Limeade

Spring and summer are my favorite seasons of the year. I simply love the bright, warm sun and the feeling of being outdoors. My fondest memories of summer especially, are cookouts on the beach with my family. Nothing beats sharing good food with the people you love.

When I look back to those summer moments, I always remember my mom's limeade. Since limes are a prominent ingredient in Vietnamese cuisine, we always had limes in our house. Naturally, I grew up drinking limeade rather than lemonade.

Limeade is also widely available in Southeast Asia due to the abundance of limes and relative rarity of lemons, as lemons are not a native species. Two popular versions of limeade are lime soda and pickled lime soda, which has a sweet and salty taste resulting from the salt used to preserve the limes.

The limeade recipe I would like to share with you is quite similar to lemonade with the addition of a pinch of salt and of course, the usage of fresh limes rather than lemons. The incorporation of salt may sound odd, but it does enhance the flavor of the limes because salt counters the sourness of limes.

I hope it will quench your thirst like it does mine!

A pitcher of limeade:

Servings: 6-8
Prep time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

6 limes (1/2 cup of lime juice)
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of hot boiled water
5 cups of ice water
5 cups of ice
pinch of salt (optional)
mint leaves (for garnish)

The ingredients including limes, ice water, sugar, salt, and mint for garnish

Directions:

1) To make the simple syrup, combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan. On medium heat, bring the mixture to a boil, making sure to continually stir. When the sugar is completely dissolved remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

2) Squeeze the 6 limes until you get half a cup of lime juice.

3) Fill a pitcher with 4 cups of ice water. Pour in the lime juice and the sugar syrup and stir well. Add a pinch of salt and stir. Depending on your taste, you can add in the additional cup of water (use half a cup first, then the other half until you reach your desired taste). I tend to like my limeade more sweet and tart, so I use less water. Also, the addition of ice will eventually dilute the limeade.

4) Add the ice, stir, garnish with mint leaves, and enjoy.

Half a cup of lime juice

Adding the sugar to the hot water to make simple syrup

Making the sugar syrup

Adding the lime juice

Adding the sugar syrup

Nachos with Cheese and Fresh Salsa

When I have food cravings, sometimes, a bag of chips simply won't do. Occasionally, it would be a bowl of ramen noodles and other times, well, only a big plate of nachos with warm, melted cheese and fresh salsa will hit the spot. Last summer, while visiting my family, my brother made this amazing fresh salsa that had quite a kick from the jalapeños. I liked it so much that I just had to incorporate it in my nachos, making it one of my all time favorite snack. I hope that you would enjoy this recipe as much as I do.

Servings: 2-4
Prep time: 30 minutes

The ingredients for the salsa

Ingredients:

Handful of fresh cherry tomatoes (red, yellow, orange), finely diced
1 package of lean ground beef (preferably grass fed)
Half of a red onion, finely diced
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
1 green bell pepper, finely diced
1-2 jalapeño, finely diced
pinch of paprika (optional)
pinch of sugar, salt and black pepper
dash of soy sauce (optional)
cup of shredded cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon of olive oil
juice of 1-2 limes
1 bag of tortilla chips

Directions:

The fresh salsa:
Wash all your vegetables and finely dice them. Place them in a large bowl. Add in the juice of 1 to 2 limes (depending on taste) and mix. Sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt.

All of the salsa ingredients in a bowl

The beef topping:
In a pan, pour in the olive oil. Then sautee the ground beef until thoroughly cooked. Season with a pinch of paprika, salt, pepper, sugar, and a dash of soy sauce (optional).

Sautéing the ground beef

The cheese topping:
Place nachos on a metal pan. Top them with the shredded cheese and melt in the oven for a couple of minutes. Take out the nacho cheese, placing them on a serving place. Top the nachos with the cooked ground beef. Add your fresh salsa and enjoy.

