Banh Canh- Vietnamese Noodle Soup

I am starting a new series in the blog, and considering the sign of the times, it might take me a little longer.  My research coincides with cooking dates with my mother in law.  As you can expect, the recipes will be rough, and I have to keep up and guess some measurements as these are the science of tradition and taste as opposed to exactness.

Our first recipe has many types and variations, so the version we cooked is her family's recipe.  I had to guess and write quickly because time was of the essence.  Not really, but it seemed like we were in a rush.  However, the aromas made time stand still.

Soup and Dumplings

2 pounds pork bones (cleaned)

2 T ginger, crushed

2 pounds shrimp

2 1/2 cup onion, small dice

1 egg

salt, pepper, fish sauce

1 1/2 cups oil

2 t cayenne

2 T shrimp paste

cilantro, chopped

green onions, chopped

yellow onions, julienned

Noodles

1/2 pound rice flour

1/2 tapioca starch

2 T glutinous rice flour

warm water

Make pork stock by adding about one gallon of cold water, pork bones, and ginger and simmer for at least 2 hours.  While that is cooking, in a food processor, puree one pound shrimp, 1/2 cup onion, one egg, salt, pepper, fish sauce to taste.  This should make a beautiful shrimp paste.  Remove and place in a bowl and keep it cold.  Also, this is when you can make the noodles, see below.  In a separate pot, heat the oil, and when it is almost smoking, fry two cups onion until light brown then add the cayenne.  This should infuse the oil to a nice red hue.

 

How to make noodles-  In a mixing bowl, add half the dry ingredients.  Slowly add warm water and mix until it forms a firm ball.  Knead the dough for a few minutes until it is a very smooth ball.  Let it rest.  Repeat with the rest of the dry ingredients.  You should have two perfectly smooth spheres.

Cut a ball in half and put a small amount of flour on a cutting board.  Roll out the ball to about a quarter inch thickness and slice into noodles.  Repeat until all the dough is cut into noodles.  Do not roll it too thin as the noodles will break.  This is a thick noodle soup.

Add about two or three cups of pork stock to the onion chili oil (pending your size of pot).  There should be enough liquid to poach the dumplings.  When the stock comes up to a boil, begin adding the dumplings.  Using two spoons, dip them in water and scoop enough filling to form a quenelle (or a football) and spoon it into the stock.  Use all the filling.  While the dumplings cook, mix the shrimp paste with a little water turning it into a slurry.  Strain the slurry and add the liquid to the stock.  Toss the remnants in the strainer.  Add the rest of the stock to the pot with the dumplings and let it simmer.  Return it back to a boil and begin adding the noodles.  Once the noodles are cooked, add the rest of the shrimp.  When the shrimp cook, shut it off and eat!  Garnish the soup with the cilantro, green onion, and onion mixture.  If you want more spice, add chili paste or fresh chilis.

Garlic Beef with Ssamjang, Stir Fry Vegetables and Noodles

Welcome back!!  Well, we were forced indoors as the entire nation went into COVID-19 lockdown.  What better time to restart the blog.  I hope you missed it because I did.  Work, life, work, life keep getting in the way, but working on new dishes has kept me moving.

I wanted to start with something simple and outside.  The perfect weather makes the grill scream at me, and a quick marinade makes for a nice dinner.

With a quick move away from the usual Vietnamese fare, I ventured into a Korean type of beef.  Using some finger sized cuts of sirloin, I made an easy marinade and accompanied it with some stir fried vegetables and noodles.

Marinade
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup onion, minced
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 T mirin
2 T garlic, minced
1/2 T sesame oil
1 T black pepper
1 T korean chili powder (or red chili flakes)

Garnish- mint, sesame seeds, or anything you think might go well with grilled beef!  I made a Korean dipping sauce called ssamjang.  

