Named after Huế the former capitol of Vietnam during the country’s “dynasty” years; when the country was still ruled by kings and emperors. Although the translated name for Bún Bò Huế is Spicy Beef Noodle Soup, it is not to be confused with Phở the other “beef noodle soup”. Phở is from the northern region and the flavors are much more settled, bún bò huế on the other hand, is hot and spicy with essence of lemongrass and shrimp paste. Noodles for phở are flat, while noodles for bún bò huế are fat and round (there are many types of noodles with unique names, but in English there is only the term “noodle” which all must be grouped under…sad). As with many Vietnamese noodle dishes, Bún Bò Huế is also served with a generous helping of herbs, bean sprouts, shredded banana flower, shredded cabbage, and shredded lettuce. BTW, the recipe might seem like a lot of work but it's really not, chả huế and chả tôm could be bought premade if you know a well stocked Vietnamese grocery store or deli.

For the Broth and Noodles:
-2 lbs beef bones (approximate)
-1 beef shank about 2lbs (approximate)
-1 pork feet (cut into small serving size pieces)
-1 piece of ginger about 3 inches long
-1 bunch lemongrass (6-7 stalks)
-small slice of pineapple (about 100-200g)
-4 shallots
-4 tabs mắm ruốt (Belacan shrimp paste)
-1 small piece of rock sugar
-salt to taste
-rice vermicelli (“thick and fat” kind)

**Boil bones, pork feet, and beef shank for 10 mins., drain and wash before using to make broth. Boil together bones, beef shank, and pork feet with enough water to make broth. Crush lemongrass, tie into a bundle and add to broth. Grill ginger and shallots, crush and add to broth along with pineapple. Mix shrimp paste with a bowl of water and let sit for a few hours, remove the clear liquid on top (to be added to broth later). Remove beef shank and pork feet when they are chopstick tender (can be easily pierced with a chopstick). Add sugar, shrimp paste liquid, and salt to taste. Add meat balls (recipe follows) to cook in broth remove a few mins after they float to the surface of the broth. Add a couple tabs of spiced pepper oil for color (recipe follows). Boil noodles until tender drain before serving.

Meat Choices:
-Beef shank: from making broth, sliced thinly
-Pork feet from broth
-Fresh Shrimp Paste (recipe follows) sliced thinly
-Chi Huế Style Meat Balls (cooked in broth, recipe follows)
-Blood Jelly, cubed and cooked separately

Garnish:
-Cilantro
-Green Onions
-Ngò Gai (saw tooth herb)
-Rau Răm (Laksa Leaves)
-1 large onion

*Wash herbs and chop finely. Slice onion into thin slices.

To Serve:
Lay noodles in a bowl, add meat choices, add onions, and ladle on the hot broth finish of with garnishing herbs. Serve with fresh herbs and shredded veggies. Condiments include spiced pepper oil, lime, fish sauce, and fresh chilies.

Serve with:
-Bean sprouts
-Shredded Banana Flower
-Shredded Cabbage
-Shredded Lettuce
-shredded rau muống (ong choy) or celery
-Fresh herbs (General)
-lime, fresh chilies

Chả Tôm (Huế Style Fresh Shrimp Paste):
*Measure by Volume
-1lb shrimp (peeled and cleaned)
-3 cloves of garlic
-3 tabs fish sauce
-1 shallot
-pinch sugar
-pinch salt
-pepper

**Chop garlic and scallion, add to shrimp along with fish sauce, sugar, salt and pepper. Grind into a smooth paste. Steam or cook shrimp paste in broth until done.

Chả Huế (Huế Style Meatballs):
-1lb ground pork
-3 cloves of garlic
-1 tsp fish sauce
-1 shallot
-2 tabs sugar
-1 tsp salt
-pepper
-2 tabs potato starch

*Chop garlic and scallion. Mix everything together and freeze until nearly but not frozen (this will help make the meatballs bouncy). After freezing, process the mixture in a meat processor into a smooth paste (as quick as possible “refreeze” if necessary). Add rounded tablespoons of meat paste into broth and remove a few mins. after they float to the surface of the broth.

