Spicy Kani Salad

Serving: 4

Ingredients

6 Sticks imitation crab leg meat
2 Cucumbers (skinned, seeded, and julienne)
1/4 Cup tobiko roe
2 Splash rice vinegar
3 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 Tsp sriracha sauce
3 Tsp sesame

Method

In a salad bowl shred crabmeat into thin strands, then add a few splash of rice vinegar and toss to combine. Drain any excess liquid then set aside.
Remove cucumber skin, julienne cucumber flesh and discard any seeds.
Add julienne cucumber strands and tobiko roe to crabmeat, then mix well to evenly distribute ingredients. Continue to add in the rest of the ingredients, and mix everything together.
Garnish with fish roe and sesame seeds.

Xoi La Dua - Vietnamese Coconut Pandan Sticky Rice

Ingredients

2 Cups Glutinous Rice (soaked for 5 hrs or overnight)
1 1/2 Cups Coconut cream powder
2 Tbsp Pandan extract
2 Tsp salt
3 Pandan leaves (fresh or frozen)
1 Cup shredded coconut
1 Cup coconut milk
Pinch of salt
1/2 Cup sugar (more or less depending on taste)
Green food coloring - optional
Roasted sesame seeds or roasted peanuts - optional

Things you'll need:

Steamer
Cheesecloth

Method

1 - Soak rice with 2 tsp of salt for 5 hours or overnight, to lessen cooking time.
2 - In a small pot bring coconut milk, sugar, and pinch of salt to a simmer. Remove from heat, set aside.
3 - Line steamer pan with two layer of cheesecloth. This is to prevent rice from slipping through the steam pan. Preheat the steamer by bringing the water to a boiled.
4 - Drain rice then mix in 1 1/2 cup of coconut cream powder, and 2 tbsp of pandan extract, mix well to incorporate ingredients.
6 - Add 1 to 2 drops of green food coloring to give rice extra color if desire. - optional.
7 - Cut pandan leaves into third, place leaves in steamer then add rice.
Use a spoon to spread the rice evenly on the pan, leaving a small empty space in the middle of the pan allowing steam to rise.
8 - Steam until rice is soft and sticky.
9 - Drizzle sticky rice with coconut milk. Remove from heat.
10 - Remove and discard pandan leaves.
Serve sticky rice with shredded coconut and crushed roasted peanut or sesame seeds.

Chuc Mung Nam Moi

Chuc Mung Nam Moi and Kung Hei Fat Choy!

Tea Eggs

Ingredients

5 Eggs
3 Pcs Star Anise
1 Small cinnamon stick
2 Dried orange peels
1 Black tea bag or 1 tbsp loose tea leaves
1 Tsp salt
3 Tbsp light soy sauce
1 1/2 Tbsp Dark soy sauce

Method

1 - Place eggs in a pot, then pour enough cold water to cover eggs by 1" to 2" inches.
2 - On high heat bring eggs to a boil, then reduce to medium heat and simmer for 2 minutes.
3 - Carefully remove eggs from pot and replace in a bowl. DO NOT discard water from pot.
4 - Tap each egg to form cracks on the eggshell, then return eggs to the water pot.
5 - To the pot add, star anis, cinnamon, orange peel, tea, salt, light and dark soy sauce.
6 - Bring pot to a boil, then reduce to low heat. Cover and simmer on low heat for 2 hours.
Add water occasionally if needed.
7 - Serve cold or hot.

Liquid can be frozen and reuse.

Banh Chuoi Nep Nuong - Grilled Banana Sticky Rice Cake Wrapped in Leaf

Ingredients

6 Whole ripe bananas
2 Cups glutinous rice (rice need to soak in coconut, and water mixture for 5 hours)
1 Can coconut milk
2 Cups water
1 1/2 Tsp pandan leaf extract
1 Cup shredded coconut
1/2 Cup peeled mung beans (soaked overnight, drained)
1 Cup sugar (divided into 2 portions)
Banana leaves or (aluminum foil if banana leaf isn't available)
Culinary twine
Crushed roasted peanuts - optional
Sweetened coconut milk - optional

Method

Preparation
1 - Combine rice, coconut milk, and water in a bowl. Allow ingredients to soak for 5 hours.
strain rice, discard coconut milk mixture.
2- Add 1/2 cup sugar, mung beans, pandan extract, and shredded coconut to rice. Mix well to combine, set aside.
3 - Cut 12 banana leaves, each leaf about 6" inches (lengthwise), use left over leaves to make thin strips to tie ends or use culinary twine. (use aluminum foil if banana leaves are not available.)
If using fresh leaves make sure to precook (steamed or pre-boiled)leaves before use. This is to soften leaves, allowing easy wrapping. Clean and dry leaf with towel, set aside.
4 - Peel bananas and rub with sugar.

