Caramelized Seabass in claypot (Ca seabass kho to)

It's been a long hiatus since my last post and to be honest I almost forgot how to do the posting on my own blog. My disappearance partly has to do with being a busy mom with kids and their activities as always and also guilty as charged for my laziness as well. Okay, enough of the excuses. Let's us get to the point. I think this recipe would be a perfect start  for my coming back since it's absolutely delicious but yet so easy that will take no time and effort to prepare. Unlike the traditional catfish in claypot, the texture and buttery taste of the seabass will satisfy the pickiest eater's taste bud. Another advantage with seabass is that you will never run into the problem of muddy smell or taste as occasionally seen in catfish. Trust me on this and your family will love you forever .... okay maybe until the next quarrel:)
It can be served along with other side dishes such as blanched vegetables (bok choi, okra, cabagge...) or vegetable soup for a nice but breezy family meal or just accompanied with a bowl of steamed rice for a quick lunch. Regardless of how you choose to serve it, your tummy is in for a delectable treat. 

Flossy pork buns (Banh mi ngot cha bong)

Hello again everyone! Summer is almost over for most of us. My boys are actually back to school for two weeks now. It just seems too short of a summer for us all, but I'm also glad that they are back to school so we all can get back to our own routine again.  

That means I also have to get back to my baking routine to get breakfast ready for the boys every morning. Breads and buns are the staples for breakfast in our house second to the quick-and-easy cereals.  This flossy pork bun recipe is quite easy to make and very tasty as well. If you don't have floss pork on hand, you can substitute with ham or bacon and cheese. I am sure they will taste just as delicious. Give it a try for your loved ones at home.

Steamed Pork Bun (Banh Bao Thit)

 

The origin of steamed buns is rooted from China. With thousands of years of history, steamed bun has been a staple diet in many Chinese families. They usually come in a variety of sizes and stuffed with different types of filling such as pork, chicken, cabbages, mushrooms, tofu, spinach, etc. 

Steamed buns have migrated overtime to many different countries and took on different versions. In Vietnam, the most traditional version is stuffed with ground pork that is mixed with wood-ear mushrooms, hard-boiled eggs or quail eggs and Vietnamese sausage (lap xuong). While steamed buns can be eaten at any meals, they are commonly eaten as breakfast. One of the best feature about these buns is that they can be made in large batches and stored in freezer for later consumption. All you have to do is re-steam them and in a short few minutes, you can enjoy a scrumptious steamed bun just as good as the freshly made one.

Hasselback Garlic Cheesy Bread

Summer is here! Well, at least for us since my boys were already off school a couple weeks ago. They started summer camp last week and I wish to myself that I could also take the summer off to spend more time with them. 
I saw the picture of this garlic cheesy bread recipe a while back on Facebook and I was practically drooling while staring intensely at the screen. I said to myself that I have to make this very very soon. But until recently, when I stopped by a Chinese bakery to pick up some breads for my boys, my oldest told me he wanted some garlic breads. Only then I thought of this garlic cheese bread that I saw on Facebook, so I told him "Mommy will make some for you soon". And so I did keep my promise to him.
I love how easy this recipe turned out. All the ingredients can be easily found from your pantry and fridge. Give it a try next time you are planning some spaghetti or pasta dishes for dinner. These breads will be a great addition to your meal and greatly appreciated by your family.

Banh xeo (Vietnamese savory crepes)

Hello Spring!!! What a gorgeous and lively season! I love it when everything rejuvenates after the long cold winter. My unattended little garden surprised me yesterday when I came out for the first time to clean up the backyard after several winter months. All my mints and herbs that I planted last year are now full of life and competing with each other to show their vibrant green leaves under the shining sun.  And that was how I came up with the idea to have this Vietnamese savory crapes for dinner tonight. 

Wait a minute, you may ask, how does that have anything to do with the mints and herbs? Well, if you look closely to my pictures you will see how they are related. Unlike the French crepes which usually served alone by itself, the Vietnamese crepes are usually accompanied by a lot of green vegetables such as lettuces, mustard greens, and a varieties of Vietnamese mints and herbs along side with the fish sauce dressing. It has been a long while since I last made this and I have certainly enjoyed it very much especially with my freshly grown green vegetables.

