Viet World Kitchen

Pho in a Box

Here's a new one -- a pho kit sold at Tan Son Nhat airport. It all comes in a box and makes 2 bowls. The box contains:

Dried noodles - rice, salt, sugar, MSG
Stewed beef pack - pre-cooked beef with palm oil, ginger, shallot and salt
Soup base pack - salt, sugar, MSG, disodium 5-guanylate, disodium 5-isoninate, caramel
Vegetable pack - green onion, eryngium (culantro)
Chile sauce pack - chile, modified cornstarch, salt, sugar, citric acid

Directions: Put content into bowl and add 600 ml of boiling water. Ready to serve between 3-5 minutes.

The cost is 6 USD. "Who buys it?" I asked the young saleswomen. Many Japanese visitors, they just love pho. Is it sold outside of the airport? Not to the young women's knowledge.

Big Chiles in Saigon

Chiles come in all shapes and sizes but in Saigon these days, the predominant ones are largish hot ones that resemble long chiles. They have heat and are what you'll find sliced and served at the table. They don't have the perfume heat of smaller ot hiem but do pack a punch.

Last year, when I visited, these chiles weren't everywhere and you could sometimes get smaller ones. Looks like these are the ones people like nowadays. They keep better once cut and definitely have more zip than your jalapeno in the States!

Compare the size of the chiles to the limes, which are regular sized ones. The chiles are a good 3 to 4 inches long. At markets I found the chiles already ground up so that you don't have to chop them yourself. Usually, there's a vendor who sells pre-chopped lemongrass, garlic and chiles. Other aromatics, such as shallots and lemongrass are typically sold by the same person too. The chopping is done by machine. Quite convenient.

At casual restaurants (joints), a small container of pre-chopped chiles sits at the table, ready to be added to sauces, etc. There's no Sriracha or chile garlic sauce here! You could certainly use these chiles to make your own chile garlic sauce.

Vietnamese Food in Hong Kong

Many of us traveling to Vietnam touch down in Hong Kong and never leave the airport. This time, I decided to stay for a few days to check out what is arguably the Manhattan of Asia. In the early 1990s I was a student here on a fellowship and haven't visited since then.

What a difference 18 years makes. Compared to back then, today's Hong Kong is super duper modern (LCD screens on skyscrapers galore), extremely clean (it's easy to find a nice restroom), people are healthy, and overall happy (waitstaff at restaurants are actually friendly and kind).

There are Viet restaurants in all the happening places in town. A while back Hong Kong-native Joel Hung sent me info about them and finally I saw them with my own eyes.

• Golden Bull in the high-end Ocean Terminal and Times Square shopping center is very very luxe (sleek, modern, cold) but the food didn't look appealing. Also, there was no Vietnamese language menu so I didn't go for it.
• Viet Hung Vien in Kowloon (on Soy Street) was so packed with hipsters inside and outside  waiting that I ate the random skewered food snacks sold a few doors down.
• Nha Trang in tony Central on Wellington was ultra modern and cool, with an English/Viet menu. The rare and cooked beef pho (pho tai chin) came out nice and hot but oddly had no flavor. There was no cilantro, the scallion was left in 4-inch lengths, the onion sliced kinda thick, bean sprouts were already in the bowl, and they put the Thai basil -- stem and leaf atop the bowl; it was hard to pick out and rip off the leaves. I added ALL the Thai chiles and squirted tons of lime in but there was no oomph. For the first time in my life, I didn't finish a bowl of pho (39 HKD/5USD) and left to get a bowl of shrimp wonton noodle soup (15 HKD/2USD) nearby. Other diners didn't look inspired by the food, though they were smartly dressed . . .

Vietnamese food is popular in Hong Kong as a new and emerging cuisine, just like it is in the States. These restaurants offer something different from Cantonese food, but they're not fabulous as far as Viet flavors go. One of the things is that Viet food is a bit spicier than Cantonese fare, and there are lots of raw vegetables involved -- a rarity in Chinese cuisine. Given that, I can see where adaptation can be hard. On the other hand, I saw some lovely red-leaf lettuce and fresh mint at the markets.

