Vietnamese

All recipes were taken from the amazing book, “Hot Sour Salty Sweet”, by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid.

Tapioca and Corn Pudding with Coconut Cream

From page 294

Serves 8

3-1/4 cups Water

1 cup Small Asian-style tapioca pearls (fun to use green ones, looks good with corn)

¼ tsp Salt

1 tsp Rose water

½ cup plus 1 Tb Sugar

1-1/2 cups Fresh corn kernels (from 2 medium ears)

½ cup Canned or fresh coconut cream (see note)

Place the water in a heavy pot and bring to a boil. Add the tapioca and salt and stir as the water comes back to a boil. Lower the heat slightly to maintain a low boil and cook, stirring frequently to prevent sticking, until the tapioca is completely cooked and soft, 15 to 20 minutes.

Stir in the rose water and sugar until the sugar is thoroughly dissolved, then stir in the corn kernels and simmer over low heat for 5 minutes. The kernels should still have a slight fresh crunch.

Serve the pudding warm in small bowls, topped with a dollop (a generous heaped teaspoon) of coconut cream.

Note: You can use fresh coconut cream (see page 315) or canned; canned coconut milk usually separates into a thick dense cream and a thin liquid. Use the cream in this recipe.

Carrot and Daikon Pickled Salad

From page 85

Makes about 2-3 cups; serves 6 as part of a meal.

½ lb Carrots, peeled

½ lb Daikon radish, peeled

About ½ tsp Kosher salt

1-1/2 cups Water

¼ cup Rice vinegar

2 TB Sugar

Cut the tip off each carrot on a long diagonal. Use a Benriner or other vegetable slicer or a course grater to slice the carrots into strips, or use a knife to cut into matchsticks. You should have approximately 2 cups. Place the carrots in a large strainer and set aside.

Use the same method to make daikon strips. You should have approximately 2 cups. Add to the carrots in the strainer and mix well with your hands. Sprinkle on the salt and toss to mix. Place over a bowl or in the sink and let stand for 20 to 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a nonreactive saucepan, combine water, vinegar, and sugar and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat; cool to room temperature. (Don’t cook the vegetables, bathe them.)

Rinse the vegetables briefly with cold water, then squeeze dry and transfer to a medium bowl. Pour over the vinegar mixture and stir gently with a wooden spoon to ensure all the vegetables are well moistened. Let stand for 1 hour before serving.

To serve, lift the salad out of the vinegar bath (see Note) and mound attractively on a plate.

Note: If you have extra salad, leave it in the vinegar bath and store it in a well-sealed container in the refrigerator. Leftovers keep for 2-3 days.

Ginger Chicken Noodle Soup

From page 130

Makes about 11 cups broth (and 18-20 oz cooked chicken); serves 6 as a one-dish meal.

SOUP

One 3-1/2 lb Chicken, excess fat removed

3 Qts Cold water

1 tsp Black peppercorns

2- to 3-inch Piece (2-3 oz) ginger

1 large, or 2 medium, onions, cut into quarters

2 Tb Vientamese or Thai fish sauce, or to taste

Salt to taste

GARNISH AND ACCOMPANIMENTS

1-1/2 cups Loosely packed bean sprouts, rinsed

1 Lb Thin or medium dried rice noodles, soaked in warm water for 15 minutes and drained

2- to 3-inch Piece (2-3 oz) ginger

Pinch of salt

2-3 Shallots, thinly sliced

1 cup Loosely packed coarsely chopped coriander

½ cup Loosely packed Vietamese coriander leaves (rau ram), or substitute chopped mint

1-2 Limes, cut into wedges

Rinse the chicken, including the heart, neck and giblets, thoroughly with cold water (reserve the liver for another use). Place in a large pot and add the water and peppercorns. (If the chicken is not covered with water, you will have to turn it once or twice during cooking.) Bring to a boil over high heat.

As the water is heating, scorch the ginger and the onion pieces either over a gas flame, using tongs to hold the pieces in the flame until they scorch, or together in a dry heavy skillet over hight heat. Turn the pieces until they are blackened on all sides, then add to the soup.

Once the water comes to a boil, skim off the foam, lower the heat, and let simmer, partially covered, until the chicken is cooked, about 45 minutes, skimming off the foam occasionally. If the chicken is not completely covered with water, turn it several times during cooking. Remove the chicken from the broth and set aside to cool slightly. Remove the meat from the bones, coarsely shred, and set aside; discard the bones, giblets, and skin.

Line a colander with a double layer of cheesecloth and strain the broth into a bowl. Let cool, then transfer to several containers and refrigerate, covered for at least 3 hours. When the broth has chilled completely, skim off the layer of fat on the surface with a large spoon and reserve it for use in the soup (traditionally, a little of this fat is dolloped onto the soup when it is served) or for another purpose. (The soup can b e made ahead to this point and the broth and chicken stored separately in the refrigerator, in well-covered containers, for up to 2 days. The broth can also be frozen for up to 3 months.)

