PAPAYA SALAD WITH PRAWNS AND MEAT – GỎI ĐU ĐỦ TÔM THỊT

Ingredients

1                            green papaya (about 450g/1 lb)

200g (7 oz)          pork belly

200 (7 oz)                        small shrimps

1                            carrot, finely shredded

1                            jalapeno pepper, seeded, ½ shredded, ½ minced

3                            small shallots, sliced thinly and soaked in vinegar for 10 minutes

2                            teaspoons minced garlic

50g (2 oz)                        roasted peanuts, crushed

2                            tablespoons sugar

1                            tablespoon fish sauce

4                            teaspoons salt

2                            tablespoons lime juice

¼                           cup Vietnamese coriander, minced

1                            tablespoon browned shallots

¼                           cup vinegar

1                            pack shrimp crackers (100g/ 4 oz), deep – fried

Dipping sauce: Garlic – chill fish sauce

Recipe:

1. Peel papaya, remove seeds and shred finely. Mix and squeenze papaya and carrot with 2 teaspoons of salt, then wash and drain well

2. Wash shrimps. Mix ¼ cup of vinegar with ¼ cup of water and 1 teaspoon of salt. Boil, add shrimps and leave for 5 minutes. Take shrimps out, peel shells but keep tails

3. Boil belly pork in ½ liter of water and a teaspoon of salt for about 20 minutes. Take out, slice thinly with length of about 3 centimeters

4. Mix fish sauce with lime juice, minced jalapeno pepper, minced garlic and sugar

5. Mix papaya, shredded carrot with shrimps, meat shallots, minced Vietnamese coriander and jalapeno pepper with the fish sauce mixture

6. Place the salad on a dish. Sprinkle with browned shallots and roasted peanuts on top

7. After mixing, serve immediately with shrimp crackers and garlic – chili fish sauce

Note: You may use kohlrabi instead of green papaya.

FRESH SPRING ROLLS ( Gỏi cuốn)  

Ingredients:

600g (1.5 lbs)            shrimpls (kind of 60 shrimps/ kg)

20                                rice pappers (20 cm in diameter)

200g (7 oz)                pork belly

300g (10 oz)              fresh rice vermicelli (or 100g dried rice noodles)

2                                  lettuce heads

200g (7 oz)                vegetables (Thai basil, lemon basil)

200g (7 oz)                Chinese chives, cut into 10 cm lenghs

3                                  teaspoons of salt

1                                  cup bean sprouts

½                                 cup of vinegar

Dipping sause: Soybean paste (or hoisin) sause

1. Take the leaves of vegetables and lettuce, rinse and drain well. If using dried rice vermicelli, dip in hot water for about 3 minutes, drain well

2. Wash shrimps well. Mix ½ cup of vinegar with ¼ cup of water and 2 teaspoons of salt. Boil with shrimps for about 5 minutes. Take shrimps out, shell and remove heads

3. Boil pork in ½ liter of water and 1 tablespoons of salt for about 20 minutes. Then take pork out, thinly slice about 3x5 cm

4. Take a rice paper, place on a dish and wet with water. Arrange 2 chives, 1 lettuce leaf, some Thai basil leaves, some bean sprouts, some rice vermicelli, 3 pork slices and 2 or 3 shrimps on a wrapper

5. Roll tightly. Notice to let the chives be longer than the rolls about 3 cm. Continue to roll until running out of ingredients

6. Serve with a bowl of soybean paste (or hoisin) sauce

FRIED RICE (Cơm chiên)

Ingredients:

450g (1 lb)                 cooked rice (about 4 bowls), cool

100g (3 ½ oz)            pork, fried and diced

100g (3 ½ oz)            Chinese sausage, fried and diced

100g (3 ½ oz)            crab meat (if available)

2                                  eggs

60g (2 oz)                  dried shrimps, soaked

200g (7 oz)                carrot, diced

2                                  onions, diced

5                                  tablespoons cooking oil

3                                  teaspoons stock granules

1                                  teaspoon ground pepper

4                                  cloves garlic, bruised

2                                  tablespoons soy sauce

1                                  cucumber

2                                  tomatoes

4                                  sprigs cilantro

                                    Jalapeno chilies (for garnishing)

1. Heat a skillet, add 2 teaspoons of cooking oil and 2 bruised cloves of garlic to brown. Then, add crab meat and stir – fry for 5 minutes. Add carrots, dried shrimps, Chinese sausages and pork in turn. Stir – fry for another 5 minutes. Season with a teaspoon of stock granules.

