Thịt Giò Bó (Red Pork Roll)

It's almost the end of The Year of the Rabbit and I have been making ông Táo (the God of the kitchen) work so hard before he gets sent back to the heaven to report to the King of Heaven about all that has happened in my kitchen. This is according to the Chinese folklore.

I hope I scored well.

Thịt Giò Bó (Red Pork Roll) is my last savory dish for Tet The Year of Dragon. For the last week, I have made pate gan (chicken liver pate), cha lua (Vietnamese ham) and now Thịt Giò Bó to complete the main fillings for banh mi thit (Vietnamese sandwiches). Supposedly, Thịt Giò Heo Bó made of pork front hock has a thick layer of fat which makes it very rich and fatty but tasty . . . just how I like it.  But since my new year's resolution is to be fit and eating a well-balanced and healthy diet, I used pork belly which contains a lot less fat than pork front hock.  

Thịt Giò Bó recipe is similar to Thịt Xá Xíu (Cha Siu). Instead of making it from scratch, you can get a bag of Cha Siu seasoning which contains the primary ingredients and red food coloring that turn the exterior layer of the meat dark red.  Lately, I have read about the dangers of artificial food coloring and the dangerous food and products imported from China, I try to limit or avoid buying food or supplies that are made from China. Instead I used beet to make  my own natural red food coloring for this Thịt Giò Bó as its skin has to be red.  If you got nothing else out of this recipe, it would still be quite a fun experiment on making natural food coloring. 

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RECIPE:  Thịt Giò Bó

Printable Recipe

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Ingredients

a piece of Pork Belly or Pork Butt, washed, dry pat

1 1/2 teaspoon Sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon Salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground Pepper

1 teaspoon Five Spices

1/2 teaspoon Peppercorns

4 tablespoons minced Shallot (2 whole shallots)

Twine, to tie meat

2 large Beets, peeled and chopped each into 16 pieces
(make about 2 cups red beet coloring)

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Making Red Food Coloring

In a pot, bring beets with just enough water to fully cover them to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer for about an hour or until beets are soft.  Add more water during simmering as needed.  Strain the beet liquid and preserve about 2 cups of liquid.  Set aside.   Make sure to use gloves when handling beets as it will stain your hands and it's hard to clean off.   I also covered my cutting board so it wont get stained.   

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Marinating Meat

Combine all the ingredients. Rub the pork belly with the marinade mixture.

Roll it up and tie it tight with twine. Marinate for at least an hour in the refrigerator.

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Cooking Meat

Place meat in a pot and pour 1 1/2 cups of red beet color over the meat.  Bring it to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer with cover on for about 30 minutes.  During the simmering process, turn the meat and coat it with red color occasionally.  

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Presentation

Thịt Giò Bó can be enjoyed with banh mi (Vietnamese baguette sandwich) with or without pate, and cha lua (Vietnamese ham).  Remove the twine.  Thinly slice the meat and insert it in the baguette sandwich.  Garnish it with pickled carrot and daikon, julienned cucumber, a few sprigs of cilantro, sprinkle some fresh ground pepper and a dash of good soy sauce.  

Chúc ông bà 1 tô như ý. 

Chúc cô chú 1 chén an khang. 

Chúc anh chị 1 dĩa, 1 dĩa...tài lộc!

Here's to the Year of the Dragon . . .

Chả Lụa (Vietnamese Ham aka Vietnamese Pork Roll)

There is something special about Tết that every year around this time, I tend to work a lot harder just to maintain the house and keep it nice,  fresh, and presentable.   A day after the Solar New Year, I swapped things out to welcome in the new season. I spruced up my front hall with pots of hoa cúc vàng (chrysanthemum flower) and a vase of hoa anh đào (cherry blossom). The red envelops are hanging happily on the lucky tree.

My day is usually packed full of my two girls’ activities and chores around the house. But I always try to squeeze my cooking in between.  Therefore, I usually get my cooking done by the time the sun sets. So today after being my girls' chauffeur, I managed to get a new recipe Chả Lụa (Vietnamese Ham aka Pork Roll) done so I can post it in time for the new year. 

If you hear someone mentions about Giò Lụa, it is another name for Chả Lụa. The term Giò Lụa is part of the northern Vietnamese's dialect while Chả Lụa originates from southern Vietnamese dialect.

My experiment on Chả Lụa turned out beyond my expectation. I usually don't enjoy Chả Lụa as much but if I do eat Chả Lụa , I like it with lots of peppercorns and packed with flavors. So now that I make my own, I wanted my Chả Lụa to taste exactly as I would have imagined it, wrapped in the fragrance of banana leaves and accented by the spiciness of peppercorns.  I must admit there was one problem - it lack adequate banana leaves to contain and shape the Chả Lụa, leaving the center exposed after steaming.

However as soon as the Chả Lụa was off the steamer, my husband and kids devoured all the small Chả Lụa rolls. Hearing their enjoyment and compliments sure made my day.

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RECIPE: Chả Lụa

Printable Recipe

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Ingredients

2 pounds Ground Pork (bought mine at Walmart Superstore)

2 tablespoons good Fish Sauce (prefer 3 crabs brand)

2 tablespoons Sugar

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1 teaspoon fresh Ground Pepper

1 Shallot, minced

2 cloves Garlic, minced

1/4 cup ice water 

2 tablespoons Tapioca Flour (Bột Năng) 

1 bag Alsa Baking Powder or any single action Baking Powder brand (2 teaspoons)

1 teaspoon Peppercorns

Banana Leaves (available at any Asian markets in the frozen section), rinsed and pat dried
Twine, to tie chả roll (plastic twine would work best)

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Preparing Pork Paste

do not add peppercorns at this step.  I made a mistake

Mix pork, fish sauce, sugar, salt, pepper, shallot and garlic in a mixing bowl.

