A Vietnamese Night

Week 4 into our World Vegetarian Cookery tour. Last night we cooked too much for for the number of people we had in the class. I quickly scoffed my dessert and regret not savouring it later. A friend just returned from a trip to Vietnam and did some cooking classes. When I looked at her list, three of her dishes were on the menu last night, what a coincidence! Or maybe they are the quintessential Vietnamese recipes.

VIETNAMESE RICE PAPER ROLLS

Filled with fresh, crunchy vegetables and a mix of mint and coriander, perfect for hot weather!

Serves: 8

Preparation: 15 minutes, plus rolling time

Cooking Time: 2 minutes

Equipment:

Chopping board, knife, mandolin or grater, large bowl, small plates or bowls to hold prepared ingredients, damp tea towel, clean bench space, bowl for dipping sauce

Ingredients:

16 large rice paper sheets

100 grams rice vermicelli (cooked, rinsed and cooled)

1 small green papaya, peeled and shredded (substitute carrot if unavailable)

1 small Lebanese cucumber, cut into thin matchsticks

1 cup bean sprouts, washed and dried with paper towel

1 cup Enoki mushrooms

½ cup crushed roasted nuts (peanuts or cashews)

8 lettuce leaves (soft variety like oak leaf)

32 large mint leaves

32 coriander leaves

32 Thai basil leaves

Large bowl of hot water with to soften rice paper sheets

Dipping Sauce

½ cup tamarind paste (no seeds)

½ cup mushroom soy sauce

2 tablespoons sugar

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 small bird’s eye chilli (optional)

A little water to dilute to taste (optional)

Method:

1. Prepare all fillings and dipping sauce before commencing the rolls

2. Place a rice paper sheet in the bowl of hot water and rub till softened

3. Place softened rice paper on a damp tea towel

4. Place 2 mint leaves on the middle of the sheet

5. Add a lettuce leaf, a bit of rice vermicelli, papaya, cucumber, sprouts and a sprinkle of nuts

6. Top with 2 coriander and 2 Thai basil leaves

7. Starting with the bottom, fold up and over the filling

8. Fold in the two ends

9. Finally, roll over allowing the rice paper to stick to itself to close

10. Continue till you have made 16 large rice paper rolls

Serve straightaway with a bowl of dipping sauce. If you must store them line container or plate with damp tea towel. Seal well with plastic wrap or a lid so they don’t dry out.

OPTIONS: The filling can be whatever you have on hand: green beans, asparagus, marinated spicy tofu. It needs to be cut in matchsticks and be no longer than 15cm or it can tear a hole in the thin wrappers.

VIETNAMESE POACHED EGGPLANT SALAD RECIPE

Soft and luscious eggplant with a salty and tangy sauce.

Serves: 6 as part of a meal

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Equipment: large pot of boiling water, chopping board, knife, large bowl, medium bowl, colander, whisk

Ingredients

3 eggplants, smallish

½ cup coriander leaves

Dressing

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons white vinegar

½ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons sesame oil

Method

1. Boil a large pot of water and add the whole eggplants, return to the boil and then lower heat

2. Simmer for around 10 minutes till softened and skin has turned brown

3. Remove eggplants and drain in a colander

4. Cut eggplants in half lengthwise and cut each half into 3cm pieces, place in large mixing bowl

5. Place all dressing ingredients in a medium bowl, mix well with a whisk till emulsified

6. Pour dressing over the eggplant and toss to combine well

7. Garnish with coriander leaves, serve warm with steamed rice.

VIETNAMESE CRISP TOFU W/ TOMATO & CHILI

Serves: 6

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Equipment: chopping board, knife, garlic press, wok, slotted spoon, bowl,

Ingredients

200ml vegetable oil
500g silken tofu, drained and cut into 5cm cubes
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon finely chopped red Asian shallots (or red onion)
1 birds eye chilli, finely sliced
4 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped

100 ml water
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons mushroom soy sauce
3 spring onions cut into 5cm lengths
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 coriander sprigs, to garnish

Method:

1. Pour the oil into a wok and heat to 180°C, or until a wooden chopstick dipped into the oil bubbles rapidly.

2. Carefully add the tofu, cooking it in two batches to ensure the oil stays hot, and deep-fry until crisp.

3. Turn the tofu to brown other side and then remove with a slotted spoon onto kitchen paper to drain.

4. Transfer the deep-frying oil into a deep bowl to cool, leaving about 1 tablespoon of oil in the wok.

5. Add the garlic, Asian shallots and chilli to the wok, and stir-fry for 1 minute or until fragrant.

6. Add the tomatoes, salt, sugar and mushroom soy sauce.

7. Stir and allow the tomatoes to break down.

8. Add 100ml water to the wok, bring to the boil.

9. Reduce the heat to a low simmer for 10 minutes.

10. Add the crisp tofu, spring onions and black pepper, folding it all together, and simmer for no longer than 1 minute as you want to keep the crisp texture of the tofu.

