SALAD BLENED WITH VEGETABLES ( Xà lách trộn rau củ)

**Let salad blended with vegetables make your meal various.

Ingredients:

• Some salads
• Some herbs that you like
• 1 carrot
• 1 small tomato
• 1 onion
• 1 cassava tuber
• 1 potato
• 200g corn seeds 
• 2 eggs
• Mayonnaise
• 4 sausages
• 100g canned cucumbers

   Instructions:

1. Boil the materials: carrot, potato, corn, eggs and onion.
2. Cut cube all of them. ( Cut the glair cube, put the yolks apart)
3. Mix all the things well, put Mayonnaise, then put the yolks in too, mix softly.
4. Lay out in a dish then enjoy.
   
   

   PREP 15mins

   COOK 20mins

   YIELD 2-4 servings

   Lành Phạm,

Read More

PUMPKIN AND PURPLE POTATO SWEET GRUEL( Chè bí đỏ và khoai lang tím)

 Summer with its terrible heat is coming, the pumpkin and purple potato sweet gruel is a good choice to febrifuge your family.

Ingredients:

• 100g pumpkin
• 1 purple sweet potato
• 1/2 bow of oats
• 1/2 bow of sticky rice 
• 1 ginger

Instructions:

1. Peel the pumpkin, steam and pound it. Peel the purple sweet potato, cut into small cubes. Mash the oats with water, then after a while get rid of the water.
   
   
2. Put the purple potato into a small cooker with water and boil. When it boils, turn down the fire and cook for another 20 minutes before taking them apart from the fire.
   
   
3. Mix the pumpkin, oats and sticky rice well.
   
   
4. Make the mixture into small balls.
   
   
5. Put the balls into boiling water, until they float, take out and put in a cool boil water. When finished, put the purple potato in and cook with ginger, sugar with a suitable amount, mix in order for the sugar to melt. Then you can enjoy, ladle and put gruel into a bow along with balls.
   
   
   ** Tips: Purple tomato must be cooked apart from the pumpkin so that it can maintain its original color. Ginger can help make your gruel more tasty.
   

   PREP 15mins

   COOK 40mins

   YIELD 2-4 servings

   Lành Phạm,

Read More

CHAYOTE CHITS IN TAM DAO

The tourists to Tam Dao, besides being impressed by the cool fresh environment here, obviously everyone will be breath-taking by the nice-looking green of scaffold of Chayote cover all over the hills, house roofs and gardens, pathways. If the tourist lives near Ha Noi, they would bring some bunches of chayote chit home as gift. It is surprised that this simple kind of vegetable has become one of the souvenir attached to Tam Dao tourism.

Chayote is a kind of vegetable that attached to Tam Dao tourism

About 80km away from Ha Noi, Tam Dao resort located in Mang Chi valley, with the height about 1,000m, the temperature is about 18 to 25 C degree. The environment is always fresh, cool, fog and smoke is on greensward, hillside, house roof; it’s romantic and murky, majestic and fanciful making the tourist feel like being lost in heaven, release all stress and tired. Therefore, Tam Dao is consider as an ideal resort in the North Viet Nam.

The nice looking green of scaffold of chayote

Coming to Tam Dao likes going to a peaceful place as well as a village, a mountain, but also feel like going to a forest, a forest of chayote. In the world, there must be no special forest like this. Chayote is plating a whole year and mostly everywhere, the chayote can be about a several meters wide. Families use slots, creeks, draining surface to hang on bamboo for chayote climbing up. Tam Dao nature seems endow specially for chayote. The scaffolds of chayote are always green and good, no pests, Tam Dao people let it grow naturally without any kind of pesticide.

Chayote chits are being sold everywhere

Besides having different in natural condition and seasonal, Tam Dao chayote has some features that can’t be missed with others. A plate of stir fry chayote chits with garlic, beef, or boiled chayote with sesame peanut mixture, the softness, crispiness and natural sweet fresh is the dishes that never missed in the menu of every tourists visiting Tam Dao, that other area chayote chits never has.


*Taro**

Read More

Xa Dan “che bo” (avocado sweet gruel) – strange and delicious

Most of Ha Noi’s “che” stores have quite familiar menu, always include banana sweet gruel, jackfruit sweet gruel, taro sweet gruel,… But each store has their special one, which makes up their brand. For example, Dao Duy Tu store famous with banana sweet gruel, taro sweet gruel; meanwhile “Cho Gao lemon tea” has really famous “bitten sweet gruel”. Also a sweet gruel store but less popular than, however this store has a specialty that is very famous – avocado sweet gruel – that is “che bo Xa Dan”.

Xa Dab avocado sweet gruel- have you try it yet

Located at 492 Xa Dan, with the square about 10m2, it’s hard for you to have enough seats if you come in with a big group. However, in return, you will enjoy really delicious kind of “che” such as tapioca sweet gruel, jackfruit sweet gruel, lemon tea… and especially avocado sweet gruel. Xa Dan avocado sweet gruel is a favorite dish here because it’s new and its quality.