Ingredients are available for making Viet food in Hong Kong. For example, On Graham street in Central where there's one of the remaining wet markets, there was a tiny Thai grocer where if you needed some nuoc mam, banh pho or banh trang (they only get the thick rice ones in HK), you can.  There are Thai markets near the old airport and Kowloon City Plaza (in Kowloon  City) that offer a good assortment of Southeast Asian ingredients.  But if venturing there is too out of the way, a Hong Konger could pick up many items at one of the City Supers, which are like a combo of Whole Foods and Dean and De Lucca. (Their salt selection occupies 7 shelves and spans the globe, from Asia to Europe.)

If you visit, try venturing outside the touristy areas into the neighborhoods so get good fare at decent prices. You'll also sneak a peek at how regular people eat and shop.

Little Saigon Controversy Resolved!

It's over! Hurray! There's a compromise. I won't go into details because posters on this topic at VWK have done a marvelous job. Many thanks to:

• Zach for posting the details in the solving the controversy thread.
• MT for posting a link to the San Jose Mercury News article on the agreement that ended this mess on the Ly Tong hunger striker posting.
• Everyone who participated, whether you read and lurked, or if you jumped into the fray with comments.

We had lots of contentious, but productive debate on the original thread. I'm sure you didn't think you'd get your opinions out on a food blog and I didn't think the blog would evolve in this way. However, I'm glad it has and did. We learned lots about ourselves as individuals and as a community.

Go and cook and share good food with family and friends and mull over this historic chapter in Vietnamese American history. For me at the end of the day it boils down to this: We don't look, cook, and think the same! That's a good thing.

Parsi Kitchen Story on NPR

For those of you interested in Asian food culture, tune in to National Public Radio's Morning Edition on March 20 for an interesting story on a dear friend of mine -- Niloufer Ichaporia King, a botanical researcher, cooking teacher, and author of My Bombay Kitchen, which is about Parsi cooking. What's neat about Niloufer is that she is curious and understands how ingredients and cooking methods crosses cuisines and cultures. The woman has 3 kitchens in her house and regularly prowls 6 farmers markets in the Bay Area! She's also a fabulous cook.

The quirky and ever delightful Kitchen Sisters are featuring Niloufer on their public radio program this month, so don't miss out! If you do miss out, you can listen in online at the NPR website.

By the way, they've done a great piece on Vietnamese nail salons in the U.S. too! Check the archive and then click on the Past Stories to open a window that gives access to the piece.

Lobster Pho a la Emeril Lagasse

Miko from Seattle worked very hard to make an authentic pho noodle soup of his own last year. He was aghast at a lobster pho recipe presented on an episode of Emeril Lagasse's show that airs on the food network.

The recipe has you simmer broth ingredients for about 15 minutes and though there's star anise, there are also lobster bodies. Strain the broth and serve over rice noodles with lobster meat. Miko says on the show, there were some sliced cooked pork and Chinese sausages too but no bean sprouts. In the online recipe I saw no Chinese sausage (lop cheung/lap suong) but the sprouts were there. It's like a quick noodle soup that he made, and not a pho. But he had to frame it in some manner that fit the episode, which was called "Lovin' Lobster" and orginally aired in 2006.

Strange... there are many kinds of inventive pho that feature seafood but I've never seen one with lobster. I don't think you'd get a big bowl for less than $20!

I've held you in suspense long enough. Here's a link to the recipe:

Emeril Lagasse's Lobster Pho

What are your reactions?

Stir-fried Very Baby Bok Choy

Today is a light eating day because I'm leaving on a business trip to Asia tonight. Before I fly anywhere, I try to consume modest fare that won't upset my stomach. For this evening -- it was brown rice (Rory cooked up a blend of  Golden Phoenix brand of Thai red and brown jasmine), seared tofu and this nice little stir-fried vegetable.

