Starter Dough:
-175g cake flour
-1/2 tsp yeast
-1/2 tsp sugar
-160g warm water

*Dissolve yeast and sugar in water, then add to cake flour. Mix everything together and prove until doubled or overnight.

Main Dough:
-200g starter dough
-50g sugar
-2 tsp double acting baking powder
-3 tsp water
-100g all purpose flour
-20g shortening

*Mix sugar with starter dough until sugar dissolves. Add baking powder, water, and shortening mix until smooth. Finally add flour and kneed for a few mins. Let dough rest for a few mins (about 10), then wrap filling. Steam immediately after wrapping.

Note:
Mix the leftover starter dough (135g) with 1/2 tsp sugar, 120g cake flour, and 80g water, then prove until doubled or overnight = more starter dough to start recipe over again.

Ing:
-2 bittermelons (as much or as little as you prefer)
-2 carrots
-1 daikon (about 1lb)
-basil, laksa leaves (rau răm), cilantro, roasted peanuts, fried shallots
-1/2lb prawns
-1/2lb pork belly
-vinegar, sugar, fish sauce

**Peel and cut carrots and daikon into matchsticks. Mix vinegar with sugar (sweet and sour should be even) and add to daikon and carrots, mix and let marinate for ½ hour, before squeezing out excess “juice”. Grill, peel and shred prawns. Boil and slice meat. Chop basil, laksa leaves, and cilantro. Crush peanuts and shallots. Cut bittermelon in half lengthwise and remove seeds. Slice into thin pieces and mix with ½ tsp salt. Let sit for 10-15 mins and squeeze out the “bitter juices”. Finally, mix everything together; serve with shrimp crackers and nước mắm.

Note:
When buying bittermelon pick the ones with that look plump and slightly yellow (this means they are slightly ripen, and will be less bitter).

Ing.:
-1 package agar agar powder (25g)
-7 cups water
-2 cups sugar (or to taste)

*Mix together agar agar with water and let rest for ½ hour. Then bring mixture to a boil and add sugar, stir until dissolve. Add coloring and fill into moulds.

Note:
*I like my jelly to have a crunchy texture so I use 7 cups water, for softer jelly use 8-9 cups water.
**To add flavor, take out some water and replace with whatever flavor liquid you want. For example for pandan flavor take out 1 cup of water and replace it with 1 cup of pandan juice. What I usually do is boil agar agar with 5 cups of water, add sugar and then divide the mixture in half. Then I’ll add 1 cup of coconut milk in one half and pandan in the other half. The pour layers and you’ll get layered pandan and coconut jelly.
***If you have a “picture mould” like the one in the picture than always add coconut milk or milk into the jelly used to make the designs, or else the jelly will be transparent and the colors will show trough each other.
****Add a little cream of tartar or lemon/lime juice to help keep the colors from bleeding.

-Sounds complicated but it’s actually very easy and fun.

Ingredients:
-1 cup dried shrimp
-3-5 quarts water or chicken broth
-1 1/2lb tomatoes
-5 eggs
-1 jar minced crab paste
-3 green onions
-salt, sugar
-shrimp paste
-ong choy, beans sprouts, lime, herbs, chilies
-rice vermicelli

**Rinse and boil dried shrimp in water to make “broth”. Wash and cut green onions into 1/2 inch pieces. Wash to tomatoes and slice into 6 or 8 wedges (same way you would slice an orange). Beat eggs with crab paste until combined, then add in onions. Add tomatoes to broth and cook for 5 minutes, then reduce heat to medium-low and add in egg-crab mixture. Keep the fire low, the soup should never boil. In about 15 minutes, the egg mixture should be cooked and float to the top. Add salt and sugar to taste.

To serve:
Put cooked rice vermicelli in bowl, and ladle broth over noodles. Serve with shredded ong choy, bean sprouts, herbs, lime, and shrimp paste.

