Om Nom Nom!

My name is Thao, born and raised in Saigon, Vietnam. I don't have a memory of my mother cooking all the time in the kitchen because I am a city kid, so everyone is busy fighting a battle for a better life. But I was raised with good food of my grandmom, my housekeeper, sometime my mom and dad. I never cooked or had any idea of cooking before leaving to the States for college at the age of 19; yet, I have a passionate and endless love for food. My fondest memory of home often involves with food and I don't really know why :) Although I'm a poor college student with small budget and limited cooking tools, I always want to experience with food from around the world in the tiny kitchen. And here I am, learning how to cook, showing my friends how to cook and hoping to find my own cure for the constant homesickness.

[makingfoodisappear]

Bacon pasta with asparagus. I made this a while ago, but I have never posted the recipe :)

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ieatlambslauren:

makingfoodisappear:

My version of Phở. And no, I don’t have a recipe because I just made this for the first time. I need this to be perfect before showing anyone else how to make Phở righ :). I tried to cook it the Northern way, but my bowl was not there yet. But again, I just whipped it up in an hour or two, not the whole night before like my mother used to prepare the broth. 

I miss when I was eating phở with my family every morning last summer. The chicken was tender and moist. The broth was rich, flavorful with a hint of chopped lime leaves and cold plum juice for dessert. That scene may just be one of my most peaceful memories about home…

LOL wrong noodles for pho >.<

The kind of noodle that is used in the States is the wrong kind. This is the original pho that Vietnamese people use. I know my food.

[makingfoodisappear]

My version of Phở. And no, I don't have a recipe because I just made this for the first time. I need this to be perfect before showing anyone else how to make Phở righ :). I tried to cook it the Northern way, but my bowl was not there yet. But again, I just whipped it up in an hour or two, not the whole night before like my mother used to prepare the broth. 

I miss when I was eating phở with my family every morning last summer. The chicken was tender and moist. The broth was rich, flavorful with a hint of chopped lime leaves and cold plum juice for dessert. That scene may just be one of my most peaceful memories about home...

[makingfoodisappear]

Jasmine Dumpling

Hi there!

I hope you've been doing well these days. I'm now so excited about the dumpling, so I really have to post before going to sleep. This is the second dish I made from the book Culinary Tea. The dumplings smell fantastic and they are quite delicious. I also think that this dish tastes a lot better with a hint of jasmine tea and chrysanthemum tea too.

For the Chicken Paprikash and this dumpling, I tried to follow the cooking measure in the book, but it did not work for me. Therefore, despite all the measure I will provide below, I will recommend to taste as you like ;) I just can't follow the exact recipe all the time. Shout out to Dominic at Tea Chai Te if you are reading my blog! Thank you very much for the awesome tea. I'm falling in love with tea now!

Here are what you will need (to make a lot of dumplings):

3/4 lbs of shredded napa cabbage

2 1/4 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons or a bit more ground loose leaf jasmine tea (I also added a bit of Silver Needle Chrysanthemum)

1 bunch of finely chopped scallions

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 teaspoon soy sauce

2 teaspoon of sesame oil

1 lb of ground pork

A bit of finely chopped ginger

Wonton wrappers (I used 1 pound of the square ones, but the round will probably be better)

Filling:

Toss the shredded napa cabbage with salt, leave for 30 minutes (the salt will extract excess moisture from the cabbage)

Drain and squeeze the cabbage well to get rid of any extra moisture

In big bowl, combine  salt, soy sauce, ground tea, garlic, ginger, scallions and sesame oil together

Add the cabbage and ground pork and mix thoroughly

Leave the filling at room temperature for a while. Or you can cover it tightly and store in the fridge for up to 1 day.

Let's make the army of dumplings!

Defrost the wonton wrappers if you store those in freezer

Get one wrapper, lightly brush water around the edge of half the wrapper

Place the filling in the middle

Fold the edges to meet, pushing air pockets and press to seal

When all the filling is done, prepare the liquid for steaming

Heat up water in a pot, add tea leaves to steaming water

Place cabbage or lettuce in the steamer basket and add as many dumplings as you can in the basket (let them sit comfortably without any physical contact to each other!)

