Vietnamese Vegetable Fried Rice

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Ingredients:
1/4 cup light soy sauce
3 tablespoons rice wine or dry sherry
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons peanut oil
2 eggs -- lightly beaten
1 carrot -- in 1/2" cubes
1 red bell pepper -- in 1/2" cubes
1/2 cup frozen peas
4 cups cold cooked rice

Directions:
Combine the ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl. Mix to blend well and set aside.
Place a small skillet over medium heat. When it begins to smoke, add 2 tablespoons of peanut oil and the lightly beaten eggs. Stir until the eggs are firm but moist. Transfer the eggs from the skillet to a small bowl and break them into small curds. Set aside.

Bring 1 quart of water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the carrot and boil 1 minute. Drain and rinse in cold water. Drain again and reserve.

Place a wok over medium-high heat. When it begins to smoke, add the remaining 1/4 cup of peanut oil and the garlic. Stir briefly. Add the carrots, celery, red pepper, and peas. Stir-fry 1 minute. Stir in the rice and stir-fry 1 minute. Pour in the sauce and cook until the rice is heated through, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Serve hot.

Congee with Vegetables

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Ingredients:
1 recipe Congee
1/2 pound spinach
1 egg
1 tablespoon ginger -- finely shredded
1 scallion -- thinly sliced
1 medium tomato -- coarsely chopped
salt and pepper -- to taste

Directions:
Prepare congee following the basic recipe. Meanwhile, wash the spinach, trim any tough stems, and pat dry. Lightly beat the egg. When the congee is cooked, stir in the egg, ginger, scallion, spinach, and tomato.
Cook just until the spinach is wilted and the tomato is heated through, about 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Grilled Dried Beef (Thit Bo Kho)

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Ingredients:
1 pound Lean bottom round or -- sirloin, in one piec 6 inches in Diameter
2 Stalks fresh lemon grass -- or 2 tablespoons dri grass
2 small Red chile peppers -- seeded
2 1/2 tablespoons Sugar or honey
1 tablespoon Nuoc mam (Vietnamese fish -- sauce)
3 tablespoons Light soy sauce

Directions:
Here's a Vietnamese version of beef "jerky" made with red chilies and honey or sugar that sounds like it's off in the direction of your Chinese Dried Fried Beef recipe.
This Vietnamese-style "beef Jerky" is delicious served with drinks. The Vietnamese enjoy eating it as a snack with glutinous rice. It is also an ingredient in Green Papaya Salad.

Cut the beef across the grain onto very thin 3 by 3 inch slices. If you are using fresh lemon grass, discard the outer leaves and upper half of the stalk. Cut into thin slices and finely chop. If you are using dried lemon grass, soak in warm water for 1 hour. Drain and finely chop.

Combine the chiles and sugar in a mortar and pestle and pound to a fine paste. Add the chopped lemon grass, fish sauce and soy sauce and stir to blend. (If using a blender, combine all of these and blend to a very fine paste.) Spread the paste over the beef pieces to coat both sides. Let marinate for 30 minutes.

Spread out each slice of marinated beef on a large, flat wire rack or baking sheet. Let stand in the sun until both sides are completely dried, about 12 hours. (You can also place a rack on a jelly roll pan and let the beef dry in the refrigerator for 2 days.)

Grill the beef over a medium charcoal fire or transfer the rack from the refrigerator to the middle of a preheated 400F oven and bake until brown and crisp, about 10 minutes.
Serve with glutinous rice.

Com Chien Thap Cam - Fried Rice with Sausage, Shri

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Ingredients
1 2/3 cups long-grain white rice
6 dried Chinese mushrooms
2 Chinese sausages
1/4 pound raw shrimp
1/4 cup vegetable oil -- plus 1 tablespoon
1 medium onion
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1/2 pound crab meat
2 eggs
2 large scallions
Asian Mushroom= caps, dried, 1 to 1-1/2 inches in diameter
Chinese Sausage= sweet, mild, cured, pork. About 6" long sold in pairs.
Shrimp size= 21 to 25 shrimp per pound.
Fish Sauce= nam pla. Use Vietnamese or Thai fish sauce.
Crab meat= fresh, frozen, canned. Rinse and sort to discard shell, cartilage.

