Tag: #vietnamesefood

Che Thai

This is a Vietnamese dessert that first originated from Thailand, its a spin off of the original Thai dessert, as Vietnamese people substituted fruits local to their region and area. So what is in this exotic dessert you may ask? It consists of various canned fruits mixed in with half and half milk for a milky taste.

You might be thinking canned fruits and milk, thats it, what’s so special about that?

Canned fruits and half and half milk does not seem to be the ideal image of a dessert, but most asian desserts are made with the bases of milk along with other types of add ons.

Growing up in the states and having my family being immigrants from Vietnam, they made sure we stayed true to our roots with the rituals we do, the language we speak, and most importantly with the food we eat. Che Thai was one of those easy to make desserts my mom would make when the kids were craving something sweet and refreshing.

There are many different spin offs of this dessert as it is so versatile, you can add the fruits you personally like or dislike. These few ingredients with earn you brownie points as you bring this dessert to a party or gathering. With that being said lets begin!

HOW TO MAKE CHE THAI!

Ingredients:

  • 1 container of Coconut jelly squares
  • Half and half, or can use substitute of
    • milk and coffee creamer
  • 1 can of green grass jelly
  • 1 can of lychee jelly
  • 1 can of jackfruit
  • 1 can of Palm seed slices
  • Brown sugar to taste

Serving size: 8

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Steps:

  1. First you would like to open all the cans of fruits and drain out the sugary syrup.
  2. Can add the coconut jelly, lychee chunks, and palm seed slices into a large container.
  3. The jackfruit comes as a whole fruit, so cute the jackfruit into thin stripes.
  4. The green grass jelly will also require to be cut into small cubes as it is a solid block of jello.
  5. Now you will need a large container to mix the fruits and milk together.
  6. Add all the canned and cut fruit into a large container.

7. Add half a gallon of half and half, or add 5 cups of milk and 3 cups of coffee creamer.

8. Stir up the concoction and add brown sugar to taste. For me personally I usually use  about 3-5 tablespoons of sugar for extra sweetness use more and for less, use less or none at all, the canned fruits already contain a bit of sweetness as it was preserved  in the syrupy liquid.

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9. ENJOY YUM YUM YUM!!img_4765.jpg

 

 

Summer Rolls

This easy to make Vietnamese dish consists of sliced pork, shrimp, noodles, and a variety of your favorite vegetables wrapped in a Vietnamese rice paper and dipped in a delicious peanut sauce. This simple to make but beautifully mouth-watering roll is one of my childhood favorites and today I will be showing you how to make this decadent dish.

First off we have to understand there are a variety of spring rolls out there, we have the fried one that everyone may know from Panda Express and the clear transparent ones, the one I will be writing about today.

Lets Get Started!!

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Shrimp and pork spring rolls with peanut sauce and 4 dots of sriracha!

Ingredients: 

  • 2 lbs of pork
  • 2 lbs of shrimp
  • Vegetables of your liking, in my case, 1 head of lettuce and 2 cucumbers
  • One bag of vermicelli noodles
  • One pack of 23 cm spring roll paper (can be found in the Asian section of the grocery store or at 99 Ranch market)
  • 1 cup Peanut Butter
  • 1/4 a cup of Water
  • 1 cup Hoisin sauce

This recipe feeds four to five people with around ten rolls each.

HOW TO MAKE SUMMER ROLLS

1. Gather you’re ingredients.

 

 

 

Vegetables, vermicelli noodles, and rice paper.
Meats used in this recipe.
Ingredients for peanut sauce.

2. Fill two pots with water for boiling both the pork and shrimp. Let boil on medium heat until the pork is the color of the picture below, usually will take 30 minutes. Let the shrimp boil until the shell begins to peel away from the meat of the shrimp around 20 minutes on medium heat.

 

 

 

Boil the 2 lbs of pork
Boil the 2 lbs of shrimp

3. Peel and devein the shrimp, then cut in half like the picture shown below. IMG_4819

4. Slice the pork into small chunks, like the picture shown below.IMG_4818 5. Boil another pot of water large enough to fit one full bag of vermicelli noodles, bring up to a boil then add the noodles, wait for the water to boil once again. Turn off the heat and cap the pot with a lid, let it sit for 30 minutes until the noodles have come to a consistency of your liking. (Should flexible)  IMG_48326. Wash lettuce and slice cucumbers into thin sticks.

 

 

 

 

7. Make the peanut dipping sauce, drab a small sauce pot and add one cup of hoisin sauce and one cup of creamy or crunchy peanut butter along with 1/4 of a cup of water. Stir the mixture under low heat until well combined and has the consistence of honey. (I will be using creamy today because I prefer the creamy one over the crunchy, but either or will work)IMG_9896

8. Grab a bowl large enough to dip the 23 cm rice paper in, filled with warm water.

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9. Now that you have prepped everything you can now set the table up, you will need 4 or 5 empty plates, large enough to hold a 23 cm rice paper. You will also need 4 or 5 small sauce boils so each person can have their own dip. Lay everything out on the table as this will be a very interactive family meal.

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Our table set up!

9. Start wrapping and enjoy this simple but delicious meal with your family and friends.

Here is a quick clip to my mom of my 3 roommates and I enjoying our summer rolls!