Black Beans and Rice

Rice and beans are a wonderful combination of two cheap and easy-to-find ingredients that can fill you up with their amazing flavor. This dish is not only yummy but also simple to prepare. You can use canned black beans or cook your own beans in an instant pot after soaking them overnight. There are endless ways to season your rice and beans, depending on what kind of cuisine you prefer. I'm from Vietnam, so I like to add some of the spices that I have in my pantry. Trust me that this recipe is not only tasty but also very healthy. Do you love rice and beans as much as I do? They are so easy to make and so delicious! Here's how I cook them in my instant pot and rice cooker. You can also use a regular pot if you don't have these appliances.

Ingredients:

1 cup Jasmin rice

1/2 cup dried black beans

Seasonings:

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup chopped white onion

1/2 cup chopped red, green, and yellow, bell peppers

2 tbsp chopped cilantro

2 tbsp chopped parsley

1 /4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 tsp salt

1 tsp mushroom seasoning

1/4 cup oil to cook

Directions:

Soak the beans overnight and drain them. Then, put them in the instant pot with enough water to cover them. Set the pressure cook function for 10 minutes. After that, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes. Drain the beans again and save the bean water for later.

Next, wash and drain the rice. 

In a sauté pan, heat 2 tbsp of oil and add all the seasoning ingredients. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the rice and toss it with the seasoning and the rest of the oil.

Now, transfer all the rice to the rice cooker. Add the cooked beans and enough bean water to cover the rice. For jasmine rice, you'll need about 1 1/4 cups of water. Close the lid and follow the instructions of your rice cooker.

If you don't have a rice cooker, you can use a medium saucepan instead. Just follow the same steps as above but bring the rice and bean mixture to a boil and then simmer with a lid for 20 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed.

That's it! You have a hearty and tasty meal ready to enjoy! I hope you like this recipe as much as I do!

 

Vegetarianism soup- Bún riêu chay

If you want to improve your health with a plant-based diet, you need to learn how to cook and plan your meals wisely. One of the tasty dishes that you can try is vegetarian vermicelli soup. It has a simple, savory flavor that will make you enjoy it every time. It is made with soy milk, tofu, mushrooms, tomatoes, and a spicy tomato sauce. The soy milk is curdled with lime or tamarind juice to create a texture similar to crab meat. The soup is served over vermicelli noodles and garnished with fresh herbs. Making vegetarian vermicelli soup is not hard, and it is easier than the meat and crab version. The key is to combine the ingredients and seasonings well to create a harmonious taste. Vegetarian vermicelli soup is a great choice for when you are tired of meat and want a light meal.

Ingredients: 

4 cups soy milk (plain soy milk)

4 cup vegetable broth

8 oz fried tofu

1/2 lbs ripe tomatoes (3 tomatoes)

1 juice of lime or tamarind juice.

1 cup mushroom (your choice)

2 garlic minced.

1 shallot minced.

Seasonings:

Salt, sugar, black pepper mushroom seasoning

2 cutes fermented tofu (chao)

Cooking oil

1 tsp Korean chili flake

Vietnamese vegetable plate

lettuce, water spinach, bean sprouts, perilla, basil, rau ram

Cooked vermicelli

Directions:

- Wash the tomato and chop one tomato. Cut the rest into large slices.

- Heat a saucepan over medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons of oil. When the oil is hot, add garlic and shallot and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the chopped tomato, Korean chili flakes, and salt and cook for another 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomato is soft. Transfer the tomato sauce to a bowl and set aside.

- In the same saucepan, add more oil if needed and sauté the mushrooms and fried tofu over high heat until browned, about 10 minutes. Season with soy sauce, sugar, and fermented tofu to taste. Set aside.

- In an instant pot, pour 4 cups of soy milk and select the broth setting. When the soy milk starts to boil, add lime juice or tamarind juice and continue to boil. The soy milk will curdle and form lumps that resemble crab meat. This is the vegetarian crab. Add the vegetable broth and bring it back to a boil.

- Carefully stir in the tomato sauce, fried tofu, and mushrooms. Add the remaining tomato slices and cook for 5 more minutes until heated through.

- To serve, place some cooked vermicelli in a large bowl and ladle the soup over it. Top with some vegetarian crab and other ingredients such as mushrooms, tomatoes, and tofu. Sprinkle some chopped cilantro on top and serve with lemon wedges, chili slices, and a plate of fresh vegetables.

