Cold Vermicelli Bowl (Bun Giang) with Pan Seared Halibut

One of my favorite places to go out and eat is Vietnamese food.  About a year ago our small little town opened up its first Vietnamese restaurant and I've been visiting there as frequently as possible.  They recently installed a smoothie machine and the Honeydew Boba has me thinking I just might have to drive that way this afternoon.

I don't always have the time or energy to go out, so I like recreating stuff at home.  One of my favorite things to get aside from the Pho is their Cold Vermicelli Bowl with Pork or Shrimp.  It reminds me of a salad in a bowl, something I would lean towards most nights.

I've been trying to work more fish into our diets for the Misters health sake.  I don't know if I've adequately described him for you before.  He's not Mister Gourmet, a more appropriate title would be "Hot Dog Dude".  Whenever I'm not home to cook dinner he will say, "It's okay, I'll just have a hot dog."  I wish I was kidding about this.  He is just lucky he has someone like me looking out for his health or I could only imagine. 

Before you start prepping the veggies, put a large pot of water on to boil so it will be ready when you are.

Make the pickled carrot and daikon radish mixture first so it can have a few minutes to soften and get some flavor:

Pickled Carrots and Daikon Radish:
2-3 large carrots, peeled
1 - 6 inch piece of daikon radish, peeled
1 cup water
2 tbsp. white vinegar or rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp. granulated sugar
1 tbsp. salt

You can vary this pickling mixture anyway you like I tend to like it a little on the sweet side.  I believe it's just a matter of ratios and you can make as little or as much of the pickled carrots and radishes as you want, I just made enough for the meal. 

In a small pot combine water, vinegar, sugar and salt, heat on medium until everything is dissolved.  Let cool.

I used a mandoline to cut the carrots and radishes into 3" chunks and then ran them through the julienne blade to achieve a thin matchstick size.  Please, please use a finger guard when using your mandoline.

Cover the shredded carrots and radishes with the pickling liquid.  Set aside till ready.

Other veggies you will need to prep:
1 cucumber cut into 2-3" julienne
1 head leaf lettuce
Cilantro leaves
Mint or Thai basil
1-2 small red chilies, minced

Julienne cucumbers into small matchsticks.  I like to chiffonade the lettuce, which is just a fancy term for rolling the leaves up and cutting them into thin strips.  Wash and dry your herbs and chop them and set them aside.  Cut the top off your chilies and remove the seeds, mince and set aside.

Prepare and sear the fish:
1 pound halibut fillet, cut into 3 or 4 pieces
1 tbsp. canola or grapeseed oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Pour a little bit of oil on the fish and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Heat a skillet on medium to medium high heat, when it is hot add the oil and place the halibut flesh side down in the hot pan for 2-3 minutes.

Flip the fish over to the skin side and continue cooking until it is firm about 6-8 minutes.  Only way to tell if your fish is done is to touch it.  You read that right, you have to be okay with groping fish if you want to tell if it is properly cooked.  It shouldn't feel giggly, but not overly firm either.  I won't tell anyone you grope fish if you don't.

Rice Vermicelli:
10oz. package or whatever size you can find dried Rice Vermicelli noodles

Drop the noodles into boiling water and cook until tender 4-5 minutes, drain and set aside.

To assemble the bowls place a good amount of the lettuce on the bottom and side, place some vermicelli noodles next to that, add a nice amount of the cucumber and pickled carrots and radish, add some herbs, and top with a little chile.  In the restaurant they serve you a bowl of sauce that goes on top.  I just used a couple tablespoons of the pickling liquid for the top of mine for a little more flavor.

Oh you likey the photo above?  Me too.  I received a package from Kim - Liv Life that I bought over at Becky's Bake Sale.  I bet you are sorry you didn't go buy something now.  Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Kim and Family. I love everything in there, but especially the limoncello, the perfume when I opened the bottle provoked a little dizzy spell.

Enjoy,

Gina

  

Pho Ga, Pho Bo & Vietnamese Spring Rolls from Heidi with Love!

