Vietnamese BBQ Pork

Vietnamese BBQ Pork

1 lb of pork shoulder sliced into 2 to 3 inch strip
2 T minced garlic
3 T minced shallots
3 T minced lemongrass
1 T brown sugar
1 T honey
1 T fish sauce
2 T soy sauce
1 t black pepper
2 green onions thinly slice
3 T chopped cilantro

For Sweet Fish Sauce or Nuoc Charm (this recipe make a lot)

1/2 cup fish sauce (use 3 crabs brand)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup boiling water to dissolve the sugar
2 Thai chilies minced (this optional)
2 cloves of garlic minced
1/4 cup shredded carrot

Dissolve the sugar with boiling water let it cool down a bit then add the rest of the ingredients, do adjust the flavor to your taste.

Marinate pork meat with all the ingredients for 3 hours or overnight. Using wooden skewer to thread the pork or just gill them on a rack. Grill the meat on medium heat until done.

Often we serve this BBQ Pork with rice noodle, pickle carrot daikon, cucumber, lettuce and herbs
Along with Vietnamese sweet fish sauce, Garnish with roasted peanut, or you can serve it with rice.

Enjoy!

Bean Thread noodle Soup (Sgno Mee Sur)

Bean Thread noodle Soup (Sgno Mee Sur)

This soup is good for cold and flu and when it is cold outside it will help you feel better. You can add any kind of seafood for this recipe and any green vegetables you like to this soup.

1/2 cup dried mushroom soak wash cut to bite size
1/2 cup dried lily flowers soak wash cut in half
2 bunch bean thread noodle soak wash cut to small pieces
1 cup chopped Napa Cabbage or Bok Choy or any Chinese green
1/2 onion thinly slice
4 oz of ground pork mix with 1 t of soy sauce and dash of pepper, roll into tiny meat ball set aside
10 shrimps wash clean and set aside
2 T dried shrimps soak wash set aside
3 dried squids soak wash and cut into strips
3 garlic cloves minced or pound in mortar pestle to paste
1small block of fresh tofu cube to bite size
1 pkg of wonton soup mix from Asian store
2 green onions chopped for garnish
1/4 cup of fresh dill for garnish (optional)
4to 5 (14oz) can of chicken broth or homemade broth if the broth is not enough you can add a bit more water
to the soup

In a good size pot add all the chicken broth turn the heat on to medium high until the broth is boiling
Add mini pork meat balls, squids, dried shrimps let it cook for few minutes until the meat ball float to the top

Now add dried mushrooms, dried lily, onion, garlic paste and wonton soup mix, cook until the mushroom and lily is tender

Add bean thread noodle to the soup mix, add tofu, fresh shrimps, and Napa Cabbage or any Chinese green let it boil, stir the soup until everything cook through if the soup is too thick add a bit of water to it
Turn the heat off let it sit with lid open for 4 minutes before garnish with green onion and fresh dill.

Serve this soup with rice or just enjoy it as noodle soup
Note if you add more bean thread, it will become like noodle soup and it is good when you have a cold instead of making Pho that take too long you can make bean thread noodle soup for a cold night.
In Cambodian if you put potato or taro roots or bamboo shoots to this soup it is call somlor kdout or hot pot soup.

Enjoy!

Chicken Rice Congee (Khmer Borbor Sach Mouan)

Chicken Rice Congee (Khmer Borbor Sach Mouan)

This is Khmer comfort soup when you have a cold.

1  small chicken cook in 16 cups of water until the chicken is done, you can add more water if needed (you need this broth to cook the Congee) when the chicken is done shredded the meat and set aside. You can through the bone away, but sometime I  put it back in the broth for flavor.
If you follow these recipes you can do the same with fish, pork blood, and pork belly. For pork blood you have to cook it ahead of time, cut to cube bite size and put it last when the rice soup is almost done.

Use 8 cups of broth
Cooked shredded chicken or shrimps
1 cup of long grain rice (use American measuring cup) wash and rinse
1/4 cups of dried shrimp (soak rinse set aside)
1/4 cup of  preserved cabbage (wash rinse set aside)
4 garlic gloves pound in mortar pestle to paste with 1 t of salt
A handful of big flat dried rice noodle (this is optional, but I like it)
Soak wash and rinse set aside.
2 T of fried garlic or shallot for garnish
2 green onions cut to 1 inch long for garnish
2 T of fish sauce (if you don’t like fish sauce put salt)
1 T of sugar



For the bowl:
Soy bean paste
Chili sauce
Black pepper
Sugar
Lime wedge
Green onion
Bean Sprouts
Saw tooth (Jee Bonlar)

In a big pot on high heat bring the chicken broth to a boil
When the broth is boiling add rice let the rice cook until it is soft and not raw in the middle
Then add chicken, dried shrimp, preserve cabbage, garlic paste cooked for 5 minutes to let the flavor come and the rice is soft (is like borbor)
Then add the flat noodle to it cook until it is soft
Now add sugar, salt or fish sauce to it, taste and adjust the flavor
Turn the heat off
Garnish the soup rice with fried garlic or shallot and green onions
If you soup rice is too thin don’t worry, when it is cold it will be thicker, but if it is too thick do add more broth to it. You can use chicken broth from the can if you like.
When ready to serve you can ladle the soup rice into a serving bowl and add the bean sprouts, lime wedge, green onion and so on according to your taste.

