Bánh Phục Linh (Tapioca Cookies)

January and February are neither spring nor winter but their own distinct mix - at least in my part of the world. Certain day, it's icy cold and raw in the morning and all I want to do is to stay cozy inside the house.  After the heavy rain and thunder rolled through the weekend, the sun shines once again and it reminds me of spring awakening.  I took a walk in my yard to be reminded of the wonderful and wild gift of nature like the smell of rain-wet earth and the soothing and mild sweet scent of jasmine that made me forget - at least momentarily - of my chores.

Thinking of Spring makes my heart sing. I hope it roars this season. Here's to your Spring!

Pooh and my shadow

As I mentioned in the previous post, when the Vietnamese new year (Tết) begins, it marks the arrival of spring. It's only nine days left until that day. My girls can't wait to adorn themselves in ao dai (traditional dress), and give their elders the traditional Tết greetings before receiving the lucky red envelopes of blessing and fortune.

I've been busy in the kitchen testing and experimenting some of the traditional Tết food. One of them is bánh phục linh (tapioca cookies). My daughters watched me mold the toasted flour, and it magically turned into these little adorable cookies. They were thrilled and thought it's the coolest thing on earth. 

If you grew up in Vietnam, these bánh phục linh will sure bring back childhood memories. These cookies melt in your mouth like no other Vietnamese dessert. They're simple and fragranced by the lightness of pandan and the richness of coconut milk.  

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RECIPE: Bánh Phục Linh 

Made 48-50 cookies

Printable Recipe

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Ingredients

1 bag (15 oz or 425 g) Tapioca Flour 

3/4 cup Coconut Milk 

3/4 cup Sugar

A bunch of frozen or fresh pandan leaves, washed, pat dried, chopped into 1 inch pieces

2 pandan leaves, tied each into a knot
Cookie Mold, use any mold you can find

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Directions

Cooking Coconut Milk

In a pot, cook coconut milk, sugar, salt, and a couple knots of pandan leaves on low heat until the sugar melts, the leaves turn into yellowish color, and the coconut milk becomes condensed.

Remove from heat. Discard the pandan leaves. Let it cool completely.  To make mint color cookies, add 1/8 teaspoon of pandan paste to the coconut mixture.

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Toasting Tapioca Flour

In a large skillet, toast flour and pieces of pandan leaves  on low heat until the leaves are completely dried and crispy. Make sure to stir the flour constantly to avoid it from being burn.

Remove dried leaves and lumps of dried flour from flour using a strainer.

Let it cool completely. 

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Mixing Flour

Gradually add coconut milk to the flour.

Using both of your hands to rub the flour.

Add more of coconut milk and continue to rub it until a smooth flour is achieved. It should be powdery and  moist.

If for some reasons, the flour is still clumpy after rubbing, transfer flour in the colander and scrape it off with a spoon or a spatula to achieve the fine and smooth texture.

Another way to mix the flour is by using the food processor. Be sure there's no meat residue that can contaminate the flour.

Avoid adding too much of coconut milk to the flour at once. In my experience flour tends to clump together when there is a lot of liquid and when wet and dry are combined too quickly.  If the flour happens to be clump together, just add more toasted tapioca flour.  

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Molding Cookies

When flour is smooth, powdery and moist, it's time to mold the cookies. 

Pour flour into the mold. Use your thumb to pack flour down tight.

Use a flat knife to scrape off the excess of flour and also to smooth the surface.

Flip the mold over and tap on the back or the sides of the mold to remove the cookies.

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Presentation

Keep these cookies in an airtight container. Serve your love ones and friends with this delicious treat and a pot of your favorite tea.  I am sure you'll find them - and yourself - coming back for more. 

Enjoy!

The Spices of Life's First Charitable Delivery part 1 !

It's past midnight and I couldn't go back to sleep after reading text messages from the VSpice team in Vietnam. They've been working with me over the past few weeks to get transportation, package supplies and food supplies ready for delivery next week before Tết (Lunar New Year). We were able to get the support from Thu Hà Coffee company to help us with transportation and package supplies. Yay!

The man in the blue shirt whom they ran into while on their way back from the market is a handicapped person who walks miles on the streets in Saigon to sell lottery tickets for a living. They picked him up and took him to the shop, packaged one of each item and gave him the first gift from The Spices of Life (Hương Vị Cuộc Sống). It's really heartwarming to see his smile and the joy in his eyes.

Since I haven't accepted anyone's donation, we could only afford to buy 275 lbs white rice, 50 bottles of fish sauce, cooking oil, soy sauce, and boxes of instant noodle. Our plan is packaging them up and distributing them to the first 50 families. It costs no more than $10 per package but the impact is worth its weight in gold. It's only a meal to us but it's a month of food and supplies for them.

