Vietnamese dipping sauce (Nuoc Cham)

Ingredients
1/4 cup fish sauce
3 tablespoons apple vinegar
3 tbsp water
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 bird’s eye chilli, thinly sliced
2 tbsp carrot, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons lime juice

Method:
1. Place all the ingredients into a bottle, close the lid and shake. Taste and adjust accordingly.

2. Store tightly sealed in a jar in the fridge.

Serve with Vietnamese fresh spring rolls.

Easy to roll - Vietnamese Spring Roll Part #3

This is the final post on how to roll a Vietnamese Spring Roll.
This is an open-ended method of wrapping them.

For the ingredients, mosey here.
For the dipping sauce, mosey here.

1. Start by softening the rice paper rolls in some lukewarm water. Place a sprig of chive and prawn/persimmon at the top end of the rice paper roll.

2. Add some vegetables, vermicelli and herbs.

3. Tuck in the sides and fold up the other side of the rice paper roll to make into a neat roll.


4. Another alternative is to cut the rice paper roll into half before wrapping.
Arrange neatly onto serving plate before serving.

Hope you had fun and got some ideas on how to wrap a Vietnamese Fresh Spring Roll.
It is not only delicious to eat but very healthy too - well, more so than the fried one :)

Easy to roll - Vietnamese Spring Roll Part #2

For the full list of ingredients, mosey here.
For the dipping sauce, mosey here.

Disclaimer, I didn't have any more cooked prawns left when I started this tutorial so I substitute with some juicy ripe persimmons instead :) Btw, they added some sweetness and turned out to be a very healthy substitute!
So bear with me ok.

Various styles of rolling.

This is the most Classic way of rolling - the closed ends method. My mom actually prefers this style as it is much easier to eat.

1. Soften rice paper roll by dipping a few seconds into lukewarm water.
Arrange the prawns/persimmon in the centre of the rice paper roll.

2. Add the salad, vermicelli and herbs. 3. Tuck in the sides and add a sprig of chive.

4. Roll up and arrange on plate neatly with the side up showing the prawns/persimmons.

The other alternative way of rolling this Classic style is to add the prawns/persimmon last. Don't forget the sprig of chive and roll up. Idea is that you are able to see the prawns once it is nicely rolled up.

Easy to roll - Vietnamese Spring Roll Part #1

For the various ingredients, mosey here.
For the dipping sauce, mosey here.

Disclaimer, I didn't have any more cooked prawns left when I started this tutorial so I substitute with some juicy ripe persimmons instead :) Btw, they turned out to be a good & sweet substitute, not to mention healthy too!
So bear with me ok.

This is my favourite way of rolling them as I think they look the prettiest.

Don't you agree with me??

1. Soften the rice paper by dipping into some warm water for a few seconds.

2. Tuck in the sides and arrange the prawns/persimmons so that it is 3/4 hanging outside the rice paper roll.

3. Add lettuce, vermicelli and other vegetables and herbs.

4. Add a spring of chive and roll up.


5. Cut in half and arrange on plate standing up with the cut side down.

Vietnamese Rice Paper Spring Rolls (Goi Cuon)

Whenever I dine in a Vietnamese restaurant, this is my number #1 must order.
I just heart fresh spring rolls. Deep fried ones are nice too but the healthier side of me prefers this especially filled with lots of various fresh herbs, so refreshing, light and yet not lacking in flavour.
They are pretty easy to make too, perfect for a party :)

Discovered that there are various ways of wrapping it so am going to split it to various post just in case the pictures take too long to upload.

For the filling, you can almost wrap anything inside - vegetables, meat, seafood or even fruits. The ingredient list may look long but that it is the combination that makes it taste so good, healthy too - look at all the fresh vegetables. :) Actually the most tedious part is cleaning and shelling the prawns but you don't need to use them if you don't want to - can always substitute with leftover roast chicken.

Ingredients you need:
rice paper rolls
lettuce
boiled
cooked vermicelli noodle
some cooked prawns, peeled and sliced in half
carrot, sliced thinly
cucumber, sliced thinly
mint
thai basil
coriander
bowl of lukewarm water
garlic chive

If you need a recipe, Luke Nguyen is my favourite.