Ssamjang
1/2 cup doenjang (Korean soybean paste)
3 T gochujang (Korean chili paste)
3 T sesame oil
1 T honey
1 T sesame seeds
1/4 cup onion, minced
1 t red chili flakes

Mix all ingredients very well

This amount is good for about a pound of beef.

Mix everything and whisk until sugar dissolves.  Pour over the beef and marinate for at least 2 hours up to about 8 hours.  Using a grill or a cast iron pan, cook the beef until it has a nice dark glaze on the outside.  Garnish with torn mint leaves.  This would go well with rice, but I had some vegetables to cook, so that recipe follows.

Stir Fried Vegetables and Noodles

Stir fry sauce- 

2.5 T brown sugar

1.5 T fish sauce

1 T soy sauce

Mix until sugar dissolves, set aside.

For one pound of various vegetables- I used red onions, mushrooms, squash, cabbage, broccoli, snow peas, asparagus, red bell pepper, but it is your choice!

One pound of cooked noodles, and I used spaghetti because that is what I had at the time.  This is a good way to move a small amount of various leftovers.

3-4 T vegetable or canola oil

2 T grated ginger

1 t red chili flakes

Heat wok or pan, add oil and stir fry vegetables until cooked through, add stir fry sauce, cook for another minute or two until glaze forms, add ginger and chili, and cook for another minute or so.  Add noodles, and working quickly, stir fry until hot.  If it seems a little dry, add a splash of water.   Remove from heat and splash with a few dashes of rice wine vinegar and a couple of twists of pepper.

Lately, my music of choice has been all over the place, so I needed something relaxing for the outdoor cooking session.  I went with Big Star.  If you are unfamiliar, check out the documentary.  The pioneering band of the early '70s laid a wonderful foundation for the '80s power pop phenom bands such as R.E.M., the Replacements, Afghan Whigs, and many, many others.

My recommendations as a quick introduction would be "The Ballad of El Good", "Thirteen", and "September Gurls".  A couple of other favorites are "Back of a Car" and "Feel".  The catalog is very small, and internal along with label issues led to a quick demise.  Check it out, as they deserve a look, and the documentary is very interesting.

Thit Ga Bop Rau Ram- Hue Chicken Salad

A love story, or why did the chicken cross the road? Hmmm, sometimes, the road finds us.  A lovely woman came back into my life, and when she brings you a chicken, make chicken salad! If it slaps you into tomorrow, hang on and marry her!

I have spent more than half my life in a kitchen, so when An and I began dating, I figured I could woo her with dinner (or lose her, pending my cooking skills!) With a little luck, I was able to steal her heart! Eventually, she chose a special night to cook.  Her mother taught her this dish, and I was hooked.  

I have eaten many Vietnamese chicken salads, but the herbs and zesty onion make this my favorite.  I am not including any measurements as it is all to taste.  I prefer a huge amount of herbs and lime juice.  You can add other garnishes also, including thinly sliced chiles, fried onions, or cracked black pepper.  I add all of the above.  

When I make this, it is not as good as hers, but then again the student rarely passes the teacher.

1 Whole Chicken, rinsed and rubbed with lemon

Red Onion, thinly sliced

Green Onion, thinly sliced

Rice Vinegar

Limes

Cilantro

Rau Ram

Roasted Peanuts

Nuoc Cham

In a large pot of boiling water, add ginger, peppercorns, and garlic with the chicken.  Poach for about 30 minutes until cooked through.  While the chicken is cooking, toss the onions with a small amount of rice wine vinegar.  Remove the chicken and let it cool.  Strain the liquids and chill quickly.  Save this for a nice light chicken stock.

When the chicken has cooled, remove the skin and shred.  Then continue shredding the meat.  When all the meat has been picked, toss some of it with the onions and skin.  Add some herbs and nuoc cham.  Continue the process until you have a nice salad.  Garnish with peanuts, lime juice and more nuoc cham.

  

While eating or cooking, we love music.  Sometimes it appears that our life revolves around music and concerts.  We scan the national tours hoping to find the next groups to visit New Orleans, also looking forward to the upcoming festivals trying to relive our youth through music!  

