Stir-Fried Tuna with Cellophane Noodles

Most Vietnamese people are familiar with stir-fried crab meat with cellophane noodles (Cua xao bun tau). This dish is a popular dish for pot luck. I use the method of making this dish using a can of tuna for a quick-fix dinner and budget. It is for an economical reason to use tuna instead of crab meat. The combination of this dish’s texture and flavor is irresistible either way---and very easy to prepare.

Ingredients:
4 oz. cellophane noodles

2 shallots, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
8 oz. tuna (1 can of tuna)
2 tbs peanut oil
1 cup sliced white onions
Sauce ingredients:
1 tbs fish sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp sugar
2 tbs water
 
Garnish with chopped green onions and cilantro
 
Directions:
Soak the cellophane noodles in warm water for 20 minutes. Remove the noodles 1 hour before cooking to allow them to dry. Then cut noodles into 4 inch lengths.

Drain the tuna and place in a bowl.

Heat oil in a frying pan over a high flame. Add shallots and garlic and stir until fragrant.

 Stir in tuna and cook, using the high heat in order to remove some of the moisture and to dry the tuna.

 Add white onions.

When the Tuna is almost brown, add noodles and stir for one minute to combine.

 Add sauce and stir.

Then add the garnish and serve immediately with rice or by itself.

Vietnamese Shau Mai

This is another shau mai recipe that I think is much easier than the one I posted on November 15, 2013. At this time, I use shrimp instead of all ground turkey and chicken.  The tomato sauce is quite simple and tasty. I love to have shau mai stuffed into a baguette.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. ground turkey
1/3 lb. shelled shrimp, diced
1 egg white
1 tbs fish sauce
1/2 tsp each of salt, sugar, sesame oil, and black pepper
1 tbs cornstarch
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 green onions, chopped
Sauce ingredients:
1 cup tomato, chopped
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tbs honey
2 tsp cornstarch

Directions:
In a mixing bowl, combine turkey, shrimp, egg white, fish sauce, sugar, salt, black pepper, cornstarch, garlic, and green onions. Mix well.

Shape into balls and place on a steam plate.

Steam meatballs over high heat for 15 minutes.

 

In a saucepan, add sauce ingredients and bring to boil. Simmer until thickened. Pour over the meatballs and serve.

Vietnamese Grilled Chicken with Noodles

Throughout my blog, I have mentioned my family’s restaurant in Chicago. One of the most requested items was grilled chicken noodles. This item on the menu is similar to the barbecued pork noodles (bun thit heo nuong); however, replacing the chicken for the pork makes the dish healthier. The marinade uses very much the same ingredients. An easy way to prepare this dish is by baking or over a stovetop.

Ingredients:
For the chicken:
1 lb. chicken breasts or thighs
2 shallots, minced
2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp five spice
1 tbs sugar
1 tbs honey
2 tbs fish sauce
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tbsp. sweet chili sauce

1 tbs minced lemongrass
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tbs peanut oil
1/2 lb rice noodles
Served with:
Basic vegetable platter*
Carrots and sweet radish pickles**
Vietnamese dipping sauce***
Scallion oil****
Roasted peanuts

Directions:
Prepare the rice noodles according to the directions on the package.
Combine in a bowl the ingredients listed between the chicken and the peanut oil.

Pound the chicken until 1 inch thick and place into the marinade for a couple of hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 450°. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Arrange the chicken on the foil. Bake the chicken for 15 minutes on each side. Remove from the oven.

 

For stove top: Place a grill pan over high heat. Add a little butter and oil; grill chicken on both side for 5 minutes of each side. Remove

To serve:
*For the basic vegetable platter: 2 cups lettuce leaves, such as head lettuce and romaine, thinly sliced, 1/2 cup fresh herbs, such as mints, cilantro, or basil, chopped, 1/2 cup cucumber sliced into lengthwise strips, and bean sprouts.
**For the sweet radish carrots pickles: 1 medium carrot and a piece of white radish peeled and julienned. Combine 1/4 cup water and 1/2 cup vinegar with 2 tbs sugar and 1/8 tsp salt. Add radish and carrot into this pickles solution for hours before serving.
***For dipping sauce: one garlic clove, minced, red chili, chopped, fresh lime, 2 tbs fish sauce, 2 tbs water, and 2 tsp sugar or more sugar for your taste. Mix together.

 

 

****For the scallion oil: slice 2 green onions (green parts only). Place scallion in a microwave bowl and add 2 tbs oil. Heat in microwave for 1 minute or heat oil in the sauce pan until hot ; add green onion and remove from the heat

Divide the vegetables to individual serving bowls. Top with rice noodles and sliced chicken, and sweet pickles radish. Sprinkle with scallion oil, fresh herbs, and roasted peanuts. Serve with dipping sauce on the side.

