Nước Chấm

• 1/3 cup fresh lime juice (2 or 3 limes)
• 1 tablespoon unseasoned Japanese rice vinegar (optional)
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2/3 cup lukewarm water
• 5 to 6 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 or 3 Thai or serrano chiles, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (optional)

Mix all ingredients. That's it!

Vermicelli Rice Bowl (Bun Thit Nuong)

I'm biased. I was raised on home cooked Vietnamese food. My mother doesn't have any recipes written down so when I ask her for recipes, she gives me wild guesses of amounts of ingredients, and always says "but just taste it and add what you think it needs."

So unfortunately, I've had to resort to finding recipes online and also ultimately tweaking amounts per my tastes. The reason I'm saying all this is because it applies to basically all my recipes I post here. Most of what I've posted here is pulled from a google search and saved here as a reference for myself more than any else, like self promo.

For the following recipe, I use the first section of ingredients for any meat. I think I even did it for shrimp and it worked, complementary-wise. 

I also have a recipe for nước chấm that my mom sent me. I followed the recipe exactly and it tasted perfect, the same as what I grew up with and poured on all my food. 

Banana Bread

 

Ingredients

• ▢1 Stick (1/2 Cup) Butter
• ▢3 Large Ripe Bananas
• ▢2 Large Eggs
• ▢1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• ▢2 Cups All Purpose Flour
• ▢1 Cup Granulated Sugar
• ▢1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• ▢1/2 teaspoon salt
• ▢1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray or grease with butter and set aside.
• Add the stick of butter to a large bowl and microwave for 1 minute, or until melted.
• Add the bananas to the same bowl and mash with a fork.
• Add the vanilla extract and egg to the bowl and use the same fork to mash and stir until no yellow streaks of egg remain.
• In a second large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix together with a spatula just until combined.
• Pour the batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for 45-55 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean.

Chicken Salad

Ingredients

• 4 lbs chicken parts (bone-in, skin-on thighs and breasts work well) (You'll need about 4 cups)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup seedless grapes, halved (red and green varieties are great)
• 1 cup almonds, thinly sliced
• 2 celery ribs, chopped
• 3 scallions, thinly sliced (white and green parts)
• 2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp Kosher salt (start with 1/2 teaspoon, then add more, to taste)
• Freshly ground pepper

Instructions

• Pre-heat oven to 350°F
• Rub the olive oil all over the chicken pieces and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until internal temp reaches 165°F using an instant-read thermometer.
• Remove the chicken from the oven and let cool.  Remove the skin then pull the meat from the bones and roughly chop.
• In a large bowl, mix together the chicken, grapes, almonds, celery, scallions, dll, & parsley.
• In a small-medium bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, lemon, mustard, salt and pepper. 
• Add the mayo/mustard mixture to the chicken mixture and gently stir until well mixed.
• Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.  
• Serve on a bed of greens with sliced tomatoes and avocado.  Or, serve on bread with green leaf lettuce.  Add more toppings to your taste!

Panang Curry

INGREDIENTS

• Optional: 1 batch crispy baked tofu
• Optional: 1 ¼ cups brown jasmine rice or long-grain brown rice, rinsed
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil or olive oil
• 1 small white or yellow onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
• Pinch of salt, more to taste
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced into thin (¼” wide) strips
• 1 yellow, orange or green bell pepper, sliced into thin (¼” wide) strips
• 3 carrots, peeled and sliced on the diagonal into ¼” thick rounds (about 1 cup)
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
• 1 to 2 tablespoons panang curry paste* (use 1 for mild or 2 for spicy)
• 1 or 1.5 can (14 ounces) regular coconut milk 
• ½ cup water
• 1/2 tablespoon peanut butter (or to taste)
• 1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce**
• 2 tablespoons coconut sugar or brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice, to taste
• Ginger, to taste. (1-2 tsp)
• Optional garnishes: fresh Thai basil or regular basil, sriracha or chili garlic sauce for extra spice

INSTRUCTIONS

1. If you’d like to serve rice with your curry (optional): Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the rinsed rice and continue boiling for 30 minutes, reducing heat as necessary to prevent overflow. Remove from heat, drain the rice and return the rice to pot. Cover and let the rice rest for 10 minutes or longer, until you’re ready to serve. Just before serving, season the rice to taste with salt and fluff it with a fork.
2. To make the curry, warm a large skillet with deep sides over medium heat. Once it’s hot, add the oil. Add the onion and a sprinkle of salt and cook, stirring often, until the onion has softened and is turning translucent, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the bell peppers and carrots. Cook until the bell peppers are easily pierced through by a fork, 3 to 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and curry paste and cook, while stirring, for 1 minute.
4. Add the coconut milk and water, and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until the peppers and carrots have softened to your liking, about 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. If you’re adding crispy tofu, stir it in now.
5. Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the peanut butter, tamari, sugar and lime juice. Add salt, to taste (I usually add a pinch or two). If the curry needs a little more punch, add ½ teaspoon more tamari, or for more acidity, add ½ teaspoon more lime juice.
6. Divide rice and curry into bowls and garnish with fresh basil, if using. If you love spicy curries, serve with sriracha or chili garlic sauce on the side.