Tôm Ram Thịt (Caramelized Shrimp and Pork)

I grew up eating        "Tôm ram thịt" many times a week as it is one of those common Vietnamese dishes. It is best eaten with hot steamed rice and cucumber.  I love the gorgeous orange hue of the shell-on shrimps blending in  beautifully with thin slices of pork belly  when simmered in a rich and savory caramel sauce.

The nice thing about this dish is you can make a big pot of "tôm ram thịt" and store  in the fridge for the whole family to enjoy  whenever someone is hungry. 

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RECIPE: Tôm Ram Thịt

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Ingredients

1/2 lb Pork Belly (thịt ba chỉ), thinly sliced

1/2 lb medium sized Shrimp with shell on and head on if preferred.  Make sure to trim the sharp part of the heads and tails.

1 tablespoon minced Garlic

1 tablespoon minced Shallot

1 1/2 tablespoon Sugar

1 tablespoon Cooking Oil

1 1/2 tablespoon Fish Sauce

2 white parts of Green Onion, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon Salt

Black Pepper
1 tablespoon Annatto Oil
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Making Tôm Ram Thịt

Marinate pork with white parts of green onion, 1 tablespoon of sugar, half teaspoon of black pepper and half teaspoon of salt.  Set it aside.  We don't want to marinate the shrimp as this will harden the shrimps.  

Heat the oil in the pan.  Add the shallot, garlic and saute until golden.  Toss in the pork and stir for a few minutes until the curls and lose its pink color. 

Add shrimps and turn the heat to high.  This will cause the pork to curl and give the shrimps the gorgeous orange color.  It also keep the shrimps juicy.  Stir for a few minutes until meat and shimps are slightly cooked. 

Add sugar, fish sauce and annatto oil.  Stir for a few minute at medium low heat. During the simmering process, if it's too dry, add a tablespoon of water to prevent it from burning. Adjust the seasoning to get the sweet and salty taste you desire.   

Ăn Ngon...

Tết (Lunar New Year)

Happy New Year!!! It's been 2 weeks since Tết.  I hope everyone had a wonderful time with your family and friends and may the new year bring you an abundance of love, health, and lì xì.

Elk Grove where I live did not quite have the ambience of the Vietnamese New Year. There were no brilliant flowers to line the streets, no children adorn in traditional new year costumes, no rapid explosions of firecrackers. But you will find this bustling festive atmosphere on the street of Bolsa in Little Saigon in Garden Grove, CA should you venture to experience this the next time around.

my mother-in-law's specialty-bánh ú. 

Although the cities nearby lack the festive atmosphere, my excitement for the new year was not diminished and I wanted to enjoy this feeling with my daughters. We strolled through the Asian supermarkets to buy food, fruits, firecracker, snap-n-pops and red lì xì envelopes in preparation for the party that I was going to host at my home. It was our first time celebratingTết in my own home as in years past we would gather at my parents's house in Little Saigon.

Kds picked li xì envelopes from the  flower branches.   They didn't bloom until a few days later.

The lì xì envelopes were hung on the boughs, the house was packed, the children were running all over the house laughing, giggling, and some babies waling;  my friends and family were pigging out. We had a great new year!

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Nem Chua (Cured/Fermented Beef)

"...Mừng ngày Tết ta chúc cho nhau

Một năm thêm sung túc an vui

Người nông dân thêm lúa thóc

Người thương gia mau phát tài..."

Next on our Tết menu is Nem Chua. This savory, addicting Nem Chua  is usually served as an h'orderve with raw garlic and fresh chili pepper. It has a sweet, sour, salty, spicy taste with a rubbery texture.  And once you have tasted one, you cannot help but continue, until you realize your tongue is on fire.

Traditionally, the main ingredients are minced pork, shredded  pork skin and a mixture of seasoning.  The mixture is then wrapped in a thin layer of an aromatic, fresh leaf of guava (lá ổi),  or Otaheite gooseberry leaf  (lá chùm ruột), then in another layer of banana leaf; it's then formed into boxy roll. These rolls are then stored for the natural fermentation process for a few days in a cool place before they are ready to eat.   You can either eat it from the leaf or charcoat grill it. 

Instead of pork, I made a batch of beef Nem Chua as it's safer for my children to eat and it also takes less days to cure it.  The recipe below can be used   for both Pork and Beef Nem Chua. 

