Pan fried stuffed Chilli and tofu

One of my earliest childhood food memory is of an elderly man, coming around the neighbourhood late in the evening selling these delectable goodies on his push bike. Sitting right behind him was a big old claypot, filled with an assortment of chilli, tofu, tomatoes, bittermelon, eggplant and string beans stuffed with a mixture of pork and fish paste. The spicy chilli and tofu was our favourite.

Tamarind fish soup (Canh chua ca)- A quintessential Vietnamese sour fish soup

I can't begin to tell you how much I love this sour fish soup- It's so incredibly delicious. Beautifully moist and tender fish cooked on the bone, in a tamarind stock. Along with a selection of the freshest vegetables, including okra- which is my favourite, tomatoes, pineapples and uniquely to this soup 'bac ha' (stems of a taro plant, often referred as elephant stem). The porous structure of the stem is perfect to absorb up all that beautiful tamarind fish broth.

This is commonly serve along with Ca kho (caramelised braised fish). It's a phenomenal combination, the sweet and sour from the fish soup. Coupled with the sweet and salty from the braised fish is so ridiculously good with steaming hot rice. This soup is remarkably simple to whip up, I frequently cook this when I'm pressed for time but still want something that is comforting, satisfying and always a joy to eat.

Pippies with XO sauce

Pippies in XO Sauce is a Cantonese classic and one of my favourite dish. In my opinion, anything that ends in 'with XO sauce' is good. The extreme umami flavour from the combination of dried scollops, dried shrimps and ham, coupled with aromatic spices is near impossible to resist.

In chinese cuisine, XO sauce is considered the most luxurious and indulgence of all sauces. Often referred by many as the caviar of the orient, the exact origin of this sauce is still a mystery. Many believed, it originated in Hong Kong in the early 80's. Where is served as a table condiment in higher-end seafood restaurants. With the recipe jealously guarded by chefs and restauranteurs. The popularity of this flavour packed sauce soon spread internationally. XO sauce is  now available in most Asian supermarkets, lee Kum kee brand XO sauce being the most well known. XO sauce is fantastic in stir-fry and especially good with seafood. A couple spoons of XO sauce will add that extra something special to any dish.

Oyster with sweet chilli vinegarette

When it comes to grocery shopping, it's very common for me to go out with the intention of buying two things and come home with a dozen other items. I often stop by the local fish market to check out the fresh seafood that are available. While waiting for my fish to be cleaned, the freshly shucked oysters caught my attention. Straight away half a dozen ways flows to mind on how serve these deliciously amazing oysters. They are simply fantastic just with lemon, salt and pepper. Another way I like to serve it, is with a sweet chilli vinegarette.

Chao ca nam bao ngo (Congee with fish and abalone mushroom )

Often when the weather is cold and miserable, there is nothing more comforting than a big bowl of congee. Congee is a delicious rice porridge that is often enjoyed with Yar char kway (Chinese fried cruller). It is also often eaten when one is sick or unwell to nourish back to health. I used to remember without fail, mum would make a big bowl of plain congee often with salted duck eggs when I was sick. Congee is made with the most basic of ingredients, mainly rice and water. The secret to a great congee is to pre-soaking the rice and a long rolling boil until the rice breaks down and disintegrate. Resulting in a deliciously creamy and silky texture. On it's own congee is quiet plain but however, it's a great carrier of flavours. You can pretty much add any flavours you like, chicken, pork, fish or seafood, the combinations are endless. I just love congee to bits, no matter if it's breakfast, lunch or dinner. I used to have to make the journey to superbowl, a very popular destination for congee in Sydney. Not any more, this is a simple and delicious recipe anyone can replicate and enjoy at home.


