Vietnamese Recipes

Ingredients : Serves 4-5
1 tablespoon - Dried shrimps (optional)
225 g - Peeled shrimps
175 g - Pork, minced
1 - Small onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons - Coriander leaves, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon each - Salt and pepper
15 ml - Nuoc Mam sauce
1 - Egg, beaten
4 x 15 cm /6 in lengths - Sugar cane or bamboo skewers
Plain flour or cornflour (optional)
Vegetable oil for deep frying (optional)
Webb lettuce

Method :
If using dried shrimps, soak for about 1 hour in warm water. Squeeze out excess water and chop finely. Wash the fresh shrimps and chop finely. Put the minced pork into a large bowl. Add the onion, coriander, fresh and dried shrimps, salt and pepper and Nuoc Mam sauce. Pour the egg into the pork and shrimp mixture and mix well with your hand. The mixture should come together so that it can be moulded around the lengths of sugar cane or around bamboo skewers. It it is too runny, sift a little plain flour or cornflour into the mixture. Peel the sugar cane, leaving 2.5cm of the green covering on at each end, or 5cm at one end. Mould the mixture on to the peeled part of the sugar cane. Grill the sticks under a moderately hot grill, turning to ensure evenness in the cooking. Make sure that the sugar cane does not burn. Alternatively, deep fry in hot oil for 4-5 minutes. Serve on a bed of lettuce. The sugar cane should be chewed or sucked as you eat the shrimp and pork.

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Ingredients : Serves 4-5
225 g - Rice vermicelli
4 - Dried Chinese mushrooms
2 pieces - Black wood ear fungus
1 packet - Round Banh Trang rice paper
2 - Pickled onions, thinly sliced
2 - Pickled gherkins, thinly sliced
225 g - Sliced bamboo shoots, drained and thinly sliced
1 - Carrot, grated
4 rings - Fresh pineapple or small can pineapple slices, rained and thinly sliced

To Serve
1 -Webb or round lettuce
A few sprigs - Coriander leaves
A few sprigs - Mint leaves
1/2 - Cucumber, peeled and sliced into matchsticks
Nuoc Mam dipping sauce

Method :
Soak the rice vermicelli in boiled water, slightly cooled, until soft. Drain thoroughly. Soak the dried mushrooms and wood ear fungus in boiled water, slightly cooled, until soft. Drain thoroughly and squeeze out excess water. Place a clean tea towel on the surface you are working on. Dip a single sheet of Banh Trang into warm water and place it on the tea towel. It should be soft and pliable but not too wet. Place some vermicelli, dried mushrooms, wood ear fungus, pickled onion, pickled gherkin, bamboo shoots, carrot and pineapple near the centre but towards the bottom edge. Spread the filling into a sausage shape. Roll the bottom edge of the Banh Trang up and tuck tightly under the mixture. Fold the left and right sides into the centre and continue rolling away form you. Continue until all the mixture is used. Place the vegetarian rolls on a dish. The guests help themselves to lettuce leaves, one at a time. On the lettuce they place a roll, some mint, coriander and cucumber. They then roll everything up and dip it into the dipping sauce.

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Ingredients : Serves 4-5
100 g - Bean thread vermicelli
2 - Dried Chinese mushrooms
2 pieces - Black wood ear fungus or 4 button mushrooms
1 tablespoon - Dried shrimps or 8 fresh shrimps, finely minced
2 cloves - Garlic, minced
1 - Carrot, grated
1 - Onion, grated
100 g - Pork, minced
15 ml - Nuoc Mam sauce
1/4 teaspoon - Black pepper
1 - Egg, beaten
1 packet - Round Banh Trang rice paper
Vegetable oil for frying

To Serve
1 - Webb or round lettuce
A few sprigs - Coriander leaves
A few sprigs - Mint leaves
Nuoc Mam dipping sauce

Method :
Soak the vermicelli in boiled water slightly cooled until soft and drain thoroughly. Cut with kitchen scissors to make shorter strands. Soak the Chinese mushrooms and black wood ear fungus in boiled water that has cooled slightly. When soft, drain thoroughly, gently squeezing out any excess water. Cut finely. If using button mushrooms, wash, drain and chop finely. Soak the dried shrimps or shrimp in boiled water that has cooled slightly until soft and then drain thoroughly. Mince finely. If using fresh shrimps, wash, drain and mince. Place the vermicelli, garlic, carrot, onion, black wood ear fungus, mushrooms, dried shrimps or shrimps, minced pork, Nuoc Mam sauce, black pepper and egg in a large mixing bowl. With your hands, mix all the ingredients thoroughly until the mixture is stiff enough to be shaped. Place some boiled water that has cooled slightly in a large bowl. Spread a clean tea towel on the surface you are going to roll on. Take one piece of the Banh Trang rice paper, and dip it into the water. Place it on the tea towel. Put some mixture roughly in the center but closer to the edge nearest to you. Form the mixture into a sausage shape. Fold the bottom edge up and over the mixture, tucking it under the mixture securely. Fold the left and right sides over and then continue rolling away from you. If one piece of round rice paper tears then use two, one on top of the other. When all the rolls are ready, heat the oil until hot in a large frying pan. Shallow fry, turning frequently, until the mixture is cooked, taking care not to burn the rice paper. If you wish to deep fry, put less filling in the rolls to ensure it is thoroughly cooked before the outside burns. Drain on kitchen paper. Place the rolls in the centre of a lettuce leaf, with some mint and coriander. Roll up and dip into the dipping sauce while still hot.