Vegeterian Pate __Pate Chay

 If you are vegan and love to enjoy pate then you will enjoy this recipe. It is a simple and delicious way to make Pate Chay without baking or steaming. You can use it as a spread for bread, a side dish for rice, or a snack with crackers. It also works great as a filling for Pate Chaud, a famous Vietnamese pastry. Here is how to make this easy and flavorful Pate Chay in no time.

 Ingredients:

16 oz. firm tofu, drained

2 cups mushrooms chopped (your choice)

1 cup combination of nuts, such as almond, walnut, cashew, pecan roasted

1 cup white onions, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup whipping cream

1/4 cup melted butter

Seasoning:

Salt, sugar, mushroom seasoning, soy sauce

Others:

1 tsp cocoa powder

2 tbsp oil

Prepare an 8 x 4” tube pan lined with parchment paper or plastic wrap.

Directions:

Mash the tofu into small pieces.

In a sauté pan, add oil. Stir in onions and garlic and cook for 2 minutes.

Add mushrooms and tofu and continue cooking. Season to your family liking using all the seasoning mentioning. /Continue to cook for 10 minutes.

In a Vitamix blender, add the roasted nuts and blend well. Add cooked tofu and mushrooms mixture into the nuts paste and blend well. Add whipping cream and cocoa powder during the blending process. Adjust the taste at this time to your liking. 

Pour the pate into the prepared pan and top with melted butter. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours and then enjoy!

 

 

 

Yuca Sweet Rice

Yuca sweet rice is typical street food in Vietnam. I posted this recipe on July 15, 2014. It's breakfast, lunch, afternoon or evening. Today, I like to introduce another easier way to make this dish if you already have leftover cooked yuca roots. The recipe is smaller in portions for someone who lives by him or herself. The topping for this dish is very much your choice of what is available to you.

 Ingredients:

1 cup sweet rice, soaked for one hour

2 cups diced cooked yuca

1/2 tsp salt

A few pandan leaves

1 cup coconut milk

1 tbsp coconut oil

Toppings:

2 eggs 

1 cup Vietnamese sausages

Dipping sauce ingredients:

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp lime juice or vinegar

1 garlic clove, minced

1 hot Thai chilli, sliced

Others:

Scallion oils

Crispy shallots

Directions:

After soaking the rice, drain in colander for one hour.

In a rice cooker, add cooked yuca, rice pandan leaves and salt.

Pour the coconut milk just enough to cover the rice. Add coconut oil. Close the lid and push the cook rice function. Follow your rice cooker instruction manual to finish this task.

Combine all the ingredients of dipping sauce and mix well. Adjust to your family's liking.

Slice one green onion and add into a microwave safe bowl with 1/4 cup oil, pinch of salt and sugar. Microwave for 20 seconds. Set aside.

You can buy crispy shallot at a Vietnamese supermarket.

For the topping:

Break eggs and beat well. 

Pour 1 tbsp oil onto a sauté pan. Pour battened eggs and make an omelet. Let cool and shred or slice.

Slice the Vietnamese sausages as well.

To serve:

On a serving plate, scoop the cooked rice and yuca in portions of your choice.

Top with scallion oil, eggs, sausages and crispy shallots.

Serve with soy dipping sauce on the side.

Tip:

I posted all the recipes to make scallion oil and Vietnamese sausage using ground turkey and steamed yuca with coconut milk.

 

 

Garlic Coconut Butter Rice

Garlic Rice is the easiest and best-tasting side dish that you can serve with anything, from roast chicken to stir-fries to fish! From Middle Eastern to Mexican food, and Asian dishes, such as steamed vegetables and tofu, this buttery rice is so flavorful you can eat it plain with some soy dipping sauce to complete dinner. 

Ingredients:

1 cup long grain rice or basmati rice

2 tbsp butter 

1 tbsp coconut oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 cups chicken broth, water or vegetable broth
1 tsp salt

Garnish with chopped parsley or cilantro

Directions:

I use a rice cooker to make this recipe.

Wash the rice until the water is clear.

Turn the rice cooker on to the sauté mode. 

Add butter. When butter is foamy, add garlic and cook until fragrant and becomes a light golden color.