Ingredients:
-1lb beef
-3 cloves garlic
-1 shallot
-1 tsp minced lemongrass
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 tsp fish sauce
-1/3 tsp shrimp paste
-1/2 tsp 5 spice powder
-2 tsp sugar
-1 tbs oil
-1 tsp pepper
-40-50 lá lốt leaves
-40-50 peppercorns
-Bamboo skewers

What to Do:
Slice beef into thin slices. Grind garlic, shallot and lemongrass together with all other seasonings except peppercorns. Add this mixture to beef and marinate for a few hours. Wash la lot leaves. Put a slice of marinated beef in the middle of each leaf, add 1 peppercorn and roll up. Skew onto a bamboo skewer. Grill until golden and serve with noodles (bun), herbs, sprouts, and mắm nêm or fish sauce.

Water Dough:
-300g flour
-75g shortening
-250g boiling water
-few drops red coloring

*Add boiling water into flour and stir until water is absorbed. Let dough rest until cool enough to handle and knead in the shortening and coloring to make a smooth dough. Divide into 12 portions.

Oil Dough:
-150g flour
-75g oil

*Add oil to flour, mix and divide into 12 portions.

Filling:
-150g peeled and split mung beans
-150g sugar
-50g candied melon (optional)
-50g candied lotus seeds (optional)
-1 tbs koh fun
-2 tbs oil
-1 tsp mali flavoring (optional)

*Chop candied melon into small pieces. Rinse, soak and cook beans. Mash beans and add sugar, candied melon, and lotus seeds. Stir fry until thickened. Add oil, koh fun, and mali flavoring. Mix until combined, divide into 12 portions.

To make the pastries:
Use one portion of the water dough to wrap the oil dough. Roll, fold into 3rds and roll again, then use to wrap filling. Use a sharp knife to cut 3 lines across the top of the pastry to make a * mark. Deep fry until slightly golden.

Note:
Other fillings such as red bean paste, coconut, lotus paste, etc… can also be used.

Ingredients:
-1/2 cup tapioca starch
-1/2 cup rice flour
-1/2 cup sugar
-1 ¾ cups water
-4-5 bananas
-yellow coloring

*Mix together flours, sugar, and coloring in water until dissolved. Peel and slice bananas. Grease a baking pan, and ladle in about 4 tbs of ‘batter’ then arrange a layer of bananas. Steam for about 5 mins and add more batter to cover the bananas. Steam again until the batter is clear. Cool and cut into small pieces. Serve with coconut sauce and toasted sesame seeds. Makes about 2 cakes, each cake is about 1/2 inch thick (cakes shouldn't be too thick).

For the Coconut Sauce:
-1 can coconut milk (400ml)
-1 tbs tapioca starch
-2 tbs sugar
-1/3 tsp salt

*Stir everything together over medium heat until mixture thickens.

Water Dough:
-150g All purpose flour
-50g water
-50g oil
-1 tbs wheat starch

*Mix everything together to make a smooth dough, rest 1/2 hour and divide into 12 portions.

Oil Dough:
-50g flour
-oil

*add oil into flour slowly to make a “dough” (about 2-3 tbs of oil). Divide into 12 portions.

Filling:
-100g sugar
-200g water
-75g koh fun
-80g sesame seeds
-50g candied wintermelon (tong dong kwa)
-50g almonds
-2 tsp almond extract (optional)

*Toast sesame seeds and almonds. Cut candied melon into small pieces. Mix everything together, rest for ½ hour and divide into 12 portions.

**Take a portion of the water dough and use it to wrap one portion of the oil dough. Roll, fold and roll to make a flaky crust (like making puff pastry). Then wrap a portion of the filling. Is a spatula to “flatten” the cake. Brush with egg wash, and sprinkle on some sesame seeds on top. Use a knife to cut a little slit to steam out when baking. Bake at 350’F until golden.

This is the basic recipe. Use this to make different versions. The name of this cake literally translate to “pig skin cake”. Why? I have no idea.

Ingredients:
A: (Batter):
-350g tapioca starch
-50g rice flour
-4 2/3 cups liquid (water or coconut milk, I usually use both half coconut, and half water)
-300g sugar

*Mix everything together.

B: (Filling)
-300g cooked mung beans or taro
-200g sugar
-100g tapioca starch
-175g coconut milk or water

*Put everything in a blender and blend until ‘smooth’.