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Ingredients : Serves 4-5
225 g - Steak, cut against the grain into 3mm thick and 5cm long
125 g - Rice vermicelli
2 - Pickled onions, finely cut
2 - Pickled gherkins, finely cut
1 - Carrot, grated
1 packet - Round Banh Trang rice paper
Warmed water in a bowl

Marinade
1 teaspoon - Lemon grass, finely minced
1 teaspoon - Garlic, finely minced
15 ml - Ginger wine

To Serve
1 - Webb or round lettuce
A few sprigs - Coriander leaves
Dipping sauce

Method :
Combine the marinade ingredients together and marinade the beef slices. Leave for 2-3 hours. Soak the rice vermicelli. When soft, drain thoroughly. Toss the cold rice vermicelli, pickled onion, gherkin and carrot together and place on the table in a dish. Put the lettuce leaves in a dish, the coriander and mint on a flat plate, and place on the table. Put the Banh Trang on a place and place on the table. Put warm water in a bowl that is large enough for the Banh Trang to be dipped in on the table. Put either a table top barbecue or a fondue on the table and bring the marinated meat to the table for the guests to cook. If neither is available, grill the meat very quickly, or fry in a pan with a little vegetable oil. Either way the cooking time is minimal, as thinly cut meat cooks extremely quickly. Excessive cooking toughens the meat. Guests should help themselves by dipping a Banh Trang into the warm water until it becomes soft and pliable. They then place some of the vermicelli and pickle, mint and coriander and cooked pieces of beef on the Banh Trang. The mixture is then rolled up and place on a fresh piece of lettuce. The lettuce leaf is rolled around it and then dipped in the sauce.

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Ingredients : Serves 4-5
1 - Medium-sized fresh red snapper, sea bass or carp, cleaned and gutted
2 teaspoons - Salt
45 ml - Dry sherry
30 ml - Ginger wine
20 g - Cornflour
175 g - Rice vermicelli
2 - Pickled gherkins
2 - Pickled onions
1 - Carrot, grated
1 packet - Round Banh Trang rice paper
Vegetable oil

To Serve
A few sprigs - Coriander leaves
A few sprigs - Mint leaves
1 - Webb or round lettuce
Dipping sauce

Method :
Make slanting slashes down both sides of the fish, about 2 cm apart. Mix the salt, sherry, ginger wine and cornflour in a dish large enough to contain the fish. Roll the fish in this mixture until well coated and then leave to stand for 30 minutes, turning several times. Remove the fish from the dish and dust with the remaining cornflour. Heat the oil in a pan big enough to hold the fish and fry over moderate heat for about 12 minutes, turning once, very gently. Drain on absorbent kitchen paper. Keep the fish warm as you assemble the other ingredients. Soak the rice vermicelli in warm water until soft. Drain thoroughly. Toss the gherkins, onions and carrot into the rice vermicelli. Assemble all the components on the table. The fish should be warm and gently scraped away from the bones. Provide two bowls of warm water for dipping the Banh Trang in. The guests help themselves to a round rice paper. This is dipped into the warm water and removed before it disintegrates. It should be soft and pliable. The fish, rice vermicelli, mint and coriander are placed on the rice paper. It is then rolled up to a pencil shape and placed on a piece of lettuce. A lettuce leaf is then rolled around the spring roll and dipped into the dipping sauce.