Directions:
Day before
- prepare rice. Bring 6 quarts of unsalted water to a boil over high heat in a large, heavy pot. Stirring constantly, slowly pour in the rice in a thin stream. Reduce the heat to moderate and let the rice boil uncovered for about 15 minutes, or until the grains are somewhat tender but are still slightly firm to the bite. Drain the rice in a large sieve, fluffing it with a fork. Transfer rice to a large bowl and set it aside to cool to room temperature. Cover the bowl tightly and refrigerate overnight or for at least 12 hours.
Day of
- Place MUSHROOMS in a small bowl containing 1 1/2 cups hot water. Soak for at least 30 minutes until soft. Remove mushrooms. Discard water. Rinse mushrooms of any remaining grit and cut off and discard any stems. Slice each cap crosswise into 1/2-inch strips.
- Cut ONION in half lengthwise and slice lengthwise into 1/4 inch strips.
- Wash and trim SCALLIONS, keeping most of the green tops. Cut scallions into 1-inch pieces and slice pieces lengthwise into 1/4-inch side strips.
- Shell the SHRIMP. Devein. Chop into 1/4 inch bits and set aside.
- Cut SAUSAGE into 1-1/8 inch slices. Fry the sausages in a wok over moderate heat, stirring constantly for about 2 minutes, or until the slices are delicately browned on both sides and the edges are crisp. Drain on absorbent paper.
- Heat 1/4 cup oil in wok. Drop in the ONIONS and stirring constantly, cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until they are soft. Regulate heat to prevent browning.
- Add MUSHROOMS, then the chilled rice and stirring constantly with a fork, cook for about 3 minutes, or until the rice ie heated through. - Stir in the FISH SAUCE.
- Push the rice to the edge of the wok to make a well in the center. Pour in the remaining oil and drop the SHRIMP into it. Without stirring rice, cook the shrimp, for about 2 minutes, turning as they become firm and pink.
- Mix the shrimp into the rice and still stirring, cook over moderate heat for 5 minutes. Do not let the rice brown. Stir in the CRAB meat and the SAUSAGE and cook for 2 minutes. Break EGGS, one at a time, stirring well after each addition.
- Mix in the SCALLIONS and taste for seasoning; add salt or more fish sauce if rice seems too bland. Serve the fried rice mounded on a large heated platter or bowl.

BBQ Five-Spice Cornish Game Hens

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Ingredients:
4 Cornish game hens (14 ounces -each)
4 Garlic cloves
2 Shallots, or 3 green onions, -white part only
1 1/2 tb Sugar
1/2 ts Salt
1/4 ts Black pepper
1/2 ts Five spice powder
1 1/2 tb Vietnamese fish sauce -(nouc mam)
1 1/2 tb Light soy sauce
1 1/2 tb Dry sherry

Directions:
This aromatic barbecued game hen can be easily served West- ern style with rice, cole slaw or a green salad. [But it would be better with Thai cucumber salad or Vietnamese carrot salad. Mmmm... S.C.]
Halve the hens through the breast. Flatten with the palm of your hand.

In a mortar or food processor, pound or mince garlic, shallots and sugar. Add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. Pour mixture over hens; marinate for at least 2 hours or overnight in refrigerator.

Set hens, skin-side down, on grill and barbecue over medium coals for 15 minutes. Turn and barbecue 15 minutes longer or until they are thoroughly cooked. Serve with Nuoc Cham dipping sauce.

Sour Fish Head Soup (Canh Chua Dau Ca)

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Ingredients:
2 Scallions, white part only, -crushed with the side of a -knife
Freshly ground black pepper
2 ts Salt
2 tb Plus 4 teaspoons fish sauce -(nuoc mam)
1 lg Fish head or fish carcass, -split down the center
1 qt Water
1/2 c Canned sliced sour bamboo
1/4 Fresh pineapple, cut in a -lengthwise section and -sliced
1 ds MSG (optional)
2 tb Mixed chopped fresh -coriander (Chinese parsley)
Scallion green

Directions:
An excellent way to get twice the pleasure out of your fish purchase. You can use either the fish head of the fish carcass if you wish. To the people of the South, this is as much their traditional dish as Southern Fried Chicken is to our southerners++and it will meet with instant praise
Sprinkle the scallions, black pepper, 1 teaspoon salt, and 4 teaspoons fish sauce over the fish head. Allow to stand for 10 to 15 minutes.

Bring 1 quart of water to a boil and drop in the sour bamboo and pineapple slices. Cook at a lively boil for 5 minutes. Drop fish head into the actively boiling water and, keeping at a boil, add the 2 tablespoons fish sauce, remaining teaspoon salt, and a dash of MSG. Boil the fish head for a total of 10 minutes. Transfer to a soup tureen, sprinkle on the coriander and scallion green, and serve.

NOTE: If the fish head is dropped into water that is not boiling, it will fall apart.
Makes 4 servings.