Melting the cheese

Nachos with cheese and fresh salsa

Green Papaya Salad with Prawns

(Gỏi đu đủ với tôm)







It has been awhile since I've blogged about food but I have managed to try some new dishes and experiment with different recipes. One of my favorite recipe is inspired by Australia based Vietnamese chef Luke Nguyen. Here is my interpretation of Green Papaya Salad with Prawns, a popular Vietnamese salad. In Vietnam, Gỏi đu đủ is usually served with beef jerky, but I much prefer the flavor and freshness of prawns. It is springtime, an ideal time to take advantage of the fresh vegetables from local farms. I recommend incorporating local organic produce into salads when possible. You will taste the difference!

Green Papaya Salad with Prawns
Servings: 4-6
Prep Time: 1 hour


The fresh fish sauce dressing

Fresh fish sauce dressing:
6 tablespoons fish sauce
6 tablespoons white vinegar
4 tablespoons sugar
1 cup water
4 cloves garlic, crushed and finely minced
3 red chilies, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (one whole lime)


The salad ingredients include green papaya, carrots, herbs, lime and chilies

Salad:
1 green papaya, peeled and finely julienned*
1 head of butter lettuce or leafy green lettuce, thinly sliced
4 medium carrots, thinly shredded (use a vegetable peeler)
4 tablespoon fried red Asian shallots*
4 tablespoon crushed roasted peanuts
Fresh green mint leaves, finely sliced
Fresh Asian basil leaves, finely sliced*
Fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves, finely sliced
16-20 medium-size tiger prawns (shrimp), peeled, deveined and halved lengthwise

*Can be found at specialty Asian markets.


Halved papaya with shredded carrots and fresh herbs

DIRECTIONS:

To make the fresh fish sauce dressing:
Combine the fish sauce, vinegar, sugar, and water in a saucepan and place on medium heat. Stir well until the sugar is melted, turn off the heat, then allow to cool. If you do not want to cook the fish sauce due to the strong smell, another option is to melt the sugar with a cup of hot water. Then combine this mixture with the fish sauce and vinegar and place in the refrigerator to cool. To serve, add the minced garlic and chilies and stir through with the lime juice. The red chilies are extremely hot, so use them with caution.


Mixing the ingredients for the dressing in a pot



The dressing with lots of spicy chilies


To cook the shrimp:
Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add in the prawns with shell on. Cook the shrimp for about 2 minutes. Place the cooked shrimp in ice water, then peel the shrimp. On a cutting board, halve the shrimp lengthwise, and devein.

For the salad:
First, peel the hard green papaya with a vegetable peeler. Then cut the papaya in half lengthwise. Using a spoon, scrape away all of the seeds from the inside. Rinse the papaya with cold water. Use a mandolin to finely julienne the papaya into long strips (*note* papaya can be difficult and slippery to julienne. Be careful when using a mandolin. It is better to stop when you get close to the core in order to prevent cuts to your hand). Submerge the green papaya in cold water for five minutes and then drain. This keeps the crisp texture of the green papaya.

The carrots add a nice sweetness to the salad so make sure to pick fresh organic carrots when possible. For the carrots, use a vegetable peeler to peel away the skin and then shred them into long, thin strips.

Wash the lettuce in cold water. Lay the leaves on top of each other and slice thinly. In a large bowl combine the green papaya, lettuce, carrots, sliced mint, sliced basil and sliced cilantro.

Putting it all together:
Place salad onto a serving platter and arrange the prawns on top of the green
papaya salad. Generously drizzle the fresh fish sauce dressing on top of the salad.
Garnish with fried Asian shallots and roasted crushed peanuts. Enjoy!


The salad with all the toppings including shrimp, peanuts, herbs and chilies

Chả Giò Vietnamese Egg Rolls

I am very excited to share with you one of my dearest recipes passed down from my mom to me. Ever since I was little, I would help her make these delicious egg rolls for special occasions, such as holidays and weddings. I have made some changes, such as using ground beef instead of pork and I have also added minced shrimp to give the egg rolls another dimension. Here is a pictorial step by step recipe for Vietnamese chả giò. I will add the written description soon. So stay tuned...