11. Garnish with coriander and serve immediately.

STEAMED COCONUT CREAM CARAMELS

A French influenced Crème Caramel, serve warm or cold.

Serves: 6 as part of a meal

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Equipment: saucepan, wooden spoon, wok with steamer and lid, 6 x moulds, zester, whisk, serving plates or bowls, sharp knife or palette knife to turn custards out.

Ingredients

420 gram tin coconut cream

420 grams caster sugar

100 ml water

200 ml full cream milk

6 eggs

Garnish

1 tablespoon lime zest for garnish

2 ½ tablespoon toasted shredded coconut for

Method

1. Place 250 grams caster sugar into a medium size saucepan, add 100 ml water. Stir briefly.

2. Bring to a boil and cook till golden, do not stir caramel at this stage!

3. Pour caramel into 6 moulds, swirling to coat the base and sides evenly. Allow to cool

4. Heat a water in bottom of a wok with a steamer basket set inside

5. Break eggs into a mixing bowl and lightly whisk eggs

6. Add 170 grams caster sugar and mix well till frothy

7. Stir in the coconut cream and milk

8. Pour the mixture into the moulds, place into steamer

9. Cover the steamer and steam for 40 minutes at low temperature

10. Remove from steamer and cool before serving

11. Using a palette knife turn out custards onto serving plate/ bowl

12. Garnish with lime zest and toasted coconut

All Thai’d Up and other fun puns

What is it with Thai restaurants and their corny names? I’ve heard of En Thai Sing, Thai Riffic, Thai One On and many more wittily named Thai places. It seems so much at odds with a cuisine that is so finely balanced and steeped in culinary tradition. Thai people do have a great sense of humour though especially in the local restaurant industry. Are the corny names just a Sydney phenomenon, will have to do some research…

So our last class for this term and the fourth of our foray into the Asian cuisines is the delicious food of Thailand. One of the students had been away to Thailand for two weeks and requested we wait for her to return to try these dishes. I always enjoy the comparisons between authentic cooking and my adjusted recipes that cater for vegetarians. It has taken a long time to develop recipes that have the depth of flavour and variety that is achieved when including fish sauce and other meat products.

I usually substitute fish sauce with Healthy Boy Thai Mushroom Soy Sauce (there’s that Thai humour again!). It has a similar salty and earthy flavour to fish sauce. It’s made with fermented soy beans and dried Chinese black mushrooms. You can find the pretty bottles at the Asian grocery store.

Another vegetarian substitute is Mushroom Oyster Sauce. Use this in place of the regular Oyster Sauce for stir fries and vegetable dishes because “oyster sauce” in not a euphemism, it actually is made from oysters.

As with Indonesian cuisine I substitute Shrimp Paste/ Terasi with Fermented Black Beans. Check the labels of the jars or tins in the grocery store carefully as some do contain fish sauce or dried shrimp.

Apart from that almost any Thai recipe can be converted to a vegetarian meal using tofu, saitan or mushrooms. Though I’ve never tried to make a veggie Massaman Curry, that dish really is all about the meat, maybe big field mushrooms would work?

So this week’s recipes are Pad Thai, Red Curry Vegetables w/ Tofu, Pumpkin and Zuchini Stir Fry and Sweet Sticky Rice with Pineapple (though in the photo I served it with mango).

I’ve posted most of these recipes before:

Pad Thai

Pumpkin & Zucchini Stir Fry

Red Curry Vegetables with Tofu

Sweet Sticky Rice with Mango and Coconut

Hope you have a chance to try them before next term starts again. The next course runs from 1 May to 26 June. You can enrol online here: http://www.cityeastcc.com.au/course/wovc 

cheers,

Lorena xx

Nihao… and better late than never!