Pepper Oil:
-1/2 cup oil
-1/2 cup lemongrass finely chopped
-pepper flakes or powder (as just too desired level of spiciness)
-1/2 garlic finely chopped
-3 tbs annatto seeds
-2 tsp mắm ruốt

*Fry annatto seeds in oil to obtain rich orange color, remove seeds; add garlic and lemongrass, stir fry until fragrant, add pepper and shrimp paste, mix well. Add a few tbs of this oil to the broth for color, use the rest as a condiment for anyone who likes the noodles spiced up a bit.

Are you really? I’ve been tagged by Lin from Sinfully Yours. Regarding my eating habits; I must say I love anything sweet and chocolaty. Secondly, I prefer veggies over meats; definitely not a fan of fish dishes. My worst nightmare is to have to eating bland food; I just don’t understand how some people could eat things that taste like cardboard. Lastly, I admit I’m a street food addict, I’m sure most people who read this are too. Here goes my list of all time top 10 favorite eats.

#1: Bismark Doughnuts: OH GOD they’re good, the chewy doughnut, filled with rich pastry cream and glazed with chocolate, what’s there not to love?

#2: Gỏi Cuốn (Fresh Spring Rolls aka Summer Rolls): This particular type of fresh spring roll is made with prawns, pork, rice vermicelli, herbs, and bean sprouts; dipped in hoison and peanut sauce right before it enters your mouth and explodes in a burst of flavors.

#3: Strawberry Milk Shakes: especially ones form Dick’s, the thick and creamy texture mixed with the sweet strawberry taste is too hard to resist.

#4: Spaghetti: the tangy sauce calls my name, no meat balls for me please.

#5: Congee: any kind will do but I admit I absolutely love Ho Ho’s (a Chinese Restaurant in Seattle) Little Boat Congee. The smooth congee packs rich flavors which come from the jelly fish, fish, squid, peanuts, beef, ginger, cilantro and green onions. Goes perfectly with for the cold rainy months we have in Seattle.

#6: Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce: Something about the broccoli’s crunchy texture and saltiness from the oyster sauce that seems to attract my taste buds.

#7: Bún Bò Huế (Vietnamese Spicy Beef Noodles Soup): Noodles in hot and spicy broth served with an abundance of veggies, exactly the way I prefer my food.

#8: Chocolate: anything chocolate, chocolate bars, chocolate ice cream, chocolate cake too good to give up in this lifetime.

#9: Shrimp Scampi: especially when it’s served with pasta and a fresh squeeze of lemon.

#10: Rice Vermicelli Dishes: I’m cheating on my last one hehehehehe, I absolutely adore the smooth texture of bún or rice vermicelli; they go well with almost anything.

My turn to tag….let’s see….

Lily from Lily’s Wai Sek Hong
Seadragon from Café of the East
Jingle's Kitchen

Your turn we’re waiting :D….

For you reading pleasures, I stumbled upon this link on the scientific aspects of “you are what you eat”. Enjoy.

A specialty for the southern region of Vietnam. Simple and delicious. Of course, served with a helping of bean sprouts and fresh herbs. Shrimp paste here is not to be confused with mắm ruốt the other “shrimp paste”. Suông is made from fresh shrimp and chicken, boiled in broth and coated with annatto oil for unique flavor and appearance.

For the Broth and Noodles:
-2 lbs chicken or bones (approximate I recommend using chicken)
-shrimp shells (byproduct from making the fresh shrimp paste, recipe follows)
-salt to taste
-1 small piece of rock sugar
-1 pork feet (cut into serving size pieces)
-rice vermicelli

*Boil together bones, shrimp shell and pork feet for a few hours to make broth. Remove pork feet when chopstick tender. Use broth to cook shrimp paste, add sugar and salt to taste. Boil rice vermicelli until tender, drain before serving.