There are probably many ways to wrap them but decided to share 3 styles you may consider, mosey over to Part 1, Part 2 or Part 3.

For the dipping sauce, mosey here.

French Onion Dip

This is a great to-go party dip with veggie sticks. What is even better is that it is so easy to put together.

All you need is 3 items - 250g cream cheese, 1/4 cup marscapone/yogurt and a packet french onion mix. Mix it all up for a yummy dip!

It never fails to please! :)

Potato banchan (Gamja jorim)

DH commented that it tastes like those from the Korean BBQ restaurant, so I'd guess this dish is a 'success'!! :)

A simple recipe shared by maangchi

Ingredients
3 medium sized potatoes, diced
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 - 2.5 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp corn syrup
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup water
sesame oil
roasted sesame seeds

Method:

1. Rinse cut potato in running water to remove starch.

2. Heat frying pan with 1-2 tbsp olive oil and add potato.

3. Add garlic and sauté it until the potato look a little translucent, then add the onion and keep stirring it.

4. Add water, soya sauce, sugar and corn syrup. Simmer over medium heat for about 10 min until liquid is evaporated. Add more water if required.

5. When potato is cooked, turn off fire. Add 1 tbsp of sesame oil and sprinkle a pinch of sesame seeds before serving.

Perilla Kimchi (Kkaennip kimchi)

If you like or don't mind the unique taste of perilla (sesame leaves), give this easy kimchi a try. Surprisingly it is quite addictive and spicy (think I was slightly heavy handed with the red pepper flakes me thinks!!); eaten with plain rice!!

Aother recipe by maangchi.

Ingredients
Perilla leaves (135 grams: about 3 cups)
3 tbsp fish sauce
1/2 medium onion, sliced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 stalks of green onion, sliced to 1/2 inch length
2 tbsp carrots, julienned
1 tsp honey (can't really taste it or can substitute with castor sugar)
1-2 tbsp hot pepper flakes
roasted sesame seeds

Method:

1. Wash and drain perilla leaves and put them into a basket. TIP: wash both sides of each leaf in running cold water and shake to drain water.

2. For the kimchi paste - put rest of ingredients into a bowl and mix. Taste, add a little caster sugar if required. It can be quite spicy so put 1 tbsp and taste first.

3. Spread some kimchi paste between the leaves and store in container. TIP tuck in the stems down so that it will soak up some of the kimchi mixture paste.

4. Leave out on kitchen counter for 1/2 day before storing in the refrigerator. Consume after 2 days of refrigeration.

5. Serve with rice and sprinkle some roasted sesame seeds before serving.

posting this picture is making me crave for more, can't wait to have another mouthful!

Also added this vegetable to the kimchi mix. Any idea what is it called in English? It is not spring onion, a kind of local leek perhaps?? The veggie seller told me in Cantonese but by the time I came home, forgot oredi.

Korean spicy anchovies (myulchi bokkeum)

Was excited to give this recipe by Ju a go since it looked pretty easy and tasty! :)

While this side dish (banchan) does taste nice, personally still prefer our Malaysian crispy spicy assam pedas ikan billis - there is just no substitute.

Ingredients
1 cup (about 55g) dried anchovies (ikan bilis)
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste)
1/2 tbsp corn syrup or honey
4 tsp water
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp sesame seeds (I upped to 1 tbsp cos I love it!)

Method:

1. Heat up pan and dry-fry sesame seeds briefly. As soon as they turn light brown, remove from pan and set aside.

2. Stir 1 cup of small dried anchovies in a heated pan for 1 minute.

3. Add 1 tbsp oil and stir it until crispy and set aside.

4. Make sauce by mixing 1 tbsp hot pepper paste, 1 tbsp sugar, 1/2 tsp minced garlic, 4 tsp water, 1/2 tbsp corn syrup (or honey) in a bowl, and then pour into pan.

5. Heat up the sauce and simmer until the sauce looks shiny and has thickened a little.

6. Return anchovies back to the sauce and turn the heat off.

7. Add 1 tsp sesame oil and sesame seeds. Toss and mix everything well.

Crab rangoon

Ingredients
8 ounces cream cheese
8 ounces fresh crab meat or canned crab meat, drained and flaked
1 teaspoon red onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon light soy sauce
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 green onion, finely sliced
1 large clove garlic, smashed, peeled, and finely minced
1 package wanton wrappers
1 small bowl water
Oil for deep-frying, as needed

Method:
1. For the filling, mix together all the ingredients except for the water wrapper and oil.