Egg roll ingredients




Dried black mushrooms, also known as tree/wood ear fungus, called nam meo



Black mushrooms, soaked and thinly sliced



The filling: ground beef, shrimp, onions, scallions, eggs, glass noodles, black mushrooms



The filling



The filling



Frying a sample for taste



Step 1: placing the filling on the wrapper



Step 2: first roll



Step 3: folding the sides of the wrapper into the center



Step 4: egg wash on the tip of the wrapper




Step 5: the final roll






Into the frying pot



Frying the egg rolls



Nước chấm, a Vietnamese "dipping sauce" consisting of fish sauce, fresh minced garlic, lime juice, sugar, water, and chilis



Nước chấm with egg rolls

Creamy Mac and Cheese

Mac and Cheese with crispy bacon bits

Growing up in a Vietnamese household, the only occasions I got to eat mac and cheese were at the homes of my American friends or at school. It was always a wonderful exotic treat I looked forward to. Mac & Cheese has lost that exoticism now that I'm an adult, but like a lot of other people, it still evokes fond memories of childhood. For this Vietnamese transplant, it is also a sensory evoking experience each time I make and prepare it. It has now become a tradition for me to prepare mac and cheese every Thanksgiving in my own home. Hopefully my mac and cheese will evoke the same feelings of comfort and steaming gooey cheesiness in my own family.

I went through a "Food Network phase" where I was very much into the cooking of Ina Garten, Giada, Bobby Flay, and Mario to name a few. Inspired by their recipes, I changed a few ingredients to my mac and cheese recipe (such as using chicken stock and MILD rather than sharp cheddar) to enhance its flavor, making it more moist, creamy, and smooth. Some mac and cheese dishes tend to be too dry or even sour, results from using the wrong cheese or overcooking. I have a feeling you will like this dish if you give it a try.

INGREDIENTS: (Makes 9" by 13" casserole dish and
possibly a 9" by 9" casserole dish)


Chicken stock, elbow pasta, shredded cheese, butter, cream, flour are some of the key ingredients

1 bag of elbow pasta (16 oz)
1 stick of butter
1/2 cup of flour (all purpose)
3 cups of chicken stock
1/2 cup of heavy cream
1/2 whole milk
2 cups of shredded MILD yellow cheddar
2 cups of shredded MILD white cheddar
2 soft dinner rolls, hand shredded (Challah bread)
sugar, salt, pepper
olive oil

DIRECTIONS:

1) Cook the pasta al dente, then drain the pasta.

2) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.


The roux


Adding in the chicken stock


Adding in the cream


Adding in the cheese


Adding in the pasta

3) Béchamel:
We are making a béchamel sauce by starting with a roux,which is a combination of flour and butter. The sauce is the ideal base to melt the cheese to give it that creamy texture. Before you begin, have all your ingredients laid out and ready to use. Once you begin, the process goes pretty fast and you will not have time to measure or prep.

You will need a medium heavy pot, such as a Dutch oven, deep iron skillet, or any pot that is heavy, conducts heat well and doesn't have any hot spots. You will also need a wooden spoon, which is ideal for not imparting a metallic flavor to the roux.

Turn the stove on medium high, pour in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and half of the stick of butter in the pot. When the oil is melted, add the flour in gradually, stirring constantly. When the mixture is smooth, reduce the heat to medium and keep stirring. The mixture will be pale at first, but as the flour browns, the roux will gradually turn the color of peanut butter. Cooking the flour until it browns gives it a nutty taste.

Slowly add in the chicken stock, stirring in 1 cup at a time. Let the sauce simmer for 5 minutes, then add in the heavy cream and milk. Keep stirring constantly so the sauce stays smooth. Add a pinch of sugar, salt and pepper (keep in mind that the chicken stock and cheese will have salt already). Then slowly stir in the cheese until they are fully incorporated and melted. Fold in the pasta, stir, and pour the mixture into the casserole pans.

4) Using your hands, shred the dinner rolls into a bowl (omit the crust). Melt the rest of the butter (10 sec in the microwave or on the stove) and mix it into the bread. This will keep the bread moist. Sprinkle the top of the mac and cheese with the bread crumbs and some of the shredded yellow and white cheese.


Bread crumbs with melted butter


Topping the mac and cheese with bread crumbs and shredded cheese



5) Bake the mac and cheese in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the top is golden brown. Enjoy your gooey mac and cheese!


Yummy baked goodness!