My trip to Oregon was made possible because of my super-generous cousins Chris and Erica. They opened up their home up to me, gave me tours, fed me (!), put up with my insatiable junk food appetite & other nonsense I threw at them 🙂 The main event here was to celebrate [the talented] Chris‘ fancy backyard 30th birthday bash. On their days…
My employer recently presented to me a decision-making process and philosophy to consider: “heck yes, or heck no.” In other words, if you’re not fully excited about a decision or path presented to you then you should probably say no and move on. Maybe he noticed how I like to take my sweet time when making decisions (ha!). Anyways, it…
The tộ in cá kho tộ refers to the clay pot this dish is traditionally prepared in. I don’t have any spare clay pots on hand and I bet most of you aren’t going to have it either so we’re going to cheat a bit and make this in a good ol’ fashioned non-stick pan. Mom’s old restaurant served cá kho in a…
Many Vietnamese people fled their home country after the Vietnam War and ended up in Louisiana. The Vietnamese were exposed to new, local foods resulting in some current mainstays of Vietnamese cuisine, such as Cajun crawfish boil, chicory in Vietnamese coffee and of course, boiled peanuts. These are popularly boiled with just salt, or with Cajun spices, but in this recipe we’re going to keep it simple and…
As a youngin, my parents took me out to eat with them a lot. They were great cooks, so a lot of going out was about discovery and enjoying new foods. To be honest though, it was partially because I was a stubborn customer who couldn’t stomach homemade food. It’s mind-blowing now to think we did all this dining without some…
This pandan sticky rice dessert, or xoi la dua, is great blend of sweet, salty, and nutty flavors. Glutinous rice is used for this, not just regular rice that you can make sticky! The main flavor comes from pandan leaves, which is found in many Vietnamese desserts. These leaves have a wonderful, intoxicating aroma I’d say is a contender among my other favorites like…
This dish is something I’ve occasionally tried as an appetizer at Japanese restaurants and it always leaves me craving more! So I decided to make it at home. It has a nice and light vinegary smell to it, with great crunch. This dish is called sunomono, and it’s a super simple salad made with cucumbers that you can just throw together…
I can’t believe it has been so long since I’ve last shared a recipe here, but I haven’t stopped eating–here’s Instagram proof!. About 14 months ago I got my first non-self-employed job, so Hungry Huy has been a bit neglected. I started to cook at home a lot less, which meant eating out more. It’s quite a bit more expensive to…
If you’re looking for dessert on the richer side, something deep fried never fails to deliver. This sesame balls recipe (Vietnamese bánh cam) delivers with a crispy golden glutinous rice outer shell, filled with sweet mung beans, and covered in white sesame seeds. My grandmother was a child raising machine. As if raising nine of her own kids wasn’t enough…
This is love in a bowl. If you’ve had bún thịt nướng you know what I’m talking about. You have your sweet bits, sour bits, caramelization, some crunch, and aromatic herbs in a single, colorful arrangement. Depending in which restaurant you order your grilled pork with noodles (bún thịt nướng), you’ll find that it’s presented in different ways. For the…
