In Vietnamese dinner culture, there is almost always more than one dish served in a meal during weekly dinner. We believe that variety is the spice of life! Proteins are often served with vegetables or soup. Today I’ll be sharing a classic—caramelized pork belly (thit kho) with a side of steamed cabbage, accompanied by an egg dip (bắp cải luộc). Both recipes are super easy and perfect for those who don’t have the time to make an intricate Vietnamese meal for dinner. I love the simplicity and comforting taste of this meal. It’s nostalgic and flavorful.

Growing up, boiled cabbage with egg dip was in regular rotation in our household. The saltiness from the fish sauce blended with medium boiled eggs and just a little bit of reserved cabbage water made eating cabbage a treat. I made it easier by actually steaming the cabbage. It’s just a more efficient process, and makes for less mess in the kitchen. You have a little bit more control on exactly how the cabbage is cooked (the goal is to avoid undercooking or overcooking). And what can I say about caramelized pork? This sweet and savory dish is a Vietnamese classic, and I hope my directions help you achieve the perfect caramelization each time.

STEAMED CABBAGE & EGG DIP RECIPE (BẮP CẢI LUỘC)

Degree of difficulty: 1 ( on a scale of 1-5 )

Cook & Prep Time: 8 minutes for the eggs, 6.5 minutes for the cabbage, and an additional 10(+/-) minutes for prep

YOU’LL NEED

• A steamer basket

INGREDIENTS (serves 2-4 people)

• 1 small head of cabbage (cut into quarters, with leaves peeled, rinsed, and patted dry)

• 3 large eggs ( boiled to a medium bright yolk center boil; I boiled mine for 8 minutes)

• 4 TBS of fish sauce

• 1/4 cup reserved boiled cabbage water

DIRECTIONS FOR THE CABBAGE

1. Using a steamer basket, place all of your quartered cabbage leaves in the basket until full.

2. Steam for 6.5 minutes. Remove immediately and transfer to a serving plate.

3. Remember to save 1/4 of the reserved cabbage water for your egg dip.

DIRECTIONS FOR THE EGG DIP

1. Boil your eggs medium. NOTE: every stove is different, but I found 8 minutes to be perfect for me personally.

2. After the time is up, immediately remove the eggs and place in a bowl of cold water with ice. Allow the eggs to cool, and then peel and rinse off any shell residue.

3. Place the eggs in a small bowl. Using scissors or a butter knife, cut or slice the eggs into large chunks. Then add 4 TBS of fish sauce, and 1/4 cu of your reserved cabbage water.

CARAMELIZED PORK (THỊT KHO)

Degree of difficulty: 1.5 ( on a scale of 1-5 )

Cook & Prep Time: 20-25 minutes

YOU’LL NEED

• A wok

• A small cooking pan to caramelize the sugar separately

INGREDIENTS (serves 2-4 people)

• 1 pound of pork belly (sliced or cut into chunks; I purchased mine pre-cut into chunks to save time)

• 2 stalks of scallion, minced

• 1/4 TSP of freshly ground pepper

• 1/4 TSP of sea salt

• 1/2 TSP of chicken stock powder

• 1 TBS cooking oil

• 3 TBS of minced shallots

• 4 TBS sugar

• 3 TBS of fish sauce

• 1 TBS oyster sauce or annatto oil for coloring

• Thinly sliced scallion for garnish

DIRECTIONS FOR THE CARAMELIZED PORK BELLY

1. In a mixing bowl, season your pork belly with 1/4 TSP sea salt, 1/4 TSP freshly ground black pepper, 1/2 TSP of chicken stock powder, and your minced scallion. Mix well, and set aside.

2. In a large wok or cooking pan, heat up 2 TBS of cooking oil on medium. Add in 3 TBS of minced shallots and stir until softened.

3. Turn the heat up to high and add in your seasoned pork belly. Stir fry until no longer pink, then reduce the heat to low while you prepare your caramelized sugar on the side.

4. In a separate small non-stick pan on medium-high heat, add in 4 TBS of sugar and shake the pan until the sugar is in an even layer. Allow the sugar to caramelized into a nice light b-medium brown color, and once the whole layer is caramelized (you may have to increase your heat a little to speed up the process, but watch it so it doesn’t burn), add a dash of fish sauce, and immediately transfer the sugar to the wok/pan with your pork.

5. Increase your heat to medium-high and stir the caramelized sugar around, coating your meat. Then add in 3 TBS of fish sauce and stir again to blend all of the ingredients.

