Vietnamese Cooking Class

Last night, Thursday, I went to a local class taught by the High School Home Economics teacher. She taught us how to cook a Vietnamese menu. Vietnamese cooking uses a range of fresh produce. Such distinctive ingredients as are used sets it apart from other Asian cuisines. Such cooking as this, as with much Asian cooking, is a simple and healthy way to eat. However, for our area this is a special occasion menu as all the recipes include specialty items best purchased at an Asian market.

Our menu included: a Saigon Pancake (Bahn Xeo), Rice Paper Rolls (Goi Cuon), Rice Noodles with Stir Fried Beef in Chili and Lemongrass (Bun Bo Xao), a classic Vietnamese Dipping Sauce (Nuoc Mam Cham), and a Table Salad (Sa Lach Dia). There were five other students there, we all had a lot of fun cooking and talking. It was fun to get out and learn something new.

Once we were all done, then we sat down to a nicely set table and enjoyed trying our new creations. Everything was very good, especially the Saigon Pancake. I am not just saying that because I made that recipe, everyone at the table agreed that this was the best of the menu. Most of the students also took leftovers of this dish home with them. This surprised our teacher, she had included kind of on a lark. She thought it seemed more difficult and just was generally not sure about how it would go. The best part of this, the teacher made copies of all the recipes used for each student to take home.

This surprised me, I thought it was not that difficult of a recipe. The directions were not the best but it only took time to finish it.

Saigon Pancake recipe

Serves 4

200 grams (g) Rice flour (we used regular wheat flour)
1/2 teaspoon Turmeric powder
250 milliliters (ml) water
1/2 teaspoon salt
150 ml Coconut milk
1 tablespoon Spring onions, finely chopped (we used green onions)
2 tablespoons cooking oil
200 g (1/2 lb approximately) lean pork, thinly sliced
200 g shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced
100 g bean sprouts
100 g split green beans, soaked and steamed until soft
10 sheets Vietnamese rice paper, sprinkled with hot water to soften

Garnish:
2 tablespoons mixed fish sauce
1 lettuce leaf
4 mint leaves
1/4 cucumber, thinly sliced
Pickled carrot and radish, to serve (optional)

Directions:

--In a large mixing bowl, blend rice flour and turmeric powder with water, then add salt, coconut milk and spring onion. Mix well into a batter.

--In a large frying pan (skillet), heat cooking oil over medium heat until very hot. Add pork, shrimp and onion. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes until meat is lightly cooked.

--Stir batter well and scoop into pan. Add bean sprouts and green beans.

--Cover for 5 minutes until pancake is crisp. Fold pancake into half and combine to cook for another 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

--Serve pancake with mixed fish sauce for dipping and rice paper, lettuce, mint leaves, cucumber and pickled carrot and radish on the side (this means each of the condiments are arranged like a relish tray and you add them at the table.).

--To assemble, place a sheet of rice paper on a plate and top with a small piece of pancake and some garnishing ingredients. Wrap and dip into mixed fish sauce before eating.

These ingredients are all surprisingly available. The only things that for our rural area that would require an Asian grocery would be the rice papers, fish sauce and the pickles that are an optional garnish.

