New Asian Cuisine
| Welcoming Fall with Fast Simple Asian Recipes |
Hanoi Beef Noodle Soup (Pho Bo)
By Periplus Editors, Vietnamese Cooking Made Easy:
Simple, Flavorful and Quick Meals
This may well be considered Vietnam’s national dish. The Vietnamese eat it at any time of the day, but it
is especially popular as a breakfast food. What makes this soup so convenient is that you can cook it
ahead of time, storing the stock in one container and the remaining ingredients in another.
Serves 6 to 8
Preparation time: 30 mins
Cooking time: 11/4 hours
10 oz (300 g) dried rice stick noodles or rice vermicelli
3 tablespoons fish sauce
1 lb (500 g) beef sirloin or flank steak, cut into very thin slices
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
4 cups (7 oz/200 g) bean sprouts, seed coats and tails removed, blanched until cooked
2 to 3 finger-length chilies, deseeded and sliced
Ground white pepper
Sprigs of coriander leaves (cilantro), to garnish
Sprigs of basil or mint,to garnish
2 lemons or limes, cut into sections, to serve
1 portion Fish Sauce Dip
Broth
2 medium onions, peeled and bruised
2 in (5 cm) fresh ginger root, peeled and bruised
3 shallots
10 cups (2 1/2 liters) beef stock
1 lb (500 g) beef shank or brisket
2 star anise pods
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon crushed peppercorns
1 tablespoon salt
1 Prepare the Broth first by browning the onions, shallots and ginger under a broiler for 5 to 10 minutes,
turning several times, or dry-frying them in a skillet over low heat until slightly burnt on all sides.
Remove and transfer to a stockpot. Add all the other Broth ingredients and bring to a boil over medium
heat, skimming off the foam and fat that float to the surface. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 1
hour, until the beef is tender.
2 Prepare the Fish Sauce Dip. Bring a pot of water to a boil over medium heat. Add the dried noodles
and blanch until soft, about 5 minutes for rice stick noodles or 2 minutes for rice vermicelli. Remove and
rinse with cold water, then drain.
3 Remove the beef from the Broth and set aside to cool. Strain the Broth to remove all the solids and
return the clear Broth to the pot. Season with the fish sauce and keep the Broth hot over very low heat.
Slice the beef into thin slices and set aside.
4 To serve, place the rice noodles into individual serving bowls and top with the cooked and raw beef
slices, onion slices, bean sprouts and chilies. Ladle the hot Broth into each bowl (the raw beef will
partially cook in the boiling soup), sprinkle with pepper and garnish with coriander (cilantro) and basil or
mint leaves. Serve hot with lemon or lime sections, and dipping bowls of Fish Sauce Dip on the side.
By Periplus Editors, Vietnamese Cooking Made Easy:
Simple, Flavorful and Quick Meals
This may well be considered Vietnam’s national dish. The Vietnamese eat it at any time of the day, but it
is especially popular as a breakfast food. What makes this soup so convenient is that you can cook it
ahead of time, storing the stock in one container and the remaining ingredients in another.
Serves 6 to 8
Preparation time: 30 mins
Cooking time: 11/4 hours
10 oz (300 g) dried rice stick noodles or rice vermicelli
3 tablespoons fish sauce
1 lb (500 g) beef sirloin or flank steak, cut into very thin slices
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
4 cups (7 oz/200 g) bean sprouts, seed coats and tails removed, blanched until cooked
2 to 3 finger-length chilies, deseeded and sliced
Ground white pepper
Sprigs of coriander leaves (cilantro), to garnish
Sprigs of basil or mint,to garnish
2 lemons or limes, cut into sections, to serve
1 portion Fish Sauce Dip
Broth
2 medium onions, peeled and bruised
2 in (5 cm) fresh ginger root, peeled and bruised
3 shallots
10 cups (2 1/2 liters) beef stock
1 lb (500 g) beef shank or brisket
2 star anise pods
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon crushed peppercorns
1 tablespoon salt
1 Prepare the Broth first by browning the onions, shallots and ginger under a broiler for 5 to 10 minutes,
turning several times, or dry-frying them in a skillet over low heat until slightly burnt on all sides.
Remove and transfer to a stockpot. Add all the other Broth ingredients and bring to a boil over medium
heat, skimming off the foam and fat that float to the surface. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 1
hour, until the beef is tender.
2 Prepare the Fish Sauce Dip. Bring a pot of water to a boil over medium heat. Add the dried noodles
and blanch until soft, about 5 minutes for rice stick noodles or 2 minutes for rice vermicelli. Remove and
rinse with cold water, then drain.