6. Now reduce your heat to medium, and allow the sauce to simmer and evaporate (about 15-20 minutes). You should notice the sauce begin to darken over time. Once the brown turns into a perfect caramelization, remove from heat, and add oyster sauce or annatto oil for extra color, then mix. Transfer to a serving bowl/plate, making sure to drizzle the sauce from the pan on top.

7. Garnish with thinly sliced scallions and lots of freshly cracked black pepper. For a kick, add in a thinly sliced Thai chili on top.

As promised (though somewhat late), here is the recipe for my mom’s green papaya salad w/beef jerky, also known as gỏi đu đủ khô bò. I’m sorry for the lack of posts (and the late posts at that), but if you haven’t seen already on my personal IG, I recently announced that I am expecting! It’s been a really long and exhausting year for me thus far, and the journey to get here has worn me out. My first trimester was a literal nightmare, as I lost my taste for everything good, and had nightly bouts of morning sickness. I couldn’t even think about cooking, which shows in my lack of posting (I originally committed to one recipe a week, and that didn’t last). As I’m in the middle of my second trimester, I’m feeling a lot better, though exhaustion continues to wreak havoc on my body, and cooking isn’t a priority like it has been in the past. I will be posting my favorite recipes, just not as often as I’d like.

I digress. Back to this wonderful recipe that is one of my mom’s signature potluck dishes. I always get excited about posting ‘level 1’ (scale of 1-5 on difficulty) recipes, because I know that some people just don’t have the time or energy to make a difficult recipe. And boy do the Vietnamese know how to make some really laborious ones. This one is just too easy, so of course posting it excites me. All you need is a little prep work and the right tools, and you’ll be putting this on the list to make often in the future. This salad is refreshing, textural, sweet, tangy, and has a little kick.

First, you have to get the right ingredients—this recipe only requires 9 ingredients (and this includes ingredients for the dressing—whew!). In the first photo above, you see a few packets of sweet beef jerky—the brand my mom swears by for this particular salad. What I love about this brand (other than it’s tender and delicious flavor profile), is that it is already pre-cut/shredded, so all you have to do is reach in, grab a few handfuls, and disperse it over the top of your salad to finish. The second ingredient is green papaya. Yes I know that all papayas come with a green outer skin, but these particular papayas (commonly eaten in Southeast Asia) are green on the inside. I am thankful I can find them at my local H-mart, though these two were given to me by my mom, and packed into my suitcase on my last trip to Houston. When picking a green papaya, make sure that its nice and firm, with a bright green outer skin. The third ingredient is fresh mint, which is shredded or cut, and mixed in the salad, as well as added on top for garnish. You can also add Vietnamese coriander (rau răm), and/or Thai basil if you wish for a more herbaceous flavor salad (to make it easy for this recipe, I used only mint as the core herb). The rest of the ingredients you’ll be using for the dipping sauce, which includes thinly sliced garlic, thinly sliced red Thai chili, soy sauce, and vinegar. You’ll need a good peeler, a good mandoline slicer (gotta love my Japanese Benriner mandoline), and ICE. My mom swears by soaking the shredded/julienned green papaya in ice water to make it extra “crunchy” before serving. Just make sure to drain and pat dry (or dry thoroughly using a salad spinner) before placing on your platter to serve. I hope you enjoy this recipe below!

GREEN PAPAYA SALAD RECIPE (GỎI ĐU ĐỦ KHÔ BÒ) 

Degree of difficulty: 1 ( on a scale of 1-5 )

Cook & Prep Time: 30-45 minutes ( depending on your quickness in the kitchen! )

YOU’LL NEED

 ·       A vegetable peeler

·       A mandoline slicer, with a small sized julienne blade

·       Cut resistant gloves

INGREDIENTS ( as a side, serves 6-8 people )

For the salad :

•  1 large green papaya – roughly 2 pounds

• 4 oz of pre-shredded sweet jerky (see photo for brand and reference; 1 pkg = 8oz)

• ½ cup of mint (washed, leaves removed, torn or cut into pieces)

For the dressing :

• 1/3 cup regular sodium Kikkoman soy sauce

• 1/3 cup sugar

• 1/3 cup vinegar

• 3/4 Cu water

• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

• 1-2 red thai chili(s), thinly sliced (I use 1 chili, if you want more kick, add more)

• 1 TSP garlic chili sauce (Huy Fong Foods brand)

DIRECTIONS FOR THE DRESSING

1.     Combine all the dressing ingredients in a bowl and mix well (I like to add the garlic and Thai chili last, right before serving, so that the ingredients float to the top, and look beautiful for presentation purposes)

DIRECTIONS FOR THE SALAD

1. Begin by peeling the skin off of your green papaya. Once it is peeled, cut it in half, and using a spoon, gently de-seed the inside of the papaya.

