Bo Kho (Beef Stewed with Tomato, Star Anise and Lemongrass) 

Ingredients:

2 lbs boneless beef chuck, well trimmed and cut into 1½ -inch chunks
1 hefty stalk lemongrass, loose leaves discarded, cut into 3-inch lengths and bruised with the broad side of a cleaver or chef’s knife
3 tbsps fish sauce
1½ tsps Chinese five-spice powder
2½ tbsps peeled and minced fresh ginger
1½ tsps brown sugar
1 bay leaf
3 tbsps canola oil
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
2 cups peeled, seeded and chopped fresh tomatoes or 1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes
Generous ½ teaspoon salt
2 star anise
3 cups water
1 lb carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
¼ cup chopped fresh Vietnamese coriander or Thai basil leaves

Directions:

1. In a bowl, combine the beef, lemongrass, fish sauce, five-spice powder, ginger, brown sugar, and bay leaf. Mix well with chopsticks to coat the beef evenly. Set aside to marinate for 30 minutes.
2. In a heavy-bottomed 5-quart Dutch oven, heat the oil over high heat until hot but not smoking. Working in batches, add the beef and sear on all sides, then transfer to a plate. Each batch should take about 3 minutes. Reserve the lemongrass and bay leaf from the marinade and discard the rest.
3. Lower the heat to medium-low, add the onion and cook gently, stirring, for 4 to 5 minutes, or until fragrant and soft. Add the tomatoes and salt and stir to combine. Cover and cook for 12 to 14 minutes, or until the mixture is fragrant and has reduced to a rough paste. Check occasionally to make sure the tomato mixture does not stick to the bottom of the pan. If it does, stir well and splash in some water.
4. When the paste has formed, add the beef, lemongrass, bay leaf, and star anise. Give the contents of the pot a bit of a stir, and cook, uncovered, for another 5 minutes to allow the flavors to meld and penetrate the beef. Add the water, bring to a boil, cover, lower the heat to a simmer, and cook for 1¼ hours, or until the beef is chewy-tender (a sign that it is close to being done). To test for doneness, press on a piece; it should yield but still feel firm.
5. Add the carrots and return the stew to a simmer, adjusting the heat if needed. Cook, uncovered, for about 30 minutes, or until the carrots and beef are tender. (This stew may be made up to 2 days in advance. Let cool, cover and refrigerate, then bring to a simmer before continuing.)
6. Just before serving, do a final taste test. Add salt or a shot of fish sauce to intensify the overall flavor. Or, splash in a bit of water to lighten the sauce. Transfer to a serving dish, removing and discarding the lemongrass, bay leaf, and star anise. Garnish with chopped Vietnamese coriander or Thai basil leaves.

Happy cooking!

Post from: Blisstree

Vietnamese Beef Stew recipe

Read on and find out how this recipe got its name:

Ingredients:

500g fillet steak
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsps oil
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Procedure:

1. Cut the steak into bite-sized cubes. Place it in a bowl with the garlic, oil, fish sauce, sugar, salt and pepper, and mix well to combine. Cover and marinate for 1 hour in the refrigerator.
2. Heat a heavy-based wok until very hot; add the beef in 3 batches and toss, by shaking the wok and turning the meat with tongs, until brown and seared on the outside but still very pink in the centre.

Serve immediately by piling the meat into the centre of a serving plate, decorate with lettuce, cucumber and red onion.

This is like the Vietnamese version of the salpicao. Hope you like it!

Happy cooking!

Post from: Blisstree

Shaking Beef

Another one of many flavorful ways to cook prawns:

Ingredients:

500g medium raw prawns
6 spring onions
1 tbsp oil
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsps caramel sauce*
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp soft brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 red pepper, cut into fine strips, to garnish

Procedure:

1. Remove the prawn heads and, using a fine needle, devein prawns, leaving the tails, shells and legs intact. Rinse the prawns under running water and pat dry with paper towels.

2. Finely chop half the spring onions. Cut the rest into 4 cm long pieces and then finely shred the pieces into thin strips.

3. Heat the oil in a heavy-based frying pan; add the garlic, chopped spring onion and prawns, and cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes, tossing the prawns until they turn pink. Drizzle the caramel sauce and fish sauce over the top and cook for 1 minute. Add the lime juice, sugar, salt and remaining spring onion. Toss well and serve immediately, garnished with the red pepper.

* To make the caramel sauce, combine 4 tablespoons of sugar with 3 tablespoons of water in a small pan. Stir over low heat, without boiling, until the sugar has dissolved. Bring the syrup to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer gently for about 5 minutes, until the syrup turns dark golden. Take care not to burn it. Remove the pan from the heat and add 4 tablespoons of water – it will spit and sizzle, and the caramel will form hard lumps. Return the pan to the heat and cook, stirring, until the lumps become liquid again. The sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

With New Year just a couple of days away, why not cook up this uniquely sweet Vietnamese dish for Media Noche?

Happy cooking!

Post from: Blisstree

Caramelised Prawns recipe

The other day, just as I was about to cook up some Teriyaki chicken, I thought of using the chicken thigh fillets to try out a dish off my new, neat cookbook. After minutes of browsing, I came across a Vietnamese dish that ticked all the ingredients I have in the pantry (well, except for the green chili and mint). It was such a hit, a definite must-share:

Stir-fried Chicken with Lemon Grass, Ginger and Chili

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Total cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 tbsps oil
2 medium brown onions, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
5-cm (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, finely grated
3 stems lemon grass (white part only), very finely sliced
2 tsps chopped green chili
500g (1 lb) chicken thigh fillets, thinly sliced
2 tsps sugar
1 tbsp fish sauce
finely chopped fresh coriander leaves and Vietnamese mint, to garnish

Procedure:

1. Heat the oil in a heavy-based frying pan or wok, add the onion, garlic, ginger, lemon grass and chili, and stir for 3 to 5 minutes over medium heat until the mixture is lightly golden. Take care not to burn the mixture or it will become bitter.
2. Increase heat to high; when the pan is very hot, add the chicken and toss well. Sprinkle the sugar over the chicken and cook for about 5 minutes, tossing regularly until the chicken is just cooked.
3. Add the fish sauce, cook for another 2 minutes and serve immediately, garnished with the coriander and mint.