Chinese Almond Cookies

This is the second time I posted this recipe with a small change of ingredients. It is for famous Chinese cookies that everyone loves. This recipe uses blanched almonds, and the authentic recipe uses lard instead of shortening. I add coconut oil and shortening. For my taste, it is much better.

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
2  eggs
1/2 cup shortening
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 tsp almond extract
24 whole blanched almonds*
1 egg yolk, beaten

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°.
Using an electric handheld mixer, in a bowl beat the sugar, shortening, coconut oil, almond extract, 2 eggs, flour, baking soda, and baking powder until well mixed.

Shape the dough into 24 small uniform balls and place onto ungreased cookie sheets.

 Flatten each ball with the flat bottom of a glass dipped in water.

Brush the top of the flattened cookies with egg yolk and place an almond in the center of each cookie.

Bake cookies in preheated oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown

* You can buy blanched almonds or bring a pot of water to boil and drop almonds into boiling water; Boil for one minute. Let almonds cool and remove skin.

Baked Salmon with Herbs

In Vietnam, we wrap fish in banana leaves and grill over charcoal. This concept of cooking is similar to the French dish called fish en papillote, which mean fish wrapped in parchment paper and baked in the oven. I posted this recipe on my blog in January 2012. As for the Asian style cooking of fish in banana leaves, many recipes share the same common spices. However, I love to prepare this dish when summer is here because my herbs garden has fully grown. The fresh herbs make a different taste for this recipe. I do not have banana leaves, so I use the parchment paper instead. It is an easy, healthy, and simple recipe.

Ingredients:
Two 6 oz. salmon or trout fillets
Sauce ingredients:
3 tbs Ponzu sauce
1 tbs rice vinegar
1 tbs mirin
1/8 tsp salt
Juice and zest of one lime
Herbs:
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
2 tbs mints, chopped
2 tbs basil (sweet or Thai basil)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
2 hot Thai chilies, sliced (optional)
1/2 cup sliced red onions

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°. Cut out two 14” x 15” pieces of parchment paper.
In a small bowl, combine the sauce ingredients, and in another bowl combine the herbs mixture and set both bowls aside.
Fold each piece of the parchment paper in half and then unfold.
 Near the center of each piece of parchment paper, place half of the red onions, then a salmon fillet, then top with half of the herbs, and finally pour half of the sauce over the fish. Fold the other half of the paper over the fish to enclose it.

Seal the parcels by folding and pleating the paper ends tightly together.

Place on a baking tray and bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and place on serving plates. Serve with rice.

 

 

Easy Green Curry Chicken

I posted a red curry dish a week ago, and today I will introduce another popular curry dish using green curry paste. In the Thai cuisine, they have three kinds of curry-the red, green, and yellow. The most popular curry is yellow curry that we see in Vietnamese and Indian curry dishes. The yellow curry, especially as used in Indian cooking, is used with so many spices blended up together and turmeric powder, which gives it its characteristic yellow color. Basically, all curries are made up from different kinds of spices, and the green curry is for most part made up with the green spices, such as lemongrass, Jalapeno, cilantro, and kaffir leaves. Of course, it is simple to make all curry pastes from scratch, but for a busy cook, most of the store-bought curry paste is very good because it saves time when preparing a curry dish. The Thai green curry is mostly cooked with beef. However, other choices of meats can be easy substituted. Although a Thai green curry dish never has potatoes, but meats cooked with potatoes is well served alone by itself. Because the dish here is green curry, lots of cilantro and mints can be used to make it really green.

Ingredients
2 lbs of chicken breasts and legs, cut in pieces
1/4 cup peanut oil
2 tbs green curry paste
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 knob of fresh ginger, minced (about 2 tsp)
1 cup chopped green onions
1 lb. potatoes, peeled and cut in pieces
1 green bell pepper
1/2 cup green pea
1 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
6 kaffir leaves
1 tbs each – fish sauce, sugar, and salt
1 cup total of basil, cilantro, and mints, chopped

Hot cooked rice

Directions:
In a medium pot, heat oil. Stir in garlic, ginger, green onions and curry paste. Cook until fragrant.

 Add meat and kaffir leaves and toss to mix with spices. Stir and cook for 5 minutes.

More cilantro can be added at this point.
Add chicken broth and potatoes and bring to boil.

Cook for 15 minutes and add coconut milk, green pepper, and peas. Season with fish sauce, salt, and sugar.

Continue to cook for 20 more minutes or until chicken and potatoes are tender.

Sprinkle with chopped basil, cilantro, and mints. Serve over rice.