We enjoy debating on which song or band rules certain genres or decades.  Power ballads are a favorite topic, and the discussion never ends.  So in honor of the John Cusack movie High Fidelity, I will make a list of my top five power ballads in order of greatness.  An will disagree, but that will only lead to a grand discussion about Sebastian Bach's greatness or the vocal ability of Klaus Meine!

Top Five Power Ballad's

1) Home Sweet Home- Motley Crue

2) I Remember You- Skid Row

3) Still Loving You- The Scorpions

4) November Rain- Guns N Roses

5) Don't Know What You Got Til Its Gone- Cinderella

Vietnamese Caramelized Pork Belly

Across the world, Asians began consuming this wonderful cut of meat centuries ago, possibly as early as 5000 B.C., and it is neither trendy nor unusual to find pork belly eaten throughout households of Asian-American families.  Scholars believe the Chinese were the first to domestic the wild boar and bring us the culinary use of pork.  Roasted whole pig adorns many tables during the Lunar New Year and other Asian celebrations.  The crispy outer layer of skin delights, and the entire animal is cherished for its sweet meat and wonderful hue.

Recently, a trend throughout America rages on in kitchens manned by everyday, workman chefs to the haute cuisine of the Napa Valley. Pork belly! Glance at almost any menu and the belly will hold a prominent spot as the pork option either in appetizer or entree form.

From Okinawa to China to Vietnam and back, the pig holds its place among the culinary treasures of the Orient. I would guess it is almost as wonderful as the "hand-carved alabaster bathing vessel" that Marcus Vindictus gifted to "Julius Caesar" in History of the World.   

Many Vietnamese versions include coconut water or milk and caramel sauce.  I was researching something different, and I adapted this from Charles Phan's Vietnamese Home Cooking.

Caramelized Pork Belly

1-2 lb. pork belly skin on

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 cup vegetable oil

2 tsp fermented red bean curd

1 tbsp oyster sauce

2 tsp sugar
3 tbsp fish sauce
1 Thai chili

4 pieces star anise

4 inch long pieces ginger
4 cloves garlic, mashed

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the pork belly.  Cook for 5 minutes, and remove the pork. Using a fork, poke holes in the skin and rub with half the soy sauce.  In a heavy bottomed pot, on medium high, heat the oil, and add pork, skin side down.  Lower to medium and cover the pot for about 10 minutes.  While this cooks, mix the remaining soy, oyster sauce, fish sauce, red bean curd, and sugar to make our braising seasoning.  The bean curd should be mashed to form a paste.   

Flip the belly over.  It should be nice and brown.  Cook on the other side for an additional 4 minutes.  Remove the pork and place it in a pan.  Pour the pork fat into a jar and reserve. Cover the pork with cold water allowing the skin to bubble.  Remove the pork and slice into 1/2 inch or so strips.  

In our pot, add a couple of tablespoons of pork fat and sweat the garlic and ginger.  When fragrant, add the braising paste, star anise, Thai chili and cook for another minute, and add about 2-3 cups of water.  Add the pork, mix well, cover and simmer for about one hour and thirty minutes.  

Never boring and always reliable, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers excels much like our beloved pork belly!  This Hall of Famer provides a blueprint on American rock classics.  Their debut album gave us the hits "Breakdown" and "American Girl", which paved the way for standouts such as "You Got Lucky", "The Waiting", "Refugee", and the amazing duet with Stevie Nicks "Stop Draggin My Heart Around."  

Petty churned out hit after hit over the next few years.  Full Moon Fever and Into the Great Wide Open  overlapped with his work in the supergroup the Travelin Wilburys (which included Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Roy Orbison, and Jeff Lynne).  

A huge influence on many of today's rockers, Petty brings FM radio to life.  When the local station becomes boring, just move over to internet radio or go back to 1985 and check out this outfit as he performs Refugee.