In a separate bowl, add ice water, tapioca flour and mix it well. Then add baking powder and mix.  Baking powder causes a rapid expansion of the liquid and has a tendency to foam over.  

Pour the water mixture into the pork bowl and mix it well. Cover and place it in the freezer for about 3 hours until the pork paste is really cold or frosty but not yet frozen. You can also place it in the frigde overnight instead freezer. This process will help the meat to bind together.

Remove from freezer or fridge then place it in the food processor with half of the pork at a time; do not overload the work bowl. Process to a completely smooth paste. Stop occasionally to scrape down the sides of the work bowl. Transfer the pork paste to another bowl.  Add peppercorns and mix well.  Place it back in the fridge until you're ready to wrap it up.

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Wrapping Pork Paste

It was hard to tie with this type of twine.  Using plastic twine would be easier.

Wrap pork paste in at least 3 layers banana leaves. Make sure to keep your hands moist with cooking oil and also brush oil on the leave to prevent pork paste from sticking.

Tightly wraps into a cylindrical shape then fold the two ends in.  Use the twine to tie it tightly.

fold into a cylindrical shape

fold in the four sides of the two ends

trim the top if it's too long then fold in

tie it up with twine

mini Chả Lụa rolls

2 lbs of pork produces 2 big rolls and 4 mini rolls

Steam for about 20-25 minutes.

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Presentation

Chả Lụa tastes wonderfully when pan fry over high heat until the skin is golden brown. 

Enjoy Chả Lụa as appetizer or served along with nem chua (fermented beef), banh chung (square sticky rice cake), banh tet (cylindrical sticky rice cake). 

Chả Lụa is a versatile recipe, therefore, it served well with anything from banh mi (Vietnamese Baguette), banh day (sticky rice cake), banh cuon (Steamed rice rolls), and variety of noodle dishes such as bun bo hue, bun thang.

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Chúc mọi nhà luôn ấm no !

Chả Ốc (Vietnamese Ham with Periwinkle Snails)

My husband and daughters love Ốc in general.  Everytime we make a trip to Orange County, they have to stop by  Phước Lộc Thọ (Asian Garden Mall) in Little Saigon for escargo or Ốc.  Her Under-The-Sea party theme makes Chả Ốc a must-have dish at her fifth birthday party.  As it turns out this dish was gone within the first 30 minutes of the party.  Now that's how you get a party started!

The two main ingredients of  Chả  Ốc are  quality Giò Sống (uncooked pork paste)  and Ốc Bươu (Periwinkle/Escargot Snails).  They can be purchased in the frozen section of most Asian markets.  You can also find Giò Sống  at any Vietnamese sandwich shop.  Giò Sống  is typically already seasoned, so you just need to add a little bit more of seasoning to enhance the flavor.
 

Chả  Ốc is served as an appetizer.  It has a wonderful soft and crunchy texture.  The earthy flavors of lemongrass, lime leaf,  ginger, pepercorn and shallot give it a wonderful aroma that blends with  giò sống.  When preparing Ốc, I like to cut it into big chunks so that when we sink our teeth into it and taste the chewy, crunchy, flavor packed Ốc. 

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RECIPE: Chả  Ốc
Make about 75 servings

Printable Recipe

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 Ingredients

For Chả  Ốc Paste

3 pounds Pork Paste  (Giò Sống)

3 pounds cooked Periwinkle (Ốc), cut into half or three depends on the size of Ốc

3 tablespoons finely minced lemongrass (only the white thicker end)

3 Shallots, finely minced

2 tablespoons Kaffir Lime Leaves or Lime Leaves, finely minced

1 1/2 tablespoons Fish sauce

1/2-1 tablespoon Peppercorns ( Tiêu Hột)

1/2 tablespoon Ground Pepper (Tiêu Xay)

Other ingredients

4 Lemongrass stalks, only the white thicker end, washed, each split into 4 or 8 about 3 inches sticks

A bunch of Lime Leaves, washed, dried, cut into half

1 large Ginger Root, peeled, washed, thinly sliced

Banana leaves, cut into  rectangles

Aluminum foil,  cut into rectangles about one inch longer than the size of banana leaves

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Preparing Ốc

Wash Ốc in salt water thouroughly.  Rinse a couple time until the water is cleared.  Place a handfull of Ốc in your hands and squeeze out the liquid. Cut Ốc into half or three pieces depends on the size.  Drained and set it aside.

In a pan,  sauté  finely minced lemongrass and shallot until fragnant.  Add fish sauce.  Mix it well.  Add Ốc and give it a quick stir.  Remove from heat.  Don't  leave it on the stove for longer than half of a minute as the juice in Ốc will release.  If there is any juice in the pan, drain the juice. Let it cool down.

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Preparing Pork Paste and Ốc

 I forgot to add finely minced lime leaves  at the same time with other ingredients :-)

In mixing bowl, combine sauteed Ốc, pork paste (giò sống), finely minced lime leaves, pepercorns and ground pepper. Mix well. Cover and place it in freezer or fridge for about half an hour until the beef is really cold but not yet frozen . This process will help the meat to bind together.

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Assembling Chả  Ốc

Lay banana leaf on a cutting board, place a lime leaf,  about 1 tablespoon of the mixture.  Then place a lemongrass stick on one side and a slice of ginger on the other side of the mixture.  Mold the mixture into a log and roll tightly.  Place an aluminum foil on a cutting board, then place a banana leaf roll on it and roll it up.  Twist  the ends of the foil tightly. 

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Steaming Chả  Ốc

Bring a steamer to boil. Add the uncooked Chả  Ốc into the steamer tray and steam about 10-12 minutes. Enjoy it hot or cold with or without the dipping ginger fish sauce.

Voila! Escargo!