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RECIPE: Nem Chua

Ingredients

3 lbs of extra Lean Beef or Pork, ask the butcher to ground three times
1 lb  bag or 2 bags of 7 oz frozen Shredded Cooked Pork Skin (available at Asian grocers in different sizes) 

1 tbsp roasted Whole Peppercorns

1 teaspoon Ground Pepper
12 tablespoons (3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons) Sugar

3 tablespoons Smirnoff Triple Distilled Vodka 

3 bags of Nam Powder Seasoning Mix (available at Asian grocers)

Thai chile, sliced into small pieces
1 head of Garlic, thinly sliced

13 x 9 inches Quarter Baking Sheet

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Preparing Meat  and Meat Mixture

Beef - choose beef that has the leanest cuts of beef  such as eye round, top round, round tip, top sirloin, bottom round, top loin, and tenderloin. You can also get extra lean ground beef  which has 95 percent lean at any supermarkets then ground two more times.

Pork - choose the leanest pork cuts, look for the word “loin” in the name, such as pork tenderloin or sirloin chop.  You can also get extra lean ground pork then ground two more times.

Shredded Pork Skin -  Rinse in salt and water, then rinse a few more time with water. Squeeze out excess water and allow to dry. Cut into about 2 inches strings. 

In a large bowl, combine the pork or beef,  pork skin, sugar,  ground pepper, whole peppercorns, wine, and the seasoning mix except those little bags you find inside the seasoning mix  bags. Mix really well with your hands (you might need to use plastic gloves). 

Add those little bags of seasoning mix and continue mix it until it gets  sticky and all the mixtures distribute evenly. 

Line a baking sheet with plastic wrap.  Spread the mixture in a baking sheet.  If you have another quarter baking sheet, put it on top of the mixture baking sheet and press it down until it's packed and evenly.   Cover it up with another plastic wrap and aluminum foil.  Place it at a cool place and allow it to cure for at least 2 days.  If it's pork nem chua, it will take at least an extra day to cure.

When done, the beef Nem Chua will turn red and the pork Nem Chua will have a light pink color.  Slice Nem Chua  into small sizes.  Place a piece of chili pepper and a slice of garlic on top of Nem Chua then wrap each individually with plastic wrap or banana leaf.  Store in the frigde to keep it from getting extra sour. 

I wrapped a few in banana leave which I much prefer because of  its aroma, but for the sake of time and convenience, I switch to plastic wrap instead. 

Enjoy!

Dưa Món (Pickled Vegetables in Fish Sauce)

 

"Tết Tết Tết ... Tết đến rồi

Tết đến trong ... tim mọi người..."

 

With the arrival of Spring every year, every family in Vietnam shares the same food that have come to symbolize Tết.  Dưa Món is one of these symbols that can't be missed.    It has the aroma, flavor and sweetness of fish sauce and sugar; the crunchiness of papaya and daikon compliments the beautiful vivid color of carrots.    Dưa món pairs best with  bánh chưng, bánh tét (traditional Vietnamese steamed cakes) and other cold dishes such as chả lụa (Vietnamese ham), and giò thủ (Vietnamese head cheese).

This is my first experiment on Dưa Món  and thankfully it did not disappoint.  So I am very excited about sharing this post with everyone.  

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RECIPE: Dưa Món

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Ingredients

4 Carrots, peeled with a slicer

1 Green Papaya, peeled, seeded

1 Daikon, peeled

4 cloves of Garlic, peeled, thinly sliced

2 1/2 cups Sugar

2 1/2 cups  good Fish Sauce such as Three Crabs Viet Huong brand

A Glass Jar with Lid
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Method 

Cut daikon, carrots and green papaya into sticks or flower shape.  Wash the vegetables with the salt then rinse under cold running water.  Drain and pat dry.

Preheat the oven to 250 F.

Spread the vegetables on baking sheets. Place in the oven on the 2nd lowest rack and leave the door ajar. Let dry out for about 2-3 hours, toss the vegetables every 30 minutes. The vegetables are ready when they have shrunk by two thirds. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. 

Bring a pot of water to boil. Place dried vegetables in the pot and turn of the heat. Let it sit for a few minutes then drain, rinse with cold water and pat dry.  This step is optional.  I didn't want to wait for a week to taste it as it takes time to absort the liquid and unshrink.  Soaking it in hot water would help to unshrink it and it will absord faster. 

During the drying process, bring fish sauce and sugar to near boil. Make sure to stir it in the process and keep your eyes on it since it can boil quickly. Remove from heat. Let it cool completely.

 Place dried vegetable and garlic in a jar. Pour the fish sauce mixture into the vegetable jar and close the jar tightly.  Dưa Món should be ready to eat in a couple days. 

  

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