The eight dispensable dishes in Lunar New Year!

Lunar New Year is the biggest event in Viet Nam each year. It is the time for people to reunion with their families. Depends on different part in Vietnam, people have different set of dishes to prepare for this occasions. In this blog, as I’m from Hanoi which is the north of VietNam, I will be telling you guys about the eight dispensable dishes that my families as well as other families have during this time of the year.

1.       Banh Chung

Banh Chung is the traditional sticky rice cake in Viet Nam. If you want more information about this cake, you could read my other post which is about “how to make Banh Chung”. The video link below is to show you how to make Banh Chung

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cHXzHeMlaA

 

2.       Pork “jellies” :P

I don’t know how to call it exactly. You can cook this pretty quick. I also include the video link so if you are interested in this dish, you could try to cook it yourself. It tastes more than great!!! Yum yum

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7WGKxid5eE

 

3.       Mixed onions

This mixed onions served with other dishes like Banh Chung or grill pork to give you more fiber, which is healthier!! ;)

 

4.       Sticky rice

People use sticky rice more than regular rice during this time of the year. And this sticky rice is served with any other dishes in New Year Festival

 

5.       Deep fried spring rolls

This is my favorite cuisine during “Tet” (another name for new year). Vietnamese people often mix pork, mushroom, eggs, crabs and vermicelli to make these spring rolls

 

6.       Steamed chicken

This is a simple dish but it simply tasty. People served this with salt mixed with lemon.

 

7.       Bamboo soup

Vietnamese cuisine is pretty creative.  They use bamboo to make soup with pork bones. You could different kinds of bamboo to make this dish. This video link below would help you to make it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tn9FncfVHx0

 

8.       Mixed vegetables fried

As I said Vietnamese Foods are really healthy, in each meal, people often include a vegetable dish; it could be steamed, boiled, or fried. In the Lunar New Year, they often do mixed fried vegetables: broccoli, carrot, baby corns, pepper, green bean and celery!

 

Images link: http://afamily.vn/an-ngon/8-mon-an-khong-the-thieu-tren-mam-co-tet-20130208090322753.chn

Those are the eight dishes that people often make for the New Year party! I hope you enjoy my post and dont gorget to like my facebook page and follow me on Twitter!! Thanks

I better have a Vietnamese steamed pork bun - “Banh Bao” than McDonald Hamburger! It’s much healthier and tastier!!! :P

“Banh bao” is a really popular bun in Vietnam. In this blog, I will be telling you how to make it. It is not that hard (not like the “banh chung” in my last post :P). These buns could be served as a type of “hamburger” in Vietnam.

Ingredients include:

For dough: 1 bag of steamed bun flour, 1 cup of milk, ½ cup of sugar, 1 tblsp of vegetable oil, 1 tblsp of lemon juice

For filling: ¾ pound of ground pork, small onion, vermicelli bean thread, salt, sugar, pepper, Chinese sausage and eggs

Preparation:

Dough: Put flour, sugar, baking powder and oil in a bowl. Mix and blend it well

Filling: Mix mushroom, ground pork, onion, oyster sauce, sesame oil, carrot together and leave it there for 30 mins. Boil the eggs and cut it to 4 pieces.

Rolling up the dough, and cut it into small round pieces, then put the filling at the middle. Use the dough to wrap up the filling.

 

Finally, steam these buns for 15 minutes

The bun should have a white exterior. Because of the mixed between yeast and baking powder, the texture of the dough should be slightly dense but fine soft bread. The filling should be a little juicy. I normally make this at home because it tastes better. I also enjoy playing around with the shape of the “banh bao”.

I hope you guys like it! Try it out and remember to leave comment or tweet on my facebook page or twitter!!! <3 thanks guys
https://www.facebook.com/VietnameseFoodForHealthyDiet?ref=hl
 

How to make "Banh Chung" - traditional Vietnamese sticky rice cake!

