Bánh Mì

Last month, when my husband and I traveled back to Asia, we spent a good chunk of our journey in Vietnam. Vietnam is a stunningly beautiful country with scenic mountains and beaches, but our main objective was to sample the food. Traveling to such a far-off place where I can’t speak the language can be intimidating, but we were fortunate to have help from our chef friend Owen, who spends half the year managing a kitchen in the midcoast and the other half working in restaurants in Hanoi. So with his meticulously written itinerary, we set out to find his favorite restaurants and food stands from Hanoi to Da Nang. We were not disappointed! 

(Streets of Hanoi)

Vietnam has an incredibly rich culture with a long history of colonization that’s most visible in the country’s extraordinary French-style architecture as well as its cuisine. While it’s not as glamorous as sitting in a cafe in Paris, sitting and sweating on little plastic stools next to heavy Hanoi traffic in the humid 100-degree weather while eating the iconic Vietnamese sandwich (aka bánh mì) is, oddly enough, an extremely pleasurable experience. 

 (Bánh Mìat Bánh Mì 25 in Hanoi)

And in many ways, the Bánh Mì is a reflection of Vietnam’s complex cultural history — Chinese barbecue wrapped in a French baguette and piling it up with their own fresh ingredients. This is the first installment of my recipe series on how to make Vietnamese street food with local Maine ingredients.

Ingredients: 

(Serves 4 to 5 people)

For the BBQ pork:

1 lb. pork tenderloin 

2 tsp. minced ginger

1 garlic clove, minced

2 Tbsp. honey

4 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 Tbsp. oyster sauce 

¹⁄₄ tsp. black pepper

¹⁄₄ tsp. Chinese five spice 

1 Tbsp. red yeast rice (optional)

For the pickle:

2 carrots

1 kohlrabi 

1¹⁄₄ tsp. salt

3 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar

1 tsp. sugar

For the sweet mayonnaise: 

3 Tbsp. mayonnaise 

1 Tbsp. honey

1 Tbsp. olive oil 

Toppings:

4 to 5 French baguette rolls

2 cucumbers 

2 scallions

1 jalapeño pepper

handful of cilantro

¹⁄₂ cup chicken liver pate

Directions:

To make a classic barbecue pork Bánh Mì, the barbecue marinade is very important. But luckily it’s really easy. I did not realize that the barbecue pork is actually a Vietnamese version of a Chinese char siu pork. Char siu pork is usually a bright pink color, traditionally dyed with red yeast rice, which is what I’m using in this recipe. While you can find red yeast rice at most Chinese grocery stores, it doesn’t add much flavor, so you can skip this step if you don’t have it. Most Chinese restaurants now use red food coloring to get the pink color anyway. 

To marinate the pork, mix all of the ingredients and cover. Let it marinate over night. 

Once the pork has marinated, roll it up and wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. Double the wrap and secure it with butcher’s twine or an elastic band.

Now steam the pork for an hour. If your pork is bigger, you’ll need to steam it for longer. Once the pork is cooked, keep it in the plastic wrap and chill it in the refrigerator for at least three hours.

Meanwhile, prepare the pickles. Cut the carrots and kohlrabi into thin sticks. Toss them in a teaspoon of salt and let them sit for 30 minutes.  This will allow the carrots and kohlrabi to sweat out some water and make the pickles nice and crunchy. Traditionally the pickles are made with carrots and green papaya, but since green papayas are hard to get around here, I’ve found that kohlrabi makes a great substitute as it tastes really similar and has the same texture. 

After 30 minutes, rinse and drain the carrots and kohlrabi sticks and mix in the remaining ingredients. You may add in a few dried chili flakes to add some heat. Keep it in the refrigerator until you need to use it. 

One of the condiments in Bánh Mì is Vietnamese-style French mayonnaise. If you’ve tasted Asian mayonnaise before, you’ve probably noticed that it’s a lot lighter and sweeter than the mayonnaise here. You can find Asian mayonnaise in most Asian grocery stores or you can take regular mayonnaise and make it taste like Asian mayonnaise by whisking in honey and olive oil. 

Once the pork is chilled, unwrap it and slice it thinly.

Vietnamese baguettes are a little different from the classic French baguette. They have a unique, chewy texture and are a little less crusty. I’ll be sharing my Vietnamese baguette recipe in the column next time. 
   
To assemble, prepare fresh cucumber, jalapeños, scallions and cilantro along with the pork, pickles, mayonnaise and liver paté. Make sure to use a plain paté without any herbs in it. Vietnamese paté is made with chicken liver and minced pork and I will be sharing my recipe for it in the next few weeks, as well. 

Watching the Bánh Mì stand assembling the sandwich was one of my favorite part of buying the sandwich.