Happy cooking!

Post from: Blisstree

A taste of Vietnam

I’ve got noodles here, but [sniff] if I make this I’ll be the only one who can eat it…. not very penitential LOL… will have to wait until after Easter. But those of you with a hankering for seafood and noodles — this is the perfect dish! Not to mention it’s got that lovely sauce made creamy with the use of eggs…. yum…

Lafang’s Paksiw na Tawilis – Tawilis is little fish (read Mike’s entry for further description) — and my parents love this dish; it was an acquired taste for me. They steamed the tawilis in banana leaves and serve it with freshly squeezed kalamansi juice over hot rice. Yum! Mike’s friend, however, used mango leaves to cook this version! Very creative, and makes a lovely presentation.

Sim Cooks’ post on Singapore Curry Puffs…. I like them with sardines too!! I’ll have to ask Aisa to make some of this, she’s such an expert at pleating the pastry.

Slanted Door’s Shaking Beef — I’ve been waiting for Charles Phan to put out a book, but this will have to suffice for now. More recipes from Chef Phan from Epicurious, and Mark Bittman’s site (Thanks, Cindy.)

Post from: Blisstree

Drooling Over…

Here’s one of the secrets (not so secret anymore, obviously) for making the fragrant, full-flavored broth used in Vietnamese Pho. Andrea Nguyen teaches this technique in her book Into the Vietnamese Kitchen: Treasured Foodways, Modern Flavors. Slightly different from another technique I learned from a Vietnamese friend (and also used by other Vietnamese cookbook authors) where the aromatics, mostly commonly onion and ginger, are roasted in the oven or browned in oil before using. Roasting them stovetop brings about a complexity in flavor that doesn’t come through quite as brightly using the other techniques. And I must say I *love* Andrea Nguyen — she’s one of the most accommodating cookbook authors I’ve ever come in contact with. If you’ve got any questions about Vietnamese cuisine, I strongly suggest you contact her through her website; but do get her book first as she may have already answered you even before you asked!

Post from: Blisstree

Stovetop Roasting for Maximum Flavor

They come in all sizes, to suit the dish, and your preference. Small, Medium, Large, and Extra Large, just like shirts, only yummier! Mostly used in Thai and Vietnamese Cuisine, but adaptable for most Asian cuisines and even non-Asian cooking. And if you’re trying to avoid gluten or wheat, these are perfect substitutes. Do check the ingredient list, because some rice noodles are not made with only rice flour, so if you have allergies, don’t assume it’s safe just because it says “rice noodle” on the packet. On the other hand, if you want to cook an Asian dish that calls for rice noodles, and don’t have an Asian store nearby, check the noodle aisle at your health food store instead. You might not find Asian brands, but chances are you will find rice noodles that will work with your recipe. Some non-Asian brands to look out for include Tinkyada and Ener-G.

And if you’re like me and stock these things in your pantry, you might want to click on the following links — lots of ideas for cooking rice noodles here:

Mandira at Ahaar’s Thai Rice Noodle & Vegetable Soup
The Budding Cook’s Overstuffed Chilies Over Rice Noodles
Rachael of Fresh Approach Cooking’s Rice Noodle Pancakes
Tigerfish at Teczcape’s Wat Dan Hor
Ruth Daniels’ Rice Noodle Salad with Lemongrass Chicken at Recipes From 4EveryKitchen
Lemongrass Shrimp Cold Noodle Salad from Ellen of I Am Gluten Free
PlaysWithFood’s Chile Garlic Prawns with Rice Noodles
Malay Style Stir-Fried Rice Noodles from Ooibob/Cooking in Plano

And here, Amy promises to share the recipe for fresh-made rice noodles. Can you wait? I know I can’t!

Post from: Blisstree

Using Your Noodle

Many a recipe in the Asian repertoire contains a secret ingredient — sometimes so subtle it may be hard to detect — in pandan. Used in cooking rice, wrapping meat, flavoring cakes, etc., pandan is an indispensable item in the kitchen, be it Thai, Vietnamese, Filipino, or Malaysian.

More information from AsiaFood
From Wikipedia

And a recipe from Apple of My Eyes for Buko Pandan

Post from: Blisstree

Ingredient Spotlight: Pandan

from Andrea Nguyen’s Into the Vietnamese Kitchen. Recipe tomorrow!

Post from: Blisstree

Banh Pho / Into the Vietnamese Kitchen

A really easy way to add flavor and crunch to your Asian dishes. The oil itself can be used for stir-frying, or to drizzle over food right before serving. You can cook the shallots until they’re golden and crunchy and use it as topping for noodle dishes like mee rebus, or over your rice, or over Asian-marinated and grilled fish. So many things you can do with just two ingredients.

1 cup oil
1 cup shallots, sliced thin

Heat oil over medium heat in wok. Add shallots and cook. If planning to use oil for stir-fry, take some out before the shallots turn brown so that you keep the flavor delicate and avoid making dishes taste bitter. Continue cooking shallots until golden, stirring frequently. Remove with slotted spoon, draining well, and continue to drain on paper towels.

Post from: Blisstree

Shallots and Shallot Oil