Finally, life slowed down a bit, and I have more time.
Made the NYT Braised Pork Ribs Recipe by Tanis sometime last week.
Shallots and lemongrass chopped(I used dried, didn’t have fresh ones), soy sauce, fish sauce, Chile paste, sugar, five spice powder, grated garlic, grated ginger, mix everything. Marinate the ribs with the marinade for some hours or 1 night. Heat oven to 230ºC / 450ºF, add 2 cup of water, cook for 30 minutes with foil covering the pot or pan. Lower the heat to 180ºC/350ºF and cook for 1 hour more. Remover cover and cook for another 15 minutes to brown the ribs. Pour the sauce to a pan and reduce. Garnish the dish with scallions, cilantro and mint springs. Tender and yummy.
The next day, I made Bun Chà Hanoi, first I cooked the meatball - Thịt Heo Viên Kho (recipe here). For the Bun Chà, I added the leftover braise pork. Very fulfilling meal.
How can we left out nem chua? The amazing fermented pork: spicy, sour, savoury and sweet. The texture is interesting with the pig skin, minced meat, crunchy garlic and chili. I am not sure if one can make it at home easily.
Actually, it is commonly made at home. Most people use a prepared spice packet since it already contains the sodium nitrite required for curing. In the U.S. , people wary of food safety often make it using beef instead of pork and even making a copy cat version out of ham is also popular. I think the hardest part is wrapping the little bundles, especially if you are going to use banana leaves. A google search will yield lots of recipes.
Thanks for bringing up nem chua. It is indeed delicious.
Soak the fungus until soft, slice them thinly. Slice the chicken. Marinate the chicken with nuoc mam for at least 30 minutes. Heat up the pan with neutral oil , cook chicken in high heat for 3 minutes, add slice onion, fungus, chicken juice and cook 30 minutes. Check the seasoning: salt, pepper and nuoc mam. Garnish with coriander. Personal touch: I add some fermented Kampot black pepper.
Like the chicken dish a lot, the kampot pepper added another dimension to the dish. I saw the online photos of the same dish has a golden brown sauce, I wonder if it was the reduced chicken juice (that I omitted).
Made some banh mi with it. The real French baguette was not quite right, the industrial bread here would be closer to the crispy Vietnamese version, with thin crust and a more neutral taste since the taste of ham wasn’t very strong. A lot of mint and coriander with fresh onion, tomatoes, lettuce and Maggi sauce! (I remembered them using that with the sandwich).
Do restaurant meals count? We had excellent Bun Bo Hue (beef slice and lemon grass noodle soup) and Bun Thit Nuong Cha Gio (spring rolls on vermicelli with grilled pork) at Pho Hong Thom in Bridgeport, CT after taking the ferry across the Long Island Sound. With the very good food we had some bottled water, and got out for under $20.
Of course! Recreating restaurant dishes is one of my favorite cooking activities. Bun Bo Hue is one of my favorites but I have never gotten around to making it at home.
Lebovitz’s advice on rice noodles in the blog was perfect (wrap it in a tea towel to drain before you dress it w nuoc mam/lime/chili/sugar + fresh herbs)