Green Tea Smoked Duck

Aside from using proper ingredients, developing regional cooking techniques remain the basis of authentic cuisine. Regardless of a dish's origin--whether it be European, Asian, African, or any other part of the world--it will have certain native characteristics and a combination of flavors that differentiate it from other areas of the same country. When you decide to cook a dish from a particular region, you must be knowledgable about the processes of that region's cooking, such as the breakdown of the meat or fish or the methods of smoking, searing, and poaching as they all vary from one place to the next. All are involved in making food delicious, each in its own unique way. Experimenting with the boundless ways in which different cuisines are prepared keeps cooking interesting and new.

Most of my blog recipes develop as I am cooking dinner or just trying to fool around with a new technique. Imagine my excitement when I decided to submit a recipe for the Maple Leaf Farms Duck Contest! Alas, I didn't place (darn!), but this recipe will teach you how to break down a whole duck. Of course if you wish, you can just buy duck pieces. This dish involves a pressure cooker, a quick stir-fry, searing, and a few other processes that might not be used everyday.

Duck, usually considered a summer dish in Vietnamese cooking, pairs well with ginger, but I did not include ginger in this recipe.  However, you could always serve this with ginger nuoc cham  by just adding minced ginger to the recipe.  I make a pan sauce by reducing the duck leg braising liquid then straining it.  The sauce becomes rich, but it pairs nicely with the rice cake.  

I know, I know...it involves a lot of steps, but if you have the time, it is well worth it! The side items are simple and can be paired with many other dishes. If you try it, let me know what you think--I am always open to hearing how your final product turns out! Even though my recipe didn't place, I am proud of it and I enjoyed working out all the nuances!

As Halloween approaches, I included my thoughts on the Smashing Pumpkins who were vital in my development of this dish.

Break down the whole duck-

1. Using a large cutting board and very sharp knife, lay the duck breast side up with the legs facing you.  

2. Remove any giblets and neck, which should be inside the cavity, and place them in a baking pan.  

3. Grasping a leg, make a cut between the body and leg slicing through the skin while separating the leg from the body.  Disjoint the leg from the socket and make a cut through the area removing the leg from the body.  Trim any excess skin from the leg, and place it in the pan.  Repeat with the other leg.  

4. Turn the duck around with the breasts facing you, and gently run the tip of the knife along the breastbone while slowly pulling the breast away from the body.  Work with a nice short stroke and continue to slice the breast until it is removed.  Trim the skin, and remove the tender from the muscle, and place in the pan.  Repeat with the other breast.  

5. Grab the wing and disjoint it by bending it outward and away from you.  Cut between the wing and body, and repeat the method with the other wing; place them in the pan.

Preparation of Duck Legs

Brine-

2 tbsp fish sauce

4 oz. palm sugar

3 cloves garlic smashed

1 tbsp lemongrass minced

1 each red onion, sliced

1 each carrot, medium dice

4 cloves garlic, mashed

2 cups water

¼ cup soy sauce

2 tbsp mirin

3 tbsp unsalted butter, cold

1 each duck neck

2 each duck wings

2 each duck legs

To brine the duck legs:

1. In a mortar and pestle, blend all ingredients until it becomes a paste.

2. Rub the legs with the paste, and place them in the refrigerator for one hour.

To cook the duck legs:

1. In the bottom of a pressure cooker, place the neck and wings.  

2. Add onion, carrot, garlic, water, soy, and mirin.  

3. Stack the duck legs on top of everything and cook on high for 20 minutes, then let it release naturally.

4. Gently remove the legs and place on a plate, cover to keep them warm.  

5. Strain the liquids into a saucepan, and slowly reduce the sauce on medium heat, skimming the fat, until there is 2/3 cup.  Whisk in butter one tablespoon at a time.  Shut off the heat and reserve. Check seasoning, but it should be good.