Vietnamese Chicken Curry

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Ingredients:
1 Stalk fresh lemon grass or 1 tb Dried
3 1/2 ts Curry powder
Fresh ground black pepper
1 ts Sugar
4 ts Salt
3 lb Chicken, cut up
7 tb Vegetable oil
3 Sweet potatoes or
3 White potatoes, peeled and -cubed
4 Cloves garlic, chopped
3 Bay leaves
1 lg Onion, cut into wedges, -separated
2 c Water
1 Carrot, 2-inch slices
2 c Coconut milk
1 c Milk or water *
* If you use canned coconut milk, you must use water.

Directions:
This is a real Vietnamese curry. Although adapted from the Indian, which is always made with white potatoes, the Vietnamese version has the option of using white or sweet potatoes, the latter being greatly favored by the Vietnamese. The Indian in- fluence is greatest in the South, where curried dishes are more popular than elsewhere in Vietnam.
This is usually served with noodles as a party dish. When it is part of a family meal, it is eaten with rice. Bach serves this to her children for breakfast, when it is served with French bread--another influence on the cuisine of Vietnam.

If you are using fresh lemon grass, simply remove the outer leaves and upper two-thirds of the stalks, then cut the remainder into 2-inch lengths. If you are, using, it must be soaked in warm water for 2 hours, then drained and chopped fine.

Combine the curry powder, black pepper, sugar, add salt and marinate the chicken in the mixture for at least 1 hour. Heat the oil and fry the potatoes over high heat until brown. (It is not necessary to completely cook potatoes at this point, only to brown them.) When well browned, remove from the pan and set aside until ready to cook the curry. Pour off most of the oil from the pan, leaving 2 tablespoons for cooking the chicken.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil over a high flame. Fry the garlic for a few seconds, then add the bay leaves, onion, and lemon grass; stir briefly and add the marinated chicken, stirring long enough to sear the meat slightly. Add the 2 cups of water and carrot, then cover and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer for 5 minutes; uncover and stir, then cook, covered, for another 10 minutes. Remove the cover and add the prefried potatoes, the coconut milk, and the milk. Cover again and simmer another 15 minutes. Serve with rice, Rice Sticks, or Japanese Alimentary Paste Noodles.

Chao Tom - Barbecued Shrimp Paste on Sugar Cane

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Ingredients:
1 tb Roasted rice powder
Scallion oil
Crisp-fried shallots
1 tb Roasted peanuts, ground
1 lb Raw shrimp in the shell
1 tb Salt
6 Garlic cloves, crushed
6 Shallots, crushed
2 Ounces rock sugar, crushed -to a powder, or
1 tb Granulated sugar
4 Ounces pork fat
4 ts Nuoc mam
Freshly ground black pepper
Peanut Sauce
Vegetable Platter
8 Ounces 6 1/2-inch rice -paper rounds (banh trang)
12 Piece fresh sugar cane, or
12 oz Sugar cane packed in light -syrup, drained
12 8-1/2 ea inch bamboo skewers -soaked in water for 30 -minutes
Vegetable oil, for shaping -shrimp paste
8 Ounces extra-thin rice -vermicelli

Directions:
Although this dish can be baked in an oven, I strongly suggest you grill it over charcoal, for the result is far superior. The dish may be prepared over 2 consecutive days. On day one, prepare the dipping sauce and condiments.
The Vegetable Platter and shrimp paste can be assembled the following day. Fresh sugar cane may be obtained at Caribbean markets; canned sugar cane is available at Asian grocery stores. Prepare the roasted rice powder, scallion oil, crisp-fried shallots and roasted peanuts. Set aside. Shell and devein the shrimp. Sprinkle the salt over the shrimp and let stand for 20 minutes. Rinse the shrimp thoroughly with cold water. Drain and squeeze between your hands to remove excess water. Dry thoroughly with paper towels. Coarsely chop the shrimp.

Boil the pork fat for 10 minutes. Drain and finely dice. In a food processor, combine the shrimp, garlic, shallots and sugar. Process until the shrimp paste pulls away from the sides of the container, stopping as necessary to scrape down the sides. The paste should be very fine and sticky. Add the pork fat, roasted rice powder, fish sauce and black pepper to taste to the processor. Pulse briefly, only enough to blend all of the ingredients. Cover and refrigerate.

Meanwhile, prepare the Peanut Sauce and Vegetable Platter. Cover the rice papers with a damp towel and a sheet of plastic wrap; keep at room temperature until needed.