Add rice and coat the rice with butter and garlic. Stir and cook for 1 minute.

Add broth and salt. If using the water, then add 1 tsp of chicken powder or vegetable powder. Mix well.

 Close the lid and let the rice finish cooking.

Fluff the rice, then add 1 tbsp coconut oil.  

Sprinkle with chopped parsley or cilantro.

Serve with your choice of grilled fish, chicken, or simple sunny-side-up. 

The Flat Steamed Rice Cake --Bánh Nậm

The flat steamed rice cake is wrapped in a banana leaf and is part of the Hue alongside with clear cake, banh beo. If you have a chance to visit Hue, Vietnam, you will enjoy this cake. The main ingredients for making Banh Nam are rice flour, minced pork, and prawn. When enjoying it, you should eat it with fish sauce and especially keep covering the leaves and spread it on the dish, so the smell of fragrant banana leaves will make the cake more delicious and addictive while eating.

If you are curious about how to make Banh Nam, let’s see the simple way to make Banh Nam.

 Ingredients:

3/4 cup rice flour

1/4 cup sweet rice flour

1/2 cup potato starch

2 cups water

The filling:

1/2 lb. shrimp, shelled. 

2 oz. ground turkey or pork

1 garlic clove, minced

1 shallot, minced

1 tsp annatto oil

Seasoning:

Salt, pepper, fish sauce

Banana leaves for wrapping the cake

Directions:

Combine the flour and water in a saucepan. Add a 1/4 tsp salt and bring to a boil on medium-low heat. Use a spatula to stir the flour mixture until your hand feels heavy, and the flour mixture turns a white shade. Turn the heat off and continue to stir the flour mixture until it looks shiny and smooth.

To make a filling:

Clean the shrimp well and marinate with salt and pepper. In a sauté pan, add a little oil and fry the shrimp until turning pink. Remove from heat.

Put shrimp in a food processor and turn the machine on to finely chop the shrimp.

In the same sauté pan, add oil, garlic and shallot. Stir and cook until fragrant. Add ground turkey and cook until turkey is no longer pink. Add shrimp and cook for 10 minutes. Seasoning with salt, pepper, sugar, mushroom seasoning annatto oil and fish sauce to your liking

To assemble the cake:

Wash and clean the banana leaves well and cut into 7x7 inches. This recipe will end up with 12 cakes. You can cook the banana leaves in the oven for 1 to 2 minutes for the banana leaves to slightly flatten and soften.

Place the banana leaves in front of you horizontally, with the back of the leaves up. Add a little oil so that the cake dough does not stick to the leaves. Take one tablespoon of dough and spread thin on the leaves. Remember, the smaller and thinner the cake, the better the cake. Stir one tablespoon of the filling all over the dough. Pull two slices of the leaf in front of you to cover the cake slightly and fold the leaves from two sides of the cake . The cake has a straight shape.

Tear the banana leaves to make a string and tie two cakes together.

To steam the cake:

Bring a steamer to boil. Place the cake into the steamer in layers of three in the style of tower, horizontal layer, vertical layer, and then horizontal so that the cake is exposed to the most heat, helping the cake to cook faster and evenly. It takes about 17 to 20 minutes.

The cake serves well with fish dipping sauce.

The ratio of ingredients to make this dipping sauce is:

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp fish sauce

4 tbsp water

Some garlic, chili and oil 

 

Instant Pot Pull Chicken

Pull chicken is a mirror of pulling pork. You can use the boneless chicken breast or thighs to make this recipe. However, for this recipe, I will share with you my way to make this recipe if you have leftover roasted chicken for grilled chicken. 

Ingredients:

1 roasted chicken breast or thigh

1 cup sliced white onions\

1 garlic clove, minced

Sauce ingredients:

1/3 cup BBQ sauce (your choice)

1/4 cup chicken broth

1 tsp salt

1 tsp smoke liquid

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Instructions:

Place breast or thigh into an instant pot.

Top with a slice of white onion.

Sprinkle with the seasoning.

Add the chicken broth. 

Close the lid and pressure cook on high for 8 minutes. Allow for a natural release for 10 minutes before opening the valve to release any remaining pressure.

Remove the chicken from the instant pot and shred it with two forks. 

Put it back into the instant pot and add the BBQ sauce.

Turn to a sauté pan and cook for 5 minutes. Mix well.

Enjoy!