Stir-fry Shrimp and Pork Rice Noodles

Stir-fry Shrimp and Pork Rice Noodles (Serves 4-6)

16 oz package of dry flat rice noodle
2 cups bean sprouts, washed w/ tails removed
Small bunch of leek sprouts, washed
3 stalks scallions, washed
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 lb small shrimp, remove shell and de-veined
1/4 lb pork
1 large egg, beaten
Chicken bouillon powder
Ground pepper
Vegetable oil
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1-2 tsp water

1) Soak the rice noodle in water for 1 hour to soften.

2) Cut leek sprouts into 2 inch segments.

3) Cut scallions into 2 inch segments. Then turn the thicker parts of the scallion lengthwise and julienne.

4) Julienne pork into 2-3 inch slivers.

5) To make the egg omelette topping, start by heating 2-3 tsp of oil in a pan on medium to high heat. Before pouring the beaten egg mixture into the pan, add a couple of dashes of chicken bouillon powder and mix in. Then pour egg mixture into the heated pan and cook 1 minute. Then flip to the other side and cook for another minute. Make sure egg is not runny (completely cooked) before removing from heat and set aside. Julienne the omelette when cooled.

6) Finally we can start to make the actually dish. If you do not have a large wok, make this is two batches to avoid overcrowding in the pan. Start by heating 2 tsp of oil in a wok or large pan on medium to high heat. When oil is hot throw in the minced garlic and stir around for 5-10 seconds until slightly brown. Be careful not to burn the garlic. Add pork into the pan and stir around until it is brown (about a minute), then add the shrimp and stir around until the shrimp is pink.

7) Add the rice noodles, followed by the oyster sauce, soy sauce, scallions, 1/2 tsp of chicken bouillon powder and 1/2 tsp pepper. At this point, you may want to use a pair of tongs to integrate all the ingredients with the noodles in the pan. Make sure you keep moving the noodles around to avoid burning the noodles or having it stick to the pan. Do this for a minute or so.

8) Add leeks and bean sprouts to the pan last and continue to move the noodles around with the tongs for another minute or so. If you prefer your noodles less al dente, add 1-2 tbsp of water to create a steaming action to soften the noodles. Stir around for another minute and then plate. Top with the julienne egg pieces.

9) Serve with fish sauce (recipe below) and enjoy!

Fish Sauce Recipe (Nuoc Mam Cham)

4-5 tbsp sugar
4-5 tbsp fish sauce
3 medium or large cloves of garlic, minced
1 lime
1 cup water. room temperature
chili garlic sauce (if desired)

This recipe is not an exact science. Everyone makes it a little bit different based on their own taste buds. Some people like it sweeter while others may like it more tart. Start conservatively with each ingredient and add as needed.

Tip: this is not a necessary step but if you want to make sure that all the sugar granules are dissolved, you can add 2-3 tbsp of hot water to the sugar to dissolve it before adding the other ingredients.

This is the color and look you want. If you like it spicy, you can add some chili garlic paste in here. That's the sauce with chili seeds in it or you can add fresh minced red/green chili if you have that on hand.

Banh Xeo (Vietnamese Savory Crepes)

I'm going to start off this post by saying that this is not a post about the history or origins of Banh Xeo (a savory Vietnamese crepe dish). I'm not going to argue the finer points or inner workings of this dish. I'm also not an expert recipe writer and did my best to try to capture each step as accurately as I could while still trying to enjoy the moment with my mom. This is simply just a post about a dish that my mom has been preparing for our family ever since I can remember. She only makes this on special occasions when everyone is home because the prep work is a little bit extensive unless you have a lot of time on your hands, in which case, you can probably make this every day if you wanted too. I love watching my mom prepare this dish so I thought that I would share it here on my blog. This is what the final product looks like and they are delicious!

Please note that I've photographed the instructions on the back of the bag to point out that over the years my mom has painstakingly experimented, modified and perfected it to just the way we like it. I'm sure you can prepare it word-by-word based on the instructions on the back of the bag but good luck with that. Also, I'm sure you can make the flour mixture from scratch but why would you when the prepared flour is $1-$2 a bag.

