Bun Thit Nuong (Vietnamese Vermicelli)

My recent obsession has been Vietnamese Vermicelli with grilled pork, or Bun Thit Nuong. I was first introduced to this dish by a co-worker within the last year. Actually, I had my first try of this dish a few years ago when I decided to become adventurous at a local Vietnamese restaurant. Rather than ordering my usual Pho, I decided to give a dry noodle a taste. When I did, it really was a dry noodle. It wasn't bad. It was just that nothing stood out of the dish. Who eats just salad with noodles?! So I never ordered it again on my own.

Then one day, a few co-workers and I went out to lunch. We decided to share plates so we could try different dishes. One of my co-workers ordered the Bun. She poured all the sauce on top of the dish and mixed the whole salad up. She equally plated the noodle salad dish on each or our plates and then I took my first bite from a real Bun Thit Nuong. It was love at first bite. I realized that you don't just dip the meat in the sauce. The sauce was the dressing! DUH!!! lol. The sauce, better known as Nuoc Cham, made a whole difference in the world as I knew it. Aside from getting its flavor from the grilled pork, the sauce made the dish. From that day on, whenever there was Bun on the menu, its the only thing I order. Its a large bowl of lettuce and rice noodles with all kinds of different toppings - pickled carrots and daikon, sliced cucumbers, cilantro, bean sprouts, fried onions, crushed peanuts, and grilled meat. Its so filling, but so light. And I just love it.

This recipe is actually a shortcut recipe, in that I used a prepared grilled pork, a Filipino delicacy called Tocino. It has the same flavor as the grilled pork they put at the restaurant we went to. For the pickled Carrot and Daikon, I used this recipe from Hungry Huy. However, I have since been eliminating the daikon altogether. If you aren't familiar with a daikon, please be warned that though its supper yummy, it releases a very foul odor that lasts in the kitchen for a very long time. The Nuoc cham was made using this recipe from gas.stron.o.my. This dish came out just as good as the restaurant's. I was so excited, because now I can have Bun anytime I want. Maybe one day, I'll make the grilled pork from scratch. But to get a quick fix, I'll stick with the prepared tocino. For now.

chopped lettuce
cooked vermicelli/rice noodles
prepared grilled pork or Filipino tocino
cilantro leaves
cucumbers, julienned
bean sprouts
fried onions
crushed peanuts
pickled daikon & carrots (recipe below)
Nuoc cham (dressing recipe below)

1) Layer the bottom of a large serving bowl with chopped lettuce. Top with cooked vermicelli noodles.

2) Arrange the remaining ingredients in a nice pattern, except the nuoc cham, on top of the noodles.  When ready to eat, pour nuoc cham on top of the noodle salad and toss until evenly coated. Enjoy!

For the pickled daikon & carrots 
1/2 lb. daikon radish
1/2 lb. carrots
1 Tbsp. salt
1/2 cup hot water to dissolve 5 Tbsp. sugar
1 cup water
4 Tbsp. distilled white vinegar

(note: Daikon radish emits a very foul odor, but tastes so yummy. If the odor really bothers you, you can totally eliminate the daikon radish and double up on the carrots)

1) Julienne the carrots and daikon (you can use your food processor for your convenience). Sprinkle salt and toss well. Allow to sit for 15 minutes.

2) Rinse the carrots and daikon well, and squeeze out excess moisture. Dry and add in mason jars.

3) Dissolve sugar in hot water. Combine with the remaining water and vinegar. Pour on top of the vegetables until completely covered. Seal and store at room temperature until pickled to your taste, about 12-24 hours. Refrigerate up to 3 weeks until ready to use.

For the Nuoc cham
4 large garlic cloves, finely minced
2 Thai red chilies, finely minced (or 1 tsp. red chili flakes)
1 can coconut water (or 1 1/2 cup water)
6 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1/2 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1) In a medium bowl, combine coconut water (or regular water) with the sugar. Whisk until sugar completely dissolves.

2) Add fish sauce, garlic, chilies and stir until combined. Add lime juice and stir.