Steaming:
Grease mould (cake pan or tart mould) with oil. Pour in a layer of batter (mixture A) and steam for 5-10 mins., (until cooked), then pour a layer of filling (mixture B). Steam until filling is cooked and then pour on some more batter. Continue with this process until you use up all of the batter and filling. Make the cake as many layers as you want.

Different Versions:
Pandan and Mung Bean (pictured):
Mix pandan leaves in a blender with the liquid to use in batter. Use mung beans for filling.

Pandan and Durian:
Mix pandan leaves in a blender with the liquid to use in batter. Blend 100g durian with filling and reduce the sugar in filling to 100g 150g (depending on how sweet durian is).

Taro:
Use taro to make the filling instead of mung beans. There is a type of leaf in Vietnam called “lá cẩm” when you boil it it gives off a purple color. This liquid is then used to make the batter. However, here in the states it’s almost impossible to get a hold of, so... use purple food coloring instead.

Note:
Make sure the amount of batter, and filling you pour (steam) is the same at all times, this way you will have a “even” layer cake.

Batter:
-1 cup cooked rice
-5 cups coconut milk or water or milk
-350g rice flour
-100g potato starch
-2 tsp turmeric powder
-1 tsp salt

**Put rice and coconut milk in a blender and blend until smooth. Mix everything together and rest for ½ hour before making crepes.

Filling:
-1 onion
-1/2lb pork belly
-1/2lb small shrimp
-2lbs bean sprouts
-2 cups cooked mung beans

**Slice onions making thin “rings”. Slice pork belly into bite size pieces. Wash and blanch bean sprouts.

Making the Crepes:
Add a little oil to a non stick pan add some onions, shrimp and pork, stir fry until ½ cooked. Add some batter and “twist” the pan so the batter coats the bottom of the pan evenly. Put some bean sprouts and mung beans in the middle. Cover and cook over medium heat for about 3-5 mins, until the crepes are crispy. Fold the crepes in half and plate. Repeat same process for the rest of the batter and filling. Serve with herbs and dipping sauce.

For the rolls:
-1 jicama (about 2lbs)
-3 carrots
-1/2 cup dried shrimp
-4 Chinese sausages (lap cheong)
-1/3 cup roasted peanuts (optional)
-3 eggs
-basil
-Vietnamese rice paper (bánh tráng)

*Steam and slice sausages into thin, long pieces. Beat eggs and cook using a nonstick pan to make thin sheets, cut sheets into long strips. Soak dried shimp in water until soft. Crush the peanuts and stir fry with dried shrimp. Julienne jicama and carrots, stir fry with alittle oil and dried shrimp water until cooked. Drain and reserve ‘juices’ to make dipping sauce. Wet a piece of rice paper and sprinkle some peanuts and dried shrimp. Lay a few strips of egg and sausage on top, followed by basil and then jicama and carrots. Roll up and serve with dipping sauce (recipe follows).

Dipping Sauce:
-1/4 cup hoisin sauce
-1 tbs peanut butter
-‘juices’ from dried shrimp and stir fried jicama
-water (if needed)
-sugar, salt

*Mix everything together over medium heat until mixture boils. Sweet and salty should be even, sauce should not be to thick (add more water if needed).

Ing:
-1lb chicken
-5 shitake mushrooms
-2 Chinese sausages
-1 bunch of Chinese celery
-salted egg yolks (as many as you like)
-jasmine rice, oyster sauce, sesame oil, salt, garlic

What to Do:
Cut chicken, mushrooms, sausage and celery into bite size pieces. Chop garlic and fry until fragrant add chicken, mushrooms, sausages and egg yolks; add oyster sauce, sesame oil and salt. Lastly, add Chinese celery. Rinse and cook rice, when the rice has absorbed all of the water in the pot add the chicken mixture and mix well. Continue to cook until rice is cooked and fluffy.

Note:
If you have the time, buy a whole chicken and de-bone it use the meat as above. Use the bones to make chicken broth. Then use the broth to cook the rice (instead of plain water) and to make soup to go with the ‘chicken rice’.