I know, the bok choy is tiny. (The photo here was taken from my 14-inch wok. ) I'm not one to fall all over mini vegetables, like mini zucchini or carrots that look cute but have no substance. However, on Clement Street in San Francisco, I found some super fresh tiny bok choy. Sometimes called "Extra Dwarf Pak Choi" (see Kitizawa Seed company's description) the 2-inch high little lovelies were chubby, compact, and full of flavor. I got a bag (about 11/2 pounds) for this simple stir-fry with garlic and oyster sauce. My last homemade meal was made spectacular by this dish.

Stir-fried Baby Bok Choy with Ginger and Garlic

1 1/2 pounds very baby (dwarf) bok choy, each one halved lengthwise

Flavoring sauce:
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon fish sauce
11/2 teaspoons canola oil or sesame oil
2 teaspoons water

1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
2 teaspoons chopped fresh ginger
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
11/2 teaspoons cornstarch mixed with 2 teaspoons water

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the bok choy. When the water returns to a boil, let the vegetables cook for another minute, until just tender. Drain, flush with cold water and set aside.

2. Combine the flavoring sauce ingredients. Taste and make any adjustments needed. You want a savory-briny-sweet taste. Set aside.

3. Heat a wok or large skillet over medium heat. Add the oil, ginger and garlic. Cook for about 30 to 45 seconds until aromatic. Add the bok choy, give things a stir and cook for about 2 minutes, until heated through. Raise the heat to medium-high, add the flavoring sauce and keep cooking for another minute or so, stirring, to coat the vegetables well.  The bok choy will weep a bit of water.

4. Give the cornstarch a stir before adding it to the vegetables. Cook for another 30 seconds, or until thickened, and glossy. Transfer to a serving dish and serve immediately.

Vietnam Travel Visa - Tips

Anyone who’s been to Vietnam or is interested in visiting has to negotiate the Vietnamese embassy for a visa. It’s always a strange and slightly unnerving situation but things have gotten better every time I go.

Regular Visa
While you can get a visa through a service agency, I usually do it myself through the U.S. post office. My normal procedures are as such:

(1) Go online to obtain the proper forms and instructions at the embassy website.
(2) Verify with the embassy how much the visa fee is by sending an email (use that funky “visa fee” link a the page above to send an inquiry email)
(3) Have passport photos taken
(4) Go to the bank for a money order/cashier’s check
(5) Mail off the materials (form, photos, money, passport) at the post office with a delivery confirmation and postage-paid return envelope so the embassy send my passport back to me.

About 3 weeks later, the visa arrives and I’m happy! That’s been how we’ve gotten our visas in years past.

Visa Exemption for Overseas Vietnamese
This year, I sent for an overseas Vietnamese visa which is essentially an open-ended visa to Vietnam that’s good for a set number of years. It’s technically called a “Visa Exemption for Oversees Vietnamese.” It took 2 tries, but my husband and I received ours. Now we have don’t have to get a visa every time we go to Vietnam! Details are available in Vietnamese and in English through a Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) website.

If you’re interested in filing for one, remember to FOLLOW all the instructions carefully, fill out the online forms, save them in .pdf format, and when printing it out – make sure to INCLUDE  the little barcode in the lower left-hand corner. (This is where I goofed the first time.) To do so, in Adobe Acrobat, print in A4 paper (legal size) or better yet, set the printing preferences to “shrink to fit” and print to regular paper. If you don’t have the bar code, the embassy will return your materials, like they did with ours. They kept the money order so I didn’t send another check when I resent my materials.