Crispy roasted pork belly (Heo quay) with vermicelli

It's Fat Tuesday, so why not getting fat together! And why not eating roasted pork belly before the Lent season starts. To me I can only afford to enjoy this dish a few times in a year unless I'm ready for a new larger pant size. That why whenever I prepare this dish, I always savor every single bite especially the most high prize part of the dish, the crunchy, crispy skin that tastes so divine. 
In my opinion, homemade roast pork is much more flavorful than the store bought one. Since the pork is prepared in a much smaller portion than the whole pig at the BBQ joint, you can easily control the marinade and able to let the meat mingle and absorb the flavorful marinade. The most important part to make this dish a success lies in the crispiness of the skin (of course without burning it). Once you can achieve this crucial step, you are more than half way being successful. To tell you the truth, if I could just eat all I want, I would definitely go for the skin. Tonight dinner, I serve it with mixed herb salad and vermicelli noodles, but you can also serve it with rice and it would make a wonderful entree.

Herb sea salt soft pretzels with Cheese sauce

This is my second time trying my luck with soft pretzels. I don't even want to be reminded of my first attempt at making homemade pretzels. If I could throw a rock to hurt somebody, those pretzels would do a very fine job. It has been years since I even thought about making pretzels again until recently when I saw a post on my Facebook page about homemade soft pretzels from a food blogger. The pretzel picture looked so delightful and enticing that I almost wanted to reach into the screen and grab that pretzel. So forget about my first painful experience with pretzels, I immediately looked up the recipe and made my plan for the second attempt without hesitation. 
I have to say, the result is beyond my expectation. The fresh hot, crusty-on-the-outside and soft-in-the-inside pretzels taste heavenly. Especially when it is accompanied with the creamy, savory cheese sauce, you can forget about the world around you. The recipe is such a breeze to make and with just a couple hours in the kitchen, you will be rewarded with some fantastic homemade good eat. These soft pretzels are best when they are fresh hot out of the oven, but I don't think you will have to worry about left-over, stale pretzels because there won't be any.

Crispy banana fritters (Chuoi chien)

Banana fritter or fried banana (Chuoi chien) has always been one of my many childhood favorite snacks. It reminds me of my childhood growing up in Vietnam where simple, inexpensive snacks like this tastes so divined. I remember these snacks`were sold ubiquitously everywhere, in the alley around the neighborhood, at an outdoor market or on the curbside in front of many schools. 
The steamy, hot fried banana fresh out of the oil quickly wrapped in banana leave was something that always put a big smile on my face. The crunchiness of the outside fritter complements perfectly the sweet and soft banana inside. Along with these banana fritters, sweet potato fritters were also popular among the kids. The same batter can also be used to make these sweet potato fritters, just substitute sweet potato yam for bananas. The secret to the long lasting crunchiness lies in the double deep frying method where the banana fritter is fried to merely brown, then dipped in the batter and re-fried again until golden brown or to the desired crunchiness. Try it and you won't be disappointed! 

Shredded pork and pork skin (Bi)

First, I want to apologize for my long hiatus. I don't know if I should blame the craziness of the holiday seasons or the lack of diligence, but I know I have been seriously lagging and necglecting my blog for a long while. 
Well now I'm back and still alive, just in case you were wondering, I want to introduce to you all one important component of the scrumptious Bbq pork rice dish aka "Com bi cha thit nuong".  As you may remember, I have introduced to you how to make the Bbq grilled pork (thit nuong) and the steamed egg meatloaf (Cha) in previous posts. So now it's time to bring to light the last, but not least, portion of the combo: shredded pork skin or "Bi". 
This sidekick dish is actually my favorite out of the three. I just love its versatility. Beside serving along side with grilled pork and the steamed egg meatloaf on rice, it also can be rolled up in rice papers to make delicious spring rolls called "Bi cuon" or stuffed in the baguette to make a lovely lunch sandwich. I also love to serve this with cold vermicille noodle "bun", mixed green mint salad and dressed in fish sauce to make a nice lunch (or dinner) entree. You can't go wrong no matter which way you like to serve it.

Shrimp and Squid salad (Goi tom muc)

This shrimp and squid salad is such a refreshing dish that serves great as an appetizer at your weekday dinner and perfect at any weekend parties. The dish is super simple to prepare and super delicious for the taste buds. The secret to this tasty salad is in the dressing. Transforming the pungent fish sauce into a delicious dressing to bring out the freshness of the salad can be challenging if the ratios is off. The ratios that I'm mentioning here are between the fish sauce, the lime juice and the sugar. The simplest one to remember is 1:1:1, but for me I like a little more sweetness to the dressing so I tend to add a little more sugar into sauce. Adjust the ratios to however you like and get your beers ready for some tasty treat.

