Vietnamese Recipes - MyChan Nguyen

An exchange of culture cannot be complete without knowing and tasting the foods their people eat and enjoy. Vietnam, though located in the South East Asia and influenced somewhat by the surrounding cultures like those of China and India, is very rich in foods of unique taste and markedly high nutritional values, be it fine cuisine, daily courses or desserts. In an attempt to introduce Vietnamese foods to the world, we are venturing to include on this page some common recipes, which we think are fairly easy for foreigners and Vietnamese natives alike to use and hopefully to give a pleasant variety to their meals once in a while.
Two things are worth mentioning here for our website visitor: First, we are not a professional cook. The recipes presented below may originate simply from daily authentic Vietnamese tables, from some cookbooks or websites we have run across whose sources will be detailed and acknowledged. Second, though bearing the same name, a Vietnamese dish may vary in taste, cooking / serving methods and presentation, according to geographical regions - notably North, South and Central. Therefore, you should not be surprised to invite a Vietnamese friend of yours over to show you are the proud cook of, say, Vietnamese Pho (a special beef soup with noodle) and have him or her tell you that you are missing such and such an ingredient.
Before leaving you with the recipe for the month, we wish you good luck and hope you enjoy your Vietnamese dishes / meals. Your ideas, comments or questions would be greatly appreciated and may be sent to us via our email address at the bottom of this page or when you go back to my home page.

2 medium onions, sliced paper-thin
2 large onions, unpeeled and halved
5 lbs of beef bones with marrow
3 shallots, unpeeled
freshly ground black pepper
2 oz fresh ginger root, unpeeled
8 star anise
1 2-inch cinnamon stick
1/4 cup of hot chili sauce
2 fresh chili peppers
1/2 cup of Vietnamese fish sauce (Nuoc Mam)
5 lbs of ox tails
2 lbs of short rib plate
1 lb of beef sirloin
2 lbs of flank steak
Vietnamese fresh noodle or noodle sticks, if fresh noodle is not available
1 lb of fresh bean sprouts
2 medium parsnips, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 limes, cut into wedges
1 bunch of fresh mint
1 bunch of fresh Asian basil
2 tsp of salt
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 tsp of shredded coriander

Place ox tails, beef bones and short rib plates into a large stock pot
Add water to cover and bring to a boil
Cook for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse the pot and the bones
Return the bones to the pot, add 6 quarts of water and bring to a boil
Skim the surface to remove all rising foam and fat. Repeat until the stock is clear
Turn the heat to low and simmer
Char the clove-studded onions, shallots and ginger directly over a gas burner or under a broiler until their fragrance is released
Wrap the charred spice in a cheesecloth. This prevents your broth from their impurities. Add your wrap, star anise and cinnamon stick to the simmering broth
Simmer the stock for 3 to 4 hour with the pot uncovered.
Slice the beef sirloin paper-thin, roughly 2 by 2 inches in size
Slice the short rib meat, removed from the pot.
In a small bowl, place sliced scallions, coriander and half of the sliced onions. The rest of the sliced onions can be put in another bowl and stir in hot chili sauce. Blend well.
In a second large pot, add 3 quarts of water and rice noodle sticks. Bring to a boil for 20 minutes. Then, drain and rinse with cool drinkable water the noodle to prevent it from staying sticky.
When the broth is ready, remove the bones and drain the large stock pot through a strainer or colander with a double layer of cheesecloth into a clean pot.
Add fish sauce and bring to a boil again. Reduce the heat and keep the broth at a bare simmer
Into 4 soup bowls place the boiled and drained noodle as needed. Top each of them with sliced meat.
Ladle the boiling broth directly over the raw sliced meat, which will be cooked instantly by the boiling broth as long as the slices are paper-thin.
Garnish with the scallion mixture, freshly ground black pepper, the chili sauce with onions as desired.
Enjoy the soup!