 (Bánh Mì stand in Hoi An)

Smear the sweet mayonnaise on one side of the bun and the paté on the other side.

 

Stuff the roll with all of the remaining ingredients and top it off with your favorite hot sauce. 

Maneuljjong bokkeum (Stir fried garlic scapes)

If you have planted garlic in your garden, then this is probably the time of year you harvest garlic scapes and make pesto out of them. If you are looking for more creative ways to use up your scapes, I have a really simple and delicious Korean garlic scape stir-fry recipe to share with you this week. For many of us who love Korean food, the best part is the tasty banchan (side dishes) that come with the meal. Maneuljjong is a pretty common banchan when you go to a Korean restaurant and is often made at home during the summer when the scapes are in season. Not only is it a great side dish for a summer meal, but it’s also easy to make.

Ingredients:25 garlic scapes
2 Tbsp. olive oil
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
3 Tbsp. water
1¹⁄₂ tsp. honey
1 tsp. sesame oil
¹⁄₄ tsp. sesame seeds for garnish

Directions:
Separate the stems and the scapes. Cut the scapes in half so they will cook evenly.

On medium-high heat, stir-fry the scapes with olive oil for two minutes until they are soft and translucent. 

 Now add in the stems and cook for another minute. 

Stir in the soy sauce, honey and water and turn the heat down to medium-low. Let it cook for two to three minutes until the liquid cooks down.

Remove from the heat and drizzle in the sesame oil. Garnish it with some sesame seeds and hot pepper flakes if you like a little heat.

These can be served both hot or cold, makes a great addition for a summer meal.

Filipino BBQ Chicken

Southeast Asia is well-known for having some of the most delicious dishes due to the region’s diverse cultural influences as well as its broad array of tropical fruits and vegetables and fragrant spices. But up until recently Filipino cuisine was ignored, despite the fact that Filipino-Americans are America’s second largest Asian ethnic group behind Chinese. Filipinos, who are sometimes called the Latinos of Asia, have a rich culinary history influenced by Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Spanish and American cuisine. I was first introduced to Filipino food while living in Taipei. Every Sunday afternoon my husband and I would head down to a little neighborhood known as “Little Manila” to hang out with our Filipino migrant worker friends in the park behind the Catholic church. Most of the men were factory workers, while the women were usually maids, nannies and caregivers. Many of them worked long hours under difficult working conditions, but they would really let loose on their one day off a week.

Even though they didn’t have much money, our Filipino friends always brought a huge amount of food and drinks to share, which I’ve often tried to make myself. Many Filipino dishes are made with a few simple ingredients but are packed full of flavors.

Summer is the perfect time to share with you this oh-so-simple Filipino-style barbecue chicken.
 

You will need:

(serves 4 to 5 people)

Ingredients:

8 to 10 chicken thighs, with bone and skin

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 scallions, chopped

the juice of 1 lime

1 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar

¹⁄₂ tsp. black pepper

¹⁄₄ tsp. white pepper

1¹⁄₂ cup Sprite

¹⁄₂ cup soy sauce

¹⁄₂ cup ketchup

chopped scallions and lime wedges for garnish 

 

Directions:

Start by cleaning the chicken thighs and then butterfly them, leaving the bone and skin on. This will help ensure that the meat cooks evenly. You may use the boneless chicken thighs that are already butterflied, but I do think the bone and skin give it more flavor.

Mix everything in a Tupperware container or ziplock bag along with the chicken thighs. Then add the Sprite to the marinade. Although it may seem like a weird ingredient, the Sprite not only sweetens the bbq but, most importantly, it helps to break down the protein in the meat and tenderizes it while making the meat extra juicy when it’s cooked. Let the meat marinate for 8 hours to overnight in the refrigerator.

Once the meat has been marinated, it’s ready to go on the grill. Grill the chicken thighs on high heat with skin side down for five to six minutes. Then turn it over and let it cook for another five minutes until both sides are golden brown. Note: time may vary depending on the size of the meat.

Sprinkle some chopped scallions and lime juice over the cooked barbecue chicken.

Share this easy and delicious meal with your family and friends

Check out Korean BBQ recipe at http://thewayriceshouldbe.blogspot.com/2015/10/bulgogi-korean-bbq.html

Zhong Zhi ( Celebrating The Dragon Boat Festival)

Growing up in South Africa and being the only Asian kid in class wasn’t always easy, particularly when it came to meal time. My Korean mom always lovingly packed a little tin box with her delicious Korean and Chinese lunches, but I always dreaded opening it because inevitably one of the kids would lean over my shoulder, peer at whatever exotic item I had and ask snidely, “What are you eating?!” 

