When my husband and I were first dating and I started cooking Vietnamese dishes for him, I would preface every meal with, "this dish is kinda ethnic so you may not like it." No matter how mainstream the dish was, it got the "it's kinda ethnic" introduction. I no longer introduce every Vietnamese recipe this way but every once in awhile I …
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Chicken and Veggie Pad Thai
I love recipes where veggies are automatically included in the the main part of the meal and I don't have to think about cooking a side dish. Bonus points if the recipe is easy. Delicious, of course, goes without saying. It's for all those reasons and more that I love this chicken and veggie pad thai recipe. You get everything you need in one …
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Lemongrass Beef and Noodle Soup
I'm back with more soup! My youngest daughter and I are kindred spirits in this way. We could eat soup for every meal every day and be pretty happy. It must be the Vietnamese heritage.
So when the weather got cold again, I automatically went into soup making mode and arrived at this lemongrass beef and noodle soup. It's adapted from another …
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Banh Mi Hot Dogs
I fully admit I'm not a big fan of standard hot dogs but hand me a quality frank with creative toppings and I'll savor it just as much as a good hamburger. Cue the banh mi hot dogs.
There's a restaurant in town called Good Dog Houston that serves quality hot dogs with an array of creative toppings. I have my favorite combinations that I order …
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Asian Grilled Shrimp and Mango
The official start of summer may be another month away but I'm getting ready for it now. With a stash of fruit-herb sorbets in the freezer and dinner from the grill, I'm looking forward to leisurely dinners sitting on the deck sipping some chilled wine and lingering at the table visiting with my family.
OK, who am I kidding?
Being outside, …
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Asian Marinated Chicken with Green Mango and Carrot Salad
I have never been able to figure out why some blog posts are so much harder to produce than others. Even after three years of blogging, I still haven't found the magic formula that ensures each post will make it to publication smoothly.
Let's take today's post for instance. It has felt like a monumental effort. It is a delicious recipe for Asian …
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Vietnamese Lemongrass Beef Vermicelli Bowls with Garlic Hoisin Sauce
It has been a couple of weeks since my last post and I don't even have a good reason as to why I've been away. I was still cooking and eating lots. However, no new recipes were really lighting me up which is very frustrating (and a little bit scary) when you write a food blog. Fortunately, a good friend convinced me to check out a local Vietnamese …
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Thai Salmon Burgers with Cabbage Slaw
Unlike last week's Vietnamese pork chops which were fairly authentic Vietnamese, these Thai salmon burgers are definitely not authentic Thai. But what these Thai salmon burgers lack in authenticity, they more than make up in taste. A liberal amount of sweet chili sauce not only let's me say these salmon burgers are Thai-ish but it's what gives the …
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Vietnamese Pork Chops
I didn't even know I was looking for a Vietnamese pork chop recipe until I found this one. I was flipping through a Vietnamese cookbook at my library called An: To Eat: Recipes and Stories from a Vietnamese Family Kitchen and these pork chops spoke to me. The caramelized glaze made with Vietnamese umami stars like hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, and …
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Thai Shrimp Soup with Noodles and Pineapple
Is it starting to feel like the blueberry and Thai food blog around here? Given that the last few posts have been about blueberry muffins, Thai grilled shrimp, and blueberry galettes, it may seem that way. I threw in the migas recipe last week just to break things up a little. But now I'm back with another Thai recipe - Thai shrimp soup with …
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Thai Grilled Shrimp with Angry Sauce {Goong Pao}
Isn't angry sauce a great name? You can already tell that it's going to be a sauce with some personality. It definitely has some kick but it's not just about the heat. Like so many Thai dishes, the sauce is the harmonious balance of sweet, salty, spicy, and cool. It perfectly complements the slightly smokey flavor of the Thai grilled shrimp. I …
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Vietnamese Chicken Pho
As I'm typing this, I have two sick kids home from school with bad colds. It's a good day for hot chicken pho soup. Actually, in Vietnam, pho is good anytime - any time of day, any time of year. It's eaten at breakfast, lunch, and dinner regardless of the season. What gives pho its distinguishing characteristic is its intensely aromatic broth. …
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