2. Wrap 1-2 tsp of filling into the wanton wrapper. Wet the edges of the wrapper to seal, repeat until all the filling or wrappers are used up.

3. Keep completed crab rangoon covered with damp towel to keep them from drying out.

4. Heat wok and add oil for deep-frying. Try not to overcrowd the wok. Deep-fry until they are golden brown, about 3 minutes, turning once. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

5. Best eaten warm.

This is one of my favourite appetizers or party finger food.

Puffed Pesto Curls

Just one of those days when you want a quick gourmet snack.
Perfect finger bite cum snack with wines.<>

What you need:

some puff pastry;

pesto paste;

some milk/egg to glaze the tops.

1. cut pastry into a triangle. spread paste and roll up.

For more detailed step-by-step instructions, click here. Basically same technique used even though I know the link is for making croissants.

2. brush with some milk or beaten egg.

3. bake at 180C degrees in pre-heated oven until golden brown.

Suprisingly even though this snack was quick to make, it actually took longer to bake them!!

Bench notes: Helps when you have pre-made frozen pesto sauce in the fridge. Note to self to make extra filling next time!

Cucumber Kimchi

Yesssh, I finally made this *skips in glee*

The steps might seem a little lengthy but its actually very easy to make. Am quite happy that this recipe taste almost the same as those bought at the stores.

Special thanks to aeriskitchen for sharing on youtube this recipe though I twigged it a little by adding the Chinese pear and carrot.

Ingredients

10 Japanese cucumber
½ cup coarse salt
5 cups water
2 cups garlic chives, cut about 2 inches
½ cup spring onion, cut about 2 inches
½ cup carrot, finely cut about 2 inches
½ Chinese pear, skin removed and julienned (add 1 tsp sugar to keep it from browning)

Sauce ingredients
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
½ cup Korean chilli powder (gochugaru) or to taste
3 tbsp Korean fish sauce
3 tbsp water
1 tbsp caster sugar

Method:

1. In a large pot bring to boil the water and coarse sea salt.


2. In meantime, was cucumber and cut both ends and divide into 4 equal pieces (depending how long or short you want them to be) and then with each mini cucumber cut a ‘cross’ or ‘T’ starting from the top of the cucumber until about 2cm from the bottom, making sure that you do not slice all the way through. Each mini cucumber is suppose to be like a mini bite size kimchi cup.

3. Place prepared cucumber into large bowl or pot.

4. By now the water would be boiling, turn off heat and pour hot water into your bowl or pot of cucumber. Set aside for at least 50 min.

5. In meantime, prepare the other vegetables and the sauce ingredients in a separate bowl. Mix to combine well.

6. After 50 min, rinse cucumber in fresh water and squeeze out excess water and dry them with paper towels.

7. Wearing a pair of disposable gloves, stuff some of the vegetable mix into the cucumber, rubbing the outside of the cucumber with the mix too.


8. In a container, leave the stuffed cucumber at room temperature overnight to enhance the flavour before refrigerating.

9. Best eaten well chilled. Consume within a week.

Spinach Banchan

Sharing another super easy Korean banchan!

Ingredients
300g spinach leaves, washed
3 cups of water
2 tbsp soy sauce (or to taste)
1 spring onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp Korean sesame oil
1 tbsp lightly toasted sesame seeds

Method:

1. Bring water to boil and blanch spinach for about 30 seconds. I used baby spinach but can use normal spinach too – hold leaves together and blanch the stalk first for about 1 min before plunching in rest of the leaves into the hot water.

2. Rinse spinach under cold water. Drain and gently squeeze out excess water from spinach.

3. Mix all the other ingredients in a large bowl. Add blanched spinach and toss until well combined.

4. Cover the sesoned spinach and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.


Bench note – If opt to use baby spinach, the longest time spent would be cleaning it!