3) Check for taste and add more sugar, fish sauce, or lime juice as needed. Store in an air tight container and refrigerate for up to 4 months.

Panzanella

I was reading up on the news on Yahoo one day and came across this recipe for Panzanella. I've always seen Panzanella being made on cooking shows or featured in a restaurant on TV, but I've never had it. I always loved the croutons in my salads, so I imagined it was like eating a bowl full of croutons.  So I decided to give it a try. Let me tell you that its even better than eating a bowl full of croutons. Its fresh and light and tangy and so full of flavor. Hubby and I thoroughly enjoyed it that we ate huge bowl fulls of it as a main course. This is my new favorite salad.

Lemon Garlic Vinaigrette
2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
6 anchovies, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1) Combine all the ingredients, except olive oil, in a bowl. Allow to sit for 15 minutes for the flavors to infuse.

2) While whisking, slowly add olive oil in a steady stream until fully incorporated. Set aside.

Salad
1 loaf of day-old french bread, torn in large pieces
2 lbs. tomato, large diced
1/2 cup red onion (or any sweet onion), sliced thin
2 medium cucumbers, large diced
1 cup packed fresh basil leaves, torn in large pieces

1) To assemble the salad, place all salad ingredients in the a large bowl. Pour vinaigrette over the salad and toss to coat. Allow to sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes for the flavors to meld. Or if you like your bread to have a bite, you can eat the salad right away.

Homemade Thousand Island Dressing

I was watching The Best Thing I ever made on the Food Network a few days ago and Adam Gertler made a Reuben Dog. Oh-Em-Gee did it look good. Unfortunately, making the hot dog looked pretty complicated. But I so wanted to eat something like that. It consisted of a pastrami flavored hot dog, topped with Gruyere cheese, thousand island dressing, and coleslaw. Doesn't that sound yummy?

For dinner the other day, I wanted to somehow recreate that yummy dog. So I picked up a few links of Bratwursts and Gruyere cheese at a local German deli, made my own coleslaw, and then decided to make Thousand Island Dressing from scratch modifying this recipe from cooks.com. Man-oh-man. I'm not sure what Adam's Reuben Dog tasted like, but this is one of the best dogs I've ever had. So delish! The thousand island dressing really tied everything together. yummy!

1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 sweet pickle relish
1 hard boiled egg

1) In a medium bowl, add mayonnaise, ketchup and relish. Grate hard boiled egg through a sieve over the the mixture. Stir until well combined. Chill before use.

Fruit Salad

As with previous New Years, one of the traditions in our household is to have a display of a large fruit basket on the dining table when the New Year rolls in. The fruit basket must consist of 7 pieces of 13 different fruits to help for a bountiful year.  That  being said, I always end up with a lot of fruits that need to be consumed, or else they get thrown in the trash. Every December 31st, my dad and I go to a special market that sells a large variety of different fruits. However, being that its winter, some of the fruits aren't as sweet as they would be whenever they are at their peak season. So some of the fruits end up in the trash anyway because they don't taste good. Whatever fruit that doesn't get thrown away is brought to work to share among co-workers.

Last year, I decided to start making fruit salad out of all the fruits we end up with on January 1st. This idea came from a co-worker of mine who always brings fruit salad to work potlucks. We all asked her how she made it and she told us that it was nothing more than just adding shredded coconut and chopped walnuts to any chopped fruits you have. Simple, tasty, and healthy. Perfect.

variety of fruits, chopped in bite-sized pieces
shredded coconut
chopped walnuts, soaked in water overnight to soften
splash of lemon to prevent from any fruit from browning

1) (Note: if you use fruits, such as apples, pears, or bananas that turn brown after cutting, toss them with a few splashes of lemon juice to prevent them from oxidizing). Toss all chopped fruits in a large bowl. Sprinkle desired amount of shredded coconut and chopped walnuts and gently mix. Serve immediately.