Egg Rolls

 Egg Rolls

Vietnamese and Cambodian often make egg rolls with Taro roots, while the Chinese make it with cabbage.
Serve these egg rolls with Thai sweet and chili sauce.


1 pg Thai spring rolls wrappers (25 to 30 wrappers)
1/2 lb ground pork
1/2 lb minced prawn or shrimp
2 cups shredded taro roots
1 cup shredded carrot
1 bunch of bean thread noodle soak wash cut to small pieces
1 cup of dried mushroom or cloud ears soak wash cut to small pieces
2 T soy sauce
1 T fish sauce
1 T sugar (more or less up to you)
1 T sesame oil (optional)
1/4 t black pepper
3 cloves minced garlic
1/2 onion chopped

6 cups vegetable oil for deep fry
Thai sweet and Chili sauce to serve with the egg rolls

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl until all combine and sticky.

Take one tablespoon of mixture and lay on the cornner of the wrapper
Roll the egg roll according to package direction, if you need to freeze the egg rolls line them up on cookie sheet and freeze it for few hours until hard then put them in Ziploc store egg rolls up to a month or longer in the freezer.


In a deep wok or fry pan put 6 cups of oil turn the heat to medium until hot; add few egg rolls at the time deep fry until golden brown then take it out drain on paper towel.

Egg rolls can be served with rice noodle salad, or as appetizer with sweet and chili sauce or peanut sauce.

Enjoy!

Stir fry Eggplants with Ground Pork

Stir fry Eggplants with Ground Pork

1 big purple eggplant bakes at 350 degree for 30 minutes or until soft cut to big chunk
You can cook it raw but it will take a long time because eggplant has moisture in it.
8 oz of ground pork
1 T of soy sauce
1 T of Yoshida sauce
1 T of fish sauce
1 t of sugar (more or less up to you)
Black pepper to taste
2 gloves of garlic minced
2 green onion chop
1/4 cup of cilantro
2 T of olive oil or canola oil

In a fry pan heat 2 T of oil on high heat until hot
Add garlic stir fry until brown
Add ground pork cook until no longer pink
Add chopped eggplants and soy sauce, fish sauce, Yoshida sauce, and sugar, black pepper, mix it well
Stir fry for 2 minutes until the meat is cooked, turn the heat off
Add green onion and cilantro for garnish.

Serve hot with cook rice.

Easy Dinner Rolls or Hamburger Bun

Easy Dinner Rolls or Hamburger Bun

I found this recipe on line from someone and it is very easy to make, I made lot of dinner rolls and this one is easy to do.

2 cups of warm water
1/4 cup of melted butter
2 large eggs
6 ½ cups of flour
1/2 cup of sugar
2 T of yeast

In a large bowl combine everything together and add the water last. (Don’t need to dissolve the yeast but make sure your water is very warm).

Mix everything by hand or mixer until it is form into dough then kneads it for few minutes until it is smooth

Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once, let it rise for 1 hour.

In a 9x12 baking pan greased, divide dough into 20 equal pieces, shaping into balls, and place in baking pan
Cover for 30 minutes.

Bake at 375 degree oven for 30 minutes until golden brown depend on your oven temperature.
Brush with melted butter and cool on a rack.

To make Hamburger bun divide the dough to 16 balls and it will make a great bun for any burger.

Stir fry Beef or Pork with Green Bean

Stir fry Beef or Pork with Green Bean

 In the picture I double the recipe and add a bit more of meat to it

13 oz of sliced beef or pork
1 to 2 T soy sauce (add 1 T first incase it is salty)
1 T of oyster sauce
1/2 t grated fresh ginger
1 t of sugar
1 ½ t of corn starch
1/2 cup beef broth
6 oz green been cut to bite size
1 T of rice wine or any cooking wine
1/4 t of sesame oil
1 t of soy sauce

Marinate the meat with ginger,sugar, 1 t of soy sauce, oyster sauce,  rice wine for 20 minutes
Heat oil in wok until hot add marinate beef and green been cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until the meat change color and green been is tender.
Dissolve cornstarch with 2 T of beef broth then add it with 2 T of soy sauce to the rest of broth
Pour in to work stir fry for 1 minute until it is a bit thicken.
Add Sesame oil mix well then turn the heat off.

Serve stir fry green been with rice.