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Ingredients : Serves 4-5
175 g - Cooked crispy roast pork or 4 fresh boneless pork streaky rashers
45 ml - Clear honey
30 ml - Dry sherry
1 teaspoon - Chili powder
225 g - Rice vermicelli
450 g - Fresh shrimps, cooked and halved
175 g - Cooked chicken, finely chopped
3 - Pickled onions, cut into fine strips
3 - Pickled gherkins, cut into fine strips
1 packet - Round Banh Trang rice paper
1 - Carrot, grated

To serve
1 - Webb or round lettuce
1 sprig - Coriander leaves
1 sprig - Mint leaves
Dipping sauce

Method :
To make the cold crispy pork, take the four rashers of fresh boneless pork. Mix the honey, dry sherry and chili powder thoroughly. Spread the mixture over the pork. Allow to rest for 1 hour or longer if possible. Grill the pork slices until really crisp. Turn often so that they are evenly cooked. Allow to cool and cut into thin strips. Soak the rice vermicelli in boiled water, slightly cooked. When soft, drain thoroughly and leave to cool. Place a clean tea towel on the surface you are working on. Dip singly sheets of Banh Trang into warm water and place on the tea towl. They should be pliable and soft. Place some cold vermicelli, some shrimps, chicken, pork, pickled onion, gherkin and carrot near the centre of the Banh Trang but towards the bottom edge. Spread the filling out to a sausage shape. Roll the bottom edge of the Banh Trang up and tuck tightly under the mixture. Fold the left and right sides into centre and then continue rolling away from you. This roll will be transparent and allow you to see the mixture inside. Continue until the mixture is used up. Place the cold, rolled, transparent spring rolls on a platter. Guests help themselves to lettuce leaves, one at a time. The roll is placed on the leaf and some mint and coriander are added. The whole is rolled up and dipped in the dipping sauce.

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Ingredients : Serves 4-5
3 - Celery sticks, finely chopped
3 - Spring onions, chopped into rings
275 g - Cooked chicken, finely shredded
225 g - Flour sticks or spaghetti noodles
850 ml - Chicken stock
2 - Light wood ear fungus

Method :
Place the celery and spring onion in a bowl and put on the table. Place the cooked shredded chicken in a separate bowl and put that on the table also. Follow the instructions on the flour sticks pack, or boil up the spaghetti until just soft. Drain and rinse with some boiling water. Place in four bowls. Boil up the chicken stock until simmering, then add the light wood ear fungus. Place in a bowl and put on the table. The guests should put a mixture of celery, spring onion, and shredded chicken onto the noodles then ladle the hot chicken broth into the bowls.

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Ingredients : Serves 4-5
175 g - Shrimps, minced
1 - Small hard-boiled egg, finely minced
1 - Small onion, finely minced
1 - Egg, beaten
1/4 teaspoon each - Salt and pepper, or to taste

Method :
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Shape into small balls using your hands. Drop into the simmering broth to cook. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.

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Ingredients : Serves 4-5
2 pieces - Black wood ear fungus or 8 button mushrooms
850 ml - Fish stock
2 - Cucumber, peeled
175 g - Bean thread vermicelli or spaghetti
225 g - Fresh shrimps, cooked and peeled
150 ml - Nuoc Mam sauce
4 - Large, cooked, unpeeled shrimps, for garnishing

Method :
Soak the black wood ear fungus for 10 minutes or until soft in nearly boiling water. When soft, slice thinly and place in stock. Add the button mushrooms to the stock if using those instead. Put into a dish and place on the table. Slice the cucumber into thin rounds or cut into fine matchsticks. Place in a dish and put on the table. Soak the vermicelli in water that has been boiled and allowed to cool slightly (above 5 minutes). Drain and place in four bowls. Place the shrimps in a bowl and put on the table. Meanwhile, boil and simmer the stock. The guests garnish their bowls with the ingredients in the dishes placed on the table, then pour the hot stock over the whole. The Nuoc Mam sauce is added to taste and the soup bowls are garnished with the unpeeled shrimps.

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In Vietnam, Beef Pho is sold by street vendors as a breakfast, late night snack or lunch. To make it more satisfying or to make a change, hard-boiled egg cut into quarters can be added or substituted for the beef.

Ingredients : Serves 4-5
225 g - Broad rice noodles (Banh Pho) or flat egg noodles
1 - Onion, peeled and chopped into rings
1 - Juice from 1 lemon
4 tablespoons - Fresh coriander, finely chopped
4 - Lettuce leaves, washed and finely shredded
4 tablespoons - Fresh mint, finely chopped
1 - Lemon or lime, cut into quarters
100 g - Rump steak, thinly shredded
3 or 4 - Fresh hot red or green chili peppers, cut into rings (optional)
90 ml - Nuoc Mam sauce
Beef stock or use a good quality bouillon cube

Method :
Soak the noodles for 30 minutes in warm water, until just soft. Drain and keep warm. Soak the onion rings in the lemon juice for 20 minutes. Arrange the coriander, mint, lettuce and lemon or lime wedges on different plates and place on the table. First add the noodles to the soup bowls, then follow with the lettuce and herbs then the onion and chilies if desired. Add the meat, placing it in a single layer over the whole. Pour the boiling stock over the paper-thin meat, turning it from raw to rare and releasing the scents and flavours of the coriander, mint and chili. Add the Nuoc Mam sauce, a squeeze of the lemon or lime and slurp away.

