Chuc Mung Nam Moi! (Year of the Dragon)

Chúc Mừng Năm Mới (Happy New Year!)! For Vietnamese and many Asian people, tomorrow will be Tết, the beginning of the Year of the Dragon.

If you'd like to celebrate, here are a few Asian dishes I cooked and shared on the website throughout the year. The weather isn't that great in the Bay Area, so I probably won't step outside (i still haven't lost the baby weight so I don't think I would fit in an ao dai -traditional Vietnamese dress). I hope this year brings you a lot of joyful moments, good health and of course great food!

Full Recipe...

Tau Hu Chung: Vietnamese Vegetarian Pate Recipe

Tàu hũ chưng is one of the many vegetarian equivalents you can find to Vietnamese meat dishes. As I mentioned last week, Tết is coming soon (January 23rd), and you're supposed to eat vegetarian for the days just before and after the Asian New Year. Usually, I would make mắm chưng thịt (Vietnamese-style meatloaf). This dish is similar, using ingredients such as mushrooms, bean thread noodles and cilantro, but paired with mashed tofu.

The mixture is first steamed, then baked for a few minutes in the oven so the top is slightly golden and dried out. It's almost like a tofu pâté that can be enjoyed with rice and a bowl of canh (soup) on the side.

Full Recipe...

Happy New Lunar Year! (Year of the Cat)

Chúc Mừng Năm Mới (Happy New Year!)! For Vietnamese, today is the first day of the Year of the Cat (Mèo), which is the "rabbit" in the Chinese zodiac.

If you're wondering what the plant is, it's cherry blossom flowers. It's decorated with red envelopes that contain "lucky money", called lì xì. The first morning of the New Year is a celebration (Tết) where adults congratulate children on becoming a year older by giving them these lì xì. We also decorated the house with a lot of red color, which is a sign of happiness. We cooked quite a few vegetarian Vietnamese dishes to observe the tradition of eating vegetarian food (ăn chay) on the last day of the previous year and first day of New Year.

Finally, if you want to get in on the festivities, I’ve collected a list of some of my favorite dishes for Tết for you to try. Enjoy!

 

 

Full Recipe...

Pho: the Vietnamese Restaurant in Las Vegas

Phở is synonymous with Vietnamese food, and with the upcoming Tết (Vietnamese Lunar New Year), I thought I’d share with you my impressions about “Pho”, the only Vietnamese restaurant on the Las Vegas Strip. What is phở (pronounced "fuh" like the beginning of the word "fudge"), you ask? I know I'm biased, but I think phở is the best street food in the world. It a beef broth soup served with rice noodles and tender, thin pieces of flank steak flavored with traditional Vietnamese spices.




Full Recipe...

Happy Valentine and Vietnamese New Year 2010!

Today is Valentine's Day and Tết (the Vietnamese New Year)! First, I want to tell my husband Lulu how much I love him. We've known each other for more than 10 years now, married for 5 and I look forward to spending more years of blissful happiness with the love of my life. Joyeuse Saint-Valentin mon coeur!



Full Recipe...