I would like to be able to reach out to the poor at least once a month. Quite few of you emailed or messaged me regarding where you can send the money to contribute to this wonderful life enriching mission. As I mentioned earlier, I haven't collected any fund from anyone as I wanted to wait for a legitimate account for donation but it might take a few months as I am still figuring out how I can start this charity properly.

As for now, if you would like to contribute to the fund for this mission, please keep in mind that your contribution will not be tax-deductible. 

Last night, I created a donate button which is displayed on the right panel of this site.  You may also send your contributions to the Bank of America by using this email address: 

thespicesoflife@yahoo.com.  If you would like to send a check, please email me.

Thanks everyone for reaching out.

my friend's kids started a fund for this charity by creating this savings jar 

Gà Tây Băm Xúc Rau Cúc Đắng- Spicy Ground Turkey Endive Boats

January is drifting by so quickly! Tết Nguyên Đán (Lunar New Year) is approaching in a few weeks though the cold, freezing, foggy mornings and evenings constantly remind me that winter is still alive where I live.

Tết is short for Tết Nguyên Đán, which means “Feast of the First Morning”.  It marks the arrival of spring and the new year when the Vietnamese reflect on the past and make resolutions for the new year. Around this time of the year, flowers are blossoming and business is booming as the bustle of shopping is everywhere. Many Vietnamese are busy preparing for Tết by shopping, cleaning the house, cooking traditional food, and waiting to be reunited with their love ones.

I was fortunate to grow up in Vietnam. The culture and customs have been rooted deeply in me. There are certain values, customs that I don't necessarily share, there are some that I would not want my daughters to miss out on.  One of the fun traditions to get my daughters into the Tết spirit is by simply decorating our house with hoa mai (ochna integerrima) and hoa đào (cherry blossom) as these distinctive blossoms symbolize life, growth and prosperity, while hoa cúc vàng (yellow chrysanthemum) symbolizes optimism and joy.  Preparing traditional Tết food is also a must.  It's the time where my girls and I get together in the kitchen and make candied coconut ribbon (mứt dừa, click here for the recipe), and other sweet treats.  

This coming Tết, I am going to bring in a new dish for my family to enjoy.  Though it's not a traditional dish, I love the fresh, vibrant, beautiful purple, creamy yellow and light green colors of the endives used in this dish.  It reminds me of the springtime- when the new rhythm of the sun rejuvenates  all living things and we as human beings can be reinvigorated as well.

The endive is not only attractive, beautiful and elegant, but apparently healthy. It has very low calories, however, it contributes about 8% of daily-required intake (DRI) of fiber. The high inulin and fiber content in endives help reduce glucose and LDL-cholesterol levels in diabetes and obese patients. Endive is enriched with good amount Vitamin A and many essential B-complex groups of vitamins such as folic acid, pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), pyridoxine (vitamin B6) and thiamin (vitamin B1), niacin (B3). Additionally, endive is a good source of minerals like manganese, copper, iron, and potassium.

Endive has a crisp texture and a sweet, nutty flavor with a pleasantly mild bitterness that makes wonderful boats to serve the spicy ground turkey. This dish promises to bring you not only freshness but also spice bursting with flavors. The best part - it couldn't be easier to make!

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RECIPE: Spicy Ground Turkey Endive Boats 

Printable Recipe

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Ingredients

1.25-1.5 pounds Ground Turkey

1 1/2 tablespoons Oyster Sauce or Fish Sauce

1 1/2-2 tablespoons Laab Namtok Seasoning 

4 cloves of Garlic, finely chopped, about 2 tablespoons

6 white and light green parts of Green Onion, chopped, about 1/4 cup

Cilantro

Vietnamese Coriander, Rau Răm

1 tray Endives

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Directions

Preparing Herb

Wash and shake off excess of water.  Cut herbs finely.  Set aside.

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Cooking Turkey

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat.  Stir in green onion, and garlic, and cook until fragrant.

Add the turkey and season with oyster sauce, and laab namtok seasoning. Cook, stirring frequently, until the meat is cooked through, about 5 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the herbs.

Laab namtok seasoning mix comes in different brands. I have tried a few brands and this is my favorite one as it has the perfect balance of acid, salt, and spices. If you can't find it at your local store, don't worry...you can create your own seasoning mix. The ingredients to create this seasoning mix are combination of garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, roasted rice powder, sugar, salt, msg and citric acid which you can use lime juice, lime juice powder, or tamarind powder. 

For your convenience, pre-made toasted rice powder is available in many Asian grocery stores. But if you can’t find it in the store, you can make toasted rice powder at home in a jiffy. In a skillet on a low heat, add the rice and stir constantly to make sure the grains are evenly toasted. After a few minutes, the grains will turn medium brown. 

Remove the skillet from heat and let the rice cool completely. Once the rice has cooled, grind it in a mortar, a tablespoon at a time or grind it in a grinder until a fine powder is achieved.

