Ca Ri Ga (vietnamese chicken curry)

Not to be confused with the "vietnamese curry soup" that I posted ages ago, this dish tends to have a curry sauce that's a tad thicker, so that you can sop up all the delicious curry sauce with some crispy french baguette (or Vietnamese baguette if you can get your hands on some!! It's basically a shorter airier version of your typical french baguette, normally used to make the banh mi sandwiches that have been all the rage these past few years.)

This recipe is adapted from Mai Pham's recipe - I simply added some more heat and sweetness.

- 2 tbsp oil (vegetable or olive)
- 2 shallots, thinly sliced (I used my trusty mandolin, but my thumb accidentally got caught up in the mix and the hates me for it)
- 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1 plus 4 tbsp madras curry powder
- 5 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 1 (4 -inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch-thigh slices
- 4 stalks lemongrass, cut into 2-inch pieces, bruised
- 2 (14 oz.) cans chicken broth
- 1 (14 oz.) can coconut milk
- 1 small thai chili pepper, cut into small pieces
- 6 kaffir lime leaves
- 4 tbsp fish sauce
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 lb sweet potato, cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 small yellow onion, cut into thin wedges
- 1 (14 oz) can baby corn, cut into 2 inch pieces

How to work with lemongrass:

Lemongrass is one of those ingredients with which I have a love-hate relationship.  It's not super easy to chop, and I feel like I throw away so much of it.  Generally when I'm adding it to a soup, what I'll do is take the long stalk and peel off the outside layer.  I'll chop one inch from the bottom root, and then use the next foot or so, throwing away the thin tops.  So - do this with you lemongrass: peel the lemongrass, chop one inch off the bottom root, and then chop every two inches until you use about a foot of the grass.  To "bruise" the lemongrass, take the handle of your knife and pound the pieces so that some of the flavor starts to seep out.  (Don't go cray cray - I'll usually hit each pieces 2-3 times.)  You should be able to smell it.

1) In a large dutch oven (because Le Creusets rule!), heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the shallots, garlic, and 1 tbsp of curry powder.  Stir until fragrant, about a minute.

2) Add the chicken thighs, skin side down.  (Make room so that the skin touches the bottom of the dutch oven - I found myself placing the shallots on TOP of the meat as the meat was browning.)  Brown the meat without moving it for 3-5 minutes.  Don't burn the skin, you just want a little caramelization for flavor.

3) Add the chicken broth and deglaze the pot.  This means pour in the liquid and then start to scrape the bottom of the pan to get all the flavor into the broth.

4) Add the coconut milk, ginger, lemongrass, lime leaves, thai pepper, fish sauce, salt, sugar, and 4 tbsp curry powder.  Simmer about 20 minutes.

5) Add the potatoes, baby corn and onions and simmer an additional 20-25 minutes until the vegetables are done.

6) Adjust seasoning to taste.  I find usually myself adding more sugar or fish sauce.

7) Serve with some toasted baguette and enjoy!

Vietnamese Stuffed Tomatoes - Ca Chua Nhoi Thit

I couldn't get a good after pic worthy of displaying as the first pic for this recipe. Seriously though, I can't believe I haven't made these before. And for those reading, I have a special treat for you: the filling for these tomatoes is...wait for it...the same as the filling for my Vietnamese egg rolls! Ta-da!!

Really though, this is another one of those very traditional Vietnamese dishes that you'll very rarely find in a restaurant. And, ugh, I always feel lame typing this, but if you skip the bean thread noodles like I did, this is a paleo-friendly dish.

INGREDIENTS

- 1 lb ground pork

- 1/2 lb the cheapest (smallest) raw shrimp sold at the seafood counter

- 1 tsp fish sauce (and add'l to taste)

- 1 tsp honey

- 1 tsp ground pepper

- 2 tbsp diced shallots

- 1/4 cup woodear mushrooms, dried (sometimes labeled in Asian grocery stores as "black fungus")

- 1 bunch of bean thread noodles

- 4 large beefsteak tomatoes

- 1 tbsp minced garlic

DIRECTIONS

1) Fill two separate bowls with warm water. In one bowl, place the dried mushrooms. In the other, place the dried bean thread noodles. Here's a pic of what the dried mushrooms look like before and after they've been re-hydrated.

2) Coursely chop the shrimp and place in a bowl.

3) Add pork and all other ingredients except the tomatoes and garlic into the bowl with the shrimp. (If you wanna splurge, feel free to substitute with crab meat here!) 

4) Mix with your hands until ingredients are blended. (Get messy!!) Set aside.

5) Cut the tomatoes in half horizontally, and core out the insides, placing the pulp in a medium sized bowl.

6) Using a potato masher, mash the tomato pulp so that there are no longer any large chunks. Set aside.

7) Scoop the pork meat into the tomatoes so that they heap over the tomato just a bit (less than a centimeter. See very first picture.)

8) In a pan, toss in the oil and garlic and sauté two minutes.

9) Place the tomatoes in, meat facing down so that it browns first. Pour in the tomato pulp around the edges of the tomatoes. (I had some extra meat that wouldn't fit into a tomato so I just cooked it like a meatball.)