“Banh Chung” is one of the traditional foods in Viet Nam that symbolizes the Earth. It is used to show people gratitude for their parents as well as the world.

People do not eat “Banh Chung” on a regular basis. However, on most special events in Viet Nam, they would include this cake in the party meals.

One of the reasons that people do not eat “Banh Chung” often is because it takes long time to prepared and normally people make many of it at one time. So in this blog, I would be introduce the ingredients of “banh Chung” and how to make it.

For the ingredients, you would need to have: banana leaves, sticky rice, pork belly meat, green beans, onions, pepper, salt, and sugar.

Preparation:

-       Put green bean in water and leave it there for 2 hours. After that, you mix it with 1 tablespoon of salt then steam it.  Then you mix it with pepper and sugar and crush it.

-       Slice the pork belly (1x7cm) then mix it with pepper, fish sauce and a little sugar then put it in refrigerator 

-       Put sticky rice in water for 2 hours. Then mix it with salt and spices.

-       After all the above steps are done, you put rice, then green bean, meat then green bean and sticky rice in to the banana leaves. Take a long string and tight it.

Finally, you put water and “banh chung” in a big pot, cook it for at least 8 hours. (Yes! I meant 8 Hours)

It takes a whole day to make this cake but it tastes wonderful.  I haven’t had it for so long and I miss it so much. The cake has all the nutrition you need. It’s healthy and it’s tasty! I just basically love it!!

Hope you enjoy reading this post!! Follow me on Twitter and like me on my Facebook Page!! You could make comments and request about anything related to Vietnamese foods and I will response as soon as I can!!! Enjoy!

How to make a set of Vietnamese dishes for special events or occasions

Hi guys!!

It has been a while since I uploaded my last post. :-s I was too busy with my final exams and assignments and could not update my blog recently. My friends reminded me today about my blog and asked me what dishes Vietnamese people often make in special event or occasion such as Lunar New Year. So I decided to publish another post about this topic.

There are lots of special occasions (events) in Vietnam such as Lunar New Year, Mid-Autumn Festivals and so on. In these occasions, people often make set of Vietnamese traditional dishes for party (if it is a big party, it would include around 10 people/table; 5 tables/party). In this post, I will be talking about what normally included in one party set (table).

As Vietnamese foods are considered to be pretty healthy, in each meal, they often include a combination of vegetables, rice, and meat dishes. For example, in a small family evens, you would see deep fried spring rolls, steamed meat (or chicken), steamed vegetables, pork bone soup or potatoes soup , and one or two other fried meat mixed with vegetables.

Down here is an example of a small party for special event in family. It includes: fish soup, deep fried fish, fried beef mixed with vegetables and steamed shrimp with green onion. These are served with steamed rice.

As you could see, instead of BBQ party with a lot of meat, less vegetables and no starch (which Western people often choose when they have party); in this Vietnamese meal, you could get lots more vitamins, protein as well as other nutrition which makes it a much healthier meal.

That is how even in special events, Vietnamese foods still being a good choice for healthy diet.

I hope you guys like it

The Simple Steam and Boiled Vietnamese Dishes

Last week was a “fried week” for me. I was fried because of lots of assignments and tests during the end of summer semester, I ate lots of fried foods like deep fried chicken wings, French fries, onion rings, pizza and other unhealthy foods. I got sick of it after last week. So in this blog, I will be talking about steamed and boiled foods and some special Vietnamese dishes and the ingredients within the dishes.

1.       “Exotic” vegetables taste with steamed dim sims

Sometime when you get sick of meat, you can change the taste with this steamed dim sim with vegetables. I normally eat this with hot sauce. It could be an open appetizers or healthy snacks.