3 Remove the beef from the Broth and set aside to cool. Strain the Broth to remove all the solids and
return the clear Broth to the pot. Season with the fish sauce and keep the Broth hot over very low heat.
Slice the beef into thin slices and set aside.
4 To serve, place the rice noodles into individual serving bowls and top with the cooked and raw beef
slices, onion slices, bean sprouts and chilies. Ladle the hot Broth into each bowl (the raw beef will
partially cook in the boiling soup), sprinkle with pepper and garnish with coriander (cilantro) and basil or
mint leaves. Serve hot with lemon or lime sections, and dipping bowls of Fish Sauce Dip on the side.
Korean Chili Paste Spicy Chicken (Mae-un Dak Gui)
Courtesy of Joanne Choi, WeekofMenus
I am not by nature, one who measures carefully when
cooking Korean food. I add and taste and adjust as I go
along, so when I began posting Korean recipes, my
cooking style suddenly had to change. In order to teach
others I’ve had to learn how to measure before I dump and
to have a notebook by my side as I adjust and add and add
a bit more until I get the right proportions of all my
ingredients. Unfortunately, most of my friends, when they
cook Korean food, also do not measure. Immediately I
said, “I need the recipe to post on my blog” and she
looked at me and said, “You know, it’s a little bit of soy
with twice as much of the chili pepper paste…” and her
voice faded off as she thought about all the things that she
had mixed into it WITH OUT measuring. But I loved it so
much I set out to make it and I attempted it twice. Enjoy!
Courtesy of Joanne Choi, WeekofMenus
I am not by nature, one who measures carefully when
cooking Korean food. I add and taste and adjust as I go
along, so when I began posting Korean recipes, my
cooking style suddenly had to change. In order to teach
others I’ve had to learn how to measure before I dump and
to have a notebook by my side as I adjust and add and add
a bit more until I get the right proportions of all my
ingredients. Unfortunately, most of my friends, when they
cook Korean food, also do not measure. Immediately I
said, “I need the recipe to post on my blog” and she
looked at me and said, “You know, it’s a little bit of soy
with twice as much of the chili pepper paste…” and her
voice faded off as she thought about all the things that she
had mixed into it WITH OUT measuring. But I loved it so
much I set out to make it and I attempted it twice. Enjoy!
Requires marination of at least 8 hours, overnight is better.
Serves 6-8
2-3 lbs boneless, skinless thighs
1/4 cup Korean chili pepper paste (gochujahng)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons mirin (or sake if you can’t find mirin)
1/2 cup onion, pureed (done in a mini prep chopper is perfect)
3 tablespoons ginger
2 tablespoons garlic
In a large bowl, mix all ingredients EXCEPT chicken together. Make sure that the sugar is well
incorporatd in the marinade. Wearing gloves (disposable kitchen gloves are perfect for this), use your
hand and mix all the chicken into the marinade. Make sure each chicken piece is thoroughly coated and
well mixed with the marinade. Try and get the marinade into all the nooks and crannies of your chicken
thigh. Cover and marinate for at least 8 hours or overnight.
Heat bbq. The chicken cooks better over lower heat than higher heat as the higher sugar content of the
marinade lends itself to burning. Cook for about 7-9 minutes per side over lower heat.
This does taste best on the bbq grill, but if you cannot grill outside, then use a roasting pan and broil it
in your oven.
Serves 6-8
2-3 lbs boneless, skinless thighs
1/4 cup Korean chili pepper paste (gochujahng)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons mirin (or sake if you can’t find mirin)
1/2 cup onion, pureed (done in a mini prep chopper is perfect)
3 tablespoons ginger
2 tablespoons garlic
In a large bowl, mix all ingredients EXCEPT chicken together. Make sure that the sugar is well
incorporatd in the marinade. Wearing gloves (disposable kitchen gloves are perfect for this), use your
hand and mix all the chicken into the marinade. Make sure each chicken piece is thoroughly coated and
well mixed with the marinade. Try and get the marinade into all the nooks and crannies of your chicken
thigh. Cover and marinate for at least 8 hours or overnight.
Heat bbq. The chicken cooks better over lower heat than higher heat as the higher sugar content of the
marinade lends itself to burning. Cook for about 7-9 minutes per side over lower heat.
This does taste best on the bbq grill, but if you cannot grill outside, then use a roasting pan and broil it
in your oven.