 

Last week is still a blur but I owe you some recipes!

It’s difficult to guess what the weather and the fresh fruit and vegetable market will be doing a few days in advance at the moment. One day we’re sweltering at 29C then next it’s a chilly 18C.

A guaranteed way to warm us up on a cool night are the delicious and popular POT STICKER DUMPLINGS.

You may have heard me go on about these before but do yourselves a favour and get some gow gee wrappers and make some dumplings, they are delicious! And if you make them yourself you know exactly what goes into them…

If you have some filling left over you can use wonton wrappers and make little wontons to freeze and pop into your next Asian style veggie soup.

We also made the perennial favourite FRIED RICE. Such a simple dish but when done well with lots of veggies, perfect rice and balanced seasoning it’s a very satisfying one wok dish!

The STIR FRIED EGGPLANT AND SNOWPEAS always look scrumptious, glossy vibrant snow peas and smooth eggplant chunks flavoured with a sweet soy sauce, garlic and chilli sauce.

To finish we made simple ALMOND COOKIES. Substituting some of the almond essence with some vanilla for a change. I’ve also made this with pistachio and orange and they are fab.

You can find all the recipes in this previous post about Chinese Cuisine.

New term, some new Thai recipes

Can’t believe how quickly Term 4 has rolled around this year. To think that in 9 weeks we’ll be celebrating Christmas, the holidays and the New Year…

The weather has finally warmed up enough to plan for some warm weather dishes, no more stews, soups and casseroles for us. Back to the land of crunchy, fresh flavours.

Our first lesson for this term is Thai Cuisine. I try to start with a cuisine that people are comfortable with, for a long time that was Italian but it’s quickly being replaced by Thai in popularity.

On the menu this week: soft and silky PAD THAI, spicy and sour TOFU LARB, creamy sweet RED CURRY VEGETABLES and SWEET STICKY RICE with the gorgeous mango that have just hit the shops in abundance.

I’ve posted most of these recipes here before but the PAD THAI and TOFU LARB recipes are new. They are excellent hot weather recipes requiring minimal cooking and packed with lots of flavourful herbs.

Enjoy!

PAD THAI

Rice noodle dish traditionally sold by street hawkers.

Serves: 2 individual serves or 4 as part of a meal

Preparation: 15 minutes (excluding noodles soaking 30 mins)

Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Equipment:

knife, chopping board, wok, measuring cup, 2 large spoons or spatulas for tossing noodles, small bowl for rubbish, vegetable peeler.

Ingredients:

Sauce:

2 tablespoons White sugar

1 tablespoon Tamarind paste

2 tablespoon Thai Mushroom Soy Sauce (or fish sauce if you like it)

Noodles:

½ packet Thai Rice Noodles (Rice Stick) soaked in warm water till slightly soft

1 tablespoon Canola oil

½ Small onion, finely sliced

2 Eggs

100 grams Firm bean curd, 1 cm dice and deep fried and drained on paper

1 cup Bean sprouts, washed well and trimmed (reserve some for garnish)

1 Baby Bok Choy, cut into long wedges and washed well

½ bunch Chinese chives, cut into 5cm lengths (reserve some for garnish)

¼ cup Coriander leaves, washed (reserve some for garnish)

1 teaspoon Roasted chilli powder

Garnish:

2 tablespoons Crushed roasted peanuts or cashews

1 lime, cut into 2 wedges, “thai style”

2 teaspoon roasted chilli powder

Chinese chives, coriander leaves and bean sprouts

Method

Sauce: Simmer sauce ingredients for 1-2 minutes till sugar is dissolved.

Noodles:

1. Heat oil in a wok over medium heat and fry onion till slightly coloured.

2. Crack in eggs and stir till just set.

3. Add tofu, bok choy stir and then the drained noodles

4. Turn up the heat and allow the noodles to colour.

5. Add sauce, chilli powder and simmer further 1-2 min

6. Add most of the bean sprouts, chives till wilted, adjust seasoning for sweet, sour, salty & spice.

Serve: Pile on a plate with bean sprouts, chives, coriander, lime wedge, peanuts & chilli powder

 

TOFU LARB

A fresh, spicy tofu salad from North Eastern Thailand.

Serves: 8 as part of a meal

Preparation: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Equipment:

knife, chopping board, large saucepan, measuring cup, wooden spoon, small bowl for rubbish, mortar and pestle (optional).