Bean Sprout Salad (Banchan)

Another super quick and easy side dish. Because of the garlic, I think this goes well with meat dishes especially if you are having Korean BBQ/grilled meat!

Ingredients (source Periplus books)

300g bean sprouts, washed with tails removed
1 spring onion, sliced thinly
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp roasted sesame seeds
2 tsp sesame oil
½ tbsp Korean chilli powder (gochugaru)
1 tsp salt
4 cups water

Method:
1. Think there is an error in the book on cooking the bean sprouts - requiring it to be boiled in hot water for 7 min. I like my sprouts with a little crunch and not totally limp. So I'd suggest in a pan of hot boiling water, add the bean sprouts and salt, cover the pot and off the flame. Set aside for about 4 min.

2. In meantime, add in rest of ingredients in a bowl.

3. Drain bean sprouts well and toss with other ingredients in the bowl until well combined. Allow to cool. Have a little taste and if slightly bland, add in a drop of soya sauce.

4. I prefer this chilled so, once it reaches room temperature, cover with sarang wrap and keep in refrigerator until ready to serve. Make this early so that the flavour can develop further.


P.S.
If you watch KDS, normally there would be a scene where the actress would be mixing (usually in frustration) in a big bowl some rice & kimchi and stuffing their face like it was the best food in the world. Discovered that in a large bowl (bigger than your normal chinese soup bowl), put in some warm/hot rice together with some of the above bean sprout salad and thinly sliced kimchi, 2 tsp hot pepper paste (gochujang) and a drop of Korean sesame oil, mix it all up & well and.....ta-da-da. Almost exactly what you get on the soaps! The ingredients can be adjusted according to your taste.

It taste pretty yummy and can't wait for the weekend (as I'm all out of kimchi at the moment) for my next KDS veg 1 bowl fix/mix!!

Cucumber banchan (Oninamul)

Banchan (also spelled panch'an) refers to side dishes of food served along with cooked rice in Korean cuisine.

Got this from Perpiplus cookbooks. A gem of recipe since its really quick and easy to make. And yes, it tastes pretty good and refreshing too.

Ingredients

4 cucumber, remove skin and sliced

1.5 tbsp coarse salt

1 spring onion, thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp Korean sesame oil

1.5 tbsp roasted sesame seed

1-2 tsp kocharu or Korean red pepper chili flakes (to taste)

Drop of soya sauce and Korean fish sauce (optional)

Method:

1. Soak cucumber slices in cold water and salt for 30 min. Reason for this is to keep texture of the cucumber crunchy.

2. In meantime, prepare sauce by mixing rest of the ingredients in separate bowl.

3. Rinse cucumber slices with fresh water and squeeze out excess water.

4. Mix properly cucumber and sauce, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Note that mixture can be prepared at least a day ahead.

Bench note - If living in humid country, best to store kocharu in an air-tight container in the refridgerator as otherwise it may get mouldy.

Kimchi Pajeon or Pancake

No surprise since I've been on a KDS buzz (but its wearing out slowly I've noticed). As you know kimchi is a must with every Korean meal. This savoury pancake is best when the sides are hot, crispy and accompanied with some spicy dipping sauce (mixture of soya sauce, drop of sesame oil and gochujang chili pepper flakes).

The basic ingredients are flour, kimchi, egg, liquid (kimchi liquid or water if you prefer it less spicy) and spring onions. You can vary it by adding some seafood (squid or prawns), meat or other vegetables like onions/carrots.

Here's my version enough for one small serving.

Ingredients

1/2 cup all-purpose flour, shifted to avoid lumps

1/2 cup cold kimchi liquid (or water if you prefer it less spicy)

1 medium egg

1/2 cup kimchi, sliced

1 sprig spring onion, cut into roughly 4-5cm strips

Tiny drop of sesame oil

Method:

1. Beat egg and add in liquid.

2. Whisk in flour - you should get a thicker pancake mixture consistency. Add more flour if too liquid and likewise more liquid if too thick.

