Calamari Cha (Cakes) Recipe

                                              Calamari Cha (Cakes) Recipe

Ingredients:

500 g Squid, finely chopped
20 g Ground pepper
30 g Pork fat, finely chopped
15 ml Dry sherry
1/4 Salt
5 g Sugar
1 Orange chili pepper, seeded and finely chopped
30 g Parsley leave, chopped
3 Green onions (scallions), chopped
15 ml Nuoc cham sauce
1 Egg
2 tablespoon Vegetable oil

Sauce

10 ml Nuoc cham sauce
10 ml Lime or lemon juice or vinegar
10 g Sugar

Garnishing

1 Lime
1/2 Red bell pepper, seeded
1/2 Cucumber
1 sprig Coriander (cilantro) leaves

Cooking Procedure:

*

Boil pork fat to soften. Finely chop again.
*

Add sherry, salt, sugar and pepper. Place in the sun or in a warm place to soften further.
*

Meanwhile, reserve a pinch of chopped chili pepper for sauce. Add the remainder to the calamari with parsley and green onions (scallions). Put nuoc cham sauce in small saucepan and heat until liquid has nearly evaporated. Add this and any crystals to the calamari.
*

Separate the egg and lightly beat in individual bowls. Combine pork fat mix with calamari and add enough egg white to bind. Oil hands to make flat cakes of calamari. Fry in wok or frying pan, turning in oil, adding more as necessary.
*

The cakes will expand. Remove calamari cakes. Wipe the wok or pan with kitchen paper. Dip the cakes in egg yolk to give yellow color and fry again in fresh oil.
*

To the reserved chili pepper, add other sauce ingredients and combine well. Slowly heat until sugar is dissolved.
*

Thinly slice lime and bell pepper. Halve rings and arrange in a circle on plate with thin circles of cucumber. Add hot calamari cakes, pour the sauce over them, and garnish with coriander sprigs.

Serves 4

Beef Sate Recipe (Sa-Te Bo)

                                                   Beef Sate Recipe

                                                      (Sa-Te Bo)

Ingredients:

2 cloves Garlic, crushed and sliced

1 teaspoon Fresh basil

1 Red chili pepper, sliced

15 ml Lime juice

15 ml Sesame oil

15 ml Nuoc Mam sauce (optional)

225 g Steak, cubed

Dipping sauce

45 ml Nuoc Mam sauce

15 ml Lime or lemon juice

1 Pickled onion, thinly sliced

1 clove Garlic, finely chopped

1 tablespoon Peanuts, finely chopped

Cooking Procedure:

*

Mix the garlic, basil, chili, lime juice, sesame oil and Nuoc Mam sauce, if using, together.
*

Marinate the cubes of beef in this for at least 4 hours, turning frequently.
*

Make the dipping sauce by mixing all the ingredients thoroughly and place in a bowl on the table.
*

When the beef is ready, thread on to four skewers and place on the barbecue or under a preheated high grill until cooked, turning frequently.
*

Baste equally frequently with the marinade.
*

Serve with the dipping sauce.

Serves  5

Beef Crystal Spring Rolls Recipe (Banh Cuon Thit Bo Viet Nam)

                                            Beef Crystal Spring Rolls Recipe

                                           (Banh Cuon Thit Bo Viet Nam)

Ingredients:

225 g Steak, cut against the grain
into 3mm thick and 5cm long

125 g Rice vermicelli

2 Pickled onions, finely cut

2 Pickled gherkins, finely cut

1 Carrot, grated

1 packet Round Banh Trang rice paper

Warmed water in a bowl

To Serve

1 Webb or round lettuce

A few springs Coriander leaves

Dipping sauce

Cooking Procedure:

*

Combine the marinade ingredients together and marinade the beef slices. Leave for 2-3 hours.
*

Soak the rice vermicelli. When soft, drain thoroughly. Toss the cold rice vermicelli, pickled onion, gherkin and carrot together and place on the table in a dish.
*

Put the lettuce leaves in a dish, the coriander and mint on a flat plate, and place on the table.
*

Put the Banh Trang on a place and place on the table.
*

Put warm water in a bowl that is large enough for the Banh Trang to be dipped in on the table. Put either a table top barbecue or a fondue on the table and bring the marinated meat to the table for the guests to cook.
*

If neither is available, grill the meat very quickly, or fry in a pan with a little vegetable oil. Either way the cooking time is minimal, as thinly cut meat cooks extremely quickly. Excessive cooking toughens the meat.
*

Guests should help themselves by dipping a Banh Trang into the warm water until it becomes soft and pliable. They then place some of the vermicelli and pickle, mint and coriander and cooked pieces of beef on the Banh Trang.
*

The mixture is then rolled up and place on a fresh piece of lettuce. The lettuce leaf is rolled around it and then dipped in the sauce.

Serves 4-5.

Crabstick Rolls Recipe

                                                 Crabstick Rolls Recipe

Ingredients:

2 level tablespoons Wasabi

16 Crabsticks

16 sticks Cucumber, peeled, deseeded, the length of the crabsticks

1/4 cup Sliced pickled

8 medium sheets Nori seaweed, cut in half



Dipping sauce:

60 ml Soy sauce

60 ml Dark soy sauce

60 ml Water

2 1/2 tablespoons Mirin

1 tablespoon Bonito flakes

Cooking Procedure:

*

To make the dipping sauce : combine the sauce ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, then strain through a fine sieve. Transfer to a sauce bowl.
*

Smear wasabi liberally on a crabstick using a finger. Put the crabstick, a piece of cucumber and a few shreds of pickled ginger across one end of a nori strip.
*

Moisten the other end of the nori strip with a wet finger. Roll up tightly to enclose the filling.
*

Repeat until all the ingredients are used up.
*

Transfer the rolls to a serving plate and serve at room temperature with the dipping sauce.

Makes 16 rolls

Crab Cakes Recipe (Cha Cua)

                                                 Crab Cakes Recipe

                                                         Cha Cua)

Ingredients:

450 g Mixed white and brown crab meat

2 Small shallots, finely minced

1 clove Garlic, finely minced

1 tablespoon Chopped coriander leaves

1/2 teaspoon Pepper

1/2 Egg, beaten

1 Breadcrumbs (from 1 bread) - optional

1/2 cup Vegetable oil, for frying

1 spring Chinese chive flowers, for garnishing

Serving :

Salad plate

Nuoc cham sauce

Cooking Procedure:

*

Put the crab meat, shallots, garlic, coriander, fish sauce, pepper and egg into a bowl.
*

Mix together, then form into 12-16 cakes.
*

If the crab meat was frozen and the mixture is too sloppy, add some breadcrumbs to stiffen the mixture a little.
*

Place the cakes on a plate and chill in the refrigerator for about 1 hour to firm up.
*

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the crab cakes. Cook without moving them for 2-3 minutes, until brown and crusty underneath.
*

Turn them over carefully and cook for another 2 -3 minutes, then remove and drain on the kitchen paper.
*

Serve the crab cakes garnished with Chinese chives flowers and with the salad and nuoc cham dipping sauce.

Makes 12-16