Bun Bo Hue (Hue style spicy Beef noodle)

Bun Bo Hue, another Vietnamese famous noodle soup that I'm long due to cover in my blog. It is my hubby's favorite noodle soup beside the egg noodle soup. I haven't really been making a lot of effort to cook this regularly enough for him since it's definitely not a quick night dinner meal. But last weekend, while we were looking a nice quick Vietnamese lunch to wrap up our San Diego weekend get away, we stumbled upon this 'hole in the wall'' restaurant that serves authentic Hue style dishes. The saying "Don't judge the book by its cover" is so true with place, who knew a place like this would serve such delicious food and of course, Bun Bo Hue is one of their specialty there. After tasting their scrumptious Bun Bo Hue, I was reminded that it's been a long time since I had cooked this noodle soup.
So in my version of Bun Bo Hue, I prepared the broth with beef bones, beef shank and pork belly. The tradition Bun Bo Hue also has pork hocks and coagulated blood cubes, but since they are not my cups of tea, I omitted them. Also, instead of the Cha Hue (Hue style pork ham), I made Cha tom (shrimp paste cake) and it's just equally delicious. I will be honest, it won't be an easy process (that's also one of the reason why I haven't cooked this for while), but the ending result is always satisfying and well worth it. All I can say is that I have made my husband a happy man with tonight dinner.

Galbi Jiim (Korean beef short rib stew)

 

Before I start, let me I apologize for my long disappearance. Sometimes I wish that I could just stretch my day a little longer so I could get more things done. I found that in order to juggle and balance your work and family lives, you have to sacrifice many things that you would love to do at your leisure. Most of my time beside work evolve around cleaning, cooking, doing homework and being a "chauffeur" for my son to his extracurricular activities. The day goes by so quick and when I do have a little time for myself, I just want to lay down and do absolutely nothing else! So ... that is my excuse!:)

Anyway, back to the topic, I made this Galbi jiim dish a while back, following one the popular Korean cooking blog called Maangchi. In my opinion, this dish is best enjoyed in a cold winter day with some homemade kimchi, and a bowl of hot steamed rice. Also, don't forget to accompany some soju or beers with this delicious, comfort meal. It may take some times to prepare and cook, but at the end of the day, you will be rewarded with an awesome homemade beef stew that will knock your socks off. My hubby gave it two thumbs up!

Grilled lemongrass beef sandwich (Banh mi thit bo nuong xa)

 
 I can't believed Spring is here already! My oldest son was on Spring break last week, so I used that excuse to take a couple days off from work to do a mini family vacation. It was a nice little get away for the boys, but I told my husband it was more like an adventure for me and him if you know what I mean. Traveling with kids is never easy, especially with the little ones. Therefore, I always pick somewhere locally in driving distance as our vacation destination. This time around, we picked San Diego so the boys can visit Sea world and get acquainted with the fish and sea animals. They loved it, but my husband and I were knocked out at the end of each day while we were there. 

Anyway, I didn't have much time to cook since the vacation and I have neglected my blog long enough so I just want to post something quick that I made a couple weeks ago for breakfast. Traditionally, banh mi is served as breakfast with a variety of different fillings. I particularly love this grilled lemongrass ground beef patties for the filling because it reminds me of my childhood in Vietnam. I used to gulp down these for breakfast before school every morning. The charcoal grilled flavor of the meat blending together with the lemongrass fragrant creates a mouth-watering and irresistible experience in every bite. I hope you will try and enjoy it too.

Vietnamese Beef Stew noodle (Hu tieu Bo kho)

This Vietnamese beef stew (Bo Kho) is such a hearty and comfort soup that will warm up your heart in this cold and windy winter season. I learned how to make this stew a while back from my mom. To me she made the best "Bo Kho" that I have ever tasted. What makes her recipe different from the others is that she concocted her own spices instead of using the pre-mixed "Bo Kho" spices that sold ubiquitously at any Vietnamese supermarket. The flavor of her soup definitely has more depth and very comforting to the palate. This traditional stew is very versatile because you can serve it with rice noodle, with steamed rice or with a nice warm loaf of baguette. I love to enjoy this stew with the crusty baguette for an energy-filled breakfast with a nice cup of Vietnamese coffee while my husband loves it served with rice noodle for dinner. The cooking process may require some simmering time to tenderize the beef and to strengthen the depth of the flavor, but the ending result is well worth it. I hope you, too, will enjoy this hearty stew as much as I do.

