This is the reporting thread for Andrea Nguyen quarter. This selection includes the following titles:
EVER-GREEN VIETNAMESE
VIETNAMESE FOOD ANY DAY
THE PHO COOKBOOK
THE BANH MI HANDBOOK
MAKING SOY MILK AND TOFU AT HOME
ASIAN TOFU
ASIAN DUMPLINGS
INTO THE VIETNAMESE KITCHEN
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That looks good. How are you thinking to cook the meatballs if you want to avoid the tomato sauce? I agree that it sounds odd but then when I consider meatballs in tomato sauce, they usually are leaning italian. This sauce doesn’t seem to really make it into the sandwich itself.
I guess meatball banh mi is a fairly recent innovation:
“Lary from San Diego, CA, wrote asking about a meatball version called banh mi xiu mai. I was not familiar with such a thing and was befuddled by the xiu mai in the name, which suggests that the sandwich contains the popular Cantonese dumpling served at dim sum”
I’m thinking I’ll make it with the sauce. The chicken char sui banh mi looks a lot easier to tackle first, we have a good grill and access to a good Mexican bakery for bollilo rolls.
I made Tofu - Mushroom curry from EverGreen this evening. Pretty much as written although I used the suggested Marmite in lieu of MSG and I squeezed in some lime juice at the end as I had no lemongrass. All in all, very good.
This looked like a good excuse to get some collard greens. The recipe calls for cooked greens. See the note at the end of the recipe for guidance on how much to buy. I didn’t see the note, but bought a massive bunch of collards (is there any other kind?) and cooked them all. In the note that I didn’t read, the author suggests microwaving the greens, which would be ideal for a smaller amount, but enough greens to make two cups after cooking is a lot when raw, so I opted for my 6 qt Instant Pot. Once you have your cooked greens, you chop them up (“coarsely into smallish pieces,” per the book, which means???). I chopped them how I wanted. You mix these greens with fresh herbs. She gives you options. I went with dill, shiso, and cilantro. Season with fish sauce and black pepper. I have not made the vegan fish sauce in the book yet, but I had Charity Morgan’s recipe already made and used that. Mix in salt if you think it needs it, and some cornstarch, then add eggs. The recipe calls for 6 large eggs. I used an entire carton of Just Egg, which is the equivalent of 10 small eggs. Close enough. Pan fry the pancakes, and serve with chile sauce for dipping. I didn’t make either of the recommended chile sauce recipes from the book, and just used a hot sauce I had on hand.
These were good. Not super exciting, so I’m not raring to make them again, but I would if I had a bunch of greens to use up.
We liked this. It is a very mild, mellow sort of curry, even with increased curry powder and cayenne. But if you browned the onions (and maybe added the MSG) it has a certain richness to it. I feel this recipe was somewhat sloppily written, which I don’t think I have ever said about a Grace Young recipe before, and wouldn’t have expected to ever say. But the results were good.
I have the book right next to me in the office. She says Madras-style curry powder or a combo of ground coriander, garam masala, and ground turmeric. I used a hot curry blend instead that I get from a local market.
I used Penzey’s majarajah curry powder, which is not the Madras curry powder called for, and is mild, heat-wise, though very aromatic. I upped the red chile to compensate.
TIBETAN BEEF AND SICHUAN PEPPERCORN DUMPLINGS(SHA MOMO). Asian Dumplings p. 57
SPICY ROASTED TOMATO SAUCE p. 218
BASIC DUMPLING DOUGH p. 22
This was a bit of a project, but a delicious one. Dough and filling came together quickly, and the only labour-intensive part was the rolling out and crimping. Both sauce and filling are simply spiced with garlic, ginger and Sichuan peppercorns. I used last summer’s frozen tomatoes and peppers, so instead of broiling, I just brought to a boil and put through a food mill as my mother can’t have seeds. Dumplings were very juicy—I used medium ground beef, and very flavourful. Would love to make again but I need to lie down. Ate too many! Would be much quicker with bought wrappers and I may do that another time.
I’ve been wanting to make more from this book. I agree the dumpling dough comes together easily, and it’s reasonably easy to work with. That was the first time I’d used fresh, homemade dough rather than store-bought wrappers.