Pain au lait (milk bread)

It has been a while now since I baked breads. I feel like I'm missing something in my life without baking. Yes, I do love baking, especially baking good breads for my boys. They both have been under the weather lately and not wanting to eat much. Any parents out there would know that getting your kids to eat while they are sick is a big challenge. I found this very promising soft bread recipe while browsing the web a couple nights ago and decided to give it a try. I'm glad that I did, my boys loved it and so did my husband. I'm so delighted to see the breads came out light and soft with the right amount of sweetness. My house was smelling amazing with the aroma of fresh breads. The boys love to have it with a dab of butter while my husband devoured it with my homemade strawberry jam.  I'm so glad that I have brought their appetites back!

Lotus seed Moon cakes (Banh Trung Thu nhan hat sen)

Moon festival is tonight, the moon is shining bright and rising high up above. The boys are having fun with their battery operated lanterns although I still prefer the traditional handmade lanterns with candles that I used to play as a kid. The air is getting chillier tonight signalling the change in weather. Autumn is here finally! I love the Fall when the weather is cooling down but not too cold yet. Leaves are turning colors and starting to fall signifying the harvesting season is on its way. 
To the Vietnamese, Moon Festival is also a children Festival where the kids get to play with colorful, animal shaped lanterns while enjoying the sweet treat moon cakes.  Speaking of moon cakes, this is my third year making them. Although I don't eat much of them, I love making these to give out to friends and family. The process is quite complicated and very time consuming. I do suggest to set some dedicated time aside if you decide to make them since it could take a whole day if not more to prepare them.  But when you sit down with a slice of homemade moon cake and a cup of tea to enjoy the bright, shinning moon in a breezy air night, it's all worth it.

Bun Bo Hue (Hue style spicy Beef noodle)

Bun Bo Hue, another Vietnamese famous noodle soup that I'm long due to cover in my blog. It is my hubby's favorite noodle soup beside the egg noodle soup. I haven't really been making a lot of effort to cook this regularly enough for him since it's definitely not a quick night dinner meal. But last weekend, while we were looking a nice quick Vietnamese lunch to wrap up our San Diego weekend get away, we stumbled upon this 'hole in the wall'' restaurant that serves authentic Hue style dishes. The saying "Don't judge the book by its cover" is so true with place, who knew a place like this would serve such delicious food and of course, Bun Bo Hue is one of their specialty there. After tasting their scrumptious Bun Bo Hue, I was reminded that it's been a long time since I had cooked this noodle soup.
So in my version of Bun Bo Hue, I prepared the broth with beef bones, beef shank and pork belly. The tradition Bun Bo Hue also has pork hocks and coagulated blood cubes, but since they are not my cups of tea, I omitted them. Also, instead of the Cha Hue (Hue style pork ham), I made Cha tom (shrimp paste cake) and it's just equally delicious. I will be honest, it won't be an easy process (that's also one of the reason why I haven't cooked this for while), but the ending result is always satisfying and well worth it. All I can say is that I have made my husband a happy man with tonight dinner.

Crispy rice with shredded pork and Vietnamese sausage (Com chay lap xuong cha bong)

My carb days are over a few weeks ago when I decided to go back to the gym. I still have the crave for carbs every now and then. When I looked back at these crispy rice pictures, I realized how much I really miss eating these. The dish is super simple and easy to prepare, yet it makes a great afternoon snack.  All you need are just some left over rice, some Vietnamese sausages, shredded pork or Chinese pork floss and couple more ingredients. In no time, you will have a scrumptious appetizer.
The crispiness of the rice and the saltiness of the fish sauce bring everything together nicely in every bite. The secret to make this addicting appetizer is to pan-fry the rice until it's all brown and crispy. The crispier the rice, the better it tastes so be patient when frying this. I am still salivating while looking at these pictures, hmmm.... maybe I should reconsider my low-carb diet!

Bun Moc (Vermicelli noodle soup with mushroom meatballs)

The weather is still very warm lately and yet here I am posting another hot noodle soup recipe. Since we are still on the noodle subject, I just want to introduce to everyone another great, common Vietnamese noodle soup called Bun Moc (Bun means vermicelli and Moc means wood ear mushrooms). 
Originally, Bun Moc is a Northern noodle soup. It's typically made from pork bone broth and pork paste (Gio song) mixed with wood ear mushroom to form the meatballs. It's usually served with vermicelli, pork sausage (Gio lua) and slices of pork belly. All together, they form a light, yet hearty bowl of vermicelli noodle soup. If you love Vietnamese noodles, I hope this will add another great noodle version to your recipe collection.

