Hungry Note

Bot Chien, very popular street snack among southern Viet Nam, Ho Chi Minh city.
In Cho Long, China town, this is eaten as breakfast.
Actually bot chien keep you longer than sandwich or pancake, it really does!
If you have any Asian grocers around, you will probably find The frozen bot chien dough but I would say, home made one is way tastier, and there is nothing so hard to make your own.
If you want to make our morning little bit into asian, then please try this.
It is way easier than making pancake, I insist.

ingredients(3 ~ 4 serving)
[RICE CAKE]
125g Glutinous Rice Flour
3tbsp Tapioca Flour
1/2tsp Sugar
1/4tsp Salt
145~160ml Water

3~4 Egg(sightly whisked)
2 Spring Onion(Finely sliced)

1, Mix all the [RICE CAKE] ingredients in the bowl and mix well. Consistency is almost like a paste but not too watery.
Prepare the tin or any "steam-able" container, make sure that fit to your steamer.
I recommend lightly oil the tin or container first and pour the [RICE CAKE] mixture in
Steam for 20 ~ 25 mins.
*Stick a skewer in the middle of cake and if nothing sticks, then its done!

2, Cool the cake completely. (I always leave it over-night)
When its cool, cut it into 4 x 2cm(5mm thickness) rectangle.

3, Heat your wok to medium-heat, then add 1.5 tbsp of oil.
Place cubed rice cake(2) in single layer on the wok. Make sure both side is nicely colored.

4, When the rice cake is nicely colored in both side, Add egg and spring onion.
Try to bring them together.
when it become flippable, flip and cook for 20sec then done.
You don't want to cook egg too much for this dish.

5, Pour sweet soysauce(*Kecap Manis) or even normal soy sauce is ok, I love it with the sweet chill sauce!

Banh Xeo(pronounced as "Bain Seo") is famous southern Vietnamese dish.
Usually cookbook says this as "Vietnamese Omelette" but they are made without egg, so NOT REALLY AN OMELETTE.
You might know "Okonomi-yaki(お好み焼き)" if you are a big fan of Japanese food.
Banh Xeo is famous for "Vietnamese Okonomi-yaki" in Japan.
What this is so yellow even without egg, the answer is "Turmeric", The best anti-aging spice.
This is healthy alternative for your dinner.

ingredient(serve 2)
[Banh Xeo]
60g Tapioca Flour
75g Plain Flour
1tsp Turmeric Powder
A good pinch of Salt
250ml Coconut Milk(I am using TCC Brand)
250ml Water

[Filling]
300g Pork Slice
20 Raw Prawn(deshelled)
1tbsp Fish Sauce
1tbsp Rice Wine
1/2tsp Sugar
150g Sprout

A Lettuce
Few Coriander Stalk
Dipping Sauce(Nuoc Mam Cham) *refer here to make

1, Mix tapioca flour, plain flour, turmeric, salt in a bowl and make a well in the centre.
Pour coconut milk first, and gradually add water and mix well.(dough should be watery, not like pancake)
Let the dough rest for 15minutes.

2, Meanwhile, you can slice the pork in 3mm~5mm thickness and marinate with fish sauce and rice wine and sugar set aside.

3, Heat frypan in a med-high heat, add about 2 tsp of oil.
when its hot enough, add pork and fry until it get nicely brown. Once pork is done, remove them to a bowl then add prawn into the frypan and fry for 30sec, set aside.

4, Heat frypan, preferably non-stick one in medium heat.
Pour about a small soup ladle of the banh xeo mixture(1) then quickly spread around in the pan.
Place cooked pork and prawn(2) on the half side of the banh xeo and also put 1 handful of sprout on top, cook for 4~5 minutes.
Using spatula or food turner to fold banh xeo in half, cover the filling and cook for 2 minutes, then flip it, cook for another 2 minutes to crunchy it up.

5, This is how you eat. Take about 2 bites of Banh Xeo and wrap it with lettuce leaf(I always add few stalk of coriander too), dip into nuoc mam cham(sweet and sour dip) and enjoy.
I can easily finish A LETTUCE with Banh Xeo.
Enjoy!

Pho(pronounce like "Fur"), is just too famous Vietnamese traditional noodle around the world.
They eat pho for breakfast, snack, lunch, dinner, supper, You can enjoy bowl of pho throughout the day.
Well, Unfortunately, where I live doesn't have any Vietnamse restaurant so I can't really go and get a bowl of pho so easy...

So this is the recipe satisfies my pho-need.
You are able to find so much kind of pho in Viet Nam, but this is my favourite "Pho Bo Vien(Pho with Beef Meatball)".
Takes a bit of your time and caring but worth it.

ingredient(serves 3~4 people)

[Soup Base]
800g Oxtail(preferably the one with not much fat)
2tsp Salt
1tsp MSG(if you need)
60ml Fish Sauce
1/2 Onion
3cm Ginger

[Pho Spice]
3 Star Anise
1/2 Cinnamon Stick
1/4tsp Fennel Seed
3 Cloves
1tsp Five Spice
1/2tsp Coriander Powder

[Meat Ball]
150g Minced Beef
1/2tsp Salt
1cm Ginger(grated)
1 Garlic(grated)
1/2tsp Sugar
1tsp MSG(if you need)
1tsp Oyster Sauce
2tbsp Corn Starch

Rice Noodle
Spring Onion(finely chopped)
Onion(sliced)
Coriander(finely chopped)
Sprout

1, Start from the base, Put the water into the pot, just enough to cover the oxtail. When its boiled, place oxtail and boil them for 8 minutes.
You can prepare the spice now, chuck all spice into the mortar and pestle and crush them finely then put into spice bag.

2, Drain, discard the water.
If you have a pressure cooker, lucky you, you can shorten the time standing in the kitchen!
(I use Breville's pressure cooker)
Place oxtail and a litre of water, then set as "Medium" pressure for 18 minutes.
If you don't have a pressure cooker, you can boil the water again in the pot and place oxtail then boil until the meat get soft.(probably about 40 minutes or so)

3, Take the oxtail out from the pressure cooker and then place them in the pot with 2 litre of water.
(Discard the water left in the pressure cooker)
Simmer for 20 minutes and remove scum on the soup surface then stop the heat. Add spice bag into the pot, Ginger, Onion as well and leave for 1 hour to infuse the flavour.

4, Meanwhile, make the meatball.
Place all the ingredient into the food processor and run until become one big chunk.
Lightly oil your hand and make little meat ball(maybe 10~15 pieces).
Boil the water in the pot, put meatball and boil for 5 minutes. Drain and set a side.

5, Take out Oxtail, remove the meat from the bone and set aside. Chuck the bone back into the pot.
Add salt, MSG, fish sauce into the soup, add some more or less to flavour it as you like.
Also add cooked meatball.

6, Cook rice noodle(follow the direction on the packet).
Place chopped spring onion, coriander,sprout, meat on the rice noodle in the bowl.
Pour the soup with 3~4 meatballs each.

*Great with squeezed lemon, also you can use hoisin sauce for dip meatball.