Wrapping

1 - Place 2 banana leaves on a flat surface, one overlapping the other by 2" inches.
2 - Add 5 tbsp of rice onto the middle section of the leaf, spread the rice across, leaving atleast 1" to 2" inches on both ends
3 - Place banana on top of rice, make sure that the rice layer exceed the length of the banana.
4 - Add more rice to cover the banana
5 - Fold the leaves tightly (top and bottom), then fold both ends and use banana strips or twine to secure. While folding make sure rice completely covers the banana.

Cooking
1 - Place cake in a steamer and steam for 40 minutes on high heat.
2 - Remove from heat, allow cake to cool then place in the refridgerator or freezer until ready to serve.

Serving
1 - Place cake on a rack under the broiler for 10 to 15 minutes, make sure to broil with leaf on.
2 - Remove outer leaf before serving.
3 - Drizzle cake with sweetened coconut milk and top with crushed roasted peanuts.

Sup Mang Cua - Vietnamese Crab and Asparagus Soup

Finally I've made sup mang cua. Usually sup mang cua is reserved for special occasions like New years, weddings, or birthdays. This soup is like a special soup, so Vietnamese people don't really make it on any regular day, unless their craving for it. Like me, I will not suppress my craving for this soup until a special day arise. So I just make the soup and indulge myself.
Here is my easy sup mang cua recipe. I hope you'll give it a try and post a comment on my blog.

Ingredients

3 Cups water
3 Cups chicken broth
4 Cups crab meat
2 Cups white asparagus
2 Eggs
1/2 Cup corn starch
White pepper powder
Salt to taste

Method

1 - Prepare the asparagus by cutting the end part of the asparagus and discard it. Cut asparagus into ½ inch lengthwise. Set aside.
2 - In a large pot combine water and chicken broth, bring to a boil. Stir in crab meat and asparagus. Cook until asparagus is nice and tender, then add 3 pinches of white pepper powder. Stir pot and reduce to low heat.
3 - In a small bowl add corn starch, and stir in some cold water to dilute the corn starch before adding into pot.
4 - Slowly add the corn starch mixture into the soup. Make sure to add a little bit at a time and continuously stir the soup for a minute or two.
5 - In a small bowl, beat 2 eggs then slowly add mixture into pot. Vigorously stir soup, so the egg doesn’t clumps. Increase heat to medium high. Allow soup to cook for another 5-6 minutes, then remove from heat and serve hot.
6 - For a thicker soup just add more corn starch mixed with water.

Rau Cau Dua - Vietnamese Coconut Agar Agar Jelly

Rau Cau is a vegetarian friendly dessert because it's made using agar agar, a type of seaweed. By itself agar agar doesn't have any flavor or taste, but combining it with other ingredients it will create the best tasting dessert you have ever tasted. And the best part is that you can create many different types of dessert using this seaweed. Not to mention that it's good for you.

Ok, so to make coconut rau cau you will need water, agar agar powder or you can use the dried agar agar seaweed. I prefer to use the powder because I think it's more convenient.
granulated sugar, and coconut milk.


Ingredients

1-1/2 Qrt cold water
1 Bag of agar agar powder
1 Canned coconut milk
1 Cup granulated sugar

Method

You can choose to skip this step and pour the coconut milk directly into the jelly mixture or you can heat up the coconut milk before use. As for me I prefer to cook the coconut milk a little before i use it.
1 - Emptied the canned coconut milk into a sauce pan and bring to a boil on low heat. Remove from heat when you see constant bubbles, and set aside.
2 - Add cold water into a large pot, stir in sugar and agar agar powder.
3 - Stir until all mixture is completely dissolved, then on high heat bring the mixture to a boil, but DO NOT stop stirring until mixture is fully boiling. Remove from heat.
4 - Pour mixture into a mould or into any cake pan.

Here is the tricky part. If you pour the coconut milk in to the jelly mixture too early, the coconut milk will rise to the top leaving the bottom half of the jelly transparent. It means that you will have two layer in the jelly, top solid white and bottom clear. Appearance wise it looks nice, but taste wise not so great. The bottom half won't taste so bad, but I can't say the same for the top layer. And if you wait too long to pour in the coconut milk, the jelly mixture might not combine with the coconut milk at all.

To achieve the best result, so there's no separation in the jelly. You would have to wait until the jelly is about to set then pour in the coconut milk, and stir constantly until the jelly mixture and the coconut milk combined. Then quickly put the jelly in the refrigerator for atleast 2 hours before serving.
How to tell when jelly is about to set, by dipping your finger into the mixture, and if you puncture a thin layer forming on top that means it's about ready to set.