Tag: Vietnamese
Char Siu Banh Mi
BBQ Pork Banh Mi
Seriously one of my favorite sandwich’s ever. There are many variations of this sandwich. All will be on a French baguette with mayo, liver spread, cucumber, pickled carrots and daikon, jalapeños, cilantro, and sriracha. The protein is up to you. I made some char siu(recipe posted below) because bbq pork is my absolute favorite. You can make these with canned luncheon loaf, chicken, meatballs, or an extra thick layer of pate. Make sure to use a baguette that is crusty on the outside but soft on the inside. I like to buy my baguettes from Trung Nam Vietnamese/French bakery in Saint Paul. None better.
Ingredients
- char siu bbq pork
- liver spread
- mayonnaise
- sriracha
- cucumber long thin slices
- cilantro sprigs
- pickled carrot and daikon
- fresh jalapeños
- baguettes
Instructions
- Spread mayonnaise on the top side of the baguette. Spread liver spread on the bottom side of the baguette. Put a generous layer of bbq pork on top of the liver spread. Top the pork with cucumber, jalapeños, pickled carrots and daikon, and a couple of sprigs of cilantro. Squirt some sriracha across the top of the mayo side.
- Enjoy this sandwich. Try not to eat 3 at once.
Char Siu (Chinese BBQ Pork)
If I was put on death row and asked what the last thing on Earth that I'd like to eat, my final meal, char siu would be on the top of the list. I have loved this bbq pork ever since I was a little kid. My family would order everything with bbq pork in it from the Chinese restaurant that we got take out from. I love this pork so much, I snuck some of the pork in the picture into the movie theatre in a ziplock bag.Char siu is typically made out of pork shoulder. It can be made out of pork sirloin, pork loin, or tenderloin; but they tend to be less juicy than pork shoulder. Fat is a good thing here. You will want a 3lbs. piece of boneless pork shoulder. I purchased a whole bone in shoulder and processed out the coppa roast and the flat iron, If the coppa roast was a beef cut, you'd know it as a chuck eye roast. You don't have to go to this extreme. You can use any part of the shoulder. I just happen to know how to cut these muscles out of the shoulder and use them. Cut the pork shoulder into 2" in diameter chunks with the grain. The char siu gets its color from the red bean curd. If you've ever seen this pork really red, the color will be coming from red food coloring. But I want to avoid food coloring as much as possible. The red color in the bean curd comes from a natural fungus. This pork needs to marinate for at least 3 days.When ready to cook the pork, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Yes, 400 degrees. Normally when you think of cooking pork shoulder, you cook it low and slow. Not here. It will be tender. Trust me. I was skeptical the first time I tried making this. Roast this for 15 minutes. Pull it out of the oven and brush on the glaze. Roast for 7 minutes. You want to do this for 3 times total. The honey will caramelize the outside while the bean curd juice will give it a nice red color. Once done roasting, let sit for 10-15 minutes before slicing.
Ingredients
- 3 lbs boneless pork shoulder
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 3 red bean curd cubes + 2 tbsp liquid
- 1 1/2 tbsp Chinese 5 spice powder
- 3 tbsp honey
- 3 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
- 3/4 tsp white pepper
- 1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- 3 garlic cloves minced
Pork Glaze
- 3 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp red bean curd liquid
- 1 tbsp cooked marinade
Instructions
- Take a 3lb. piece of pork shoulder and cut it into a few long chunks with the grain. Each piece should be around 2″ in diameter. In this picture, I cut out the coppa roast and the flat iron. The coppa roast is the center muscle of the shoulder. If this was beef, you’d know it as a chuck eye roast.
- Mix together the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, red bean curd cubes and liquid, 5 spice powder, honey, cooking, wine, white pepper, sesame, oil, and garlic cloves. Mash the bean curds into a paste. Mix everything thoroughly.
- Add the pork shoulder pieces and the marinade to a gallon sized ziplock bag. Marinate for 72 hours. Turn the bag over every 12 hours.
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Lay the pork shoulder pieces on a rack onto of a foil covered baking sheet. Add a couple cups of water to the baking sheet to prevent smoking. Roast the pork for 15 minutes.