Steam the dumplings over high medium heat for about 8-12 minutes until they are translucent

Place the dumplings on a plate and ready to eat!

(I actually skipped the steaming part because I did not have enough pot for steaming, so I baked those babies instead. Although they taste delicious, I don't recommend baking dumplings.)

Dipping sauce!

This sauce totally made my day.

Pour the steaming water over the tea leaves in a small bowl

Steep and cover for about 2-3 minutes

Discard the leaves and return liquid to the bowl

Add soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, garlic and ginger

Mix well

Pour over the dumpling and eat.

Om nom nom nom!

I just randomly garnished with basil :D

I don't recommend baking because the flour from the wrappers tasted kind of raw. However, frying will be good because the dumplings will add a crunchy texture to the meat inside. If you don't like using cooking oil, steaming will be the best.

Happy eating and stay tuned for new food coming soon ;)

[makingfoodisappear]

now i don't need a cookbook, i can just come here! :D

thank you thank you!!!!!! i will try to update my blog more and keep the menu affordable :P

[makingfoodisappear]

Turkey and Mushroom Paprikash

While browsing in the Duck Store yesterday, I found a great book called Culinary Tea by Cynthia Gold and Lise Stern. I knew immediately that I would get it and try out all the recipes soon. And I started with Chicken and Mushroom Paprikash, which I changed to Turkey and Mushroom Paprikash this afternoon!

I changed this Hungarian recipe a little bit, but this is a must try because the finished dish was absolutely delicious. If you plan to cook this dish, plan ahead because you will need to marinate the chicken overnight.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Pu-erh black tea

1 1/2 cup boiling water

2lbs of turkey thighs (with skins and bone in turkey)

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

1 medium red bell pepper, sliced

1 medium green bell pepper, sliced

1 1/2 cups thinly sliced mushrooms

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 can crushed tomatoes

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram (which I couldn't find at the store)

3 tablespoons sweet Hungarian paprika

2 teaspoons hot Hungarian paprika (I used cayenne pepper instead)

2 tablespoons of cooking oil. I used Olive Oil!

Ground black pepper and salt to taste

Yummy yummy let's cook!

Steep the tea in boiling water for 5 minutes, remove all the leaves and let it cool down.

Marinate the turkey in black tea overnight or around 2 nights. When it's ready, remove the tea and keep it for the sauce.

Season the turkey with salt and pepper.

In a large pot, heat up the oil on medium heat. Add the turkey and brown each side for about 5 minutes. When it's done, move the meat to a plate.

In another pan, heat up oil on medium heat. Add onion and saute for 5 minutes. Add mushroom and bell peppers for a few minutes. Add paprika and flour. Stir well until you can smell the paprika (delicious smell).

Add tomatoes, tea, thyme and marjoram (if you have some). Stir well.

Return the turkey to the pot with tomatoes, cover and cook for an hour until the meat gets tender.

Add some cayenne pepper. Remove the turkey to another plate.

Add sour cream and stir well.

Taste with salt and ground black pepper.

I used some basil I grow for garnish!

I ate Turkey and Mushroom Paprikash with green salad tossing with olive oil, balsamic vinegars, sunflower seeds and mushroom!

Happy eating everyone :)

[farfromheaven-deactivated201202]

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ayeeejoy:

tdotjaay:

thinktwicebaby:

Ants Problem : Ants hate cucumbers. Keep the skin of cucumbers near the place or ant hole.

To get pure and clean ice : Boil water first before freezing.

To make the mirror shine : Clean with alcohol

To remove chewing gum from clothes : Keep the cloth in the freezer for an hour.

To whiten white clothes : Soak white clothes in hot water with a slice of lemon for 10 minutes

To give a shine to hair : Add one teaspoon of vinegar to hair, then wash hair.

To avoid tears while cutting onions : Chew gum.