Garnishing:
-cilantro
-green onions

*Washed and chop finely.

To Serve:
Lay noodles in a bowl, add suông (shrimp paste), and pork feet; ladle on hot broth and finish off with garnishing. Serve rau húng cây (spearmint), cooked bean sprouts, and hoisin sauce, lime, fish sauce, and fresh chilies as condiments.

Suông (Fresh Shrimp Paste):
*Measure by volume
-1 cup chicken breast
-2 cups shrimp
-4 cloves garlic
-3 tbs fish sauce
-1 tsp pepper
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp sugar
-2 shallots
-3 tbs oil
-annatto seeds

*Cube chicken breast, chop garlic and shallots. Fry annatto seeds in oil to obtain color, remove seeds. Peel and shrimp, use the shells to make broth. Grind together shrimp, chicken, garlic, shallots, fish sauce, pepper, salt and sugar into a smooth paste. Use a rice scraper or spatula to form 3-4 inch long pieces of paste and drop them into the hot broth to cook. Remove when the float to the surface of the broth and dip in annatto oil for color.

Bánh Ít is the general name for “pastries” that are made with glutinous rice flour and boiled or steamed. Usually bánh ít are wrapped with banana leaves, however this type of bánh ít is not, hence gives it the name bánh ít trần as “Trần” means naked. The filling varies from different regions of Vietnam. The following recipe is for southern style Bánh Ít Trần.

Ingredients:
-1/2lb glutinous rice flour (1/2 package)
-1/4lb each: prawns, ground pork
-50g mung beans (peeled and split)
-1 tsp fish sauce
-1/2 tsp pepper
-2 green onions
-2 cloves garlic
-1 tbs oil
-3 tbs fried shallots
-pinch of sugar
-water

What to Do:
Rinse, soak, cook and mash mung beans. Peel, and crush shrimp, mix with pork. Chop onions and garlic. Stir fry onions and garlic until fragrant, add shrimp, pork and seasonings. Stir fry until cooked and thick. Mix flour with warm water to form a soft dough. Take a piece of dough, flatten and wrap filling. Boil the rice balls until they float to the surface; continue to boil for 10 more mins. Serve with onion oil, ground shrimp powder and fish sauce.

Starters

Starter: Deviled Eggs
-5 eggs
-4 tbs evaporated milk
-1/2 tsp mustard
-1/2 tsp black pepper
-1/2 tsp crushed pepper (optional)
-1 tsp chopped green onions
-1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
-pinch of sugar
-salt to taste

*Boil eggs and cool. Peel and cut eggs in half, scoop out the yolks. Mash yolks and add all seasonings. Pipe yolks back into egg whites, using a pastry bag and a star tip.

Starter: Sesame Crab Crackers
-1/2 lb crab meat
-1/2 block cream cheese (4oz)
-1 stalk celery
-1/2 green onion
-1/3 carrot
-1/2 tsp sesame oil
-salt and pepper to taste
-sesame crackers
-cilantro

*Shred crab meat, chop celery and onion. Peel julienne carrot. Fold everything together and serve on crackers, garnished with cilantro.

Starter: Granny Smiths with Pepperjack Cheese
-1 granny smith apple
-1 cube pepperjack cheese
-toothpicks

*Wash and core apples. Slice apples and cheese into small bite size pieces. Pair up cheese slices with apples and secure with a toothpick.

Cold Crab and Cucumber Soup

-1/2 lb crab meat
-1 large cucumber
-1/2 cup cream
-1/2 cup vegetable broth
-salt to taste

*Wash and chop cucumbers. Boil together broth and cucumber for 5 mins, cool completely. Blend everything together in a blender until smooth. Serve cold.