Asian Style Salmon Cake

Asian Style Salmon Cake

1 lb 5oz of Salmon paste (mix the fish in food processor then take out before you mix it with the rest of the ingredients)
2 eggs
2 T red curry paste
3 T fish sauce
1 T sugar (more or less up to you)
1 t baking power
5 kaffir lime lives thinly slice
2 long bean cut to tiny pieces (this also call snake bean or yard bean)
2 green onions cut to small pieces
1 t baking power

The Salmon is not taste the same as white fish, the meat is softer than any fresh water fish.

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Then form it to a small round ball flat it in the palm of your hand
 Fry it in just 1/4 cup of vegetable oil until golden brown.

Serve with mango or Thai cucumber salad and rice

Enjoy!

Asian Style Salmon dip

Asian Style Salmon dip

I love fish and I can eat fish anytime. In Southeast Asia the Mekong River is full of  fresh water fish and the meat is sweet. I love fresh water fish, but here in Seattle no  fresh water  around to fish,  Seafood is all I have through out the year, so I have to be creative to cook Salmon. You can cook as much as you like for this recipe all you have to do is bake the fish and get all the fresh herbs and fresh lettuce to wrap with the fish.

To bake Salmon don’t bake it with salt or pepper like what we do in Asia, but  bake it with butter and brown sugar this will help the flavor of Salmon.  I often bake it in a foil so all the juice stay.

You need
1/2 of clean fresh Salmon wrap in foil with few sliced of butter and 2 to 3 T of brown sugar (wrap and bake for 25 to 30 minutes at 350 degree or grill outside will work well) don’t over bake the fish, keep the fish warm until serve.

For the vegetables platter you need
Any kind of lettuce you like or water crests
Lot of herbs like mints, Vietnamese mints, Thai basil, cilantro ect…
Fresh cucumber sliced
Fresh bean sprouts and so on…whatever you like to wrap with the fish.

For the dressing there is 2 kind of dressing for this fish salad, you can use tamarind dressing or lime dressing like what the Vietnamese did for the chicken salad.

For the Tamarind Dressing (do adjust the flavor to your taste)

1/2 cup of sugar (more or less up to you)
1/2 cup of fish sauce use 3 crabs fish sauce is best
1/2 cup of boiling water (let it cool before you mix it)
3 cloves of minced garlic
2 shallots thinly sliced
1/4 cup of tamarind concentrate (do adjust to your test of sourness)
3 Thai chilies minced
Mix everything together in  a bowl, taste and adjust the flavor. Set aside

1 T Fried shallots add to the dressing before serving
1 T Roasted peanut add to the dressing before serving

For lime dressing
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of boiling water
1/2 cup of fish sauce
2 limes juice adjust the sourness to your liking.
3 Thai Chilies more or less up to you.
3 cloves of minced garlic

Mix everything together in a bowl,  adjust the flavor (most dressing will taste better after few hours)

When ready to serve arrange all the lettuce, herbs, and cucumber on a serving platter.
Wrap cooked Salmon with lettuce, herbs, and cucumber dip in the dressing and enjoy! Southeast Asian serve this recipe with cooked rice.
Make sure you add fried shallots and Roasted Peanut to the dressing

Enjoy!

Fish Salad

Fish Salad

This is easy recipe to make any fish salad Asian style. You need a nice fresh white fish. I use Tilapia you can use any fish you like.

One fresh Tilapia no bone (cook in boiling water or grill to medium rare) break the fish to small bite size
1/2 cup of fresh mint
1/2 cup of saw tooth coriander (thinly sliced)
1/2 cup of cilantro chopped
1 green onion chopped
2 shallots thinly sliced
1/2 red onion thinly sliced
1 cup of bean sprouts

For the dressing, I didn’t measuring this part I put everything together and taste
Lime juice
Fish sauce
Sugar
2 cloves of garlic minced
3 Thai chilies minced

Mix everything together and adjust the flavor to your taste.

For the salad
In a salad bowl mix shallots, red onion and bean sprouts with few T of dressing toss it well,
Then add fish and all the herbs to it add more dressing to the salad taste and adjust the flavor.
Serve fish salad on a bed of baby lettuce garnish with roasted peanut or cashew. Serve with cooked vermicelli noodle or rice, or eat as salad.

Enjoy!

Easy Bake Rigatoni

Easy Bake Rigatoni

1 lb of Rigatoni cooks according to package direction
3.5 oz (1 small pg) of garlic herb butter
1 1/2 can or jar of any pasta sauce you like
2 cups of Italian cheese or any cheese you like
Chopped Parsley or green onion to sprinkle on top

Cook drains the pasta and put back in the pot
Add garlic herb butter, 1 can of pasta sauce, 1 cup of cheese mix well until the garlic butter is melted
Pour into 9x13 baking dish pour the rest of the pasta sauce on the top spread it evenly, then sprinkle the rest of the cheese and chopped parsley on top.
Bake in preheat oven at 400 degree for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cheese all melted.

Serve with toasted garlic bread and Italian salad.

Enjoy!