10) Cook on medium high for about 15 minutes, covered.

11) Flip the tomatoes ONCE (carefully) and continue to cook for another five minutes, uncovered.

12) When the meat is done, remove the tomatoes and continue to reduce the sauce until a decent layer covers the back of a spoon.

13) when the sauce is done, spoon some on top of the tomatoes and serve!

Green Papaya Salad with Grilled Steak

This is Bobby Flay's take on a Vietnamese staple. I made a few changed to his recipe, using my own version of Nuoc Cham as the salad dressing. The recipe is a bit labor intensive (julienning the papaya taking the most time), but you get a refreshing result. A great salad for a summer night.

Steak Marinade

 

- 4 cloves garlic, chopped

- 1 Thai chile pepper, chopped

- 2 tbsp soy sauce

- 1 tbsp fresh lime juice

- 2 tbsp honey

- 1/4 cup oil

- 1.5 lb beef (tenderloin is a good choice)

1) Place all ingredients in a bag and marinate for 30-60 min.

Nuoc Cham (aka Viet Dipping Sauce)

- 3 tbsp fresh like juice

- 2 tbsp honey

- 1/2 cup water

- 2.5 tbsp fish sauce

- 1 small garlic clove, crushed

1) Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Let sot for at least 30 min. Makes 3/4 cup.

Papaya Salad Ingredients

- 1 whole green papaya, julienned

- a bunch of watercress, chopped

- half a cucumber, chopped

- fresh cilantro for garnishing

- 1 whole avocado, sliced

RECIPE DIRECTIONS

Ever seen a green papaya?

1) Peel the papaya, then chop it in half. Here's what you'll see...

2) Scoop out the seeds, and with your julienne tool, julienne the papaya so that you get a big pile of spaghetti looking strings.

3) Pour 2/3 of the dressing over the papaya. This will sweat the papaya a bit (water will release from the papaya itself.

4) Cook the steak on your favorite iron skillet to a beautiful rare. (Or, if you're a chicken, medium rare. Anything more done than that you probably shouldn't even be reading this blog.)

5) When the steak is done, set aside to 5 minutes on a plate. (It's still cooking.)

6) Add watercress, cucumber and cilantro to the papaya. Mix it all together. (Don't be afraid to use your hands.)

7) Plate the papaya salad, making sure to let any excess dressing drop off before placing it on your plate or in your bowl.

8) Ice the avocado and steak and arrange on top of the salad.

9) Drizzle the remaining dressing on the salad, and enjoy!

Crispy Lemongrass Tofu

An homage to my favorite Vietnamese restaurant in ATL that closed a few years ago: Nam. Almost every single time I went, I ordered the same thing: Crispy Lemongrass Tofu. (We thought we'd try Meatless Mondays for dinner!)

I found the recipe online, and it tastes just the restaurant!

Here's the link:

http://projects.eveningedge.com/recipes/crispy-lemon-grass-tofu/

Vietnamese Chicken Curry Noodle Soup

I've had curry noodle soup before, but sometimes I find it a tad too heavy. I adjusted a Vietnamese Ca Ri (translation: curry) recipe I found to make the curry soup more brothy and less creamy. It turned out fantastic, with the consistency of the broth more like a traditional ramen broth (heavier than pho, but still perfect for rice noodles) as opposed to a curry dish I would dip french bread in (which tends to be really creamy.) Also, instead of a regular yam, I found some Japanese yams (which are white instead of orange) which are a tad less sweet. (What a great find at the Orient Mart here in Athens on the East Side.)

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons madras curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 2 pounds skinless bone-in chicken thighs (usually 4 thighs)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped shallot
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons ground chili paste or dried chili flakes, or to taste
• 4 tablespoons fish sauce (more to taste)
• 2 tablespoon sugar
• 2 lemongrass stalks, cut into 3-inch pieces and bruised with the flat side of a knife
• 1 (2-inch) piece ginger, peeled, cut into 3 slices and bruised with the flat side of a knife
• 3-4 cups fresh chicken stock or store-bought low-sodium chicken broth
• 3 carrots, peeled, cut on the diagonal into 2/3-inch pieces
• 1 12 oz. unsweetened coconut MILK
• 1 12 oz. can coconut WATER
• 1 yellow onion, cut into wedges
• 1 medium sweet potato (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 cup chopped snow peas
• 1 can baby corn, drained
• 1 package chopped mushrooms
• 15-20 Thai basil leaves
• Chopped cilantro for garnish
• cooked rice (pho) noodles 

Preparation

1. Combine 2 tablespoons of the curry powder and the salt in a bowl. Add the chicken and turn to coat the meat evenly. Set aside for 30 minutes.

2. Heat the oil in a medium pot over moderate heat. Add the shallot, garlic, chili paste and the remaining curry powder, and stir until fragrant, about 10 seconds. Add the chicken and cook until the edges of the pieces are golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the fish sauce, sugar, lemongrass, ginger and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer.

3) Add remaining ingredients and cook until the vegetables are tender, about an hour. Taste throughout the hour and add fish sauce/sugar/more basil to taste. 