I couldn't decide what to make, I was criss-crossing the globe in my mind when it hit me; the perfect dish was right down the street.  A couple of weeks ago I got a terrible cold, and one evening there was a knock on my door, it was Heidi, her daughter Amanda and mine are friends.  She had heard I was sick and brought me a huge pot of Pho Ga (chicken noodle soup), with all the condiments and all the fixings to make spring rolls.  I was overwhelmed by her thoughtful and kind gesture.  When I was well, I couldn't wait to return the favor.  I asked Amanda what her favorite dessert was, and set about making a cheesecake to bring her.  We started talking about food and I mentioned how much I had loved the soup, and she wanted to teach me how to make it.  She even offered to take me to the Asian grocery store to get the right ingredients.  The more we talked, the more I realized how much we had in common.  Heidi came to American as a young woman for a better life, but she enjoys nothing more than cooking her homelands cuisine.  She confided in me, she was worried her daughter was starting to like American food more than Vietnamese.  This really struck me, because growing up my mom was always encouraged to be American and fit in and here Heidi was fighting to not lose her heritage.

I came to her house prepared to take notes and she started cooking for me, she said it is easier for me to show you than tell you.  She thinks her English is bad, but I didn't think so at all.

Pho Bo Broth:
2-3 lbs. beef with bones
1 lb. beef, sliced paper thin
6-7 qts. water
1/4 cup star anise, whole
3 sticks cinnamon
3-4 tbsp. fish sauce
1 whole yellow onion
a couple inches of fresh ginger root
1 large piece crystal rock sugar
salt



As she was giving me directions, she kept getting this look on her face and finally I asked, "What gives"?  She was too embarrassed to correct me, but I kept saying fo, when it's actually pronounced fuh.  After we had our giggle and broke the ice, things went a lot easier.

She shared her favorite fish sauce with me:

On a baking sheet she placed the onion and ginger and baked them in a 400 F degree oven for about 15-20 minutes.  Peeled the outside skin off and put them aside.

She had a pot of boiling water on the stove, put the beef in it and cooked it for about 5-10 minutes; to get out the impurities like blood.  Then she emptied the water and put fresh on to boil, added the beef, onion, ginger, rock sugar, fish sauce and a tablespoon or so of salt.  I loved the way she measured; she used an Asian soup spoon.  Turned it down to simmer and left it on for about 2 1/2 hours.  Skimming off the scum, she said, the fat is okay to leave in the broth. 

In a another pot, she put a couple pieces of ginger, a handful of the star anise, cinnamon sticks and about 2 cups of water.  Let it boil, then turn down to simmer.  You skim the top off this spice mixture and add it to the finished stock.  Do not boil the spices in the stock mixture.

After the beef is cooked she takes it out and slices it paper thin and sets it aside.

I was admiring her knife and wanted to help; she pulled out a brand new one and said, "I will sell it to you, because it is bad luck in my culture to give away knives".  "Of course, I wouldn't have it any other way", I said.

She had me slice the onions, following her paper thin ones was a challenge.  Then we washed herbs, cilantro, Thai basil and mint.  Soak in water with a little salt and rinse a minimum of three times, she told me.

The noodles she likes to use are fresh rice noodles (Bahn Pho).

To cook them, she keeps a pot of hot water on the stove, not boiling she says.  Puts the noodles in a strainer, lowers them into the water for a few seconds till soft, removes and drains them.  

I helped her put the condiment plate together, bean sprouts, fresh herbs, lemon wedges, and chilis.  On the side, she gave us plates with sriracha sauce and hoisin sauce.

She pulled some egg rolls out of her freezer too and cooked us those and showed me how to make fish sauce to dip them in.

She put some noodles on the bottom of the bowl, some onion, and herbs, then placed the raw beef and cooked beef on top, then ladled on the hot broth.

Then we got to go sit down and eat our masterpieces.

After we'd spent the day together and it was time to go, I asked Heidi, "How much do I owe you"?  She replied, "$1.00".  That was all she would take, I gladly gave her a dollar and I'm still thinking how I can I ever repay her.  She told me, she loves sharing her recipes, and she will call me next time she is making something else.

I hope I honored Heidi's gift by sharing her and this recipe with you.  I know what you are thinking, what about the Vietnamese spring rolls, I will share them with you on Monday.

Gina