The ingredients you need to make this are:

-          Dim sims wrap ( you can buy it in a Chinese supermarket)

-          1 small carrot

-          1 “tofu ky” (you can also buy in Chinese supermartket)

-          ¼ small taro root

-          A little corn

-          1 egg

-          Salt, onione, cornstarch or tapioca starch

-          Soy sauce, red vinegar, chili soysauce and sugar
 

2.       Sweet and sour steamed tofu with shrimp and ground pork

This dish has a sweet taste from the shrimp, and meat as well as mushroom, the steamed tofu is mixed with a sweet and sour sauce that make the dish very “tempting”

Ingredients:

-          1 small box of tofu

-          200gr shrimp

-          200gr ground pork or ground chicken

-          100 gram mushroom

-          1 egg

-          2 table spoons of tapioca starch

-          Salt, pepper, sugar, seasame oil, oyster sauce, sweet and sour chili sauce, seasoning seeds, dried onion and green onion.

             

3.       Steamed Tilapia fish with ginger

The sweet fresh fish taste with soy sauce and ginger together create a fabulous dish. I love this dish because it’s not heavy and has the pure taste. It is really good to have it with rice.

The ingredients needs are:

-          A small Tilapia fish (700gr)

-          Green onion, ginger, salt, sugar, onion, and a little cooking oil

-          Soy sauce, water, dark soya sauce, hoisin sauce, and pepper

If you are getting sick of meat and fried foods, try something new in the kitchen. :P

Let me know how it tastes  by commenting on my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/#!/VietnameseFoodForHealthyDiet

Or tweet me

https://twitter.com/ngalinh69

I hope you enjoy it!

Why is it a good choice for people who have special needs, especially for gluten-free people?

Gluten-free is a big issue for people who can’t eat” wheat related products”. Due to this habit, rice will be a smart choice instead of wheat for those people. As a fact, that Vietnam is the second largest rice exporting country in the world. Therefore, they have lots of different kind of rice dishes to be considered to eat. Some of  the best rice dishes that Vietnam has are:

 Chicken rice in Hội An

This kind of rice is very famous in Hoi An where is one of best tourism attractive place in Vietnam. Everyone comes to this city will be invited to eat this dish without doubt.

Baby clam rice in Huế

Baby clam rice is a special dish from Hue. It is made of crunchy cold rice, baby clams, fried pork fat, banana flower, fermented shrimp sauce, sliced star fruit and various spices.  This food tastes sweet, buttery, salty, sour, bitter and spicy at once. The mixed of hot baby clam and the cold rice blending together is weird but they are going together perfectly.

Tấm/Broken rice – Ho Chi Minh City

Broken rice is the most famous and traditional food in the south. We could have this dish anytime during the day. Moreover, it is served from street food shop to a luxury restaurant. The dish is made of  broken rice, grilled pork, pork skin, egg and fish sauce.

“Cháy”/burned rice – Ninh Binh

This rice has to make with steel pots. We must be carefully choosing the rice to make. When we got all the ingredients, we need to burn the rice to nice yellow colour.  Finally, we need to leave it under the sun until the rice is dried for 2 to 3 days.

After drying, it is broken into round shape slices which then are soaked into hot cooking oil pan until turning golden. The golden burned rice slices are served with a special soup of pig’s heart and kidney.

I hope that this post is helpful for people who need gluten-free dishes!!!

Images link:

http://www.vietnamonline.com/best-of-vietnam/10-best-and-uniquely-vietnam-rice-dishes.html

Vegetarian Dish - Goi Chay

Goi Chay (Vietnamese Vegetarian Salad)

       This dish is called “Goi Chay” ,which is very famous in Vietnam,  we could actually find some similar dishes in Vietnamese restaurant which are made of different ingredients with the same cooking method.

T     This dish is very easy and fast to make, and even better as leftovers. This dish usually takes about only 20-25 minutes to prepare and then it is ready to eat. This food is much healthier because it is not cooked with oil or cheese or even too much salt. Therefore, it will reduce the rate of causing some diseases: such as: heart attack, cancer or any diseases that related with our traditional cooking method.  When you are eating it, it is actually giving you a fresh or nature taste of vegetables. It is also good for people who are on diet because it does not provide too much calories. You can eat Goi Chay anytime during the day when u feel hungry, even before you are going to bed because it is not a heavy kind of food which gives you a hard time to sleep.

       This is the ingredients for the dish (for 6 people)

       1 pound extra firm tofu
Vegetable oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/8 cup soy sauce
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 serrano or Thai bird pepper, deseeded and finely chopped
1 head green cabbage, shredded
2 carrots, peeled and shredded
Large handful of herbs (basil, mint, rau răm if available), coarsely chopped or torn
Rice noodles (optional)
1/2 cup peanuts, crushed

Images link

http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-goi-chay-67437

      

If you come to any Vietnamese restaurant, maybe you could order this dish. Let me know how do you like it!!! <3 

Good Vietnamese restaurants in downtown Toronto

Hi guys,

So I was discussing with my friends in class about Vietnamese foods, I found that lots of them have never tried any of Vietnamese dishes before. They also don’t know where to find good Vietnamese restaurant, so I thought it’s a good idea to post a blog with list of good restaurants I know in downtown Toronto. I will also be posting the list of good dishes in those restaurants.

I used to live and work at downtown Toronto for a while. I have tried lots of restaurants but I only like some of them

Pho Hung

Address: 350 Spadina Ave Toronto, ON M5T 2G4

Phone number: 416 593 4274

Image link https://plus.google.com/118407498756892968259/photos?hl=en

This restaurant is known for its Pho Bo Dac Biet – Special Beef rice noodles. The price is reasonable so if you are a student who looks for a quick meal, you could come and order foods here. I tried other dishes but it wasn’t that good so I’m only recommending the Pho Bo Dac Biet. 

Pho Linh

Address: 1156 College St Toronto, ON M6H 1B5

Phone number: 416 516 3891

Image link https://plus.google.com/114705700842904950789/photos/photo/5855734693369442034?hl=en

This restaurant is known for its Bun Bo Hue – Hue Spicy Beef noodles. However, they only do this special dish on Friday – Sunday. On weekdays, you could try “Banh Cuon” – Vietnamese rolled cake. This is a really tasty cake that even I normally don’t eat a lot, I still can finish an extra-large order. I just love it. (talking about this make me want foods now =.=!!)

 Kimbo bo 7 mon

Address: 358 Bathurst St Toronto, ON M5T 2S7

Phone number: 416 603 7817

Image link http://www.phenu.com/KimBoRestaurant

This is where you find delicious 7 different beef dishes. The combo for two is around $25 and you get so much good foods. It's yummy!!!! 

Banh My Boy

Address: 392 Queen St W, Toronto, ON M5V 2A9

Phone Number: 416 363 0588

If you are looking for a sandwich, this is where you find the best sandwich ever. I fell in love with the 5 spices pork sandwich there. Sometime, I went downtown just for this sandwich.  It’s so much healthier and tastier than Subway or Mr Sub.

Kensington Natural Bakery

Address: 460 Bloor Street W, Toronto, ON M5S 1X8

Phone Number: 416 534 1294

Image Link: http://www.kensingtonnaturalbakery.ca/

Great place with great products! I’m sick of Wonder bread. I come here for healthy organic bread. This place offers special products for special needs. They have gluten free, wheat free, dairy free, sugar free, organic breads, cookies, cakes, coco balls and so many other things. If you are vegetarian, or need gluten-free products, you would definitely list this as your number one shop. I know that they sell products to Big Carrot, but why should you pay more if you could get it much cheaper in Kensington Natural Bakery.

That's pretty much all the restaurant I know and would recommend. So if you make a trip to downtown Toronto, you could visit and try out some of these restaurant. Let me know how you feel about the foods there!! 

I hope you guys enjoy it!! :) Please like my facebook page https://www.facebook.com/VietnameseFoodForHealthyDiet