Viet World Kitchen

Mustard Greens, Tofu, and Chicken Soup Recipe (Canh Cai Dau Hu)

On Monday, my husband had dental surgery and for his post-operation, recovery dinner, I made a comforting (read: easy to chew) tofu, shrimp, and peas stir-fry. The Trader Joe-san medium tofu came in a 1 1/4-pound (565 g) block and I only needed about a pound. I had a little block left.

What can you do with a chunk of leftover tofu? You can save it in the fridge, or in my case last Monday, I added it to a simple Vietnamese soup with mustard greens and a bit of chicken thigh sitting in the fridge.

Cornmeal Crusted Pork Chops Recipe: Fast Flavor in a Thin Cut

I go grocery shopping practically every day. It’s part of my routine and my work. While it’s a luxury to buy and cook fresh ingredients daily, it can sometimes be a chore that I have to surmount.

Yesterday was a case in point. I’d been working on a seafood recipe for days and had to go back to the supermarket yet again for more fish. We’d eaten enough of the seafood recipe trials to be seafood-ed out so I couldn’t put my husband through it again. I had to go two more rounds with my seafood recipe last night but I wanted to dine on something else.

What could be a quick and satisfying solution? Pork. Not a roast but a pork chop, thinly sliced to the thickness of my pinkie finger. I love that cut of pork chop because you get lots of porky flavor and can cook it relatively quickly without drying. And the seasonings shine because there’s more to go around in every bite. And did I mention how much I love to gnaw on the bones too? They’re just the right manageable size.

Spring Asparagus and Shrimp Stir-Fry

Many people assume that Vietnamese food is highly influenced by French traditions. While that is true to a certain extent, the Chinese also influenced Viet foodways big time. Vietnam was a colony of China for nearly 1,000 years! Plus, there are legions of Vietnamese-Chinese people who’ve helped to shape Vietnamese food for generations. (Interactions via trade routes and with Vietnam’s neighbors factor into the mix too.)

My friends, Sophie and Eric Banh (below), the brother-and-sister team behind Monsoon and Ba Bar restaurants in Seattle could be the poster children for how Vietnamese food has blended with Chinese traditions. The Banhs grew up in Cho Lon in Saigon and speak Vietnamese and Chinese (as well as English!). They immigrated to Canada and found their way to relatively warmer climes in Washington State. Their flagship restaurants, Monsoon Capitol Hill and Monsoon East, help to define modern Vietnamese food in the Pacific Northwest.

Vietnamese-American Thanksgiving Salad Recipe

After my family fled Vietnam in 1975 and settled in California, we took in American holidays with gusto. My sisters and I studied recipes in cookbooks, magazines, and newspapers, trying to understand our new situation. My frugal mother clipped coupons and roasted free turkeys for years. One Thanksgiving, she admitted that she wasn’t fond of its dryish meat. Uh-oh, we were trying to fit in as best we could, despite the fish sauce vapors in our kitchen and my dad harvesting fresh banana leaves from the front yard with a machete.

To have Thanksgiving without turkey seemed un-American at the time. But mom had had enough. She instead roasted big chickens stuffed with sticky rice seasoned by cognac, shiitake mushroom, thyme and butter (see the recipe in Into the Vietnamese Kitchen, the rice chapter). Roasted chestnuts with butter and cilantro was her go-to side.

Bun Rice Noodle Recipe Project (+ video tip)

I’ve had Vietnamese bun round rice noodles on my mind lately. The dried ones are what I mostly buy and stock up on in my house. But when fresh ones are around, they can be incredible. Bun noodles are used in rice noodle bowls, noodle soups, and to wrap up in lettuce with grilled or fried morsels; read more in the bun rice noodle primer.

I didn’t think about making my own bun until Binh asked me about it on Twitter. Then Seattle and chef/restaurateur Eric Banh expressed how much he loves to serve fresh bun rice noodles at his restaurants. While perusing Charles Phan’s new cookbook, Vietnamese Home Cooking, I came across a bun rice noodle recipe (called “rice noodles” on page 172).

It was karmic right? I had to try making my own. First off, know that making fresh noodles is basically a thing that most Viet people leave to the professionals. Just like in Italy, you can go to a local pasta shop, in Asia, there are fresh noodle vendors. In the US, fresh rice noodles are sold at many Chinese and Southeast Asian markets. Bun rice noodles are particular to Viet enclaves. In his recipe introduction, Phan admitted that few people make bun at home but encouraged cooks to try since it’s a fun project.

In the span of about a week, I tackled Phan’s fresh rice noodle recipe three (3) times with mixed results. However, I wanted to report to you on how to make bun rice noodles, and if you’re game, give it a whirl and report back on your outcomes and insights. Together we can come up with a workable recipe.