Vietnamese beef noodle (Pho Bo)

I don't know about what everyone else thinks, but to me this winter season seems to be a bit colder than other previous years. It is also a perfect weather for a hot, steamy bowl of Pho, especially during a cold, rainy day.

The funny thing is that whenever I go to the Pho restaurant in my neighborhood, the majority customers there are either non-Vietnamese or non-Asian.  Therefore, I don't think I need to introduce this popular dish to anybody since I am sure you all have tried or at least heard of this hearty and nutritious traditional Vietnamese soup before. 

To my childhood recollection, it's the best noodle soup in Vietnam and it's typically served as breakfast, but to me it's also as good any other time of the day.

For some beginners, Pho may look or seem too complicated and time consuming. But once you get the basic steps down, it is not really as bad as it may seem.  The best part about this homemade soup is that you can always prepare the broth ahead of time and freeze it divided in the airtight containers. This way, whenever the craving calls for, you can always have a steamy bowl of Pho in less than 30 minutes instead of the whole night of simmering. Enjoy cooking!

Braised short rib with penne pasta

 

This one is my husband favorite. It may take a bit of time to prepare, but the ending result is very satisfying. When I first saw this recipe prepared by Giada on her Food network cooking show, I knew that my hubby would love this. Since it's not a quick fixed weeknight meal, I only make an effort to cook it on my day off so I can give it my full attention. The homemade flavor is very comforting and enjoyable in this dish. Look for a good bottle of red wine such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot, use half for the dish and save half for yourself to enjoy with the pasta later. To enhance the depth and boldness of the dish, you can always use some homemade beef stock. But don't sweat it if you don't happen to have that extra time to make it, because any good brand beef broth will also work just fine. Give it a try and you won't be disappointed!

Shaking beef with watercress salad (bo luc lac)

I can't believe it's already August! This summer has gone by so quickly before we even had a chance to kickback and unwind. My oldest son is back to school next week and he's going on first grade. I can still remember the day we dropped him off at the daycare for the first time more than three years ago. The feeling still lingers on with me as I reminisce how anxious we were to be separated from our child.  I think I've cried more than he did on that day. And now in a couple more days, he will be in first grade! Oh my, how fast time has flown by, and pretty soon I will have to send him off to college.  Alright, maybe not that soon, but you know what I mean. 

In a few more days, school nights going to be busy and I won't have the luxury to enjoy my free time baking or blogging as much as I desire. Dinners will have to be cut short to something quick and easy to leave more time for school activities and homework. Therefore, I want to introduce this simple, easy and delightful Vietnamese beef salad called bo luc lac or shaking beef. The dish can be eaten as is on its own or with some steamed rice for a more balance and complete meal. The slight bitterness of the watercress and the tanginess of the vinaigrette entwine beautifully with the juicy, tender beef. The name of this dish loosely translated to shaking beef to imply the method of how the beef is cooked. The beef is essentially being tossed and shake back and forth under the intense heat to sear and caramelize the outside, but leave the inside with the ravishing pink, tender and juicy texture.  This dish will always stay on the list of my all time favorites.

Thai beef green curry

I hope everyone enjoyed their Fourth of July with the sun, the BBQs and the spectacular firework show last night. As for me, not much excitement going on yesterday since I had to work. I really loathe it when the holiday falls right in the middle of the week like this.  Just too far from either weekends to do anything worth while .... well... beside working and got pay extra (that is the only motivating part..hehehe...).

Luckily work was slow enough for me to take off early and enjoyed the rest of the holiday with my loved ones. After dinner, we went to watch some firework at a baseball park near home and lit up some more firework once we got home afterward. The kids had fun and enjoyed the show, so that was all that matter to me.

Anyway, back to the food business, I came up with this dish a while back after first tasting a similar version of this curry dish while we were on a vacation in Hawaii. My husband really loved it, so I tried to remember the flavor and the taste for later duplication. It is quite simple to make and doesn't require a long time to prepare either. Basically, you can use whatever meats, seafoods even, and any vegetables that you have on hands to make this dish. My husband even came up with an idea of using this left-over curry to make fried rice the next day. And to tell you the truth, it was quite some yummy fried rice that he made with it. So anyone who love curry should give it a try!