4) Add some cooked rice noodles to a large bowl, then top with a chicken thigh and broth including veggies. Garnish with cilantro.  

5) Enjoy!

Bo Kho

One of my favorite Vietnamese dishes growing up, so I finally decided during my snow day to try making it myself! (And I have to admit, it turned out awesome!) Bo Kho is usually eaten as a stew with some airy French baguette pieces to dip in the stew. Sometimes folks eat it as a noodle dish (think Pho), but I prefer it with the bread. 

INGREDIENTS

- 2-3 pounds bone-in beef cut (this time around I used two large pieces of beef shank, and some short ribs that were on sale)

- 3 tsp madras curry powder

- 3 tsp Chinese five spice powder

- 3 stalks lemongrass (or lemongrass purée if you can't find fresh stalks at the store)

- 2-inch knob ginger, cut into big slices

- 1 stick of cinnamon
- 3 star anise
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tsp salt
- 6-oz can tomato paste
- 2 carrots, cut into 2-inch chunks
- 3 potatoes or more, cut into 2 -inch chunks
- 1 cup pearl onions, or 1 large onion, cut into 2 inch chunks

1) Season the beef with some curry powder, five spice powder, and if you're using lemongrass paste, some of that. (If you're using lemongrass stalks, don't worry about this step.)

2) In a large Dutch oven, brown the beef in small batches in some olive oil. 

3) Remove the beef and set aside.

4) Toss the potatoes, onions, and all the remaining ingredients into the same Dutch oven. (Be sure to scrape up all the brown pieces from the bottom of the pan.) 

5) Add back in the beef and fill the pot with water so that the beef is covered, (about a 3/4 full pot.)

6) Let simmer for three hours.

7) Toast the baguette and serve with the dish!

Canh (Vietnamese cabbage soup)

Another Vietnamese staple - canh! (And luckily, one of Jonathan's favorites.) Growing up, we'd always have a soup like this, a protein dish, and Jasmine rice

for dinner. This can also be made with other veggies instead of cabbage. I've used cauliflower (one of my FAVES as a kid), chayote squash and watercress in the past. Don't like pork? Ground up or just throw in some whole shrimp instead (or IN ADDITION to pork!)

for meat:

1/3 - 1/2 pound ground pork (I usually take two thin sliced boneless pork chops and grind them in my mini-prep cuisinart)

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. sugar

1/8-1/4 tsp. pepper

half head cabbage sliced into small strips

for broth:

4 cups chicken broth

1/2 tbsp fish sauce

1 tsp. sugar

1 clove garlic, minced

1 shallot, minced

dash of oil

Chopped cilantro and/or fried shallots for garnishing

1) Mix ingredients for ground meat and set aside. (If you're lazy, I sometimes just slice up pieces of pork instead of grinding it.)

2) In medium stock pot, heat oil, garlic and shallot until fragrant.

3) Pour in chicken broth and bring to boil.

4) As you're bringing the broth to a boil, drop in small chunks of pork (about half tsp. size). 

5) Let pork cook in boiling broth for 1-2 minutes.

6) Add sliced cabbage, fish sauce and sugar.

7) Reduce heat to medium, cover pot, and let simmer for 15-20 minutes.

8) Optional: Season/garnish each individual bowl with fresh cracked pepper, chopped cilantro and friend shallots before serving.

Thit Kho

Mom used to make this all the time. It's funny that this dish is often found on dinner tables in Vietnamese homes, but rarely will you ever find it at a Vietnamese restaurant. (They have versions of braised meats, like the ones normally made in clay pots, but rarely this dish with the hard-boiled eggs!)

Here's how I made it!

- 3 tbsp coconut caramel sauce (bought at an Asian grocery store bc I can't make caramel on my own for the life of me!)

- two cloves garlic, minced

- dash of olive oil

- 2 soda cans of coconut water/juice with pulp

- 2-3 tbsp fish sauce

- 1 lb pork, cut into inch-and-a-half cubes (traditionally this dish is made with pork belly, but tonight I used tenderloin because it was on sale)

- 6 peeled hard-boiled eggs

- 1-2 tbsp brown sugar to taste

- cilantro for garnish

1) Par boil the chunks of pork for 2-3 minutes to get rid of the impurities. (This will ultimately make the juice clear and not cloudy.) Remove pork from boiling water and set aside.

2) In a big pot (I use my trusty Le Creuset Dutch oven) heat the caramel, garlic and olive oil. 

3) Add the pork to the pan so that all the pork is eventually covered in the caramel. Add fish sauce and allow to cook for 3-4 minutes.

4) Pour the two cans of coconut water I to the pot. Add the hard-boiled eggs. Cook on a simmer for at least 30-45 minutes, covered. The longer it cooks, the more flavorful it gets!

5) Like always, taste it while the sauce is cooking. This time around, I added some brown sugar to sweeten the sauce a bit.

5) Serve over white rice and garnish with cilantro.

(A side note...one of my favorite things to do is to cut open the hard-boiled egg and pour some of the sauce on it so that the yolk soaks up the yummy sauce!)

If you want a more detailed recipe with pics taken while cooking, check out this link. 

http://gastronomyblog.com/2007/03/20/thit-kho/