Recipe

1 cup of Jasmine rice
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tbsp salt
1 can chicken stock, optional

1/2 kg fish fillets, sliced into 1/2cm thick.
1 can of abalone mushroom, sliced into 1/2cm thick.
1 knob of ginger, julienned

Accompaniments

Yau char kway (Chinese fried cruller)
shallots, finely chopped
coriander, finely chopped
roasted peanuts
crispy eshallots
white pepper

Method

1. Wash, rinse and drain the rice a couple of times. Add salt, olive oil plus a cup of water to the rice and set aside for 1/2 an hour.
2. Bring 4 litres of water to the boil and add the soaked rice. Stir occasionally to stop rice from sticking to the bottom.
3. Let it boil for about an hour, until the rice grains starts to breaks down and disintegrate. Top up with more water or chicken stock if congee becomes too thick.
4. Before serving add in the fish, abalone mushroom and ginger. The fish shouldn't take long to cook at all.
5. To serve, top up a large bowl with the congee and enjoy with the accompaniments.

Tom sot ca chua (King prawns with tomato sauce)

I often like to try out new ways and techniques on classic recipes. The results haven't always turned out the way I hoped or imagined, while other times, I get pleasantly surprised. Sot ca chua is a classic Vietnamese tomato base sauce for many popular Vietnamese dishes. Ca chien sot ca chau (pan-fried fish with tomato sauce) and dau hu sot ca chua (pan-fried tofu with tomato sauce) are couple of my favourites. In Asian cuisine, most of the time if not all the time, sauces are thicken with cornstarch or tapioca starch. Inspired by an episode on Masterchef, I came up with an idea to use flour to not only thicken the sauce but give it richness and body. I know many of you reading this post right now are probably saying 'that's not how you make sot ca chau'. It's certainly not the way my mother would make it either. But to me cooking is not always about following recipes. Cooking should also be an outlet for your creativity and recipes should be used merely as a guideline. So if you like to try something a little different, give this a try. Although this isn't an authentic way of making sot ca chua, it's definitely tasty.


Recipe

500g king prawns, shelled and deveined
1 large tomato, finely diced
2 tbsp shallot white stem only, chopped finely
1/2 onion, finely diced
1 tbsp of garlic, minced
1/2 tbsp flour
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 1/2 cup water
1 tsp tbsp chilli powder
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp olive oil

Accompaniments

coriander, finely chopped
shallots, finely chopped
French style baguettes

Method

1. In a large non stick pan on medium heat, add a tbsp of olive oil and saute the onions, shallot and garlic until fragrant.
2. Stir in the flour and cook it for 30 seconds before adding the tomato paste. Quickly stir in tomato paste, then gradually add in the water and stir.
3. Then add in the dice tomatoes, chilli powder and season with sugar and fish sauce.
4. Let the sauce reduce and thickens a little before add in the prawns. Taste and test for seasoning.
5. When prawns a cooked, take off heat and serve.
6. Garnish with coriander and shallots, enjoy with hot crusty Baguettes.





This is my entry to Delicious Vietnam #16, a monthly blogging event celebrating Vietnamese cuisine which was started by Anh of A Food Lover’s Journey and Hong & Kim of Ravenous Couple. Thanks to Door to my kitcken for hosting this month.

Sui gao (Prawn wonton dumplings)

When I was little, I used to remember my uncle taking me to yum cha on a weekly basis. Like everyone else and almost without fail, we would order what I call the holy trinity of dim sum. Har gao (steam prawn dumplings), siu mai (steam pork and prawn dumplings) and phung chao (chicken feet). It was a ritual I look forward to every weekend. If ever you're a fan of dim sum, you'll love these dumplings. You can steam or deep fry these and enjoy them with chilli sauce. Otherwise, poach them and serve as wonton soup. Whichever way you choose to serve them, they are simply delicious.

Recipe

500gr prawns, shelled and deveined
2 shallots (white part only), roughly chopped
1/2 tbsp Ginger, grated
1/2 tsp white pepper, grounded
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cornflour
1 egg white

1 bag of wonton egg pastry.

Method

1. Roughly cut the prawns into quarters and set aside.
2. Add 200g of prawns into a food processor along with all the other ingredients and mince to form a paste.
3. Mix in the prawn paste with the rest of the other prawns and refrigerate for at least an hour.
4. To assemble the wontons, place about a teaspoon of the prawn mix onto a wonton pastry, fold the two ends together to form a triangular shape. Squeeze out any air pockets and press hard to seal the pastry together. Repeat the process with the others.
5. Bring water to the boil in a large stock pot and add about a dozen in at a time. The dumplings should be cooked when they rise to the surface, it should only take a couple of minutes. Remove with a strainer and repeat with the others.
6. Enjoy with some hot chilli sauce.

