Bánh Canh Cua Giò Heo - part 2

The pork broth is very plain as it is, because I have not seasoned it. But first, I need to make the shrimp balls and the crab chili paste. The soup would not taste right without these two main ingredients. I made the shrimp balls myself. They tasted okay but the texture was not quite on par with what I had anticipated. I would have liked it to be more chewy. It turned out too soft. :/ I was very happy with the soup though!! ^_~

If you are allergic to crustacean like my nephew, you could substitute shrimp balls with slices of pork meat. I added the crab paste to his bowl anyway [he can tolerate a small amount of shrimp/crab, apparently]. 

Crab Chili Paste recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup diced white onion
• 1 tablespoon chili paste
• 1 tablespoon corn cooking oil
• 1 can of store bought crab meat paste

Directions:

1. In a frying pan, add the oil. Turn the heat on medium. Once the oil is warm, add the onion. Stir constantly until the onion is golden in color.
2. Then, add the crab meat paste. Stir, mix the onion and the crab meat paste. Smells good huh?
3. Now, add the chili paste. Mix thoroughly again. Let it simmer for another  2 - 5 minutes then turn off the heat.

* The crab meat paste has this orange/red color to it. That's what gives the soup the color. 

Home made shrimp balls recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 bowl (15-20) shelled and deveined shrimps
• 2 table spoons diced white onion
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• 1 1/2 table spoon black pepper
• cooking oil

Directions:

1. Cut the shrimps into cubes. Process the shrimp. 
2. In a cooking large bowl, add the processed shrimp, white onion, salt, fish sauce and black pepper. Integrate all the ingredients together and mix.

     To fry:

1. Pour the cooking oil into a frying pan. Turn heat to low-medium. 
2.  Use a spoon, scoop the shrimp into the pan. Shrimp cooks quickly, so watch the heat and turn the shrimp over as it turns golden brown.
3. Once both sides are cooked to golden brown, put the shrimp on a plate to cool.

Cooking the Bánh Canh (from part 1):

1. Bring a pot filled with water (1 gallon) to boil. Add 1 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon cooking oil. Mix.
2. Drop the Bánh Canh in. The Bánh Canh is done when it turns clear and start floating to the surface.
3. Drain the Bánh Canh out into a bowl.   

Bánh Canh Cua Giò Heo continues....... broth to finish:

Ingredients: To thicken the broth.

• 3 table spoon tapioca flour
• 3 table spoon cold water

1. Remove the radish, onion, bones and feet from the broth (see part 1). Strain the broth into another pot, once more. 
2. On medium heat, let the broth comes to boil. 
3. Season the broth by adding 1 tablespoon salt, 1 tablespoon fish sauce and 2 tablespoon sugar. Mix 
4. Next, stir the tapioca flour in cold water and add it directly to the broth. Stir vigorously.
5. Add the crab chili paste. Stir vigorously.
6. Add the cooked Bánh Canh. Stir gently to mix. Seaso again to taste. 

Bánh Canh Cua Giò Heo is best served hot. To serve, scoop the Bánh Canh Cua Giò Heo into a small bowl, add pieces of fried shrimp and paired it with chopped sawtooth coriander (can be substituted with cilantro), chopped scallion and chili (if you like it spicy). Enjoy!

Bánh Canh Cua Giò Heo

If you are familiar with Udon noodles, Bánh Canh Cua Giò Heo is a similar version. Bánh Canh Cua Giò Heo can be translated to Bánh Canh Crab Pork Feet. Don't let the name fools you. I promise you it tastes and smells delightful. 


Udon is a type of thick wheat-flour noodle. Bánh Canh can be made by rice flour and tapioca flour. Tapioca flour is very familiar in Vietnamese cuisine. It is used to thicken soup, broth and sometimes used in stir-fry to give it a thick consistency. Depending on what type of noodle dish it is, the rice flour and tapioca flour portions will vary proportionally.  For example, in Bánh Canh, [I] prefer mine to be a bit chewy, so I added a good amount of tapioca flour. 


Like any type of Vietnamese soup, the broth is crucial. I spent roughly 3hrs the night before preparing the broth and Bánh Canh. I decided to roll the dough and make some home made Bánh Canh myself. ^_~ 

Handmade Bánh Canh recipe:


Ingredients: 

• 2 cups rice flour
• 1 cup tapioca flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups hot water

 

Directions: 

1. In a large cooking bowl, add the rice flour, tapioca flour and salt. Mix all three components thoroughly. 
2. Add the hot water, slowly, into the same bowl. Start by adding 1/2 cup, mix with the wooden spoon, then add another 1/2 cup... mix... until you achieved a dough consistency. If it looks anything like pizza dough then you're done.
3. With a dry hand, rub some rice flour on a wooden cutting board or flat, clean working surface, where you can roll the dough out on.
4. Rub some rice flour on your hands. Pick the dough out from the bowl, place it on the board and start kneading the dough. CAUTION. The dough IS hot. 
5. Use a pizza slicer, slice 3 inches of the dough. Approximate it.
6. Use a dough roller, roll the dough vertically and then horizontally to spread the flatten the dough. 
7. Use the pizza slicer, slice the dough vertically into long strands.
8. When ready to use, in a hot boiling pot, add the Bánh Canh (the strands from step 7). Wait until the Bánh Canh floats or when it turns clear. It takes roughly a minute or 2. 

