One of the great treasures of Vietnam is its cooking, which centers on the many organic vegetables to be found in its markets, pungent, yet not spicy, sauces, and high-quality meats and seafood. A trip to the market presents you with an array of fresh and fragrant ingredients.
After Indian cooking, Vietnamese food tasted obviously more meaty but also lighter and healthier. (And, without various religious restrictions present in Hindu, Jain and Muslim--but not Buddhist--cuisine, the menu abounded with alarming sounding ingredients, such as crickets, made into the delicious fried cricket salad shown in the bottom picture).
Here is a recipe of one of the simple yet delicious dishes to which I was introduced in a cooking class I took in Hanoi (second picture from the bottom):
Chicken/Shrimp Sauteed with Cashew Nuts
Ingredients
Chicken breast (or shrimp) 120 g
Cashew nuts 50g
Carrot 20g
Green pepper 20g
Cucumber 20g
1 shallot
Chicken/Shrimp Sauteed with Cashew Nuts
Ingredients
Chicken breast (or shrimp) 120 g
Cashew nuts 50g
Carrot 20g
Green pepper 20g
Cucumber 20g
1 shallot
Butter, annato seed oil or yellow turmeric--used for coloring, oyster sauce (or fish sauce), 3 cloves garlic, chicken stock powder, tapioca starch (can be replaced with corn flour), sesame oil
Recipe
Peel the shrimps and then sprinkle with chicken stock powder, sesame oil and oyster sauce (if using chicken first cut the meat into cubes). Leave for a minute to allow the spices to soak in and then coat with tapioca starch before frying. Meanwhile cube the green pepper, carrot, cucumber and onion.
Fry up 3 garlic cloves and then stir-fry the cubed raw vegetables with a little chicken stock powder, oyster sauce and a little water before adding the shrimps/chicken. Add a little butter and continue frying on high heat for a few minutes. Finally add the cashew nuts to the mix for one minute and also a ladle of water mixed with tapioca starch to achieve a sauce-like texture.
Unfortunately, the cooking classes here don't teach the secrets of the ubiquitous pho--the beef soup served in street stalls and cooked laboriously and for a long time from beef that is often fermented (see the picture above), with the addition of homemade noodles. When a handful of fresh herbs is heaped on top of this concoction, it becomes the undisputed king of Vietnamese cuisine.
Recipe
Peel the shrimps and then sprinkle with chicken stock powder, sesame oil and oyster sauce (if using chicken first cut the meat into cubes). Leave for a minute to allow the spices to soak in and then coat with tapioca starch before frying. Meanwhile cube the green pepper, carrot, cucumber and onion.
Fry up 3 garlic cloves and then stir-fry the cubed raw vegetables with a little chicken stock powder, oyster sauce and a little water before adding the shrimps/chicken. Add a little butter and continue frying on high heat for a few minutes. Finally add the cashew nuts to the mix for one minute and also a ladle of water mixed with tapioca starch to achieve a sauce-like texture.
Unfortunately, the cooking classes here don't teach the secrets of the ubiquitous pho--the beef soup served in street stalls and cooked laboriously and for a long time from beef that is often fermented (see the picture above), with the addition of homemade noodles. When a handful of fresh herbs is heaped on top of this concoction, it becomes the undisputed king of Vietnamese cuisine.
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