Russian Borscht

This is the original Russian borscht, meaty and brimming with tomatoes and cabbage. The beets in this version are roasted instead of boiled, for added flavor. For a complete meal, serve with black bread and butter. This description from the cookbook is really true. This smelled so wonderful as it was cooking. We used our usual whole wheat bread and it truly was a meal.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Scrub:
12 ounces of beets (I used my housemother's prepared, frozen beets given by a church member instead of baking the beets.)
Wrap the beets together in aluminum foil and roast on a baking sheet until they can easily be pierced with a fork, about 1 hour. Let cool, peal, then slice and cut into thin strips.
While the beets are roasting, prepare:
1 pound boneless beef chuck, cubed, or 1 1/2 pounds pork spareribs, cut into single ribs (we used the pork as we had that in the freezer, remember to defrost first! :-)).
Lightly dredge with:
All-purpose flour
Heat in a soup pot, over medium-high heat:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (I used olive instead.)
Add the meat and brown on all sides. Stir in:
4 1/2 cups Beef broth, or water
One 28-ounce can whole plum tomatoes, drained and chopped (I used fresh ones from our garden, halved and sliced)
Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, partially covered, until the meat is almost tender, about 30 minutes. Stir in:
2 cups shredded green or red cabbage (with a small cabbage, this will be approximately a quarter of a head).
1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
2 medium celery stalks, sliced
1 1/2 teaspoons tomato paste (if you open a can of paste, plan to use the rest in something later in the week.)
Simmer, partially covered, until the vegetables and meat are tender, about 30 minutes. Stir in the beets along with:
2 tablespoons vinegar (whatever you have)
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon, salt, or to taste
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Simmer, partially covered, for 15 minutes. Thin the soup with water if necessary (ours did not need it.). Ladle into bowls.
Garnish with:
Sour cream
Snipped fresh dill

I had always pictured this soup with potatoes or with turnips or rutabagas for some reason. Maybe I am thinking of a different soup. Perhaps because it is Russian? I also had always had the image of this as a stodgy or thick soup, it is neither. It is just a wonderfully tasty vegetable soup. Once the soup was done, I fished out each sparerib and chopped them into bite sized pieces. If you have hungry children, or perhaps a hungry spouse, try this sometime as you are able. This is a very filling meal. It even filled up this perpetually hungry boy after only a bowl and a half! Our boys, who are never usually hungry while they are sick, and they were sick tonight, they ate what they were given. They enjoyed the soup even! :-)

I am glad and thankful for the member who gave us the beets. As he came to the door and handed off a sack full of the biggest beets I have ever seen (the size of softballs!) and said, "Make some soup." So, when we put the soup away tonight, we made up a package for him as well.

Potato and Leek Soup

I always enjoyed the pre-made potato leek soup that I could get at the grocery store in England when I studied there for a year. I did not have the cookbook or supplies to do the much cooking on my own but that was one of those warm comfort foods that I remember from that time.


Now, this spring, we tried to plant leeks thinking that doing so would be a good way to make this soup. That did not work. My wife injuring her ankle, a couple of vacation trips later and we had so many weeds there was no chance of ever finding the leek shoots. Even if they did survive. Sadly, they did not.


So, the other day when I was in a neighboring town, I stopped at the local vegetable stand and picked up some groceries. He happened to have a few leeks sitting in a dish and so I bought two. I thought that this would be more than enough for leek soup. Boy was I wrong. We made soup anyway and simply added a few more potatoes.


This was a yummy soup and just the right thing for supper on a cool fall day here on the frozen tundra. Though only one out of three of our boys ate all of his soup tonight. This is because we are all recovering from what the doctor thinks is the H1N1 flu (though this is not official). Appetites are not what they usually are.


Smooth Potato Leek Soup (Potage Parmentier)

For extra smoothness, push through a sieve after it has been pureed in a food processor.
Melt in a soup pot, over low heat:
3 Tablespoons butter
Add and cook, stirring, until tender but not browned, about 20 minutes:
8 large leeks (white part only), cleaned thoroughly and chopped (I cut the white parts in half and then diced them)
Stir in:
3 medium or 2 large baking potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced (I left the skins on, more nutrition that way).
5 cups chicken stock or water
Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the potatoes are soft, about 30 minutes. Puree until smooth. Season with:
Salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper (we added ours at the table.)
Thin if necessary, with additional:
Stock or water
Reheat gently, then ladle into bowls and serve.

Of course, if you want to have a cream soup and be really fancy, you can always make Vichyssoise. The "classic french" soup was actually invented by French chef Louis Diat around 1910, when he worked at New York's Ritz-Carlton Hotel. During the Second World War, when the french spa town of Vichy became the capital of the collaborationist government, this soup was served in the United States under a variety of names. You can garnish with shipped fresh chives (or dry!).

Thank you to the The Joy of Cooking for the recipe.