Chicken Pasta Salad

We decided to take a family trip to Universal Studios Hollywood today, since its a 3-day weekend. Tomorrow, we decided we wanted to do a barbecue with my folks while my brother helped hubby put up some shelves in the garage. So that means all the prep work is all up to me. I decided my menu to consist of my Korean Bulgogi Beef, Grilled corn, a side salad, and turkey burgers. I found a great burger recipe I wanted to try out from Annie's Eats (more on that recipe for tomorrow's post). I also found a great side pasta salad recipe from The Nest, which I've started to frequent again.

This recipe for Chicken Pasta Salad is a twist to another chicken pasta salad that I love eating from a local restaurant. It has fresh ingredients like strawberries and grapes. I love mixing sweet with savory, which is why this recipe really caught my eye. This salad was quite refreshing. My mom loved it and decided to take some home. I'll be making this dish again.

1 1/2 cup dried pasta shells (I used a tri color spiral pasta)

3 cups chopped cooked chicken

3 cups halved seedless grapes

1 1/2 cups quartered fresh strawberries

2/3 cups bottled cucumber ranch salad dressing

a pinch of cayenne pepper

1-2 Tbsp. milk

leaf lettuce

toasted sliced almonds

1) Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain. Rinse with cold water and drain again.

2) In a large bowl, combine pasta, chicken, grapes and strawberries.

3) In a small bowl, mix together salad dressing and cayenne pepper. Pour dressing over pasta mixture. Toss gently to coat. Cover and chill for 4-24 hours.

4) When ready to serve, if pasta salad is dry, stir in enough milk to moisten. Stir in almond slices. Line serving tray with lettuce leaves and mound pasta salad on top of lettuce. Serve.

Cilantro Pepita dressing (Mexican Caesar Salad dressing)

After making my Tequila Lime Chicken and adding it to a salad, we used a store-bought Thousand Island dressing, which was all we had in the fridge. It tasted okay. But I thought to myself that a creamy cilantro dressing would go great with this salad. So after searching online for a cilantro dressing, I found this awesome recipe on CDKitchen. It turns out, this was also the recipe for El Torito's Mexican Caesar Salad dressing, which I had when we last visited there with my office. SCORE! That visit to El Torito left me with a very lasting impression. From there, I was inspired to learn how to make my Chile Verde. Now I learned to make their salad dressing.

I had to go to 2 different stores to buy all the ingredients for this dressing. They don't normally sell Pepita (or shelled Pumpkin seeds) at the grocery store, so I went to a local Mediterranean market to buy some. Going to the Mediterranean market is always an adventure for me because I find a lot of unique ingredients not normally found at the regular grocery store.

Anyway, this dressing was delicious! Very flavorful. My next conquest from the El Torito menu will probably be their sweet corn cake. We'll see how that goes. Hubby loved this one and said it was restaurant quality. So this will definitely make it on my regular rotation.

2 medium Anaheim chiles, roasted, peeled and seeded

1/3 cup roasted pumpkin seeds

2 garlic cloves, peeled

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cup oil (olive or vegetable)

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

5 Tbsp. Cotija cheese

2 small bunches of cilantro, stemmed

1 1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup water

1) In a blender or food processor, place all the ingredients except cilantro, mayonnaise and water. Blend for 10-15 seconds. Add cilantro a little at a time until blended smooth. Set aside.

2) In a stainless steel bowl, whisk together mayonnaise and water until smooth. Add the cilantro mixture into mayonnaise mixture and mix until well incorporated. Place in an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to use. Dressing will keep for about 3 days. Serve with chopped romaine lettuce, tomatoes, corn, avocado, crushed tortilla chips and crumbled cotija cheese.

Easy Coleslaw

.....as a side dish.....


1 (16 ounce) package shredded cabbage coleslaw blend
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup white vinegar
salt & pepper to taste

1) Place shredded cabbage in a bowl.

2) Combine mayonnaise, milk and sugar. Mix well. Stir in vinegar. Add salt and pepper to taste.

3) Mix dressing with the coleslaw. Refrigerate for at least an hour and serve.




(recipe adapted from recipezaar.com)