Cure-

2 tbsp kosher salt

1 tbsp Sichuan peppercorns

2 tbsp black peppercorns

¼ tsp insta cure salt #1

2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine

2 each duck breasts

Smoking Ingredients-

½ cup rice

½ cup loose green tea

½ cup brown sugar

2 pieces star anise

2 pieces cinnamon

To cook duck breasts:

1. Using a wok or pot, line the bottom with enough aluminum foil to fold over the sides about 4-5 inches.  

2. Place all of the smoking ingredients in the wok, and put a rack or handful of chopsticks on top to make a smoker.  Make sure the hood is on and kitchen is well ventilated.  Turn heat on high until it begins to smoke.  It will make noise and pop loudly.  

3. Once it begins to smoke, place breasts on rack, close the foil to seal the smoker, and leave on medium heat for about 8-10 minutes, then shut off and smoke the duck for another 5-8 minutes (depending on the depth of smoke you wish to achieve).  

4. Remove the breasts and gently score the skin. In a low to medium hot nonstick pan, place the breasts skin side down and render the skin until crispy.   The duck will be rare prior to rendering the skin, so this step should not cook the duck much further, but it is absolutely necessary that you render the fat.  Once the skin is crispy, remove the breast to a cutting board and rest.    

Crispy Rice Cake-

¾ cup sushi rice

1 cup water

¼ cup green onions, thinly sliced

1 tsp toasted sesame seeds

2 tsp fish sauce

2 tbsp canola oil

1 tbsp sesame oil

Baby Bok Choy and Brown Beech Mushrooms

2 cups baby bok choy, washed

1 cup brown beech mushrooms, bottom root removed

1 tsp fish sauce

1 tbsp soy sauce

2 oz. palm sugar

2 cloves garlic minced

2 tbsp canola oil

To prepare crispy rice cakes:

1. Cook rice according to directions on the package, and when it is finished, fold in the remaining ingredients except the oils, spread about ½ think on a sheet pan and chill.  

2. Using a damp biscuit cutter or knife, cut into rounds or squares.

3. In a nonstick pan, heat up oil and brown the cakes on both sides.

To cook bok choy and mushrooms:

1. Heat oil in a skillet, add garlic and cook until it just starts to brown.  Do not burn!  

2. Add mushrooms and sear on both sides, then add bok choy and cook until lightly wilted; deglaze with fish sauce and soy.  

3. As it begins to reduce, add the sugar and toss until it melts and the vegetables are coated in sauce.

My memories of the 90s are filled with fantastic music!!  The Smashing Pumpkins impacted my life much like this duck recipe.  Filled with hope and joy, I was enthralled with the psychedelic, garage style of the Chicago band.  Gish hit the stores (HA! Something today's youth cannot remember!), and "I Am One" hit my stereo.  The music of my college years changed forever.  

Siamese Dream followed then Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness and the end was near.  Like a fading comet, my join with the Pumpkins was ending.  Maybe it was me, but I started losing interest.  However, I rekindled my fascination with Billy Corgan's music while working on this dish.  "1979", "Cherub Rock", "Hummer", and "Tristessa", to name a few, brought back wonderful feelings of excitement.  

However, not winning the contest was a bummer!  "Life's a bummer, when you're a hummer!"  Oh well, enjoy the recipe and turn on some rock!

Steamed Buns

The steamed bun migrated from China and evolving into a staple in the Vietnamese culinary library.  An airy dough is filled with various meats or vegetables and steamed until cooked through.  The result is a wonderful combination of light bread and delicious filling of which I am partial to pork.  However, we made a version with chicken as well as two different pork fillings.  

For the sake of testing purposes, we used two different bun recipes.  For the chicken and pork with quail egg, we used David Chang's recipe (below).  We did not fold them over like tacos.