The most embarrassing food she packed was zhongzi, a savory rice dumpling wrapped in bamboo leaves. Although it’s delicious, it also probably looked pretty bizarre to the other students. I so envied the white kids with their little sandwiches with the crusts cut off. And one year, to avoid being made fun of, I actually told my mom that I wasn’t hungry and didn’t want lunch. 
Surprisingly, she agreed to stop packing me a lunch, but when lunchtime came I could feel my stomach growling and began to think about my zhongzi at home. Then one day, a little girl named Abigail noticed I was hungry and started sharing her Vegimite sandwich with me for lunch. Then one day my older brother caught me eating the sandwich and accused me of lying to my mom. After he told on me, my mom called me over and said, “That’s so nice of Abigail, why don’t you bring her a zhongzi tomorrow for lunch?” 


The Dragon Boat Festival, which fell on June 9 this year, is one of the biggest holidays in the Chinese diaspora. The festival commemorates the death of the poet and government minister Qu Yuan, who lived from 340 to 278 BC during the Warring State period of the Zhou Dynasty. According to conventional history, when the Zhou king allied with the Qin state, Qu was banished to exile for opposing the alliance. Out of deep sorrow, the patriotic poet drowned himself in the Milou River. 

It was said that the people of Zhou raced out on the river in boats to find Qu's body, thus the tradition of dragon boast race was born. When they couldn't find Qu's body, they wanted him to rest in peace so the villages came together and made rice dumplings wrapped inside bamboo leaves to feed the fish in the river in order to prevent the fish to eat Qu's body. which is where the tradition of eating Zhong Zi came from. Other tales tells the Qu killed himself after his love was rejected by the the king. Whatever the real story was, The tradition of racing dragon boat and eating zhongzi are still practiced till this day and makes the Drago Boat Festival the Third biggest Chinese holiday in Asia.

Zhongzi come in different varieties but are traditionally made with glutinous rice, dried shrimp, five spice, pork belly, peanuts and cured egg yolks. There’s also a dessert version which is either made with sweet glutinous rice or tapioca with bean or fruit filling. Most people don’t make their own zhongzi anymore as it’s more convenient to buy them freshly made at the wet market. 

However, my mother has always made her own zhongzi and while it’s not the most traditional kind, it’s the most delicious zhongzi in my opinion. So this week I’d like to share with you my mother’s zhongzi recipe to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival.

Ingredients:
Directions:
You may also skip this step and just mix the pork, eggs and mushrooms in the rice. Although it would not be considered a zhongzi, it is just as delicious this way. But I do highly recommend wrapping it up in the bamboo leaves because the leaves give the rice a unique fragrance after it’s steamed. Zhongzi are often served with hot sauce. You can keep them in the refrigerator for two weeks or in the freezer up to three months. They heat up nicely in the microwave. 

(Makes 8 to 10 zhongzi)

For the braised pork:

¹⁄₂ lb. pork shoulder

³⁄₄ cup dark soy sauce

3 cups water

8 to 10 shiitake mushrooms

1 Tbsp. raw sugar

3 star anise

¹⁄₄ tsp. five spice

1 tsp. olive oil

4 to 5 hard-boiled eggs

For the rice:

2¹⁄₂ cups short-grain white rice

¹⁄₃ cup olive oil

1 cup shallots

5¹⁄₂ cup water

20 bamboo leaves (available at Asian grocery stores)

Start by cutting up the pork into one- to two-inch chunks and soak the mushrooms in warm water for five minutes. In a non-stick skillet on high heat sear the pork with olive oil for two minutes until it’s golden brown. Mix in the soy sauce and sugar and cook for another 30 seconds.

Now transfer the pork into a deep pot. Add in the mushrooms, hard-boiled eggs, star anise, five spice and water. Bring it to a boil and then turn it down to low heat. Let it cook for two hours. 

For the rice, cut shallots into small dices. Then on medium high heat, stir-fry them in ¹⁄₃ cup olive oil for two minutes until they are golden brown. 

Stir in the rice and let it cook for 1 minute.Then add in 5¹⁄₂ cups water, turn heat down to medium low, keep stirring until most of the water is reduced. This will take 10 to 12 minutes. Then turn the heat down to low, cover it up and let it cook for another 10 minutes. Once the rice is cooked, set it aside until the braised pork is ready.  

After two hours, the pork should be very tender. Ladle ²⁄₃ cup of the braised juice into the rice and mix to combine. 

Now for the assembling. Wash and soak the bamboo leaves for at least ten minutes. Stack two bamboo leaves on top of each other, fold the two ends together to create a cone, then stuff the rice, egg, pork and mushrooms into the leaves. Cover the rice up with the excess leaf, then tie up the zhongzi with butcher twine. Steam the zhongzi for ten minutes on high heat.

Enjoy!

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