Ingredients:
1 12-oz bag of prepared Banh Xeo flour (you probably will need to go to an Asian market to find this)
2 cups of steamed and mashed mung beans
2 1/2 cups of water
1/2 cup of canned coconut milk
1 egg (well-beaten)
2 lbs Fresh bean sprouts
1/2 lb Pork cut into short thin strips
3/4 lb Shrimps with shell-on, cleaned
Vegetable oil
1 tsp turmeric
1/4-1/2 cup finely chopped scallions
salt/pepper

First, pour the content of a 12-oz bag of Banh Xeo prepared flour into a large mixing bowl and mix with 2.5 cups of water (the bag instruction say 3.5 cups of water but that is too much) and 1/2 cup of coconut milk (the instruction say 1 cup but you actually don't need that much). A note about the coconut milk, the instruction says you can also use regular milk but I think the final product will taste a lot better if you use coconut milk. And when they say coconut milk, they mean the stuff you find in a can that is normally pretty thick, it's not the kind that comes in the carton that you eat with cereal. I'm sure it would turn out fine if you use the "lite" canned coconut milk instead of the full fat version.

So already in the mixing bowl is the prepared flour, water, and coconut milk. To that mixture add 1 well-beaten egg, 1 tsp vegetable oil, 1 tsp turmeric, a pinch of pepper and a handful of finely chopped scallions.

Soak 2 cups of shelled and dry mung bean in water over night and steam until soft. Then take the back of a spoon and mash it until smooth. Once smooth mix in 1/2 tsp of salt and sugar. Mixture should be a little bit sweet in the end so start out with 1/4 tsp of salt and build to ensure that the mixture does not get too salty.

Cut pork into thin strips and leave the shell on the shrimps. Add salt and pepper to both and mix well. You can add a little bit of MSG to both if you like.

Heat a skillet and add a little bit of vegetable oil and start by browning some sliced onions. Then add the pork and shrimp and brown it a bit.

Give the flour mixture (batter) a little stir and then slowly ladle some into the skillet. Remember this is a crepe so it needs to be thin but make sure you put enough into the pan to cover the entire bottom of the pan. Tilt the skillet in a circular motion to distribute the batter as you ladle to ensure a thin layer. This is kind of like making an omelet but thinner. Yeah I bet you can guess that the thinness of this dish is key. It is also important because the thinner you make it, the more crispy the edges will be and crispy is a good thing here.

Cover the pan with a lid and let it cook for about 30 seconds to one minute or until set.

Remove the lid and add a small spoonful of the mashed mung beans and some fresh bean sprout. Then fold the crepe in half right in the pan and let it cook for maybe 30 seconds more and plate.

TADA!

At our house, we eat it with some nuoc mem sauce, shredded lettuce and assorted herbs. Maybe one day I'll write down the recipe for the sauce and post on here.

On this particular day, my dad also made a Thai dessert jelly drink. I'm posting a photo because the colors looked so amazing.

Bleep My Dad Makes (aka Cherished Family Recipes) - Pork Sparerib Ragout

I think I mentioned this before but my parents are greats cooks! They must know about a hundred recipes just off the top of their heads. Needless to say, I can't get this stuff at any restaurant, if only because my parents make it slightly different by adding a little of this or that. There is just something very special about a home cooked meal and the memories that it evokes. My parents made almost every single meal I ate as a child. We rarely went out to eat and it wasn't until I left home when I first went off to college did I realized how much I loved my parents cooking. This here, is one of my and my siblings favorite dish. It is simple, delicious and comforting. I can't remember if my mom made this dish first or my dad but on this occasion, my dad made it. My mom and dad both cook a lot of dishes and this may be the first of many more recipes that I record down from them. It is nothing fancy but I adore it.

Pork Spareribs with Carrots and Potato in Tomato Sauce (can also be made with chicken meat) - this is a variation of a French Ragout (Ragu)

Ingredients:
1 cup dry pinto beans (soak for a couple of hours or overnight)
1 lb pork spareribs cut into cubes
2 tbsp oil (corn or canola)
1 tbsp chopped garlic
3 oz tomato paste
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp chicken bouillon powder
2 large carrots - sliced diagonal
2 large Yukon potatoes - quartered and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1) Boil pinto beans for 15 mins or until mostly cooked.

2) Heat oil in wok on high heat and saute garlic for 15 seconds.

3) Put in pork spareribs and saute for a few seconds. Add tomato paste, oyster sauce, beans along with 1 cup of water that bean was boiled in, pepper and chicken bouillon.

4) Cover wok and turn down heat to medium-low for 20-25 minutes or until beans are tender.

5) Add carrots and potatoes and cooked covered for another 20-25 minutes. Serve over rice.

Note: Dad says that if you are using frozen pork spareribs from the freezer that you should boil on medium high heat for a few minutes until meat is no longer red. Then rinse in water to get rid of the boiling residue. This step is not needed if the meat is not frozen or is purchased on the same day.