inside Asian Dumplings
• Advance Reviews

Thanks for your support! Now it's time to get doughy.

Rick Stein’s BBC Vietnam Travel Show

If you’re planning a trip to Vietnam, check out Rick Stein’s Vietnam segment available on YouTube for your viewing pleasure. He does the highlights in Vietnam in the north (Hanoi, Ha Long Bay) and south (Saigon and Mekong Delta) so it’s a nice introduction to or perhaps as review of traveling in the country.

Who is Rick Stein? He’s a British chef and author of works like Rick Stein's Complete Seafood, one of my go-to reference works whenever I need step-by-step guidance on dealing with ingredients from the sea. Stein is not Anthony Bourdain in biting wit and sarcasm and definitely not addicted to the bizarre like Andrew Zimmern. Stein is gentle in his approach to Vietnam and tries to bridge the turbulent Vietnam War years to the modern Vietnam today, which is calmer and more modern times. That’s what his BBC audience is interested in. There may be yawner moments if the Vietnam War doesn’t touch you, but Stein also has snippets of food preparation, processing, and everyday life that is quite interesting. I was about to discount the show at the opening footage of the war and rice paddies but Stein pulled me in quickly.

On YouTube, you’ll find the show in 6 clips (the last one is kind of a throw away). I’ve provided a drill-down below so you can jump in when you want. Many thanks to bloggers Graham Holiday of Noodlepie and Cathy Danh of Gastronomyblog (she debuts in part3) for pointing me to this Vietnam segment of Stein’s Far East Odyssey. 

Part 1: Mekong River, fishing farms (Vietnamese aquaculture) on the river
Overview of Vietnam with a focus on the mighty Mekong. Stein pronounces Mekong as “Meekong” which I block out. “Maykong” please. He visits fisheries on the Mekong river. He cooks a fish dish based in his kitchen. He relates the Vietnam War to Vietnam today with old film footage, and references to Vietnam War movies The Deer Hunter and Apocalypse Now. The first segment clip is at the beginning of this post.