If you’re from Seattle chances are you’re probably visited Dick’s a few if not countless times. The burgers and shakes (especially strawberry shakes) are absolutely yummy!

With a couple locations around the Seattle area, their food is not only delicious but cheap and fast, making it a popular place to visit.

Recalling my first time experiencing their food….I was summer in the mid 90’s. My cousins from Tacoma had gotten summer jobs in Seattle and stayed at our house while they worked. They worked the evening shift and came home close to midnight, and hungry. My brother and I were night owls…. school was out there was no point in going to sleep early. Sure enough, nearly every night our cousins would walk through our front door and asked “guys hungry?” We were never really hungry but the answer was always “yeah” as we knew this answer was our ticket to go out for some midnight munchies.

We all packed into the car and drove off in search of a place to still open and willing to serve. Our house was and still is 3 mins from Chinatown, so seeking a place that opened late wasn’t much of a challenge. Many of the restaurants in Chinatown didn’t stop serving until around 3 a.m. But we were tired of Chinese food so we decided to try something different and instead of taking the same familiar path to Chinatown, we went the other direction towards Broadway which is where we spotted Dick’s. It was love at first taste! Their shakes are sweet and creamy; their burgers are juicy and flavorful. They’re also open really late, making it the perfect place to visit when you get that midnight craving for a shake or burger.

The word "in" means print in vietnamese, thus gives us reason to make this cake "Print Cake". :D

For the Crust:
-450g koh fun
-350g sugar
-175g water
-1 1/2 tbs mali flavor

**Boil sugar and water together until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and let cool completely. Stir or whisk cooled syrup until it becomes milky (stirring will crystallize the sugar thus it will turn "milky"). You want the sugar to be semi-crystallized which means white in color but still a "liquid", if it turns solid just add in about a tbs of water. Lastly, add in mali flavoring, stir until mixed.

Sift flour onto a work surface and add syrup “rub” sugar and flour together, use a rolling pin to crush and roll out the large chunks of sugar (if necessary). Dough should be dry and crumbly but moist enough to hold together.

Filling:
-300g mung beans (peeled and split)
-250g sugar
-75g candied melon (tong tung kwa)
-50g candied lotus seeds
-3 tbs oil + 2 tbs koh fun
-1 tbs mali flavor or durian
-12 egg yolks (washed in wine and steamed)

**Rinse, soak, cook and mash beans add in sugar, lotus seeds (split in half), and candied melon (chopped into small pieces). Stir fry over medium heat until thicken, then add oil, koh fun and mali flour, mix everything together and let cool divide into portions and add egg yolk in the middle.

To Make the Cakes:
Line bottom of mold with a piece of paper fill ring ½ full with crust, then add filling and add more crust to completely cover, then press with lid tightly. Carefully remove ring, and then lid, let cake sit still for 15 mins to harden before touching. Let the cakes “cure” for a day before eating.

Note:
Salted egg yolks, candied melon, and candied lotus seeds are optional. This type of cake usually comes in 3 flavors: durian, mali flower, and plain. If you can’t get a mould then use a baking sheet press half the crust in the bottom then add filling and cover with remaining crust, cut cake into “bar” when done. The most important part of making this cake is the sugar, it should be crystallize (very fine crystals) yet still moist and syrupy. If it’s too dry then the curst will not hold together (stir in some hot water). If the sugar is too moist then the dough will be lumpy.

For the lotus seeds:
-200g lotus seeds
-1 tsp lye water

*Soak lotus seeds in lye water and water until seeds expand. Wash and boil until soft.

For the Jelly:
-3 tbs agar agar powder
-1 cup water + some pandan juice for coloring

*Boil everything together until agar agar dissolves. Pour into a bowl and let sent. Grate into small strands.

For the syrup:
-200g rock sugar (adjust to your taste)
-200g water + 200g pandan juice
-1/2 tsp mali flavor

*Boil together sugar with water until sugar dissolves. Add pandan juice and boil once more. Remove syrup form stove and add mali flavor. Cool syrup compleatly.

Finally:
Mix everything together and serve cold.

Sugars: