Furthermore, my travels in Vietnam (HANOI) provided me with the opportunity to fully immerse myself in the local cuisine. Here are some of the delightful Vietnamese dishes I had the pleasure of enjoying during my time there.
However, there are Vietnamese ingredients that I frequently use in my Thai cooking and other recipes, such as fish sauce and soy sauce. I also grow herbs commonly used in Vietnamese cooking, like Thai basil, mint, lemongrass, and spring onions. Additionally, I keep other staples commonly used across Asian cuisines in my fridge and pantry. Pork is a favorite meat in Vietnamese cuisine, and since I love pork, it’s another reason I connect well with Vietnamese food.
As I mentioned, the recipes I’m sharing may not be authentically Vietnamese, but they definitely embody the quintessential Vietnamese flavors. They are certainly worth trying and are sure to delight your taste buds.
Ingredients
1 medium-sized sea bass/siakap, cleaned and scored with 2 or 3 incisions on both sides
Lime or lemon wedges
Cucumber slices
Spring onion for garnish
For the Sauce (blended/ground)
1-inch piece of ginger
5 cloves of garlic
3-4 bird's eye chilies (can be substituted with red
or green chilies)
1 small bunch of coriander, roots removed
1 teaspoon of sugar
1/2 tablespoon of fish sauce
1 tablespoon of light soy sauce
Salt (if needed)
1/2 cup of water
Method
Place the cleaned fish on a steaming tray.
Prepare the sauce by blending or grinding ginger,
garlic, chilies, coriander, sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, and water until
smooth.
Pour the sauce over the fish.
Steam the fish until cooked through.
Garnish with spring onion,
and serve with cucumber slices and lime/lemon wedges.
Ingredients
1/2 black pomfret, scored on both sides
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon corn flour
1 teaspoon rice flour
Salt, to taste
A splash of water
For the Marinade
1 tablespoon dried chili paste
1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 tablespoon minced ginger
1 stalk minced lemongrass
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
A small piece of palm sugar
Herbs: spring onion, coriander leaves, and Thai
basil leaves
Oil, as needed
Salt, to taste
Method
In a bowl, combine turmeric powder, corn flour, rice
flour, salt, and a splash of water.
Mix well to form a paste.
Coat the pomfret with the paste mixture evenly.
Heat oil in a wok and fry the fish on both sides
until golden brown.
Remove from the wok and set aside.
In the same wok, keep about 4 tablespoons of oil
and add dried chilli paste, minced garlic, minced ginger, and minced
lemongrass.
Cook until aromatic and the oil starts to separate.
Add fish sauce, soy sauce, palm sugar, and salt.
Stir well to combine.
Turn off the heat and pour the sauce over the fried
fish placed on a serving plate.
Garnish with spring onion, coriander leaves, and
Thai basil leaves.
Ingredients
For the broth
1/2 kg lamb bones
1 inch ginger, sliced
For Minced Lamb
300g minced lamb
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon oil
Salt, to taste
Other ingredients
3-4 sprigs basil leaves
2-3 sprigs spring onion, sliced
2-3 sprigs coriander leaves, sliced
1/2 cup bean sprouts, cleaned and blanched in hot
water to soften
Rice noodles, as needed, blanched in hot water to
soften
Black pepper and salt, for taste
Salt, to taste
For the Dipping Sauce
3-4 red chilies
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Juice of 1 lime
Method
For the Broth
In a pot, add lamb bones and sliced ginger.
Pour about 2 litres of water over the bones.
Simmer over low heat for at least 1 hour to extract
the broth.
If needed, add more water and continue simmering.
Drain the broth and transfer it to a pot.
Season with salt and pepper.
For the Minced Lamb
Mix minced lamb with minced garlic.
Heat oil in a pan and fry the lamb until crispy.
Season with a bit of salt and transfer to a bowl,
including the oil.
To Serve
Assemble rice noodles with crispy minced lamb, bean
sprouts, and herbs.
Ladle the broth over the noodles.
Serve with the chili garlic dipping sauce on the
side.
"For
a truly authentic Vietnamese chili dip, the attached video will guide
you."
Ingredients
For the Broth
2 cups shrimp heads and shells
1 lemongrass stalk, smashed
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 slice fresh ginger
5 cloves garlic
Some coriander leaves
2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon anchovies granules (optional)
1 litter of water (or as needed for
the amount of broth)
Salt, to taste
Other Ingredients
Fresh shrimp, deveined and rinsed
Mee hoon, soaked to soften
Bak choy or any other green leafy vegetable, rinsed
and cut into pieces
Chinese black fungus, soaked to soften and sliced
into long pieces
Spring onion, shredded
Calamansi lime
For the Chili Dip
1-2 tablespoons dried chili paste
2 shallots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoon roasted shrimp paste or belacan powder
Salt, to taste
2 tablespoons oil
Method
For the Broth
In a heated pot, fry shrimp heads and shells until
crispy.
Add lemongrass, fish sauce, ginger, garlic,
coriander leaves, and anchovies granules. Stir well.
Pour in water and simmer over low heat for about an
hour.
Drain the stock and return it to the pot.
Add anchovies granules and salt.
Stir and continue
simmering over very low heat.
For the Chili Dip
In a pan, fry dried chili paste, shallots, garlic, and shrimp paste in oil until aromatic and the oil separates.
Remove from heat
and set aside.
To Serve
Blanch fresh shrimp, bak choy, and Chinese black fungus in the prepared broth.
Place mee hoon in a bowl and top with the blanched
ingredients.
Pour the hot broth over the noodles, garnish with shredded spring onion, and serve with chili dip and calamansi lime on the side.
Ingredients
2 cups of cooked leftover white rice
4 cloves garlic, sliced into thin strips
1/2 inch ginger, sliced into thin strips
1 stalk lemongrass, sliced into thin strips
4 shallots, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Some spring onions, thinly sliced
5 tablespoons oil
Some romaine salad leaves
Some sliced red chilies
Salt, to taste
Method
Heat oil in a pan.
Add garlic, ginger, lemongrass, and shallots, and
sauté until fragrant.
Add cooked rice, soy sauce, and salt.
Stir well to
combine all the ingredients.
Add romaine salad leaves and spring onions, and
stir to incorporate.
Turn off the heat and stir in the salad leaves and
spring onions.
Add
red chilies atop before serving.
Ingredients
5 tomatoes
1 inch ginger
1 lemongrass stalk
3 shallots
Water, as needed
1 teaspoon coriander powder
Some coriander leaves
Salt, to taste
Method
In a pot, combine tomatoes, ginger, lemongrass,
shallots, and water.
Simmer until the ingredients are soft.
Once soft, blend the ingredients into a smooth
mixture.
Strain the tomato mixture to remove any solids.
Pour the strained mixture back into the pot.
Simmer the mixture again and add coriander powder
and salt.
Turn off the heat and stir in the coriander leaves.
Ingredients
1 medium-sized chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
Palm sugar, to taste
1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
7 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
Salt, to taste
5 shallots, sliced
1 lemongrass stalk, minced
Bird's eye chilies, to taste
Some spring onions for garnishing
2 tablespoons oil
Salt, to taste
Method
In a bowl, mix together the chicken pieces, palm
sugar, fish sauce, minced garlic, curry powder, and salt.
Allow the chicken to
marinate in this mixture for 1/2 an hour.
Heat oil in a pan and sauté the sliced shallots,
minced lemongrass, and bird's eye chilies until fragrant.
Add the marinated chicken to the pan and stir-fry
until the chicken is soft and tender.
Add water if needed to prevent sticking.
Once the chicken is cooked, remove from heat.
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