Peel the fresh sugar cane; cut crosswise into 4-inch sections. Split each section lengthwise into quarters. (if using canned sugar cane, split each section lengthwise in half only, then thread 2 pieces lengthwise onto a skewer.) Pour about 1/4 cup of oil into a small bowl. Oil your fingers. Pick up and mold about 2 tablespoons of the shrimp paste around and halfway down a piece of fresh sugar cane. Leave about 1 1/2 inches of the sugar cane exposed to serve as a handle. (If using canned sugar cane, there is no need to leave a handle. The skewers will serve as handles.) Press firmly so that the paste adheres to the cane. Proceed until you have used all the shrimp paste.

Prepare a charcoal grill or preheat the oven to broil. Meanwhile, steam the noodles, then garnish with the scallion oil, crisp-fried shallots and ground roasted peanuts. Keep warm. Pour the peanut sauce into individual bowls and place the Vegetable Platter and rice papers on the table. Grill the shrimp paste on the sugar cane over medium coals, turning frequently. Or Broil, on a baking sheet lined with foil, under the broiler, about 6 inches from the heat, for 3 minutes on each side, or until browned. Transfer to a warm platter.

To serve, each diner dips a rice paper round in a bowl of warm water to make it pliable, then places the paper on a dinner plate. Different ingredients from the Vegetable Platter, some noodles and a piece of the shrimp paste, which has been removed from the sugar cane, are added. The rice paper is then roiled up to form a neat package. The roll is dipped in the Peanut Sauce and eaten out of hand. The remaining sugar cane may be chewed.

Vietnamese Spring Rolls

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1 serving

Ingredients:
FILLING
2 oz Cellophane noodles, -soaked in warm water for -20 minutes, then drained -and cut into 1-inch lengths
1 lb Ground pork
1 lg Onion, finely chopped
2 tb Tree ears, soaked in warm -water for 30 minutes, then -drained and finely chopped
3 Cloves garlic, finely -chopped
3 Shallots or white part of 3 -scallions, finely chopped
1 cn (7 ounces) crabmeat, -cartilage removed and meat -flaked with fingers
1/2 ts Freshly ground black pepper

PREPARATIONS FOR ASSEMBLING
20 Sheets dried rice papers -(banh trang)
4 Eggs, well beaten
2 c Peanut oil

ACCOMPANIMENTS FOR SERVING
Basic Vegetable Platter
Carrot Salad
Double recipe of Nuoc Cham
Directions
Combine the filling ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
Cut a round rice paper sheet into quarters. Place the cut rice paper on a flat surface. With a pastry brush, paint the beaten egg over the entire surface of each of the pieces. Before filling, wait for the egg mixture to take effect, softening the wrappers; this takes about 2 minutes. When you become adept at this, you can work on several wrappers at a time.

When the wrapper looks soft and transparent, place about 1 teaspoon of filling near the curved side, in the shape of a rectangle. Fold the sides over to enclose the filling and continue to roll.

After filling all the wrappers, pour the oil into a large frying pan, put the spring rolls into the cold oil, turn the heat to moderate, and fry for 20 to 30 minutes, until a lovely golden brown. (This is Bach's special method of keeping spring rolls crisp).

To serve the spring rolls, proceed as follows:

Arrange the ingredients for the vegetable platter (lettuce, mint leaves, coriander, and the cucumber slices) according to the directions preceding. Have ready the carrot salad and a bowl of nuoc cham. Each person has a bowl into which he places a bit of lettuce, 2 or 3 mint leaves, some coriander, and 2 cucumber slices. Each person then adds 1 or 2 spring rolls to his bowl, sprinkles with the nuoc cham, and eats the spring rolls and vegetables together, using chopsticks or a fork.

Additional carrot salad may be added to taste.

Another very popular serving method calls for placing the vegetables on a lettuce leaf, adding the spring roll, and rolling it into a cylinder. Holding the cylinder with his fingers, each diner then dips it into his own small bowl of nuoc cham.

Longganisa (filipino-style sausages)

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Yield: 1 Servings

Ingredients:
Mixture of 30percent ground beef And 70percent ground pork For every 2.2 pounds (1 kilo Mixture add:
2 1/2 tb Salt
1 1/2 tb Sugar
1 1/2 tb Soy sauce
2 tb Vinegar
2 tb Wine
1/8 ts Saltpeter; (salitre)
1 ts Ground pepper
2 ts Chopped garlic
Sausage casings-Available any butcher shop

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together and cure mixture for 5-6 days in the refrigerator and stuff into casings. This kind of sausage should be stored in a cooler, ready for use. To cook: Place a small amount of water in a skillet. Place sausages and let boil in water for about 10 minutes. With a fork, pierce casings. The Longganisa will be ready when juices flow out and turn a dark caramel color. The sausages should also turn the same color and some oil should leak out. Suggestions: You can eat the Longganisa and tapa with pieces of lightly salted tomatoes. This will make a perfect compliment to the sinangag.