- While the pork is roasting, mix together honey, red bean curd liquid, and some of the marinade. Make sure to cook the marinade in the microwave for a few seconds before mixing in. Now you have your pork glaze.
- After the first 15 minutes of roasting, take the pork out of the oven and brush on the pork glaze. Don’t worry about getting the bottom. Put the pork back in the oven and roast for 7 minutes. Repeat this step 2 more times, for a total of 3 glazes.
- After the final glazing and roasting, let the pork rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing.
Pickled Carrots and Daikon
These pickled carrots and daikon are used as a topping for banh mi sandwiches. Sweet and vinegary with a nice crunch. These are good in your refrigerator for up to a month.
Ingredients
- 6 oz carrots cut into large matchstick sized pieces
- 6 oz daikon cut into large matchstick sized pieces
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 6 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Cut your carrots and daikon into large matchstick sized pieces.
- Place them in a bowl with 2 tsp of sugar and 1 tsp salt. Let sit for 5 minutes. Liquid will start to pool at the bottom. Rinse in cold water and pat dry.
- Mix together the water, vinegar, salt, and sugar until dissolved.
- Place the carrots and Daikon in a mason jar. Pour in the brine. Let pickle for a day before use.
Mustard Green Soup with Pork Riblets
Mustard Green Soup with Pork Riblets
This Vietnamese soup is very simple to make and is versatile with protein. I used pork riblets that I saved in the freezer from all of the rib recipes that I make. You can also use a chicken carcass, beef short ribs, sirloin, ground pork, or shrimp.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs pork riblets
- 2 tsp pork stock powder
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 small onion diced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 3 quarts water
- 1 tbsp pork stock powder
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 bunch mustard greens
- 8 oz shiitake or portobello mushrooms sliced
- fresh cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Par boil the pork riblets for 5 minutes. This will help remove any impurities.
- Strain the riblets in a colander and wash in cold water. Marinate with 2 tsp pork stock powder and sugar for 30 minutes.
- Heat up cooking oil in a large stockpot over medium high heat. Add in onions and garlic, cooking for just a minute.
- Add in the riblets. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Add in 3 quarts of water. Bring to a boil. Season with pork stock powder and sugar. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 40 minutes. Skim off any scum that floats to the top.
- Add in mustard greens and mushrooms. Cook for 1o more minutes.
- Finish with fresh cracked black pepper. Serve with steamed rice.
Vietnamese Roast Chicken
Vietnamese Roast Chicken
This is one of my favorite ways to prepare chicken pieces. The marinade has a lot of sweet and salty going on. Definitely not for people trying to watch their sugar intake. With that being said give this a try. All of the ingredients aren’t out of the ordinary and can be found at any grocery store.There are many options for the chicken. You can simply buy a whole chicken and cut it up into 10 pieces instead of 8. I would recommend cutting the breast in half so that they are the same size as the thighs. This helps everything cook at the same rate. Another option that you can do is buy all thighs or whole legs, or whatever part of the chicken that you like the best. The marinade is enough for 3lbs of chicken. This chicken is also great on the grill. You would want grill the pieces indirectly. Grill skin side down with the grill covered for about 20 minutes, making sure that the chicken doesn’t burn. Flip it skin side up and cook for another 20 minutes. Depending on how big your chicken pieces are, it will take 4-50 minutes total time. White meat has to be cooked to 160 degrees; dark meat to 180 degrees.
Ingredients
- 3 lbs cut up whole chicken or thighs
- 1/2 cup oyster sauce
- 1/2 tsp 5 spice powder
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tbsp minced lemongrass
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp cooking wine
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
Instructions
- Mix all marinade ingredients together.
- Marinate the chicken pieces for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.
- Preheat your oven to 325. Place your chicken thighs on a rack on a baking sheet covered in foil. Roast the chicken thighs for 50 minutes or until the internal temp reads 180 degrees.
- Don’t worry about the chicken looking more “done” than you are used to. This is called caramelization. There is a lot of sugar in the marinade.