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Ingredients : Serves 4-5
4 tablespoons - White sesame seeds
1/2 tablespoon - Dried shrimps (optional)
175 g - Fresh shrimps, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves - Garlic, crushed and chopped
1/2 teaspoon - Fresh root ginger, grated
1 - Small onion, grated
1 - Small egg, beaten
1/4 teaspoon each - Salt and black pepper
1 - Thin French stick
Cornflour for dusting
Vegetable oil for deep frying

Method :
Toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan until they begin to brown, shaking frequently to prevent them from burning. If using dried shrimps, soak in warm water until soft. Drain thoroughly and squeeze out excess water. Chop them finely. Combine the dried and fresh shrimps, garlic, ginger, grated onion, egg, salt and black pepper and knead together with your hands. The mixture should be stiff but not too stiff to spread. If it is too runny, dust with the cornflour. Cut the French bread into 1 cm slices or cut the sliced of bread into triangles or shape using pastry cutters. Press the sesame seeds firmly into the shrimp mixture, using the back of a wooden spoon so that the shrimp mixture is also pressed firmly on to the bread. Refrigerate for 2 hours or longer if possible. Heat enough oil to just deep fry the rounds, shrimp side down, for 1 minute. Using a fish slice, turn carefully and fry the other side for a further minute. Drain on absorbent kitchen paper and serve hot.

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Ingredients : Serves 4-5
50 g - Rice vermicelli
1 teaspoon - Black jack
2 cloves - Garlic, crushed
2 - Spring onions, roughly chopped
1/4 teaspoon each -
6 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 - Eggs, beaten
1/2 - Iceberg lettuce, shredded
2 tablespoons - Cucumber, sliced
1 tablespoon - Pickled carrots or gherkins
1 tablespoon - Chopped fresh mint leaves
15 ml - Chopped fresh coriander
Vegetable oil
Nuoc Mam sauce

Method :
To prepare the rice vermicelli, bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add the rice vermicelli and boil, stirring constantly to separate the vermicelli, for about 3 minutes. It should be tender but film to the bite. Drain in a colander and rinse under cold running water to stop the cooking. Set aside. Make some black jack if you cannot find any in the supermarket. Heat 15 gm sugar in a wok until it darkens. Remove from the heat and carefully stir in 30 ml cold water. Do this extremely carefully or you will finish up with burns on your hand. Save whatever is left over in refrigerator. Combine the garlic, spring onions and black jack in a shallow dish and add salt and black pepper and the beaten eggs. Mix well and set aside to marinate for a few minutes. Set out the lettuce, cucumber, pickled vegetables, mint and coriander into 4 individual bowls. Top each portion of vegetables with cooked vermicelli. Set aside. Heat the oil in a wok and pour in the egg mixture. Flip it over once and let it cool for 1 -3 minutes in a dish. Cut into 8 pieces. Put 2 pieces in each individual bowl and top each with 30 ml Nuoc Mam sauce. The guests mix the contents of their bowls.

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Ingredients : Makes about 2.8 liters
1 - Onion, cut into quarters
3 - Celery sticks, chopped
1 cloves - Garlic
4 - Peppercorns
1 cm - Unpeeled root ginger
3.4 liters - Cold water

Method :
Place all the ingredients in a large pot with a well-fitting lid and bring to the boil. Adjust the heat to maintain a faint simmer (It is important to make sure that the stock is not boiled a boiling result in a cloudy broth. Simmer for 4-5 hours, stirring occasionally. Leave to cool, then strain. Use as required.

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Ingredients : Serves 3-4
2 - Century eggs
10 g - Anchovies
1 tablespoon - Wolfberry fruits
300 g - Kailan

Seasoning
A dash - Salt and MSG

Method :
Cut each century egg into 6 pieces. Soak the anchovies in water with a little salt. Rinse and soak the wolfberry fruits. Rinse the kailan and cut into sections. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a pan and stir fried the kailan briefly. Pour 1/4 cup water and add the anchovies to cook briefly. Lastly, add the century eggs, wolfberry fruits and Seasoning, toss and stir for a while and serve.

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Ingredients : Serves 3-4
300 g - Napa Cabbage
150 g - Bacon
2 cloves - Garlic
2 slices - Ginger

Seasoning A
2 tablespoons - Rice wine
1/2 cup - Stock

Seasoning B
1/2 teaspoon each - Salt, pepper

Method :
Cut the napa cabbage into halves then cut into small pieces. Cut the bacon into small pieced. Mince the garlic and ginger. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a pan and stir fry the minced garlic and ginger. Add the bacon and stir until cooked. Add the cabbage and toss briefly. Add Seasoning A and switch to low heat, cook until the leaves soften. Lastly, add Seasoning B and stir well. Stir hot with steamed rice.

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