2. Heat another skillet and add 3 teaspoons of cooking oil, brown 2 cloves of garlic. Add rice to stir – fry over low heat for 10minutes. Add onions. Season with stock granules and ground pepper

3. Beat eggs well and pour gradually into rice. Stir well until eggs are cooked

4. Combine carrots, dried shrimps, Chinese sausages, pork and crab meat with rice. Stir well. Remove the mixture from heat

5. Fill each bowl with cooked rice, press hard. Then, turn the bowls upside down and pour rice on a dish. Garnish with tomatoes, cucumbers, cilantro and jalapeno chilies. Serve with a bowl of soy sauce

Note: - Chicken, bacon and sausages can be used instead of fried pork. Rice is still tasty

-          To prevent fried rice from sticking together, turn up rice before and after it is cool.

SEAFOOD HOT POT (Lẩu Hải sản)   

Ingredients:

1.5 liter (6 cups)       broth

100g (3 ½ oz)            fish ball

200g (7 oz)                fish fillet, thinly sliced

200g (7 oz)                fresh shrimps

200g (7 oz)                squid, processed (skinned)

1kg (2.2 lbs)              clams

200g (7 oz)                straw mushrooms

2                                  tablespoons lemongrass, minced (or lemongrass powder)

50g (2 oz)                  tamarind (seeds removed)

3                                  teaspoons stock granules (or 2 flavor bouillon cubes)

½                                 teaspoon salt

1                                  teaspoon garlic, minced

2                                  tablespoons cooking oil

1                                  tablespoon sugar

2                                  tablespoons fish sauce

2                                  tomatoes, cut into 8 pieces

1                                  jalapeno pepper, minced

200g (7 oz)                edible chrysanthemum (Tong Ho), well washed, cut into 2 inches lengths

200g (7 oz)                fresh enoki mushrooms (or canned)

200g (7 oz)                water spinach, well chosen with leaves removed, cut into 3 inches lengths

1kg (2.2 lbs)              fresh rice vermicelli

1. Wash squid well. Slightly carve the inside into a diamond shape with a knife. Then, cut squid into 3 inches lengths and 1.5 inches widths. Scald fried fish balls in boiling water

2. Peel and wash straw mushrooms. Soak in salt water for 20 minutes, pick up and drain them. Cut large mushrooms in half. Wash enoki mushrooms well, cut off their roots

3. Pickle tamarinds with a cup a cup of boiling water to get brown pickle of tamarind

4. Heat 2 tablespoons of cooking oil in a skillet, add minced garlic and lemongrass to brown. Then, add tomatoes and stir – fry together. Season with ½ teaspoon of stock granules

5. Boil the broth, add tamarind pickle and straw mushrooms. Season the broth with stock granules, salt and sugar. Then, add tomatoes and lemongrass. Add minced jalapeno pepper (optional). Season again

6. Arrange shrimps, squid, fried fish balls, fish fillet and clams on the tray of the hot pot

7. Arrange enoki mushrooms, edible chrysanthemum, water spinach on a large dish

8. Place a cooker and the dish with vegetables on the table. Fill a pot with the broth and place it on the cooker. While the hot pot broth is boiling, add  other ingredients gradually to cook right on the table.

9. Serve with fresh rice vermicelli and fish sauce

Note: - Friendly meetings with friends or family members are good fresh opportunities to make  and enjoy hot pots in a warm environment

-          Noodles can be use instead of vermicelli. Cook noodles in boiling water with a little salt for 2 minutes (for noodles to be just cooked), drain it. Combine noodles with a tablespoon of cooking oil for noodles not to stick together. Vegetables served with the hot pot can be freely chosen.