Vietnamese Dumplings

The feast of Vietnamese food continues!  This is the last recipe Mai taught me before she went back to her country.  I have to say that this recipe is my favorite!  I love dumplings and I love learning how each country makes their own version of dumplings unique.

Here are the ingredients for Vietnamese dumplings:

1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound shrimp, peeled and deviened
1 1/2 teaspoon MSG
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 shallot
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 cup chopped bamboo shoots
Handful of cilantro - chopped
1 tablespoon chopped ginger, fresh
Won Ton wrappers

To the pork add 1 teaspoon MSG, salt, pepper and 1 tablespoon cornstarch.  Mix well.  Add 1 tablespoon soy sauce and 1 tablespoon sesame oil.  Mix again.

To the shrimp add 1/2 teaspoon MSG, salt, pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch. Mix well.

Put the pork in your food processor.  Pulse several times before adding the shrimp mixture.  Pulse several more times until the mixture resembles tuna salad-more like a paste with small hunks.

Remove from the food processor and put ingredients into a bowl.  Add chopped bamboo shoots, chopped cilantro, and ginger.  Mix by hand.

Add the ingredients to the Won Ton wrappers and pinch together into a dumpling.  Mai didn't have a set way to do this so we just had fun with it!

Steam the dumplings for several minutes.  Use soy sauce for dipping.

Mai mentioned that her family does not use the pre-made wrappers.  They use Ha Cao Flour to make their own dough.  I wish we had taken the time to do this-one more thing I could have learned from her!

Enjoy!

Vietnamese Pho

While Mai was here, she was able to cook the family a wonderful Vietnamese dinner.  One of the dishes that I had heard so much about was Pho- a fragrant broth with bits of meat and noodles.

The first thing we did was go shopping!

Mai loves to shop so I had to add that in there!

Here are the ingredients for the Pho:

Beef leg bones
1 cinnamon stick
3 anise stars
1 onion
1 large hunk of ginger
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon MSG
1 sirloin steak/fillet
Pho noodles

Toppings:

Cilantro
Bean Sprouts
Thai Basil
Lettuce

The first step to making this broth is to par boil the beef leg bones.  This means that you are boiling the bones for a few minutes, rinsing them off and starting with new, fresh water.  Par boiling helps you to remove any impurities from the leg bones.

Take the bones and submerge them in a pot filled with water.  Boil away for a few hours.  Mai told me that a short cut is to use beef broth.  I wanted authentic Pho, the way her mother cooks so I didn't take any shortcuts.

While that is boiling, grill the onion and ginger.

When you have good grill marks, remove from heat.  Let them cool and then peel.  Smash the ginger and add the ginger and onion (in large hunks) to the broth.

Add the spices:  cinnamon stick, anise, salt and MSG.  Mai mentioned that her mother adds extra cinnamon during the winter months.

Let that boil for hours.  When the broth is fragrant and beefy enough for you, it is ready!

Slice the meat very thin.  Put the thin strips into a ladle and submerge into the broth.  This only takes about 20 seconds - just enough to cook the thin strips.

Make sure your toppings are ready.  Cook the Pho noodles and drain.

Put the broth into a bowl.  Add a handful of noodles, meat and the toppings you desire.

Enjoy!

Vietnamese Spring Rolls

Since Mai was visiting us from Czech Republic, I thought it would be fun to have her cook a meal for us - so she cooked Vietnamese!  Yes, Mai is originally from Vietnam.  Her family moved to Czech Republic when she was 7.  I've never had Vietnamese food so I was excited to learn from Mai!

The first thing we did was a little research.  Our local grocery store didn't have all of the ingredients that Mai needed.  We found an international store close by and did a little shopping there!

Here are the ingredients for her family spring rolls:

Dipping Sauce Ingredients:

1/2 Kohlrabi
2 carrots
10 tablespoons fish sauce
7 tablespoons sugar
Juice of 1 1/2 limes
1 tablespoon rice vinegar

Spring Rolls:

1/4 bag dried shitake mushrooms (2.5 oz bag), julienned
3/4 bag dried Jews ear mushrooms (2.5 oz bag), julienned
Handful of bean thread noodles or ramen noodles
2 pounds ground pork
1 Kohlrabi, julienned
1 carrot, peeled and julienned
1 egg
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
2 green onions, sliced thin
1 shallot, sliced thin
1 teaspoon MSG
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
Bag of rice paper wrappers

Oil for frying

At this point you are probably asking yourself, "What is kohlrabi?" 

Kohlrabi is a vegetable, similar to a turnip or cabbage.  I've never seen anything like it.  When Mai was slicing and dicing, I grabbed a bite.  It tasted like a cross between a radish and potato.  It was refreshing and crisp.

To begin, Mai put the dried mushrooms in water and simmered them.  This allows the mushrooms to rehydrate.  This took about 30 minutes.  Hint:  Do not throw out the water.  This mushroom broth is great to use in soups and sauces.

Then, Mai took the handful of bean thread noodles and soaked them in water.

Next, Mai made the dipping sauce.  She peeled and sliced the kohlrabi and carrots.  She then added the remaining ingredients and put that in the refrigerator to let the flavors infuse together.

When that was in the refrigerator, Mai began preparing the ingredients for her spring rolls.  First she cut all of the vegetables, including the mushrooms. She took her time and make beautiful julienne cuts.  

In a large bowl, she mixed the pork, mushrooms, soft noodles (cut into 1 inch pieces), kohlrabi, carrot, egg, cilantro, MSG, salt and pepper.  Mix that together - this is the filling for the spring rolls.

In a saute pan, heat up 1-2 inches of oil.  The oil should reach 350 degrees.

Put some water on a large dinner plate.  Dip the rice paper (one at a time), then briefly let it drain.  The quick dip softens the rice paper and make it pliable so that you can roll it.  Mai told me that sometimes her family dips the rice paper in beer!

Place a small amount of filling on one end of the rice paper.

Start rolling at the end where the filling is.

Fold over each side

Finish rolling 

Fry the spring rolls in hot oil, for 7-8 minutes on each side.  The spring rolls should be golden brown when cooked.

This recipe makes 18-20 spring rolls.

Thanks for sharing your family recipe Mai!  Miss you already!