lori j. allard

Recipes

Family favorites

These were either family recipes or from friends and are all tried and greatly enjoyed. The recipes:

The banana bread is incredibly moist due to the large amount of bananas used. The homemade mac and cheese recipe is a white sauce if you use the Land 'o' Lakes American cheese as we do. The pumpkin muffins are legendary, due to the moistness of the muffin. And one note about them, the batter is supposed to be runny. The sweet bread is a popular cardamom bread that added to my grandmother's reputation of being Norman Rockwellian. No really. If you'd have met her, you'd have agreed. Lastly, you will not find a better, more moist chocolate cake than the Wacky cake. Don't leave out the egg and yes, it's really made with a little bit of vinegar. Strange but fantastic.

Vietnamese recipes

My Flickr photo of a Vietnamese noodle dish
Photo: 2009 Lori J. Allard

These recipes are my favorite to make. Since my first trip to Vietnam in 2002, my love of Vietnamese food grows. I wish my cooking repertoire grew as much as my love for it. PEANUT WARNING: if you have peanut allergies, BEWARE. Some Vietnamese food is served or prepared with peanut ingredients. These are not, however, the Crispy Spring Rolls (Chả Giò) can be fried in peanut oil or vegetable oil.

What the phở?

Just try it. You won't be disappointed. There's a reason it's the national dish of Vietnam and has become extremely popular in the U.S. as well. Phở comes in a several varieties, two noted below, as well as phở nạm bò (with beef flank), phở sách bò (beef tripe) and phở bò viên (with beef meat balls). Here are a few of my favorite Vietnamese dishes (no recipes, sorry) that you should consider trying. Again, there’s a possibility they were prepared or are served with peanuts:

  • Phở Bò Tái: Vietnamese beef noodle soup with thin slices of raw meat. The broth will come with rice noodles and raw meat which will be cooked by the time you finish adding the garnishes. Served with bean sprouts, basil or lemongrass, hot pepper slices and lime on the side. Chili paste or hot sauce is optional, but really finishes out the dish. Southern style is best.
  • Phở Gà: Vietnamese chicken noodle soup. I like Northern style. Side garnishes not usually served with northern style.
  • Cháo Gà: Chicken rice soup, also known as Chicken Congee. The boiled chicken broth is used to cook the rice, doctored with green onions and herbs. Another devine comfort food.
  • Bánh Mì Thịt Nướng: Vietnamese grilled beef or pork sandwich. If you can't handle really hot peppers, request the sandwich without. The sandwich is made by taking a bagette, sometimes toasted, offered with choice of meats such as grilled pork, grilled beef, pate or a variety of sliced meats dressed with a slice of cucumber, homemade mayo, cilantro, marinated daikon and carrots then drizzed with a sweetened fish sauce. I prefer the grilled beef or pork, I'm not a fan of the sliced "deli" meats.
  • Gỏi Cuốn: Fresh spring (salad) rolls. Made with lettuce, various herbs (mint, Vietnamese coriander, cilantro, perilla), rice vermicelli noodles, bean sprouts, decorated with sliced shrimp and a Chinese chive, all rolled into a damped rice wrapper. There are different versions, they may include pork or seasoned/cooked tofu or may exclude the shrimp. Served with a doctored hoisin sauce, sometimes including peanuts.
  • Bánh Xèo: Thin rice pancakes with a variety of stuffings.
  • Chạo Tôm: Shrimp paste on sugar cane. Served with round rice paper wrappers (bánh tráng) and a bowl of hot water to soften them. Shrimp paste is removed from sugar cane stick put on wet wrapper with garnishes. Wrapped and dunked in dipping sauce. Sugar cane can be chewed on, but don't eat.
  • Gỏi Ngó Sen: Lotus stem salad. Shrimp sometimes included.
  • Chè Bắp: Sweet corn pudding. Can be served warm, room temperature or cold with coconut milk on top.
  • Đá Chanh: Limeade. Sweetened and served with ice.
  • Lẩu: Vietnamese hot pot. A family-styled soup served on a burner to keep it boiling. Vegetables, meats and/or seafood, as well as some spicy herbs are served on the side. Add to boiling broth to let cook then everyone takes a serving in their individual bowls.

Vietnamese ingredients

I've also put together a list of Vietnamese ingredients and their English equivalents. Here's a Wikipedia link discussing Vietnamese food.

Fantastic Vietnamese recipe sites

Here are a few sites that have fantastic recipes and information on Vietnamese foods:

Last warnings

Careful not to spill nước mắm (fish sauce). It's a pretty unique smell that's hard to clean.

And for all that is great in this world, AVOID SẦU RIÊNG AT ALL COST. It's also known as durian and smells worse than any bad foot odor you could imagine. You can't bring it in hotels and on airplanes. There's a reason for that. You can find it frozen in Vietnamese/Asian markets if you dare. Just don't crack it open inside the house. And don't let friends buy one at a roadside stall in Vietnam, have it cracked open and packaged up in a plastic container that isn't tightly sealed when said friend can't eat or deliver it and has to carry it around for three hours. It really gets stanky. (Love you Marc, but let's not repeat that again, K?)

I'll save you from yourself. Just eat dragon fruit instead. It's yummy. And pretty. That's important too.