You must have be curious that why this kind of “che” is so attractive? A bowl of avocado sweet gruel has a cylinder green jelly, beneath it is coconut cream mix with milk. “Che” made from fresh avocado, blended with black jelly and milk, so it keeps the natural flavor of jelly, the fat of avocado, milk. The two flavors combined in a dish that brings you kind of a cool, fat, flavorful beverage.

“Che” has the sweet, cool, fat flavor really attractive

From visual it’s simple but when eating, you will never forget its special flavor. Let’s see, the smooth outside layer, take a bite-it’s solid but not loose. You can feel the softness like silk in your mouth. “Che” is not too sweet, the jelly is cool, light, blended with the flavor of avocado make the dish strange but really delicious.

 The price is “soft”

One plus point is it’s next to 2 other big stores that always increase their price, this store is far from the center, small but the price is cheap. It’s about 12,000d/dish-an affordable price for young people/

Not any of Ha Noi “che” store has this kind of “che”. Remember to try avocado sweet gruel at Xa Dan!


*Taro**

Read More

Hue “Me xung” (sesame candy) – chewing and singing

Food is simply thought as a survival source. However, it reveals people’s characteristics in each area, each city… People can deny their skin, their hair color but always keep their own spirit in the cuisine. “Me xung” is a feature of Hue in Viet’s cuisine.

“Sesame candy chewing and singing” is a poem sentence of a person who loves Hue so much, want to share his experience about this rich traditional culture land. The poem brings me the memoirs of childhood. That time, I followed my parents from South to North. Every time stop at Hue, I always claim my father to buy me some bag of sesame candy to “chew and sing”.

The candy pieces are small squares in my hands were really attractively fragrant. The sweetness fat of sugar, the fleshiness of peanut, sesame, all create an amazing attraction to a young soul like strange things. Somewhere, I hear people call “mè xửng” by “mè xững”. It must be “me xung” with the “~” mark, to have a better reflection of Hue ascent.

Enjoying Hue “me xung” is an art, you can’t rush; if you are not patient, you will not feel all the goodness inside this kind of candy. Eat a good piece of candy, sip a bit of tea marinated with lotus blossom harvested from Tinh Tam lake, read a good book, just simple like that but to many people, that simple is enough for life. The crunchiness fleshiness of peanut, the fragrant of sesame and the sweetness of sugar really matches a cup of lotus tea. Rising the cup of tea to your nose, feel the purity, then enjoy a sip of tea, take a bite of candy, then the sweetness of candy will become lighter.

Later, every time coming by Hue, I always stay a bit longer at the old capital. Hue is sad but calm our soul down as well as enjoying a bag of “me xung” can think of many things in life. It’s not only a snack for kid, but also becoming specialty that follows Vietnamese to Hong Kong, Paris. Nowadays, there are many famous family making and selling “me xung”. For example: Song Hy on Phan Boi Chau street (Phan Dang Luu), Nam Thuan on Hang Be (Huynh Thuc Khang now), Hong Thuan, Thien Huong, Thanh Binh,… can be more than 20 stores. To many people, Song Hy is still the best one. Unfortunately, this is just in memory of many Hue people because his family transferred the business to the US.

Some said that “me xung” likes France’s chewing gum. I don’t know whether I love Hue so much, but I always think that chewing gum will never be compared with “me xung”. Is it because the soul of Hue was derived into every piece of the candy?

Food is simply thought as a survival source. However, it reveals people’s characteristics in each area, each city…Perhaps, Dzoan Cam Van was right when saying that “To the cuisine, there is no flat world”. People can deny their skin, their hair color but always keep their own spirit in the cuisine. “Me xung” is a feature of Hue in Viet’s cuisine.


*Taro**

Read More

“Kho quet” (Poached pork belly with fish sauce) – a delicious humble dish of Southern

The poached dish is a familiar with everyone such as poached fish, poached pork… However, not everyone knows “kho quet”. To Southern people, especially popular with the Western provinces. “Kho quet” is simple but its flavor is irresistible.

“Kho quet” is basically a dish for poor people because of its salty from the fish sauce. Therefore, you can finish a meal with just a bit of “kho quet.” Moreover, in the rainy days it’s also an unmissable dish of every family. In some places, people cook it really long time to vapor, and left the concentrated salt.

Before, “kho quet” has the main ingredients are fish sauce, black sugar, chili. Fish sauce was poached in a clay pot. When eating, we use the top of chopstick to stick out a bit and leak it. Just a small dish of “kho quet” and a boiled vegetable can be a perfect family meal.

 

Nowadays, the “kho quet” is not for poor anymore. There are more ingredients putting in such as: pork belly, dry shrimp, dry fat, onion, pepper… and appeared in some luxury restaurant with not cheap price. Still the same direction: fish sauce, a bit of sugar, pepper corn and fry onion, have them all in the clay pot with: pork belly, melted fat, dry shrimp… stir well and cook on a low heat until it’s getting thicker and have burning smell. 

It’s simple but once tasting it, no one can forget the strong attractive flavor of this dish. “Kho quet” match perfectly with boiled vegetable or “com chay” (fried rice). The cool flavor of vegetable combines with the salt sweet flavor of “kho quet” can bring down anyone who picky.