Stir-fry pippies with garlic and chilli

It's no secret that I am a huge fan of shellfish and pippies has to one of my favourites. Due to their high demand in recent times, I have seen the price jumped to over $20 per/kg. As Steven Irwin would say 'Crikey', but they are still worth it. There are so many ways you can cook pippies, you can steam it and dip it in nuoc cham. Stir fry with Xo sauce or my favourite is stir fry with chilli and garlic. So, if you're a big fan of pippies and like it spicy like I do, give this a try. It's delicious, that I promise you.


Recipe

500g pippies
2 clove garlic
2 chilli
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp shrimp paste, optional
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp oil

1 shallots, cut into 1 inch long
1/4 onion, thinly slice
1/2 cup Vietnamese mints

Methods

1. Add a cup of hot water to a pot on high heat and steam pippies open. Drain and set aside.
2. Add garlic, chilli, sugar and shrimp paste into a mortar. Pound the ingredients together and set aside.
3. Add the oil to a non-stick pan on high heat, followed by the chilli and garlic paste.
4. Stir it around, be careful not to burn the garlic and chilli.
5. When it starts to caramelise add in the fish sauce and reduce the sauce until it starts thickens.
6. Add the shallots and onions and toss a couple of time.
7. Add the pippies and toss to coat the pippies evenly with the sauce. Then turn off the heat and mix in the Vietnamese mints.
8. Serve and enjoy with a ice cold beer.

Goi Oc (Vietnamese sea snail salads)

Let's face it, snails are not every one's cup of tea but I get very excited whenever I can get my hands on them. To me, it represents the flavour of the sea. On my travels to Vietnam, I recall eating it every single day. I had it every way imaginable, in salads, grilled, steamed and in stir-fries. You name it, I had it. There is an enormous variety of edible snails and molluscs found in Vietnam. And it's all delicious, let me assure you.


Recipe

1 cup sea snail, cooked and thinly sliced
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1 large chilli, thinly sliced
1 stalk lemongrass white part only, thinly sliced
1 cup mix herbs (Vietnamese mint, coriander, mint), roughly chopped
1/2 tsp dried ground chilli
1/2 cup Nuoc cham
1/2 tbsp lemon juice

Method

1. Add the all the ingredients except for the mix herbs and toss together well.
2. Add in the herbs mix and toss lightly.
3. Enjoy with a Vietnamese rice cracker and glass of white wine.

Ca kho to (Caramelised silver perch in claypot)

This is a very home style dish and one that mum used to make alot. I recall having thi kho(caramelised pork) and ca kho(caramelised fish) often as a child, almost on a weekly basis. Perhaps, it's the fact that you can feed the whole family with just one dish. I love the balance of saltiness and sweetness of the sauce, nothing goes better with hot steaming rice than this. Without fail, I always start by slathering a spoonful of the thick caramelised sauce and message it into my rice. I can eat it just like that, to me the sauce is the hero of the dish.

Recipe

1 silver perch
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp sugar
3 shallots white part only (cut 1 inch long and bruised)
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp white pepper (roughly cracked)
1 thai chilli (thinly sliced, optional)

Caramel sauce

2 tbsp cooking oil
3 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp fish sauce

chopped shallots

Method

1. Cut the fish into 1 inch pieces and place in a large bowl with the fish sauce, sugar, shallots, garlic, chilli and white pepper. Mix and let marinate for about 30 minutes.
2. Heat the oil over low-medium heat in a medium-sized clay pot or non stick pan. Add the sugar and wait until it start to caramelise.
3. When the sugar is caramelised, add 2 tbsp fish sauce to stop it cooking further.
4. Let the sauce thicken a little, then add the fish in. Coat both side of the fish with the caramel sauce.
5. Stir in the remaining marinade and cover with the lid slightly open. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the liquid is reduced to a fairly thick syrup. Turn the fish occasionally to coat both sides with the caramel sauce.
6. Adjust seasoning to taste with fish sauce and sugar.
7. Garnish with shallots and enjoy with steamed rice.