2. Using a pair of cutting gloves with your mandoline slicer firmly placed over a large bowl, begin shredding your green papaya (your mandoline should have already been prepared by affixing a small julienne blade).

3. After your papaya has been shredded, add water to your bowl, along with a generous amount of ice, and soak it until it is fully chilled. Then drain, and either pat fully dry, or if you have a nifty salad spinner, spin completely dry.

4. Toss the shredded papaya with your mint. At this point, if you are using more herbs, add those in as well. TIP: you can be generous with your herbs, but you want the green papaya to be the main star of the show. Place on a large serving platter or in a large serving bowl.

5. Using your hands, top the salad with your pre-shredded sweet beef jerky. Garnish the top of the salad with desired herbs for presentation purposes.

6. To serve, set the dressing in a bowl to the side with a ladle. When you’re ready to eat, ladle the dressing generously over the salad. Enjoy!

Scallion oil (also known as mo hanh) is one of those condiments that is so easy to make, you wonder why you should even post a recipe. But sometimes having a frame of reference is good for the self professed ‘useless in the kitchen’ type people. You’ll find that it’s used quite often in countless Vietnamese dishes. You can pretty much eat it with anything; its delicious over over meats, vermicelli, rice—anything and everything. You first saw it on this blog in my recipe for beef wrapped betel leaves. This will probably be my easiest recipe I’ll post. Enjoy!

TIP: if you happen to also be making fresh fried shallots, you can actually use the oil from cooking the shallots, and pour it over the heat-safe bowl of sliced scallions directly after cooking your shallots. This saves you from wasting oil, but also adds more depth in flavor to your scallion oil

SCALLION OIL (MO HANH)

Degree of difficulty: 1 ( on a scale of 1-5 )

Preparation time 5 min

Cook Time: 3 minutes

 YOU’LL NEED

• A small saucepan

 INGREDIENTS

• 1 bunch of organic scallions, washed thoroughly, and sliced into 1/8”-1/4” slices

• 1/2 cup of neutral oil, like safflower, grapeseed, or canola oil

 DIRECTIONS

1. Place your sliced scallions in a heat-safe bowl. Set aside.

2. On medium-high heat, heat up your 1/2 cup of neutral oil. Allow about 3 minutes for it to fully heat up nicely. You’ll know it’s done when you drop in a single piece of sliced scallion, and it sizzles and rises to the top.

3. After 3 minutes have passed, remove from heat and allow the oil to rest for about 20 seconds. After 20 seconds have passed, pour the oil over the bowl of scallions.

4. Stir gently to allow the scallions to release their fragrance into the oil. Voila!

Growing up, my father had one mantra when it came to food: “You don’t have to like it, but you have to try it…(pauses)…and if you don’t like it, try it again.” [Insert confessional deadpan humor face, with eyes darting from side-to-side here] Did anyone else’s Vietnamese grandparents or parents taunt them to no end when you just couldn’t eat something that was exotic? I know I’m not the only one! Luckily, this mantra worked, because when it comes to food, I’ll try almost anything, and I am always impressed when others have the same mentality. Vietnamese pineapple anchovy dipping sauce, also known as mắm nêm, is one of those things that you either love, or are completely afraid of. I always say that you’re not really Vietnamese if you can’t eat mắm nêm, and if you can, guess what? You have my respect, LOL. The base of this sauce is pungent fermented anchovy, and it is blended with sweet pineapples, lime, sugar, minced lemongrass, and spicy Thai chillies. It’s absolutely delicious with grilled Vietnamese meats, and most commonly eaten with bò bảy món (7 courses of beef), a selection of beef dishes in a 7 course meal. I know that this is a hard one to eat, especially if you are not Vietnamese. And if you are, and you can’t eat it, get with the program! I know that it’s an acquired taste, and that’s why I am posting two recipes, or versions of my Vietnamese pineapple anchovy dipping sauce. The first one is the original version, and the second one is one for amateurs (those who are scared, and want to ease into it)—softer, less pungent and easier to eat, but just as delicious, I promise. Both of these recipes are my own, and I did not look online for any reference or guidance. I used my own intuition and memory of what my parents’ mắm nêm tasted like. I’m so excited to share both with you, and look forward to hearing your feedback on either one!