Watercress Salad with Poached Eggs and Asian Pears

-2 bunches watercress*
-red leaf lettuce*
-6 eggs *
-2 ripe tomatoes*
-2 Asian pears*

*Measurements are approximate, adjust to desired serving size.

**Poaching the eggs:
For every cup of water add 1 tbs vinegar. There should be at least 3 inches of water. Water should be barely boiling (bubbles forming at the bottom but the surface never boils). Break egg into a bowl, stir water in a circular motion and add egg into the center of the “swirl”. Poach for a few mins (depending on how soft you prefer you yolks).

***Wash lettuce, watercress and tomatoes. Toss with dressing (recipe follows) and arrange on a platter. Slice tomatoes and pears, arrange on top of the salad. Finally, top with poached eggs.

Dressing:
-1/3 cup sugar
-1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
-2 tbs olive oil
-3 tbs pepper

*Mix together until sugar dissolves.

Roast Beef
-Beef rib eye roast
-4 bay leaves*
-4 cloves garlic*
-3 tbs olive oil*
-1/2 tsp each: salt, pepper, dill, thyme, basil, paprika, garlic powder

*For every pound of meat

** Mix together spices, partially de-bone the meat from ribs. Rub meat with oil, followed by spices. Sandwich bay leaves and crushed garlic cloves between meat and ribs, tie together. Let flavors marry for at least ½ hour before roasting. Roast at 450’F for 20 mins; add ½ cup water into roasting pan and continue to roast at 350’F, 20 mins per pound or until internal temperature of meat is 120-125’F (medium rare).

Oven Roasted Veggies
-yellow and green zucchinis*
-carrots*
-parsnips*
-drippings from roast beef*
-thyme, salt and pepper

*all measurements are approximate, adjust to desired serving size. Wash, peel and cut veggies into bite size pieces. Mix with thyme, beef drippings, salt and pepper. Roast at 350’F for about 20-30 mins.

Fancy Mashed Potatoes
-6 medium size russet potatoes
-4 strips bacon
-1/2 cup evaporated milk or sour cream
-3 stalks green onions
-grated cheese
-bread crumbs
-melted butter or oil
-pepper and salt to taste

*Boil potatoes; cool and carefully slice in half. Use a spoon to scoop out flesh, reserving the potato skins. Fry and crush bacon, chop green onions. Mix bread crumbs with melted butter. Mash potatoes, add milk, bacon, onions, and salt and pepper to taste. Pipe mashed potatoes back into the reserved skins using a pastry bag and a star tip. Sprinkle grated cheese and bread crumbs on top. Bake at 350’F for 15 mins; then broil until cheese melts and bread crumbs are golden.

Poached Pears with Vanilla Ice Cream
-10 pears
-4 cups water or wine
-1 4 inch long piece of cinnamon
-4 star anises
-5 cloves
-peel from 1 orange and one 1 lemon
-1 cup brown sugar
-vanilla ice cream

*Peel pears leaving stems intact. In a large pot, boil water, spices, peels, and sugar, add pears and simmer for until pears are knife tender but not mushy and falling apart. Serve warm with ice cream.

Now that all of the Secrete Santas have been revealed I guess it’s safe to post what I baked. There was Japanese Cheesecake (for those in the US only); Raspberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies, Mint Chocolate Crescents Cookies, and Raspberry Marbled Sugar Cookies.



Cream Cheese Pound Cake
-230g Cream cheese (room temp.)
-50g unsalted butter (room temp.)
-100g cream or milk
-100g cake flour
-30g corn starch
-6 eggs
-160g sugar

*Separate eggs. Beat together cream cheese and butter; add milk and egg yolks slowly beat until incorporated. Fold flour, extract and corn starch into cheese mixture. Beat egg whites until stiff, add sugar. Fold egg whites into cream and flour mixture. Bake at 350’F in a double broiler until golden.

