I first got into espresso from some friends who were knee-deep in coffee education, while they were looking to start up a coffee shop. This kickstarted my interest in it. That and all the gear I’d get to play with. Before that it was me testing the waters with straight shots of espresso my dad pulled and making cringe faces,…
Pour over coffee was my only method of brewing twice daily for a span of 3-4 years at one point. It is pretty easy to learn, very enjoyable and relaxing to do first thing in the morning. Making pour over coffee can be as simple or complicated as you want it to be. I chose the more complicated way because…
Bánh giò is a originally a steamed street snack from Northern Vietnam. It’s a small, savory snack great any time of the day, made with a rice flour outer layer, ground pork, mushroom and onion filling and all with a special aroma from a banana leaf wrapper. I learned this recipe and technique from my Mom many years ago. More…
Bún riêu is another very popular and flavor-packed Vietnamese rice noodle soup loaded with herbs and vegetables. Compared to the other Vietnamese soup recipes we have here, this is the only one with shrimp, crab, tomato and tofu. We’ll cook this with a relatively easy method, but still delicious results. If you want to get a little crazier with effort I’ll…
It’s a dirty trick ice cream shops use to churn out fresh waffle cones, luring unsuspecting passers by with the aroma. The smell is amazing and often makes me forget about the original reason for visiting the shop. This bánh kẹp lá dứa recipe from my beloved mom will let you fill your home with that same aroma and put…
At long last! This bánh mì recipe is a follow up to the recipe I last posted, the Vietnamese pork belly recipe over two years ago (!!). I’m hoping the next recipe here won’t take another two years :). Originally designed as on-the-go street food, bánh mì is compact, portable and although I’m selling it pretty hard here it really is an affordable…
At Vietnamese sandwich shops, you’ll find a dizzying number of meat options like grilled chicken, grilled beef, sardines, and even some Chinese influenced options like xíu mại. However, with Vietnamese sandwiches, pork seems to be king–you’ll always see pork options like chả lụa (meat loaf), thịt nướng (grilled pork), nem nướng (ground & grilled pork), bì (shredded pork skin), and combinations…
Vietnamese mango salad (gỏi xoài) is a vibrant dish featuring green mangoes, shrimp, and is highlighted with fresh herbs like mint, thai basil and cilantro. It’s a mouth-watering combination of sweet, sour, salty with lots of contrasts in texture. Disclaimer: this is supposed to be a very simple salad. The one we’re making here has a bit of extras to make it fancier.…
Chè chuối is a warm, Vietnamese pudding-like dessert featuring bananas and rich coconut cream. You can easily make this at home in less than an hour! Chè in Vietnamese, refers to sweet desserts which are liquid such as drinks, pudding, or even types of ‘soup.’ So chè chuối you could say is a type of pudding, made of coconut cream, tapioca pearls and bananas.…
What Is Bún Thang? My knowledge of the Vietnamese language is about on par with my grandma’s English, so this gives us lots of opportunities to learn from each other. She watches Viet news and Korean dramas which have a surprising amount of English in them. The latest term I explained to her was “poker face” hah! I asked her what bún thang means…