For my original mắm nêm recipe, you’ll need a base first: a classic bottle of anchovy sauce—the thick and pungent stuff. Not for the faint of heart. The ingredients in this bottle should ONLY be anchovy fish, salt, and water—none of those fancy Saigon Pagolac brand bottles that are already pre-mixed and ready to pour (I find these way too sweet or off, and hard to convert into a homemade blended sauce). The bottle should say ‘mắm nêm', and the contents should be light brown, and thick in texture (not like a normal liquid fish sauce). I used ‘Old Man Que Huong Brand Mắm Nêm’, a product of Vietnam. I was in one of the few Vietnamese grocery stores in Manhattan, crouching down in front of the shelf of mắm nêms, and agonizing over which one to buy, when a woman behind me (who was also shopping), picked this bottle up and told me how much she loved it, highly recommending it to me. I was so touched by her sense of community, and was convinced by her passion for this brand. Seriously, she went on and on about it, LOL. I’m sure there are better brands out there, but I am working with limited resources in New York. Thankfully, it worked out perfectly. I went home and played around in the kitchen, mixing and measuring ingredients until I achieved the perfect blended mắm nêm sauce. Recipe below:

Vietnamese Pineapple Anchovy Dipping Sauce (Blended Mắm Nêm) - Original Version

Degree of difficulty: 1 (on a scale of 1-5)

Preparation time 15 min

 YOU’LL NEED

• A food processor

• A muddler tool, or a pestle

• A medium sized bowl

 INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups of pineapple chunks (preferably fresh cut at your grocery store in the pre-cut fruit section, but canned is totally fine)

• 4 TBS sugar (you can also do a sugar alternative, like organic Stevia in the Raw, or Monkfruit sugar)

• 1 garlic clove, peeled and smashed

• 1 stalk of chopped lemongrass (use the tender lower 5” portion of stalk only; peeling the outer layer, and then roughly chopping)

• 2 TBS lime juice

• 3 Thai chilies, seeds and stem removed (feel free to add more chilies if you want more heat)

• ¼ cup of bottled mắm nêm/thick anchovy sauce (ingredients in bottle should only be anchovy fish, salt, and water)

• 2 TBS water

• 2 TBS reserved pineapple juice

 DIRECTIONS

1. In a food processor, add in 1 cup of pineapple chunks, 4 TBS sugar (or your sugar alternative), 1 garlic clove, 2 TBS of lime juice, and 3 Thai chilies (stems and seeds removed). Process until it becomes a smooth puree, and set aside.

2. In a medium sized bowl, add in ¼ cup of bottled mắm nêm/thick anchovy sauce, the remaining 1 cup of pineapple chunks, 2 TBS of water, 2 TBS of reserved pineapple juice (you’ll find this at the bottom of the container if you purchased your chunks pre-cut at the grocery store, or the juice from your canned pineapples), and then your pureed pineapple mix.

3. Mix all of the ingredients in the bowl well with a spoon. Then, using your muddler or your pestle, muddle the pineapple chunks until they become smaller and softer chunks, and continue until sauce melds together. 

For my easy blended mắm nêm recipe, you will also need pure anchovy fish sauce (make sure that the fish sauce you use is not made of any other seafood ingredients). I used Megachef Premium Anchovy Fish Sauce (It’s all I could find in New York, I like that it’s free of preservatives, MSG, and artificial ingredients or coloring). You can use any brand you’d like as long as its pure anchovy fish sauce, and not your standard, like Three Crabs Brand (a fish sauce I use for most of my Vietnamese dishes). Note that the difference between the anchovy base in the original and the easy to eat version is that this anchovy fish sauce is liquid rather than being a thicker consistency (as used in the original recipe). It’s not as pungent or strong, but it still packs enough of a punch to make a sauce that passes for a blended mắm nêm. It just has a gentler taste. This recipe is perfect for those who are afraid to eat the real stuff, or those who are taking baby steps towards eating the real stuff. All in all, it’s very delicious, and I highly recommend you make both and try both!

Vietnamese Pineapple Anchovy Dipping Sauce (Blended Mắm Nêm) - The Easy To Eat Version

Degree of difficulty: 1 (on a scale of 1-5)

Preparation time 15 min

 YOU’LL NEED

• A large food processor

 INGREDIENTS

• 1/3 cup of pure anchovy fish sauce (I used Megachef Premium anchovy fish sauce brand)

• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed

• 2 cups of fresh pineapple chunks

• 2 TBS fresh lime juice

• 3.5 TBS sugar

• 4 Thai chilies, stems and seeds removed (feel free to add more chilies if you want more heat)

 DIRECTIONS

1. In a food processor, blend all of the above ingredients until it becomes a smooth puree.

   NOTE: The pureed pineapple tends to rise to the top, so make sure to mix well before eating.