Homemade pork broth recipe: 

Ingredients:

• 1 tray of pork feet
• 1 tray of pork neck bone
• 1 white Asian radish
• 1 whole purple onion (white onion is okay too)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• water

Directions:

1. In a large stew pot, add 2 gallons of tap water and 1 teaspoon of salt. Allow it to boil at high heat.
2. While waiting for the water to come to a boil, get the pork neck bone and feet ready by rinsing them through water a few times to get rid of the blood residue. To do so, first place the neck bone and the feet into a large bowl. Add warm water. With your bare hands, clean the bones and feet through water. Repeat 2x, then leave them on a strainer to dry.
3.  When the water came to a boil, add the pork feet and neck bone. Allow the water to boil once again before turning down the heat. Let it simmer for another 20 - 30 minutes or until the pork feet are cooked.
4. Remove the pork feet. Leave the neck bone in the water to continue cooking while you clean the pork feet again.
5. Clean the pork feet under running water again. After that much cooking, you'll notice there are some gunk on the feet. In order to achieve a clear broth, bones and feet must be cleaned thoroughly throughout the cooking process. 
6. Take the neck bones out and clean it under running water again.
7. Turn off the heat. Strain the broth into another large pot. 
8. Place the pork neck bone and feet back into the broth. 
9. Slice the onion in four and place it into the broth. Skin and cut the white Asian radish into quarters, add it into the broth. Let the broth cook for another 10 - 20 minutes.

** In between cooking, spoon out out the gunk that floats on the surface. It helps keep the broth from turning opaque. 

Càfê sủa đá "Vietnamese ice coffee"

The difference between the Western culture and Eastern culture lies in the philosophy of simplicity.  (I humbly quote.)  Walk into a Starbuck coffee house or a Dunkin' Donut franchise, what do you see? 
Dunkin Donut's:
Starbucks': 
Have you ever stood in your local coffee house pondering about the differences between each type? What do I want? What size should I get? 
I am not much of a coffee person, myself.  Maybe because caffeine gives me unpleasant side effects.  Heartbeats thumping like elephants racing around the circus.  Anxiousness. Attention deficit.  Sometimes it's worth the risks though... oy, caramel macchiato, either cold or hot, it's irresistible. 
Here, allow me to introduce to you two types of Vietnamese coffee: Càfê sủa đá (Vietnamese ice coffee) and Càfê đen (sweetened or unsweetened Vietnamese Dark "black" coffee).  The aroma, flavor and unique preparation style is intriguing.  Below is the recipe to "how to make Càfê sủa đá."
Recipe 1: How to make Càfê sủa đá.
Materials/Ingredients: Most can be found at your local Asian grocery store or online (apparently, how convenient!)
- 1 set of metal filter (pictures below)
- Cafê Du Monde (I only use this type so far.)
- sweetened condensed milk (picture below), preferably Longevity Brand
- 1 table spoon
- 2 glasses or cups
- hot boiling water

Procedures:
Before we get started, this is what a metal filter looks like: 

Let's begin...

Longevity Brand condensed milk

Part 1. To save time, before you begin assembling the filter and making the coffee, pop a pot of water on the stove, allow to boil.
(picture 1) In a cup or glass add one tablespoon of Longevity Brand sweetened condensed milk.  
(picture 2) Then , place the metal filter cup on that same cup.  Measure out one tablespoon of Cafe Du Monde and place it in the cup.  
(picture 3) Next, add the press on. Press it down firmly and twist  clockwise to tighten.  Pour in the hot water to the top edge of the cup.  Allow the stream to start and then continue to tighten.   If you want a rich, dark extraction, tighten as much as you can to give it the most pressure.   A good extraction is that a 1 ounce (1 shot) is produced in 25 - 1 min.  In my time, that turns out to be two filtrations (2 shots). So after the first extraction, top the cup again with hot boiling water.  

Photos are credited to VietnamTravel.

Part 2. ... continuing from picture 3.
Pick up the assembled filter and place it in the sink or on a plate.  Do this step quick because it drips.

Café Du Monde coffee

(picture 4) So this is what it looks like after 2 extractions.  Picture shown contains only the first extraction (1 shot in yield).  Using a spoon, mix the condensed milk and the coffee.  If you do it right, you'll get something like picture 5.
Next, pour the mixed coffee over the ice.  Sniff the aroma as you enjoy your cup of tasty home made  Càfê sủa đá.

 

i burnt sua dau nay today. :D