About 30 minutes before you wish to serve the soup, remove the broth and shredded chicken from the refrigerator. Place the soup in a pot, add the fish sauce, and bring to a boil, then lower the hat and let simmer until ready to serve. Taste for seasonings and add fish sauce or salt to taste.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a vigorous boil. Place the bean sprouts in a sieve or a colander and blanch them in the boiling water for 20 to 30 seconds. Remove and set aside to drain. Bring the water back to a boil. Drop in the rice noodles, and cook just until softened but not mushy, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Drain, rinse with cold water and set aside.

Using the technique described above, scorch the piece of ginger. Coarsely chop it then place in a large mortar, add the salt, and pound to a paste. Alternatively, mince the ginger, place it in a bowl, add the salt, and use the back of a spoon to mash the ginger; add a little water if necessary, to make a paste.

To serve, divide the noodles among six large soup bowls. Place about ¼ cup bean sprouts in each, then top with the chicken. Add several shallot slices, separated into rings, ladle the hot broth over, and add a dollop of the ginger paste and of the reserved chicken fat, if you wish. Sprinkle on some coriander and Vietnamese coriander or mint. Serve at once, with small plates of the remaining shallot slices and herbs, a small bowl of the remaining ginger paste, and lime wedges, so guests can adjust flavorings to taste.

Vietnamese Peanut Sauce (uoc leo)

From page 28

Makes about 2 cups sauce

¼ cup Dry-roasted peanuts (see below)

Scant 2 Tb Tamarind pulp, dissolved in 2 TB warm water, or substitute scant 2 TB tomato paste

2 tsp Peanut oil

4 Cloves garlic

3 Tb Ground pork

3 Tb Fermented soybean paste (tuong in Vietnamese; dao jiao in Thai)

About 1 cup Water

1-1/2 tsp Sugar

1-2 Bird chiles, minced

Generous squeeze of fresh lime juice (optional)

Place the peanuts in a food processor or large mortar and process or pound to a coarse powder; set aside. If using tamarind, press it through a sieve; reserve the liquid and discard the solids.

Heat the oil in a wok or skillet over high heat. Add the garlic and stir-fry until it is starting to change color, about 15 seconds. Toss in the pork and use your spatula to break it up into small pieces. Once it all has changed color, add the soybean paste and the tamarind or tomato paste and stir to blend. Stir in ½ cup of the water, then stir in most of the ground peanuts, reserving about 1 TB for garnish. Stir in the sugar and chiles. Add up to ½ cup more water until you have the desired texture, a thick liquid, pourable but not watery.

Serve in small individual condiment bowls or in one medium bowl with a spoon so guests can drizzle sauce onto their food or onto their plates. Serve warm or at room temperature, squeezing on the optional lime juice and sprinkling on the ground peanuts just before serving.

The sauce will keep well-sealed in the refrigerator for 3 days or in the freezer for 1 month. Reheat is in a small pan and simmer briefly before placing into a serving bowl.

Dry Roasting Peanuts: Start with whole skinless peanuts from an Asian grocery. They’re white and fat. Sometimes they’ve been boiled, sometimes they’re raw. If you can only find peanuts with skins on, you’ll need to rub them off after dry roasting.

Place a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add about 1 cup peanuts and us a wooden spoon to move them around frequently to prevent sticking and burned spots. They will start to develop golden patches and become aromatic; if you notice any black patches on the nuts remove the pan from the heat for a moment and lower it, then return and continue. Once they are golden brown in large patches all over, transfer to cutting board and coarsely chop. Or let them cool and pulse in food processor to chop. Don’t over process or you’ll get paste.

Store, once cooled, in well-sealed container in cool place.

Vegetarian Nuoc Cham

From page 29

Makes about 1/3 cup sauce

3 Tb Soy sauce

1 Tb Rice wine or cooking sherry

1 tsp Garlic, finely chopped

1 tsp Lemongrass, finely chopped

1/8 tsp Ground cinnamon

1 Bird chile, minced

1 tsp Peanut oil

1 tsp Sugar

½ tsp Salt

In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce and win or sherry. Place the garlic and lemongrass in a mortar and pound to reduce to a paste, then add to the sauce. Stir in the cinnamon and bird chile, then add the oil, sugar, and salt. Stir well and taste. Store for up to 3 days in a well-sealed container in the refrigerator. If increasing recipe, the chile, cinnamon, sugar and salt should not be increased proportionately, just to taste.

Avocado Shakes

From page 303

Serves 2-4, depending on their capacity

[I thing we tweeked this a bit, but can’t remember]

1 Large ripe avocado

1-2 cups Ice cubes or crushed ice

1 cup Milk

Sugar

Sweetened condensed milk (optional)

Dash salt

Place avocado, some ice and a little milk in blender and begin on low speed. As it starts to whiz, increase the speed. It will sound burdened and bumpy as it works on the ice cubes. You may need to stop and push down with a spatula. Once it’s going well, add the rest of the milk and blend on fast speed until smooth. Taste and add sugar and condensed milk to taste.