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp jasmine rice, toasted in the wok till yellow

4 dried large chillies, toasted in a wok (warning: open window!)

500gms firm tofu

3 limes, juiced

1 Tbsp sugar

4 Tbsp mushroom Soy sauce

1 small red (bird’s eye) chilli, finely sliced (optional)

2 red eschallot (or a small Spanish onion) finely sliced

2 cloves garlic, peeled

1 handful snake (or green beans) washed and chopped into 3cm lengths

1 handful cashews, roasted

½ cup cherry tomatoes, washed and quartered

2 cups mint leaves

1 cup coriander leaves

2 spring onions, sliced

To serve: Lettuce or cabbage cups (optional)

Method:

1. Boil tofu in water for 2 minutes to remove raw taste. Drain well and cool.

2. In a mortar and pestle (or in a plastic bag with a rolling pin) pound the rice till coarse, like sand.

3. Add the toasted dried chillies and garlic and pound again.

4. Add green beans, tomatoes, cashews and crush them lightly.

5. In a large bowl, crumble the tofu into cottage cheese like bits with your clean fingers.

5. Stir through all other ingredients, reserving some mint and coriander leaves for garnish.

Serve in little lettuce cups with jasmine rice or steamed sticky rice to help tame the heat!

Tantalising Thai…

Can you believe it’s our second last class for the Term? With all this fabulous warm weather it was a perfect opportunity to make some Thai food. Tantalising, just like the thought of summer…
Had to make a few changes as I couldn’t source any green papaya for the salad. Luckily you can substitute green mango pretty easily in this dish. If you don’t have a mandolin you can make cuts in the flesh and then shred the mango/ papaya with a veggie peeler. Be careful, this can be quite a tricky procedure!

SOM TOM: GREEN PAPAYA SALAD
A popular street snack, now a spicy Thai signature dish
Serves: 4 as part of a meal
Preparation time: 15 minutes.
Equipment: board, knife, mandolin, mortar and pestle, large mixing bowl
Ingredients
6 hot Thai chillies, chopped (to taste)
4 cloves garlic
4 cups unripe papaya(or mango), julienned
½ punnet cherry tomato, quartered
1 carrot, julienned (optional)
½ cup roasted peanuts
1 cup snake beans, cut into 2cm pieces
Sauce:
2 limes, juiced
3 Tablespoons tamarind water
3 Tablespoons mushroom-flavoured soy sauce
3 Tablespoons palm sugar
½ Tablespoons roasted chilli powder (to taste)
Garnish:
Wedge of cabbage
Cucumber slices
Lime wedges
Method:
1. Pound the chillies and garlic in the mortar and pestle
2. Add the lime juice, tamarind, soy sauce, palm sugar and mix well
3. Add the snake beans and cherry tomatoes and pound lightly
4. Place mixture in a large mixing bowl
5. Toss through papaya & carrot (if using)
6. Taste and adjust flavours: salty, sweet, sour and chilli
7. Serve with wedge of cabbage, cucumber slices and wedge of lime
 

THAI PUMPKIN & ZUCCHINI STIR FRY
A satisfying dish to serve with rice or as part of a meal.
Serves: 4 (as part of a meal)
Preparation: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Equipment:
knife, chopping board, wok, chan, small bowl for rubbish, measuring spoons

Ingredients:
500 grams Pumpkin, peeled and sliced chopped into 5cm lengths
500 grams Zucchini, cut in ½ cm matchsticks 5 cm lengths
3 Eggs
3 Spring onions, sliced into 5cm lengths
2 tablespoon Canola oil
2 Garlic cloves, finely sliced
100 ml Water
2 tablespoon Vegetarian oyster sauce
2 tablespoon Mushroom soy sauce
½ teaspoon Sesame Oil
1 tablespoon White sugar
¼ teaspoon Ground white pepper
Coriander leaves to garnish
Method:
1. Cook the pumpkin till just soft in microwave or steamer.
2. In a hot wok, fry the garlic in the oil till just golden
3. Add the eggs and stir till half cooked
4. Add the pumpkin, zucchini, water, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, white pepper.
5. Stir fry for 5 minute till all combined.
6. Add the spring onion and stir to heat through.
Serve garnished with coriander leaves and a sprinkle of white pepper.