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Presentation

Cut root ends off endives, remove the leaves and arrange on a serving plate with spicy turkey in the middle.  Spoon the turkey mixture onto the endives.

Spicy turkey can also be served on butter lettuce cups.

Enjoy!

Gỏi Mít, Ngó Sen trộn Chân Gà (Young Jackfruit and Lotus Root Salad with Chicken Feet)

 

Young jackfruit and lotus roots salad is a popular Vietnamese salad. These two main ingredients are usually tossed with blanched shrimps and boiled pork to add protein to the dish but if you like exotic food, chicken feet is the way to go. 

Chicken feet is surely an acquired taste and it doesn't seem all that appetizing but I am fond of its texture, especially when you cook it with the right ingredients. The chicken feet's skin is delicate and soft. It's tendons appears gelatinous and yet chewy when steamed. It can be crunchy and chewy when prepared the right way. Both of my daughters love to chow down this delicatessen especially when it steamed in a sauce flavored with a sweet fermented black bean sauce as served during dim sum.

But for now I will introduce an authentic Vietnamese salad using chicken feet: young jackfruit and lotus root salad tossed with chicken feet.  Sometimes I toss in Vietnamese ham (chả lụa).  It will make a great appetizer as it is served as is or with roasted sesame rice crackers. I am sure my husband will enjoy this dish while watching the Super Bowl.

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RECIPE: Young Jackfruit and Lotus Root Salad

Printable Recipe

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Ingredients

about 2 pounds Boneless Chicken Feet 

5 celery stalks
2 cans (20 oz each) Young Jackfruit
1 large jar (24oz)  Lotus Roots
1/2 roll Vietnamese Ham (chả lụa), optional

1/2 onion, cut in half
1 bag Laab Namtok Seasoning Mix

2 tablespoons Sugar

1/4 cup Fish Sauce
1/2 tablespoon Soy Sauce

2-3 cloves of Garlic, finely chopped

1 Onion

Vinegar, for pickled onion and pickled lotus root

1 tablespoon White Roasted Sesame Seeds

1 bunch Mint Leaves, finely chopped

1 bunch Vietnamese Coriander (rau răm), finely chopped

Roasted Sesame Crackers 

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Directions

Preparing Boneless Chicken Feet

Bring a pot of water with half of an onion and 1 celery stalk cut into 1-inch pieces, and a teaspoon of salt to boil. 

Add chicken feet to the boiling water for about 3-4 minutes.

Transfer only chicken feet to a bowl and keep it in the freezer for about 20 minutes or until it's cold enough but not frozen. This process is to obtain the crunchiness of the chicken feet.

Cut into long strips.

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Preparing Vinegar Mixture

In a bowl, mix 1 cup of vinegar, 1 cup of sugar, and 3 cups of water. Set aside.

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Prepare Young Jackfruit

Wash young jackfruit with salt water. Slightly squeeze young jackfruit pieces to extract the water if any. Slice jackfruit into strips.

In a skillet, cook a tablespoon of oil and garlic until golden brown and fragrant.  Stir  in jackfruit and soy sauce.  Cook for about a couple minutes.  Remove from heat.  Set aside. 

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Preparing Lotus roots

Wash lotus roots with salt water. Slice into thin diagonal slices. Soak it in half of the vinegar mixture for at least 15 minutes.  Set aside.

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Preparing Onion

Cut an onion in half.  Use a knife to cut the onion thinly but not too thin.  Soak onion in the remaining vinegar mixture for at least 15 minutes.  Set aside.

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Preparing Laab Namtok Seasoning Mix 

Laab namtok seasoning mix comes in different brands. I have tried a few brands and this is my favorite one as it has the perfect balance of acid, salt, and spices.  If you can't find it at your local store, don't worry...you can create your own seasoning mix.  The ingredients to create this seasoning mix are combination of garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, roasted rice powder, sugar, salt, msg and citric acid which you can use lime juice or tamarind powder. 

In a sauce pan, mix seasoning mix with fish sauce and sugar.  Cook it until it's about to boil. Make sure to stir it during the process. Remove the seasoning mixture and let it cool down. 

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Preparing Vietnamese Ham 

Vietnamese ham can be bought at store or homemade.  Click here for the recipe.  

Slice ham into thin strips. Set it aside.

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Preparing Celery

Use a knife to thinly cut the celery diagonally. Set aside.

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Preparing Herbs

Finely chop coriander and mint herbs.  Set aside

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Mixing the Salad

In a large mix bowl, mix well all the ingredients and the seasoning mixture.

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Presentation

Transfer salad into a serving bowl. Then take in a big breath; breathe out a sigh of relief.

Pick up a piece of roasted rice cracker and scoop up some chicken feet salad. Then, pop open a cold bottle of beer or a nice chilled chardonnay and put on a grin - because you're going to enjoy this one.