 

If there is any chance to visit the Southern especially the West, do not miss to try “kho quet” to know more about country’s specialty and love the humble simple dishes of this area more.


*Taro**

Read More

THE OLD SAI GON’S STREET BEVERAGES

Once visited Sai Gon, you must have be so surprised and interested in the diversity cuisine culture here. Sai Gon’s weather is sunny and hot; therefore, with only street beverages are many enough to make you dizzy because of its variety. But did you ever imagine how it was like 50, 70 years ago? The lively pictures bellow will help you discover the Sai Gonese’s beverage culture.

Sai Gon is hot all year round. Walking along Sai Gon’s street just a couple hours, your throat will dry and you are all wet. Then, the street beverage vendor will become incredibly attractive. That’s why Sai Thanh’s beverage is so abundant, from street vendors to luxury restaurant, from “nuoc sam” (a mix beverage cooked from many kind of healthy herbs), sugarcane juice, coconut to frappe, coffee… Moreover, drink is also made from really nutritious ingredients but the price is cheap.

The variety in Sai Gon’s beverage appeared 50-70 years ago. The valuable document pictures will give you an exciting view of this activity rich are.

The 40’s street beverage vendors on Sai Gon’s street

Source: Saigonamthuc

The innocent smile of a young bartender on the river bank

Source: Saigonamthuc

Tiger soda used to be a famous brand

Source: Saigonamthuc

La De Pineapple used to a favorite beer brand

Source: Saigonamthuc

 Beer 33, beer 333’s precursor today

Source: Saigonamthuc

A beer and soda agency in the 60s

Source: Saigonamthuc

In 1960, the soda company Coca-cola began to be in Viet Nam

Source: Saigonamthuc

A boy selling soda on the pavement

Source: Saigonamthuc

Non-carbonated orange Bireley’s was used to be female’s favorite drink

Source: Saigonamthuc

A sugarcane juice cart with the traditional manual squeezing sugarcane

Source: Saigonamthuc

A Chinese’s “che” cart at a corner

Source: Saigonamthuc

A vendor cart selling pennyworth juice, soda foretime

Source: Saigonamthuc

A frappe cart on the a street pavement

Source: Saigonamthuc

The pre-packed soda bags

Source: Saigonamthuc

A drink vendor carte beside a small coffee stall on a pavement

Source: Saigonamthuc

*Taro**

Read More

The ten irresistible dishes in Sai Gon (part 2)

6. Vu de nuong (Grill goat breast)

            In Sai Gon, looking for dishes involving with goat, especially grill goat breast or goat hot pot, people usually head to Trung Son area, district 7. Grill goat breast eat with fermented tofu sauce, with a hot pot broth is so awesome.

Grill goat breast usually served with water spinach, okra. When the goat breast turning to golden brown, take it out and dip into the fermented tofu sauce and eat.

Goat breast is soft, crunchy, marinated with flavorful seasoning and bringing out with a furnace bar. You can grill it, when the smell coming out and cooked through it’s ready to serve. The fermented tofu sauce could not be too salty or sweet.

7. Xien que (Skewer)

The favorite snack of many Sai Gon people, sold along the pavement or street vendors. These skewer can be fry fish ball, fry beef ball, dumpling, quail egg, okra or green bean. Generally, you can find at the parks, along the river bank, or on Suong Nguyet Anh, district 3. The price is about 7,000 to 10,000d/skewer.

Golden fry fish ball, serving with pickle to elevate the flavor

8. Sui cao (Dumpling)

            This is a Chinese traditional dish, but becoming popular in Sai Gon. The area that has good “sui cao” is on Ha Ton Quyen street, district 5. This is quite familiar with wonton but it has more shrimp and ground pork stuffed. Use a fork to pick the dumpling, then dip it in the sauce. You can also try fry dumpling or dumpling noodle in those stores. The price is about 35,000 to 40,000d/bowl.

“Sui cao” Ha Ton Quyen is the most famous in Sai Gon. You have to wait a few minutes to be served in the rush hours.

9. Bot chien (Fry rice cake with egg)

            When you are hungry or feel uncomfortable, try a dish of “bot chien.” Rice dough is cut into square small pieces, frying on a flat pan, with an egg, sprinkling with a bit of green onion. A good dish of “bot chien” mostly depends on the dough and sauce. Besides, you can try stir fry pasta, fry taro. A dish is about 15,000 to 20,000d.

Some places add shredded green papaya on top of the dish

10. Kem nhan (Longan ice cream)

            With only a scoop of ice cream, sprinkle peanut on top, but Longan ice cream is one of the coolest snack for Sai Gon young people. Whoever eat Longan ice cream cannot stop at one but will order two or three more. The price is about 6,000d. Famous for this snack is Mr. Tam Longan ice cream on Truong Han Sieu street, district 1 or Su Van Hanh street, district 10.

Drawing a spoon of ice cream, with two peanuts and eat, you can feel the ice cream melting cool in your mouth.

*Taro**

Read More