Banh Mi Recipe

Bahn Mi literally means biscuit or cake flour in Vietnamese. I first learned about it at a great new restaurant called Pho Lang Thang. It is a sandwich that has both Vietnamese and French influences that can be traced back to the French colonial period in South East Asia. The elements of French Cuisine - baguette, mayonnaise, and pâté meld perfectly with the Vietnamese ingredients of pickled carrots and daikon, along with cucumbers, chilies and cilantro. Banh Mi also usually includes pork, chicken, or even tofu.

Ingredients - marinade:
4 cloves garlic, diced
1 tspn red chili flakes
2 tbspn fresh ginger, diced
4 tbsp fish sauce
4 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp five spices
2 tbsp sugar
Juice of 1 lime
4 green onions, diced

Ingredients – sandwich
pork shoulder – sliced into 1 to 2 inch pieces
1 or 2 baquette of French bread
butter
sea salt
mayonnaise
braunschweiger (or liver pâté)
1 cucumber, peeled and sliced thin
Cilantro
Jalapeno pepper, seeded and sliced thin
Soy sauce

Ingredients – pickled vegetables
1 ½ cups daikon, julienned
1 ½ cups carrots, julienned
¾ cup vinegar
¾ cup sugar

Preparation:

1. Combine marinade ingredients in a bowl along with the pieces of pork. Refrigerate overnight.
   
2. Combine all of the pickled vegetable ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate overnight.
   
3. In a oiled skillet, cook the pieces of pork and some of the marinade over medium heat for about 5 to 7 minutes.
   
   
   
4. Cut baguette of French bread in half lengthwise. Spread butter and braunschweiger on the bottom piece and mayonnaise on the top piece.
5. On the bottom piece, layer the slices of cucumber and jalapeno pepper.
6. Top this with the pieces of pork, pickled vegetables, salt and soy sauce to taste, and cilantro.

Vietnam

Chả Giò (Minced Pork Roll) Recipe

I learned how to make Chả Giò from my friend and lab partner Hanh Tran during my graduate studies at Oregon State. It is a simple recipe but it is better if you have a friend or two help you with the rolling since this can be quite labor intensive on your own. Also, this is another great dish to make for parties as you can roll the Chả Giò the day before, then refrigerate them overnight, and fry them an hour or two before the party begins. You can serve Chả Giò with many different sauces but be sure to include Nước Mắm as this is a perfect combination with this dish.

Recommended Equipment:
deep fryer

Ingredients:
1 pound ground pork
2 tspn sugar
1/2 tspn MSG (optional)
1/2 tspn Kosher salt
1/2 tbsp garlic powder
2 packs of Lunkow brand bean thread

1 large yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 egg
2 carrots, minced
1 - 2 tbsp fresh cilantro, diced
4 green onions, diced
1 box Lumpia wrappers


Preparation:

1. In a large bowl, mix together the ground pork, sugar, MSG (optional), garlic powder, and Kosher salt.
2. In a separate bowl, soak the bean thread in cold water for about 20 minutes. The thread will become soft and malleable. Remove the thread from the water and pat off any excess moisture using a paper towel. Dice up the bean thread and add to the ground pork mixture.
   
3. Dice up the onion and garlic and add to the ground pork mixture.
4. Mince the carrots and dice the green onions and cilantro. Before adding these ingredients to the ground pork mixture, be sure to squeeze out any excess water.
   
5. After you have added the carrots, cilantro and green onions, cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
   
6. Heat up the oil (I used canola) in the deep fryer. When the oil has reached frying temperature, test a small amount of the pork mixture by making a small ball and dropping it into the deep fryer. After 4 minutes, remove the ball of pork and test the flavor. If you need to adjust the flavor, do so now.
7. Using the Lumpia wrappers, roll out the chả giò. See the photos below.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
8. Next, drop 3 to 4 of the rolls into the deep fryer and cook until the chả giò begin to turn golden brown. Do not cook more than 4 at a time to ensure that the chả giò cook evenly.
   
9. Remove the chả giò from the oil, and set them on a paper towel to dry. Keep them warm on a baking sheet in the oven until you have cooked all of the chả giò.
10. Serve hot with Nước Mắm fish sauce.
    

Vietnam

Nước Mắm (fish sauce) Recipe

My friend Hanh taught me how to make this sauce at her house in Portland, Oregon during graduate school. We made this along with about 250 egg rolls. Nước Mắm is a Vietnamese condiment that is easy to prepare but you may want to open the windows in the kitchen before you begin to cook it as it emits a potent aroma. The end result, however, is a golden, briny sauce that is the perfect companion to the Egg Roll recipe that I will be posting this week.

Ingredients:
1 cup "Squid" brand fish sauce (see photo below)
2 cups water
1/2 cup vinegar
1 cup sugar
3 cloves garlic, diced
6-8 pickled leeks or scallions, chopped
Preparation:

1. In a medium sized saucepan, mix together the fish sauce, water, vinegar, and sugar.
2. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat.
3. Lightly boil the mixture for about ten minutes, skimming off and discarding any bubbles as it cooks.
4. Let cool and then pour into a jar and refrigerate. It will last for about 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
   
5. When you are ready to use this sauce, add the garlic and leeks (or scallions) and serve with egg rolls.
   

Fish Sauce

Vietnam