Vietnamese Udon noodle soup (Banh Canh Gio Heo)

Wow.... and summer is officially over for us starting last week when both of my boys started school again. It was such a fun filled, busy summer for us with all the kids activities and mini vacations here and there. Now that with the older one went back to school and the little one started pre-school, I'm having my Monday back to do my own things. Ever since I've been away from my blog, my food pictures keep on piling up in my camera. Now with all the time I have on my day off, I'm planing to put my body back on track with the help from the gym membership .... and also hopefully more blogging:).

Banh canh is one of the Southern Vietnamese noodle soups. It's quite easy to prepare and still taste as delicious as other noodle soups such as Hu tieu or Mi soups (rice or egg noodle soups). It can be served as a hearty breakfast, simple lunch or a quick dinner meal. The banh canh noodles, contrarily to the rice noodles, are shorter and much thicker strains which are made from tapioca and rice flours. The broth is prepared with pork bones and pork hocks. There is also another version of banh canh from the Central region of Vietnam that made with seafoods such as shrimps and crabs with a much thicker broth called Banh Canh tom cua. Hopefully I will be able to cover that version of Banh canh in a near future. For now let's enjoy this simple hearty noodle soup first.

Chinese Green Onion Pancakes

I can't believe summer will be here soon. My oldest son will be done with his first grade in exactly 1 week. Time really does fly while you are having fun. My little baby boy will soon  be a second grader! I'm so proud of him through out the year in many ways. He has grown and learned so much from the first day that I dropped him off at school.  My baby boy is now a little man with many achievements that make his mama proud. So to reward him for his hard work, I made for him his  favorite snack: the green onion pancakes.

There is a Szechuan Chinese restaurant near our place that we frequently visit on the days that my kitchen temporarily "closes" for service. And every single time we go there, I have to order this scrumptious appetizer for him. I don't blame him though, because as simple as it may look, it is quite addicting. The ingredients are so simple and readily available in most pantries. All you need are some flour, salt, water and green onions. That's it and an hour later you will have this delightful pancake to enjoy as snack.

Galbi Jiim (Korean beef short rib stew)

 

Before I start, let me I apologize for my long disappearance. Sometimes I wish that I could just stretch my day a little longer so I could get more things done. I found that in order to juggle and balance your work and family lives, you have to sacrifice many things that you would love to do at your leisure. Most of my time beside work evolve around cleaning, cooking, doing homework and being a "chauffeur" for my son to his extracurricular activities. The day goes by so quick and when I do have a little time for myself, I just want to lay down and do absolutely nothing else! So ... that is my excuse!:)

Anyway, back to the topic, I made this Galbi jiim dish a while back, following one the popular Korean cooking blog called Maangchi. In my opinion, this dish is best enjoyed in a cold winter day with some homemade kimchi, and a bowl of hot steamed rice. Also, don't forget to accompany some soju or beers with this delicious, comfort meal. It may take some times to prepare and cook, but at the end of the day, you will be rewarded with an awesome homemade beef stew that will knock your socks off. My hubby gave it two thumbs up!

Vietnamese vermicelli with Barbecued Pork (Bun cha thit nuong)

The weather has been warm enough lately for an early Barbecue event. Well, not quite yet at certain places on the globe, but we have been very blessed for living in Southern California with gorgeous weather of early Spring. So I have to take advantage of our new barbecue grill and the weather to make this delicious Northern Vietnamese noodle dish.

To me, this dish resemblances more of a salad than a noodle entree. Mostly, because I love to add a lot of vegetables with the  smallest amount of noodle possible to my bowl whenever I eat this. Also, the fish sauce serves as a dressing and ultimately brings everything together in this dish like a salad. That is why to me, making the fish sauce dressing is just as important as marinating and grilling the meats. The lightness of the minty vegetables and the smokey fragrance of the barbecued meats make you feel delighted and guilt-free when enjoying this noodle "salad".

Bun cha ca Nha Trang (Nha Trang fish cake vermicelli)

 
I have visited Nha Trang once in my life when we went back to Vietnam almost a decade ago. However, I have never gotten a chance to try this local deliciousness until recently. This is actually my second attempt of making this dish. Since I have never tried it before, I'm not very sure how authentic the taste of my soup is. But one thing I know for sure is that it came out deliciously, just how I imagined it would taste. 

The tanginess of the tomato and tamarind soup base blends nicely with the seafood flavor. The crunch from each bite of the bamboo complements perfectly the softness of the vermicelli and the fish cake. This noodle dish requires a large variety of vegetables to accompany it. I am missing the banana blossoms, so I substitute with green leave lettuces and it worked just fine although the banana blossoms may give the dish an additional crunch to the texture. But hey, I can't be too greedy right? Or can I?