Growing up, the dinner table would comprise of multiple Vietnamese dishes: one to two mains and one large sharing bowl of soup to finish. We would have our personal serving bowls filled with rice and a plate to lean our chopsticks & spoon. This fuzzy melon soup is one of the many soups…
Category: Cuisine
Crispy Rice Paper Rolls (Cha Gio)
Meet my favourite Vietnamese appetizer that I never order. Cha gio comes in either a rice paper wrapper, or more commonly a yellow egg wrapper. The rice paper wrapper is far superior in my books. With a fry, you get that chew, and light crisp, and all the filling. You can make these rolls to your preference: all vegetarian, without taro, or a combo of everything, like I have!
Vegetable Chow Mein Noodles (No Wok Needed!)
The flavours in this chow mein recipe comes close to one of my favourites. The best chow mein I’ve tasted is from Sam’s Congee or that one Soy Bean place in Heritage Court (now a memory). The portion size from both restaurants are very small. And notice how at both places, they have…
Easy Scallion Pancake Hack (with Wonton Wrappers) + Dipping Sauce
Flaky, oily, salty golden crusted scallion pancakes, aka cong you bing (葱油饼). I love ordering these savoury green onion pancakes at my favourite dumpling spot in town, and taking bites between slurps of juicy, dumplings. I’ve tried to replicate this dish at home with flour & water plenty of times, but with no…
The Crispiest Vietnamese Crepe (Bánh Xèo)
Another childhood favourite! Sizzling Vietnamese crepes, aka Banh Xeo. The best crepes are crispy on the outside, and accompanied with loads of fresh vegetables. These crepes are filled with pork belly, shrimp, bean sprouts and, at times, mung bean, every bite is a treat. It’s always served with fresh, crunchy lettuce, as well…
Shrimp & Beef Dumplings
I stopped having expectations on taste when making dumplings a while go. Often times, it’s not juicy enough or the wrapper is just not right. Recently, I connected the similarities of my favourite Chinese dumpling: bites of juicy shrimp, a soft outer dumpling wrapper and a savoury filling (with beef & shrimp). I’ve…
Mini Porchetta Roll Sandwich
Spending hours by an oven is not my preference. My most used function on the oven is the broil mode – and I’m a pro. Set oven to broil on low, timer for 5 minutes, and you have the perfect day-two fries and wings from last night’s dinner! When came the opportunity to…
Bánh Bột Lọc Hack Without Banana Leaf (Clear Shrimp & Pork Dumplings)
If I could choose one dish to eat for the rest of my life, it would be bánh bột lọc . Banh bot loc is tapioca starch and caramelized pork & shrimp, traditionally folded into a banana leaf and steamed, taking in all of that aroma. Traditionally made, these chewy, glutinous glories are…
Grilled Pork on Noodles (Thịt Heo Nướng)
If there’s any excuse to eat copious amounts of fish sauce dip, I’ll be there. Vermicelli rice noodles are just a vehicle for it. The star ingredient to a good vermicelli bowl is a well marinated meat to go with it – today’s pick is lemongrass marinated pork shoulder. I can’t tell you…
The Best 5-Ingredient Noodles
On the hunt for dried shrimp, I accidentally found something better: tiny dried shrimp. They’re light orange, thin and almost transparent. We had quite the debate at the dinner table on whether these were just the skin of shrimp, or just dried tiny shrimp. But it is, indeed just dried tiny shrimp! In…