Thai Red Curry Paste (Vegetarian)
Most commercial red curry pastes are made with fish sauce or shrimp paste. Make a fresh batch of this paste and it will keep for months in the fridge or freeze portions to use throughout the year.
2 tablespoons coriander seed
1 tablespoon cumin seed
1 tablespoon whole peppercorn
7 large red chillies, de-seeded
10 small dry red chillies
5 red shallot
7 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon chopped coriander root
2 inch piece galangal
2 lemongrass stalk
2 teaspoons kaffir lime rind
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons black soybean paste (or miso paste)
¼ cup coconut milk
Vegetable oil for storing in jar
1. Dry roast coriander, cumin and peppercorns in a frypan until fragrant.
2. Pound the the roasted seeds in mortar and pestle until they are powdered.
3. Place the next set of ingredients in the food processor with the pounded spices and pulse.
4. When all are combined add the soybean and coconut milk and blend till smooth.
5. Spoon into a sterile jar, top with vegetable oil and refrigerate till use.
6. Keeps a minimum of two months.
7. Always fry/ cook paste before use.
 

THAI RED CURRY w/ VEGETABLES AND TOFU
A rich, fragrant curry with seasonal vegetables
Serves: 6 as part of a meal
Preparation time: 15 minutes.
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Equipment: board, knife, wok, chan, ladle
Ingredients
1 cup coconut cream
2 cups coconut milk (1 ½ cups cream + 1 cup water)
¾ cup red curry paste (less if using a stronger commercial curry paste)
2 cups puffy fried tofu, cut in half (optional)
1 cup small eggplant, cut into chunks
¼ small winter “hairy” melon, peeled and cut into 2cm cubes (optional)
2 cups button mushroom, wiped with a damp cloth, trimmed and quartered
1 cup carrot or pumpkin peeled, cut and par cooked
½ red capsicum, cut into 2 cm pieces
2 cups green vegetables (broccoli, bok choy, snake beans etc par cooked if necessary)
2 tablespoons palm sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
Garnish
6 kaffir lime leaves, torn
1 cup sweet Thai basil leaves, whole
1 long fresh chilli, sliced
Method:
1. Heat the wok over a medium heat
2. Add the coconut cream and reduce for 8 minutes, scraping down the sides occasionally
3. Once the oil separates, add red curry paste and fry for 6-8 minutes till fragrant. Stir continuously.
4. Add puffy tofu and coconut milk, bring to the boil
5. Add palm sugar, soy sauce and then the carrots (or pumpkin) and capsicum
6. Add the eggplant, mushrooms and winter melon cook 10 mins.
6. Add the green vegetables and warm through.
6. Garnish with Thai basil, kaffir lime leaves and chilli slices.
7. Serve immediately with steamed jasmine rice.
 

SWEET STICKY RICE W/ MANGO & COCONUT
A traditional Northern Thai dessert, with a modern cooking method!
Serves: 6
Preparation: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Equipment:
Microwave, oven at 180C to toast shredded coconut, glass bowl, cling film, chopping board, knife, small saucepan, baking tray

Ingredients:
1c white sticky/ glutinous rice
1c coconut milk
2 Tbs sugar
2 pinches salt
Warm water
2 mangoes, peeled and sliced (or lychees, pineapple, papaya, bananas etc)
Garnish: Toasted coconut and palm sugar syrup
½ c shredded coconut, toasted in the oven on a baking tray
½ c palm sugar
½ c water
Method:

1. Soak the sticky rice in warm water for 10 minutes.
2. Drain and place in a glass bowl with 1 cup water, cover with cling film.
3. Cook in microwave for 3 minutes.
4. Carefully peel back cling film and stir rice thoroughly.
5. Replace cling film and cook a further 3 minutes.
6. Whilst rice is cooking heat coconut milk, sugar and salt in saucepan.
7. Check if rice is cooked, if not cook a further 3 minutes.
8. When rice is cooked, stir through ¾ of the hot coconut milk.
Palm sugar syrup:

1. Chop ½ cup of palm sugar and combine with ½ cup water in a saucepan.
2. Bring to the boil and stir till dissolved.
3. Set aside to cool.
To serve: may be served hot or cold.
Spoon 2 tablespoons of sticky rice into a bowl and serve topped with mango slices, remaining warm coconut milk, palm sugar syrup and shredded coconut.