I sent a cover letter with my materials and make sure to match their checklist of the following items:

1. The completed 2-page form, signed and dates (don’t forget that barcode!)
2. Photos (staple on the form, attach the other with a paper clip)
3. Valid passport
4. Cashier’s check for processing fee
5. Proof that you’ve got a connection to Vietnam. This means

A. Proof of former Vietnamese citizen ship (I sent a copy of my birth certificate, see the official site for all the options)
-or-
B. Proof of relationship to an overseas Vietnamese (for my husband, I sent a copy of our marriage certificate, see the official site for all the options, e.g, for your kids)

6. Self-addressed stamped envelope (get the post office to asses the right amount of postage)

As usual, I mailed the materials as registered mail with delivery confirmation. Earlier this year, I slogged my way through the Vietnamese instructions. Now, there are English instructions too. Regardless of your language, do read the instructions carefully. This is a bureaucratic process, as with all government type of dealings. (Think of the tax forms that will be due next month in the U.S.!)

Tourism is one of Vietnam’s chief industries and I’m happy to see them make it a little easier for folks to visit.

Solving San Jose's Little Saigon Controversy

Well, we've got a raging conversation going on about the City of San Jose's Little Saigon (now called shorthand LS) naming issue. The comment thread is full of great stuff, numbers, gossip, and lots of well-thought out discourse. Okay, there's a little screaming but it's more like a coffee klatch/cocktail party.

It's an impasse, with hunger striker Ly Tong giving up water, and lots of numbers being tossed around.
The City of San Jose is coming up a wee short on leadership in this matter or maybe it's gotten itself between a rock and a hard place. In any event, I'm posing this question to those of you who are invested in what the 1-mile strip of Story Road should be called:

How should the City of San Jose resolve this impasse?

Let's put our brains together and pose feasible solutions!

Fried Catfish with Ginger Lime Sauce

Vietnamese food isn't complicated stuff and often times, it's a rather simple combination of flavor and involves just a few ingredients. The other day, catfish fillet was on sale at the market and it looked good -- thick and with some slimy gloss, a sign of freshness. I bought 2 pounds to fry. Admittedly, catfish steaks would be fried if I was feeling like a purist, but I was looking for a simple home-cooked entree.

One of my favorite recipes is to panfry catfish and then make a relish of slow cooked onion and ginger with a splash of fish sauce at the end. That childhood favorite takes a long time to fry so I decided to deep fry. I was low on onion but high on lime so I opted for a classic Vietnamese. ginger lime dipping sauce (nuoc mam gung), which is often served with seafood. The result was fast, easy and delish. If you're afraid of deep frying, know that this is pretty low on the drama factor. It's very gentle and relatively fast. There was plenty of leftovers, which I refried a couple days later for another meal.

Fried Catfish with Ginger Lime Dipping Sauce

Serves 4 to 6

Chubby 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced
5 tablespoons fresh lime juice (2 or 3 limes)
21/2 tablespoons sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons fish sauce
2 pounds catfish fillet
1/4 cup cornstarch, potato starch or tapioca starch
Canola or corn oil, for deep frying

1. Make the dipping sauce first. In a small bowl, combine the ginger, lime juice, and sugar and stir to dissolve the sugar. Taste and adjust the flavors with more lime sugar or sugar as needed. The ginger and lime should both be prominent, but not to the point that they make you wince and pucker. Add the fish sauce, starting out with 2 tablespoons and adding more as your palate dictates. Set aside for 30 minutes to let the ginger bloom before serving.

2. Blot the fish dry with paper towel and then cut each fillet into squarish pieces, each about 2 by 2 inches big.

3. Use a medium saucepan, flat-bottomed wok, deep skillet, or 5-quart Dutch oven to fry the fish in. Pour in the oil to a depth of 3/4 to 1 inch and heat over medium-high heat to about 350ºF on a deep-fry thermometer. (If you don't have a deep-fry thermometer, stick a dry bamboo chopstick into the oil; if bubbles rise immediately to the surface, the oil is ready. )

4. As the oil heats up, toss the fish in the cornstarch, lightly tapping off the excess. Working in batches, slide the fish into the oil and fry for 2 to 4 minutes, flipping midway, until the fish is golden and lightly crisp. Scoop from the oil and drain on paper towel or a rack placed inside a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining fish. When you're about to serve, if any pieces of fish have softened, briefly refry them to crisp them up. Serve immediately with the dipping sauce.