• 
  1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 4 1/4 cups bread flour
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons nonfat dry milk powder
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, rounded
•  1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/3 cup rendered pork fat, bacon fat or vegetable shortening, at room temperature
• 1. Stir together the yeast and 1 1/2 cups room temperature water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the flour, sugar, milk powder, salt, baking powder, baking soda and fat and mix on the lowest speed setting for 8 to 10 minutes. The dough should gather together into a ball on the hook. Lightly oil a large bowl and put the dough in it, turning it over to coat it with the oil. Cover the bowl with a dry kitchen towel and put it in a warm place and let the dough rise until it doubles in size, about 1 hour 15 minutes.
  2. Punch the dough down and turn it out onto a clean work surface. Using a sharp knife, divide the dough in half, then divide each half into 5 equal pieces. Gently roll the pieces into logs, then cut each log into 5 pieces, making 50 pieces total. They should be about the size of a Ping-Pong ball and weigh about 25 grams each. Roll each piece into a ball and set them on baking sheets. Cover them loosely with plastic wrap and let them rise for 30 minutes. While they're rising, cut out fifty 4-inch squares of parchment paper.
  3. After 30 minutes, use a rolling pin to roll each ball into a 4-inch-long oval. Brush lightly with vegetable oil, lay a chopstick horizontally across the center of the oval and fold the oval over onto itself to form a bun. Gently pull out the chopstick, leaving the bun folded, and transfer it to a square of parchment paper. Put it back under the plastic wrap and form the rest of the buns. Let the buns rest for 30 to 45 minutes: they will rise a little.
  4. Set up a steamer on top of the stove. Working in batches so you don’t crowd the steamer, steam the buns on the parchment squares for 10 minutes. Remove the parchment. You can use the buns immediately or allow them to cool completely, then put them in plastic freezer bags and freeze for up to 2 months. Reheat frozen buns in a stove top steamer for 2 to 3 minutes, until puffy, soft, and warmed all the way through. Freeze half the buns in airtight bags for another time.
  5. 
     

The bun filling is the same pork mixture as the dumplings.  However, I boiled a quail egg then wrapped the filling around it prior to stuffing the dough.  To boil quail eggs- bring a pot of water to a rapid boil, gently place the eggs in the water for 4 1/2 minutes, then remove into an ice bath.  Gently peel them and use as stated above.

Vietnamese Rolled Pig's Head

Italian's famously serve wonderful arrays of antipasto platters involving intricate types of salumi, sausages, cured pork, and many, many variations of vegetables and accompaniments.  Porchetta di testa is a deboned pig's head that is marinated with garlic, rosemary, lemon, or various other combinations of aromatics then rolled, sealed, and poached for about 10-14 hours at 195 degrees until it is well adhered with natural gelatin.  The roll is chilled and thinly sliced and served!  

While tinkering with various items for a Vietnamese charcuterie board, I decided to change the marinade to tilt towards the flavors of Saigon.  I think it worked!  

Vietnamese Rolled Pig's Head

1 deboned pig head

2 pig ears (if they were removed during butchering)

1 pig tongue (optional)

to taste- fish sauce, garlic, Thai chili, lemongrass (chopped and mixed)

1) Rub all the pig parts with the marinade, then wrap and place in the refrigerator for 1-2 days.

2) Lay the head skin side down.  Place the ears and tongue inside, and gently roll into a nice round cylinder.  If the ears are intact, fold them into the head through the eye sockets. 

3) Using butcher twine, tie it nice and tight with all of the pieces fitting inside.  The head should be very secure. 

4) If you have a vacuum packer, seal the head in a bag.  If not, roll tightly with several layers of plastic wrap then place in a ziploc bag and squeeze the air out of it.  

5) Using a large pot (with a thermometer) or an electric roaster (even a crock pot), heat the water to about 195 degrees and place in the pig head.  Cook for about 10-14 hours (pending size) at 195 degrees, then remove and chill immediately. 

6) Slice thinly and serve.   

Here is a picture of the rolled pig's head and gio thu. Add a crock of chicken liver pate, some fresh herbs and crostini, and you have a wonderful platter for friends and family.