To remove ink from clothes : Put toothpaste on the ink spots generously and let it dry completely, then wash.

To get rid of mice or rats : sprinkle black pepper in places where you find mice or rats. They will run away.

brb, putting cucumber round my house.

reblogging for future reference

future reference

ANTS DONT LIKE AIDS?

for future reference.

This is my lifesaver :)

Reblogging for future reference..

[makingfoodisappear]

Helloooooooooooooooo,

I have a cooking video today for you today! This is the video Schmoo and I were working on with another friend for Ethos Magazine, a student publication at University of Oregon. Here's the link to the recipe: http://ethosmagonline.com/archives/12026

Schmoo is going to show you how to make Vietnamese chicken stew which can last a whole week. It's super easy to cook and you don't have to worry about spending time on making food during final weeks.

In case you wonder why he looked so serious... Schmoo wanted to be like Epic Meal Time. If you don't know what the heck is Epic Meal Time, go look on YouTube. It's worth checking out :)

Happy eating!

[makingfoodisappear]

Hot and Sour Soup

Hello beautiful people,

It's been awhile since I last updated my blog, so I hope you all are doing well and eating well. This post was supposed to be up few days ago, but I have never finished typing... However, today happens to be cold and rainy which is kind of perfect for a big bowl of hot and sour soup... This recipe is from DC, my dear friend who is also crazy about food and loves Gordon Ramsay from whom he got the recipe. The soup kinda tastes like Tom Yum too, so if you love Thai food, be sure to try this soon.

The cost for this dish is cheap, so I'd highly recommend to other poor college students who love to eat well like me. I made one big pot of soup for around $12 that could have lasted a few days if Duy didn't eat hehe.

What we need for the soup (for one box of chicken broth):

1 box of chicken broth.

1-2 limes.

2 tomatoes.

1 ginger root.

1 bunch of cilantro.

1 small yellow onion.

1/2 lbs of mushroom.

Fresh shrimp or prawn. I used the tiny cooked shrimp, but I'd recommend fresh prawns. 

Noodles. I think Udon will go well with this soup. Since I didn't go shopping at Asian market, I got Top Ramen and those were bad.

Water.

Fish sauce.

Green onion (optional)

Satay or chili pepper for extra spiciness. 

How we make this delicious soup:

Pour chicken broth in a big pot. Heat it up. Add water if you want.

Cut tomatoes and yellow onion into big pieces. Chop up the ginger root. 

Wait for the broth to boil, add tomatoes, ginger root, and yellow onion to the pot. Wait again.

When the broth boils again, taste with fish sauce and lime juice. I used 1.5 limes and about 2.5 cups of fish sauce when cooking. You can add more or less that all depends on taste of each person.

While waiting for the broth, cook the noodle. Cut mushroom to bite size. When the soup boils again, add mushroom and shrimp or prawn. 

If you use raw shrimp or prawn or meat, add those when you start to cook, so the broth will taste better. Since I used cooked shrimps, I added those at the end.

The soup and noodle should be done after 10-15 minutes. Serve hot. Garnish with green onion and cilantro. 

Bon appetit!!!!

This was Duy's bowl.

This was mine!

Thank you for reading and following <3 Have a great week!

[makingfoodisappear]

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE INANIMATE OBJECT?

You.

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How are babies made?

Babies come from a bottle of soda pop.

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Creamy Dream

Hi all!

Thank you for all the positive feedback for the Stuffed Mushroom recipe. I hope you all will get to make it and let me know how you like the dish. I went to Safeway the other day and bought a pack of Henry Weinhard's Orange Cream. Instead of drinking soda pop the normal way, Schmoo decided to spice it up and take it to a whole new different level of awesomeness (like he always does).

What you need to have a Creamy Dream:

Whole milk

Henry Weinhard's Orange Cream

Ice cubes

Malibu Rum (optional if you're still underage)

Mint (optional)

Lemon for garnish

And a blender.

One bottle of Orange Cream should be enough for 2 people.