3. Add in kimchi and mix well to combine.

4. Heat up pan or wok with 2-3 tbsp vegetable/olive oil. If you want it crispy you need oil!

5. Pour kimchi batter onto hot pan and spread out mixture. Scatter evenly spring onions on top of mixture.

6. Flip mixture carefully when bottom side is done. Continue frying until other side is nice and golden brown.

7. Transfer to a plate, slice up like pizza slices and serve warm with some spicy sauce and beer!

Palmiers with olive tapenade

Its dead easy to make Palmiers - all you need is some puff pastry and olive tapenade.

Yummy palmiers, makes great party appetizers!


Make sure you use puff pastry. The first time I made this, accidentally picked up wrong packet and ended up using short crust pastry instead. After 10min in the oven I was wondering why it was not 'puffing' out - check packaging and well, too late!! Using puff pasty was much nicer.

Here's how to make them:


1. Spread filling onto pastry.

2. Fold each side pastry end to meet in the center.

3. Fold one more time, bring each side of pastry to meet at the centre.

4. Slice them up evenly (otherwise you'll end up with odd shapes like I did), fold into a 'V' or 'U' shape. Arrange on baking tray and bake for 30 min at 170C or until golden and puff :)

Enjoy them warm or at room temperature. Best eaten the day they are made.

Ina's Roasted Tomato Caprese Salad

Who doesn't know Ina Garten, otherwise known also as Barefoot Contessa!

Based on my search over the internet, everyone who tried this recipe had great reviews and things to say. Can only re-confirm that it was indeed simply FAB and have since made it twice!! Don't be put off by the time involved to prepare this. Best part is that since its all slowly roasting in the oven, leaving you with lots of free time to do other things :)

Ingredients

12 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise, seeds (not cores) removed

16 ounces fresh salted mozzarella

12 fresh basil leaves, julienned

freshly ground black pepper

Seasonings

1/4 cup good olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons sugar
pinch of kosher salt


Method (my own adaptation):

1. Preheat oven to 150C.

2. Wash and pat dry tomatoes. Cut tomatoes into half and scoop out the seeds including the 'heart'.

3. Mix in a small bowl the seasonings and scoop evenly into centres of halved tomatoes.

4. Before baking sprinkle some black pepper.

5. Roast for 2 hours (yes, a long time but well worth the wait) until the tomatoes are concentrated and begin to caramelize. Allow the tomatoes to cool to room temperature.

6. Before serving, cut mozzarella into slices slightly less than 1/2-inch thick. Layer the tomatoes alternately with the mozzarella on a platter and scatter the basil on top. *did you notice from the top picture I missed out the basil, sigh*

7. Serve at room temperature with slices of mozarella and crumpled basil leaves.

Cheesy bacon & Herb Gougères

Was a little curious about these bites. Saw them first here and decided to try it out. The end product was nice and light crusty bite, flavoured with our favourite ingredients bacon, cheese and herbs – wow, taste delicious even before I started baking them!! Great for snacking or served as an appetizer and can just imagine, perfect dish for superbowl - especially with a few cold beers or wine.

The only problem I encountered was making the choux pastry, the final cooked dough was a little dry and after adding the egg it resulted in one lumpy mess. To salvage everything, finally sieved it to a more respectable batter.

Ingredients
(makes slightly more than 12 petite bites, if you managed to pass the choux pastry successfully)

1.5 bacon strips, cooked and chopped into small bits
1/4 cup water
1.5 tbsp butter
pinch salt
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 egg
1/4 grated cheddar cheese
1 tbsp chopped chives
2 tsp parmesan cheese

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees.

2. In a saucepan, combine the butter, milk and salt and bring to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat and add the flour all at once.

3. Using normal hand whisk mix the ingredients together and then return the pan to the heat and continue whisking to dry the paste out slightly.

4. Remove the heat from the pan again, switch to a wooden spoon, and mix in the egg.

5. Stir in bacon, cheese and herbs.

6. Using a teaspoon, drop spoonfuls onto baking tray. Alternatively you can pipe out the batter.

7. Sprinkle more cheese on top if you wish (I didn’t).

8. Bake at 170 degrees for 15 min and cut slits on the top to let the steam out and continue cooking at reduced temperature of 150 degrees for another 10 min until golden brown.

9. Serve warm. They freeze well too, just reheat in the oven before serving.

Bench notes - They are a little addictive so double or triple the recipe, otherwise it might just not make it out of the kitchen!!