Lion Head Soup

2 lbs grind pork butt
2 Tbsp fish sauce
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp each minced garlic, onion, ginger
1 Tbsp cooking wine
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp chicken seasoning
1 egg
1 tsp cornstarch
1 big napa cabbage - cut into strip
1 Tbsp cornstarch to coat meat

Mix pork with all ingredients except cabbage and 1 Tbsp cornstarch. Marinate meat for at least a few hours . Divine into 4 big balls or 8 balls coat with cornstarch then fry until golden .

In a 8qt pot put the fried meat ball in then add water up to 1/2 pot, add about 2 tsp salt, 1 Tbsp chicken seasoning, 1 small rock sugar or 1 tsp regular sugar cook until boil, take out all scum then close the pressure cooker lid, cook until the noise come up let it cook for 5 minutes. Turn off and leave it there for about 30 minutes . Open lid heat add more water as needed, cook until boil, add napa cabbage until boil again, taste to see if it is ok, may add a bit more fish sauce .

Top with green onion, black pepper.


PS: With 3 lbs of meat, I can make 1 pot of this soup and tomato stuffing (20 pieces, about 12 tomatoes)

Honye comb cake / Bánh Bò Nướng

Bánh Bò Nướng



6-7 trái trứng lớn (Costco)
1 3/4 cup đường
3 tsp bột nổi
1 bag vanilla
1 tsp màu lá dứa
1 lon nước dừa (cây dừa)
1 bịch bột năng (1st, ông địa) + thêm chút bột gạo cho đủ 16oz


Bật oven 375 độ

Cho tất cả ingredients vào 1 cái tô lớn lấy muỗng quậy đều lên chút rồi lấy máy đánh trứng turn on slow rồi medium đánh cho tất cả tan đều nhau (khoảng 5 phút)

Lấy 1 cái khuôn hình chử nhật (13X9) thoa dầu vô khuôn rồi đổ hổn hợp trên vào 1 cái rổ có lổ nhỏ , để lên cao cho bột rớt nhẹ vào khuôn

Bỏ vào lò nướng khoảng độ 50 phút, khi cắm thử cái tăm vào bánh mà bánh không dính vào tăm thì bánh đã chín . Tắt bếp rồi đợi khoảng 5 phút mới lấy bánh ra khỏi lò, chờ thêm 5 phút lấy bánh ra khỏi khuôn để trên rack chờ bánh nguội thì mới cắt

Vietnamese Salad - Gỏi Sứa Tôm Thịt

This is the first time I made this recipe for Jamie's 18th birthday . It taste pretty good .


Ingredients:

2 bags of Jelly Fish already cut into strip
white wine
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 carrot
1 daikon
12 cucumber (I like the small thin one)
1 red onion
mints, coriander
1 red bell pepper cut into thin strip
chinese parsley cut into thin strip and also cut leave into small pieces
cooked shrimp (optional)
cooked meat(optional)
sesame (put in oven 325 degree for 10 minutes)
peanut (put to oven 350 degree for 15 minutes, press into small pieces)
Vinegar mixture

1 cup vinegar
1 cup sugar
2 - 3 cup water
1Tbsp salt


Fish Sauce to Marinate Jelly Fish
(make 2 portion - one for marinate jellyfish one for mix vegetable)
6 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp fish sauce
2 Tbsp lemon
1 Tbsp vinegar

or to taste - the taste should be sweet and sour

Fish Sauce to dip the salad if needed

1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp fish sauce
1/2 Tbsp lemon or vinegar
3 Tbsp warm water


Wash Jellyfish in water a few time, then soak in water for a few hours or overnight , remember to change water every 30 minutes about 5 times until jellyfish is tasteless. Wash jellyfish with white wine and rinse with water . Squeezed all water then soak jellyfish in marinated fish sauce until ready to use. (add sesame oil)

Peel and shred daikon and carrots into size of a matchstick, about 2 inches long, add about 3tsp salt, 3tsp sugar and let water from dikon and carrot dripped about 5 minutes - wash and soak in vinegar Mixture overnight , then squeezed out all water until carrots and daikon are dry .

Cucumber - cut in half scrap out the middle then slice into thin slices - add a little salt to make juice from cucumber come out about a few hour - squeezed cucumber until dry

Onion - Do the same as cucumber


Cut mints and coriander into little pieces

Mix all vegetable into a big container, add fish sauce marinate to taste, squeeze more lemon if needed, then top it with sesame, peanut and also fried onion

Snow Skin Moon Cake - Bánh dẻo

Moon Festival - 2011



This year, our family spit in two so we didn't celebrate the Moon Festival at all. I just tried to make a few of the white moon cake; however, it turned out ok, it shape stand very well. I tried 2 method

1 -


Ingredients

200g fried glutinous flour
200g icing sugar
50g shorterning (I tried 100g but it was very oily)
200ml cold ưater
1 tsp Amyl Acetate

Mix all ingredients together, than let it rest for about 1/2 an hour to 1 hour .

2 -

1 cup fried glutinous flour
1 1/4 cup sugar syrup (made a week ahead)
2 tsp oil
2 tsp amyl acetate
2 tsp lemon juice

In a bow, mix well sugar syrup with amyl acetate, then lemon juice, then oil . Use a whisk pour flour over a shifter then whisk the flour into a smooth mixture, be careful not to make it lumpy. Leave the mixture for about 1 hour, cover with plastic wrap.

To make sugar syrup


6 cups sugar
5 cup water
1 Tbsp lemon juice


In a pan, mix sugar and water together cook until broil about 30 minutes (do not stir at this time, then add lemon juice mix well - cook another 5 minutes . Turn off heat cover pan, be sure to put a small towel before the lid so that the water do not drop back to the pan .

When cool, put in a jar for a few day or a week before use

Honey Comb Cake

Ingredients:


7 eggs (about 1 1/2 cup)
1 can 14 oz. Coconut Cream (I like Savoy Coconut Cream)
2 cups sugar (less 2Tbsps for less sweet)
1 bag 15oz Tapioca Starch (1st F, or Buddha Brand)
1 bag Vanilla
4 tsp baking powder
Pandan leaves extract (about 1 - 2 tsp to reach color desired)

1 - 2 Tbsp Butter to brush cake pan

Heat oven at 375 degree


Brush cake pan with butter

Put all ingredients together in a mixing bowl, mix well with a spoon then use the hand blender medium speed - blend everything together about 5 - 10 minutes until blended.

Pour mixture through a strainer with small hole while pouring down into pan (this will make the honeycomb)

Bake about 40 minutes then lower to 350 degree and bake another 10 minutes or until golden (to test- use a toothpick pick though the cake, if the toothpick is clean then it is ready)

Shakey Beef

Yesterday I made shakey beef, since I got home so late and my husband is too hungry I decided to ask him for help . He was happy to help so I let him fried the onion, mushroom then bell pepper . It was quite funny since we have been married for almost twenty-five year and this is the first time he helped in the kitchen .

Coffee Jelly with Flan

1 box of flan - follow instruction of the box - pour mixture in small round mold (can be made a day ahead)

2 tsp agar
2 1/2 cup of water
1 tbsp instant coffee + 1 tbsp hot water - mix well
4 - 5 Tbsp sugar

Mix agar with water until dissolved, put in pan heat until boil; add coffee mixture then sugar to taste

pour 1 layer of coffee mixture into mold (moon cake jelly mold) wait until harden then put flan in the middle; fill up the whole mold with coffee jello

Put in refrigerator until cold