Add 1/3 cup of whole milk in the blender. Add 1/2 bottle of Orange Cream and 1/4 cup of Malibu Rum with the milk.  Throw in some ice cubes. Use tiny bit of minced mint if you want to. I'm now just in love with mint.

Blend everything for about 10 seconds.

Pour it in a glass, then you have delicious Creamy Dream.

You can change the ratio of milk and Orange Cream depending on your personal taste.

This drink is not too sweet, but it's rich and creamy. Think root beer float, but orange-y and much classier.

This is it. I hope Creamy Dream will spice up the usual Monday blues!

The same drink, but I used different amount of milk and soda pop.

Sorry for the bad photos too. I live in a tiny studio that doesn't have natural light at all.

[makingfoodisappear]

Stuffed Mushrooms

My friends invited Schmoo and me to dinner last night. While wandering around the store, I saw the store-made stuffed mushrooms and wanted to get one, but it was so expensive. We decided to make stuffed mushrooms at home instead of buying. The dish turned out to be really good and tasty. The preparation work might take a bit long, but it's rewarding :) Plus, this is a special recipe from Schmoo, I guarantee it will be much better than the stuffed mushrooms in fancy restaurants. It's healthier too. 

Ingredients you'll need to make 18 stuffed mushrooms:

18 button mushrooms.

3/4 lbs ground pork.

1 garlic clove, minced.

3 small carrots (not the baby carrot, but the tiny ones), minced.

1/4 cup minced parsley leaves.

1/4 cup chopped green onions.

1 egg yolk.

2 tomatillos, minced.

2-3 dried shiitake mushroom. This will add crunchy texture to the meat. Soak those in warm water until soften, chopped.

Dried vermicelli. I only used a little bit of the package. Soak it in warm water for 15'. Or you can put it all in a bowl, pour water in, and microwave for 3 minutes.

Soy sauce, sugar, ground black pepper to taste.

X.O soy sauce, rice vinegar, and corn starch for dipping sauce.

Here's how you stuff the mushrooms:

Wash those white buttons carefully. Let them dry.

Mix all the ingredients above with ground pork. Season the pork with sugar, soy sauce, and ground black pepper. Let it rest for 15' or a bit more.

In the meantime, take the stem out of the mushroom.

Stuff the mushroom with pork. Don't stuff too much meat in one mushroom because it won't be cooked evenly.

When finish, bake the mushroom for 15'. Be sure to drizzle olive oil on the mushroom and the pan, so they won't stick.

While waiting for the stuffed buttons, let's make the sauce.

Mix 2 cups of X.O soy sauce with 1/4 of cups rice vinegar in a pot. Add sugar. Heat it up. Mix 1 tbs corn starch with 1/2 cups of warm water. When the bubbles pop up, add the corn starch in and wait until the mixture gets thick. Done.

The mushroom should be done by now. Let's rescue them from the heat!

My friend put the Frito in the middle just for decoration purpose :P

Drizzle the sauce we made from X.O sauce and vinegar on top. Tada! The stuffed mushroom is done.

Bon appetit, everyone!

[makingfoodisappear]

Braised Fish in Clay Pot - Cá Cơm Kho Tộ

Yesterday was another cold and rainy Saturday. Schmoo and I were both craving for something Vietnamese and spicy. Luckily, I still had some frozen fish in the freezer, so why not braised fish? It's savory, spicy, and a bit sweet on the side plus jasmine  rice that will make an awesome simple dish. Different regions have different ways to make braised fish, I'll stick with the Southern style.The braised dish also goes well with porridge.You don't need to have a clay pot to cook, use a regular pot will work just fine. And here's how I make the delicious braised fish.

Ingredients:

Fish sauce

Chillies (substitute with minced ginger if you can't handle the heat)

Fish (you can use various kind of fish, but catfish would be the best. I used the tiny fish that looks like anchovies)

Sliced green onions

Sugar

Ground black pepper

Minced garlic

Cooking oil

Caramel sauce (you can either make the sauce or buy one at any Asian markets in your area)

How to make caramel sauce:

1 cup of sugar

1/4 cup of hot water

1/4 cup of cold water

Heat the sugar and cold water in a small pot, do not stir.