**Makes 2, 2lb loafs (pan size); cake will shrink a bit when cooled.

Raspberry Marbled Sugar Cookies
-250g all purpose flour
-180g unsalted butter (1 ½ U.S. stick)
-100g sugar
-1 egg (approximately 50g)
-75g raspberry jam + 75g flour

*Cream together butter, sugar and egg until fluffy, fold in flour, divide dough into 6 pieces. Mix together jam and 75g flour to form a soft dough, divide dough into 6 pieces. Randomly stick the dough pieces together. Refrigerate for ½ hour or until firm. Roll and cut dough, bake at 350’F.

Mint Chocolate Crescent Cookies
-200g all purpose flour
-50g cocoa powder
-120g butter (1 U.S. stick)
-150g sugar
-1 egg (approximately 50g)
-100g peppermint candy crushed
-powdered sugar (to dust)

*Cream together butter, sugar, and egg until fluffy, add cocoa powder. Fold in flour and candy. Roll dough into logs and shape into crescents, bake at 350’f for 15-17 mins. Roll cookies in powdered sugar while still warm.

Raspberry White Chocolate Cookies
-280g all purpose flour
-1 tsp baking soda
-150g brown sugar
-240g unsalted butter (2 U.S. Sticks)
-300g white chocolate chips
-75-100g raspberry jam

*Cream together butter and sugars; add egg and beat until fluffy add jam. Fold in soda, flour and chocolate. Bake rounded table spoons of dough on a baking sheet at 350’F for 10-15 mins or until golden.

Mid-December 1997, I was still in 7^th grade at the time….. Mrs. Mullen my math teacher offered her students extra credit for creating a gingerbread house and bringing it to school. She provided the recipe and templates, all we had to do was fork out money for the ingredients (our parents lol :D) and let our creative juices flow. Besides receiving extra credit, the gingerbread houses were all entered into the school’s annual gingerbread house contest. Students as well as teachers judged the housed based on creativeness, technique, and over all appearance. The grand prize was a $10 gift certificate to Baskin Robins and the honor of having your gingerbread house displayed in the main office. Guess who won?

It’s been 8 years since I’ve created my very first ginger bread house. Sadly, the recipe Mrs. Mullen gave me in 7^th grade along with the template had all been recycled. So, this time I had to start from starch. Mrs. Mullen’s recipe was for “real” gingerbread, the kind you would eat. My recipe is for “fake” gingerbread, meaning it’s only good for decorating. Reason being, the real recipe called for honey, spices, molasses, and butter, but since the completed gingerbread houses usually sits for a week as part of the holiday decorations….you probably don’t want to eat. Thus, why waste expensive ingredients on something you’re just going to throw away? Traditionally, the gingerbread house as well as all the decorations that go on it are glued on with royal icing, but in my “fake” version everything is held together by hot glue from a glue gun. I figured if you not going to eat it, might as well use something that will hold faster, less messy and easier to work with, and more economical. So here’s my recipe for “fake decorating purposes only gingerbread”.


For the house:
-1 cup shortening
-1 cup brown sugar (or white sugar with brown coloring)
-3 eggs
-2/3 cup water
-2 tsp baking powder
-6 cups flour (approximate)

**Cream together sugar, shortening, and eggs until fluffy. Add baking powder, water and flour alternatively until everything comes together and forms a heavy dough. Roll (1/4 inch thickness) cut and bake at 350’f until golden. Cool and glue together with a glue gun.

Stained Glass Windows:
-Life savers or any type of transparent colored hard candy

**Crush life savers, and fill into the windows of the house about 5 mins before they are finish baking. Once the candy is melted, use a tooth pick to “merge” the colors together. The candy will harden as it cools and become stained glass windows for the house.

