Intro to You

Hi! My name is Lisa and welcome to my blog on Vietnam! I am Vietnamese and that's one of the reasons why i decided to do Vietnam but another reason is because I think that there are so many different types of Vietnamese food depending on where and what region you are from. If you didn't know depending on which region of Vietnam you are from you will have a different accent and the accents are really different from each other. In this blog I talk about recipes that I have tried before and really liked and my experiences in Vietnam. I also talk about the biggest festival in Vietnam and what they do to celebrate. I hope after reading my blog that you would want to dig further into Vietnamese food and its beautiful culture. I hope you enjoy my blog :)


Here are some pictures we took when we went to Vietnam

Barrhaven Vietnamese Restaurant

During the holiday break I went to the Barrhaven Vietnamese Restaurant which is located on 16-3777 Strandherd Drive, you can contact them at (613) 825-4567 and I had dinner there. The restaurant was very clean and tidy. I thought that the restaurant had a very cozy feeling to it because the tables and space only had a few lights around the walls. However the red curtains and tables cloths made the restaurant look fancier. I had the Pho dac biet which was very good and flavourful.  The noodles were cooked perfectly not overdone and not undercooked. The server was very nice she came back to the table and refilled our water. She didn't sound completely confident in how the food was made but she tried to give a brief explanation. The food came out pretty quick but one person at the table had to wait longer for their food while the rest of us had already received our food. Everyone really enjoyed the food there wasn't anything wrong and all the food was still hot when it came out. I would say that they can improve on training their employees to know more about the food, how it’s made, and where it comes from. 

Menu :

http://bvrvietnamresto.com/menu

Website:

http://bvrvietnamresto.com/

Banh Bo Nuong (Vietnamese Honeycomb Cake)

Ingredients

 §  1/2 c. coconut cream

 §  1 1/4 c. sugar

 §  6 eggs

 §  1 1/4 c. tapioca starch

 §  2 1/2 tsp. single acting baking powder (make your own with 1 3/4 tsp. cream of tartar + 3/4 tsp. baking soda)

 §  1/2 tsp. salt

 §  1/2 – 1 tsp pandan extract

 §  1 tsp. vanilla extract

Procedure

1.  Preheat a convection oven to 360 degrees (375 degrees in a regular oven).  Grease the bottom (not the sides) of an angel food cake pan with canola oil, and allow the pan to preheat inside the oven.  (You want the pan to be nice and hot when you add the cake batter.)

2.  Sift the tapioca starch, baking powder, and salt.  Do not use double acting baking powder, or this recipe will fail.

3.  In a separate container, stir the eggs until homogenized – you want to avoid beating any air into the eggs.

4.  Mix the coconut cream, sugar, pandan, and vanilla extracts.  Stir until sugar is dissolved.

5.  Stir the eggs into the coconut milk syrup.  Do not beat or overly agitate the mixture.

6.  Pour the wet ingredients on top of the dry ingredients, and mix to combine.  Stop mixing when you still have some lumps – over mixing will ruin this cake.

7.  Pour the batter through a sieve, and using the back of a rubber or silicone spatula, push all of the batter through.  This step will take care of all the lumps, allowing a nice smooth batter, without over mixing.  Sieve the batter 2 more times to ensure a perfectly smooth batter.

8.  Pour the batter into the hot cake pan, and bake for 10 minutes at 360 degrees in a convection oven (375 degrees in a normal oven).  After 10 minutes, reduce the heat to 305 degrees, and continue baking for 25-30 more minutes.  Test with a wooden toothpick – when the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is ready.

9.  Remove the cake from the oven, and invert onto a wire rack.  Allow to hang upside down to cool for at least 90 minutes.

10.  Remove the cake from the pan when cool, and serve.

    

The 350 Degree Oven. Blogspot, 9 Jan. 2011. Web. 30 Dec. 2013.
http://the350degreeoven.blogspot.ca/2011/01/banh-bo-nuong-vietnamese-honeycomb-cake.html

Bún Bò Huế (Vietnamese - Hue Style Beef Noodle Soup recipe)

Ingredients

Yield: 6 servings    

Stock

·         2 pounds oxtail, cut into 2- to 3-inch pieces (ask your butcher to do this)

·         2 pounds beef shank bones, cut into 2- to 3-inch pieces (ask your butcher to do this)

·         2 pounds pork neck bones

·         2 pounds beef marrowbones, cut into 2- to 3-inch pieces (ask your butcher to do this)

·         1 pound beef brisket

·         8 lemon grass stalks

Soup
·         1 1/2 teaspoons red pepper flakes

·         1 teaspoon annatto seeds, ground

·         1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons canola oil

·         1 cup sliced shallots (2 extra-large shallots)

·         1 teaspoon minced garlic

·         1/4 cup finely chopped lemon grass

·         2 teaspoons shrimp paste

·         2 teaspoons kosher salt

·         2 teaspoons sugar

·         1 (14-ounce) package dried round rice noodles, cooked according to package directions, or 3 pounds fresh rice noodles

Garnishes

·         Thai basil sprigs

·         Perilla leaves

·         Thinly sliced green or red cabbage

·         Lemon wedges

·         Lime wedges

·         Thinly sliced yellow onion

 

 

Preparation

1. Make the stock: to ensure the pot is large enough to blanch the bones without boiling over, put the bones in the pot and add water to cover by 1 inch. Then remove the bones and set aside.

2. Bring the water to a boil. When it is at a rolling boil, add the oxtails, beef shank, and pork bones. Return the water to a boil and boil for 3 minutes. Drain the bones into a colander and rinse under cold running water. Rinse the pot and return the rinsed oxtails, neck bones, and shanks to the pot. Add the marrowbones and brisket.

3. Cut off the pale, fleshy part (the bottom 4 inches) of each lemon grass stalk and discard the leafy tops. Crush the lemon grass with the side of a cleaver or the bottom of a heavy pan and add it to the pot. Add 8 quarts fresh water and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat so the liquid is at a simmer and skim off any scum that rises to the surface.

4. After 45 minutes, ready an ice-water bath, then check the brisket for doneness by using the chopstick test: transfer the brisket to a plate and poke it with a chopstick; the juices should run clear. If they do not, return the brisket to the pot and continue cooking, checking again in 10 minutes. When the brisket is done, remove it from the pot (reserving the cooking liquid) and immediately submerge it in the ice-water bath, which will stop the cooking and give the meat a firmer texture. When the brisket is completely cool, remove from the water, pat dry, and refrigerate.

5. Continue to simmer the stock for another 2 hours, skimming as needed to remove any scum that forms on the surface. Remove from the heat and remove and discard the large solids. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a large saucepan. Skim most of the fat from the surface of the stock (leave some, as it gives the stock a better flavour and mouth feel). Return the stock to a simmer over medium heat.

6. In a spice grinder or mortar and pestle, grind the red pepper flakes and annatto seeds into a coarse powder. In a frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the ground red pepper flakes and annatto seeds and cook, stirring, for 10 seconds. Add the shallots, garlic, lemon grass, and shrimp paste and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes more, until the mixture is aromatic and the shallots are just beginning to soften.

7. Add the contents of the frying pan to the simmering stock along with the salt and sugar and simmer for 20 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and sugar.

8. To ready the garnishes, arrange the basil, perilla, cabbage, lemon and lime wedges, and onion slices on a platter and place on the table. Thinly slice the brisket against the grain. Divide the cooked noodles among warmed soup bowls, and then divide the brisket slices evenly among the bowls, placing them on top of the noodles. Ladle the hot stock over the noodles and beef and serve immediately, accompanied with the platter of garnishes.

Epicurious. Conde, Sept. 2012. Web. 30 Dec. 2013.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Bun-Bo-Hue-51115000

My experience in Vietnam!

Both of my parents were born and raised in Vietnam. I was born in Canada but my family still celebrates and explores the Vietnamese culture every day. I have been to Vietnam two times, once when I was 4 and once again when I was 12. I don't remember much from my first trip because I was only 4, but my second trip was a lot more memorable! I loved spending time over in Vietnam. Most of my family is over there, and since my dad is the 11th child I have lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins. It is extremely hot in Vietnam, I remember when I first got out of the Vietnam airport, and I couldn't breathe because it was so humid. We had landed in Ho Chi Minh City and a few of my family members had come out to pick us up. We had to drive back to my parent’s home town which is Nha Trang. When I was in Vietnam I would always be at the beach with all of my cousins because we lived really close to the beach and it was a really good way of bonding. Aside from the beach we also went to many tourist sites and amusement parks. We would always eat at home because my aunt loved to cook for us. I am really grateful that I got to visit Vietnam a second time because I have made so many more memories with all my family members that I wouldn't trade for anything. A few of my family members are a lot older and it was really nice to see them and have actual memories with them if they ever pass away before I could come back, for example my aunt that had cooked for us almost every day when we were there and the one aunt that I spent a lot of time with, recently passed away on the 26^th of December. I am extremely grateful that I got to spend and bond with her before this had happen because I now have so many amazing and happy memories with her. Vietnam holds a very special place in my heart and its one of those things that I will always love so dearly. It contains all of the adventures, laughs, and happiness that I had there. It will always bring a smile to my face no matter what.

This is the Vietnam flag!

Tourism in Vietnam

In Vietnam the festival that is the biggest and most popular is Tết. Tết is the Vietnamese New Year. It is celebrated on the first day of the first month in the lunar calendar. Tết is also the longest holiday in Vietnam, it can last up to 7 days. A few days before Tết families will thoroughly clean their houses, buy new clothing for children, pay all bills and debt. They do this to try and get rid of any bad luck that may have happen during the year hoping good luck would take place instead. During Tết children get red pockets filled with money. There are also lots of fire crackers and dragon dances that happen. The colour red represents good luck and fortune in Asian cultures so most decorations for Tết are usually red and gold representing money. One of the most traditional foods that we eat during Tết is Banh Chung or sticky rice cake. It is made out of sticky rice, pork meat, and green beans, it’s all wrapped in banana leaves. There are both sweet and savoury ones. Also during Tết is usually when all the Mut comes out. Mut is a snack you would give to your guests. It is candied fruit with lots of variety such as coconut, pineapple, and star fruit. Tết is usually celebrated with family and friends in the comforts of their homes but it’s always fun to walk around the streets in Vietnam and stores to see all the decorations that are put up. 

Also there is an aquarium located in Nha Trang that is absolutely amazing and its shaped like an old shipwreck.

Cooking Lab

Last year I took cooking just to try it out and to see if I liked it. I ended up loving it and had lots of fun so I took it again this year. This year we cooked a lot more and we had a large variety of recipes. We did some pickled and canned foods, different kinds of breads, soups and stocks, and different kinds of pastries. The recipe that stood out for me was the apple pie. I thought it would be super fun to learn how to make an apple pie. We had to make our own pie crust, apple filling, and pie top. I thought that my final end product was pretty average. I didn't have any trouble doing the pie crust because I tried to work fast and not warm up the dough too much. When making the dough I was able to use the pastry blender which was very helpful. I put a good amount of apple filling so at the end, the apples shrunk but there was still enough filling left so that the top didn't collapse. The filling wasn't too sweet and the apples were cooked enough that it wasn't still hard but not mushy. The top design that I put was a lattice mixed with a couple of braids. The design didn't turn out as nice as I hoped because it ended up looking messy. So I learned that I should be more precise and careful when making a design on pies. Try to keep it simple but nice at the same time. I had an amazing time in this course learning about new techniques and new recipes.