Lower the heat after boiling and leave it for 10 or 15 minutes.

When the mixture becomes a thick brown liquid,remove the pot from the stove, and slowly add hot water.

Heat it up again on high and stir until it gets thicker like syrup. Add a bit of lime juice if wanted.

Remove from the stove, and let it cool. You can save it in a jar for later use.

How to make braised fish:

Wash the fish. Let it dry. Marinate with ground pepper, 2 tbsp of fish sauce, sliced chillies (or ginger), garlic, sugar, and caramel sauce. Leave it for an hour.

Add cooking oil to the pot, heat it up, and add garlic.

Add the fish and quickly fry for 1-2 minutes.

Add some water, green onions and caramel sauce. Leave the pot on high heat for 10 minutes.

Put the lid back on. Lower the heat to medium. Wait until it's cooked for about 30-45 minutes.

Cook jasmine rice and wait until it's done!

This is my finished product.

Serve with jasmine rice.

Enjoy! :)

[makingfoodisappear]

Stir Fry Mushroom

I love mushroom. It is one of the ingredients that I always have to get when go shopping for food. Why? Because mushroom is delicious and so awesomeee! It is a good source of selenium, Vitamin B6, Vitamin D, dietary fiber, very low calorie, low fat, low cholesterol, potassium, riboflavin, and many more. Selenium does help a lot in lowering the risk of prostate cancer, while potassium regulates blood pressure. Shiitake mushroom (aka nấm mèo) improves your immune system and helps fight infection. 

I made stir fry mushroom for people who don't eat meat last night. It was yummy and very easy to make, so I'll show you how to create a quick, simple and healthy dish.

Before starting, I just want to let you know that I don't usually use measuring cups/ spoons. Vietnamese people don't use measuring cups/ spoons [I'm quite sure about this]. A good tip is to taste before adding more salt or sugar. If you think it tastes good, it's good.

Ok, so what we need for the dish is:

Mushroom! - I used three different types of mushroom: Shiitake, white button mushroom, and the skinny long mushroom that I don't know its English name [but I add the photo below]

photo credit: nam tuoi viet nam.

Cooking oil - I used extra virgin olive oil.

Sugar

Salt

Green onion

Oyster sauce or corn starch [optional]

Garlic

Got everything you need? Ready, set, go.

Wash dirt off the mushroom and green onion carefully. Wash your hands too.

Cut the mushroom into small pieces, bite size is good, don't chop. Chop the garlic and green onion.

Heat the cooking oil in a wok or pan.

Add garlic and green onion, stir fry until it smells good.

Add the mushroom, wait for 5 minutes, then add a little bit of salt and sugar. Stir fry until it's all cooked, turned golden, and softened.

Add a little bit of oyster sauce if you want some extra flavor. If not, corn starch is fine. Dissolve corn starch in water and add 1 or 2 spoon in the mushroom.

Wait for 10 or 15 minutes, and it's done!

What's next?

Serve with a small bowl of Jasmine rice and eat!

It should not take more than half an hour for preparing and cooking this dish. I hope you like it. Have a great Saturday!

P.S: Sorry I forgot to take photo last night :(

[makingfoodisappear]

Hello there!

I created this blog mainly out of boredom. I'm neither a chef nor a nutritionist, but I love food and I like to cook. After a small talk with my boyfriend last night, I just thought I should create a new food blog. Here are the reasons why:

Share the love for food.

Help my friends improve their meals quality (mine too).

Promote Vietnamese cuisine that is underrated in my opinion.

Improve my writing skill since it is not very good, and I want to be a multimedia reporter.

Learn how to cook good & healthy food. Yeah, I'm still learning because I just started to cook recently.

I mostly create my own food without recipe. When I want to make it again, I don't remember anything... so I'll post my stuff here.

Well, this is it. I have to go eat my dorayaki now. Have fun reading & eating.

Bye!