“Snow” (Very thin royal icing):
-1 ½ - 2 lbs powdered sugar
-3/4 cup water

*Mix the two together, add more sugar if too thin and more water if too thick. The consistency should be thick and syrupy (drizzle some icing on it’s self using a spoon, if the icing disappears with in 15 seconds it’s good to go). Spread some on the roof of the house and around the base to make snow. Sprinkle on some grated coconut or cake glitter for some sparkle. Can also let the icing dry a bit and pipe it on using a pastry bag and a writing tip.

House Template:

Sadao are flower buds which grow on trees in Cambodia and surrounding regions. At first taste, the flowers are extremely bitter, more bitter than bitter melon, however the bitterness is soon lost in their unique flavor and slightly sweet aftertaste. Those not familiar with Sadao often find it too bitter to handle, but after a few bites most people turn into devoted fans. Sadao can be found frozen or fresh in most asian grocery stores (in Seattle at least).

Ingredients:
-1 package sadao flower (frozen l package = 1lb)
-1 lb pork belly
-1 tilapia (1-2lbs)
-3 pickling cucumbers
-dấp cá and tía tô herbs

What to Do:
Thaw sadao flowers and drop into a pot of boiling water and give a quick stir. Remove from heat, allow sadao (in water) to cool (cool enough to handle). Remove sadao from water and strip the flowers off the stem (hold the stem with one hand and use the other hand to “strip” the flowers starting from the bottom of the stem to the tip). Boil pork and slice thin, clean and grill fish, de-bone and flake into bite size pieces. Slice cucumbers and chop herbs. Finally mix everything together and serve with tamarind sauce.

Tamarind Sauce:
Follow the basic recipe for fish sauce. Replace lime juice with sour tamarind juice and use palm sugar instead of table sugar.

Traditionally this salad was made with boiled duck, and usually served with bún măng (rice vermicelli with bamboo shoots and duck broth) or cháo (congee made using the duck broth). However, since this version is made with theochew style duck, which is bought "ready to go" form the Chinese roasted meats shop; there is no broth for noodles or congee. Serve with rice, or as a starter.

Ingredients:
-1 cabbage (about 2 lbs)
-1 large onion
-3 tbs sugar
-5 tbs white vinegar
-fried shallots
-rau răm (laksa leaves)
-crushed toasted peanuts
-1 theochew style duck (from Chinese roasted meats shop)

What to Do:
Slice onion and mix with vinegar and sugar, marinate for ½ hour. Shred cabbage, and finely chop laksa leaves. De-bone and slice duck meat. Arrange cabbage on a plate, top with marinated onions, and duck. Garnish with peanuts, fried shallots, and laksa leaves. Serve with ginger fish sauce.

For the Sauce:
Employ the basic recipe for fish sauce, ginger version.

Ingredients:
-4lb fresh water prawns, size 1-2 head-on (1-2 prawns per pound)
-2 eggs
-1/2 medium onion (optional)
-1 cup coconut juice (approximate)
-fish sauce, sugar, pepper

What to Do:
Peel prawns, remove legs and claws. Remove tomalley and reserve for making sauce. Chop onion finely, beat eggs with tomalley and add onions. Bring coconut juice, 3 tbs fish sauce, ½ tsp sugar and 1 tbs pepper to a boil, add prawns and simmer for 2 mins. Add egg and tomalley mixture, simmer for another 15 mins. Add fish sauce and sugar to taste right before serving. Serve with rice, and pickled daikon (recipe follows)

Note:
When buying prawns look for ones with a tint of reddish-orange on the body and both sides of the head. The tomalley, gives the coral color when cooked, be careful when you remove it, as the prawns’ waste is also stored in its head. The fish sauce should boil rapidly as the prawns are dropped it, this will give them better texture.

Củ Cải Bóp Xổi (Pickled Daikon)
-1 daikon (about 1-2lbs)
-1 ½ - 2 tbs white vinegar
-3 tbs sugar

*Peel and thinly slice daikon mix with sugar for and rest for 5 mins and pour out excess “water”. Next, add vinegar and marinate for another 15 mins before serving.