Vietnamese Bahn Mi

 

serves 4, double the meat and bread for more people

Ingredients:

• 400 g meat (I used chicken thigh filets)
• Mayonaise
• Maggi (optional)
• Sriracha (optional)
• Jalapeño, sliced (optional)
• Cucumber
• Coriander (optional)
• 4 breadrolls
• Pickled vegetables

For the picked vegetables:

• 1 large winter carrot, cut in matchsticks and about 7 cm long
• 1 daikon/rettich, cut in matchsticks and about 7 cm long
• 1 - 1/4  (300ml) vinegar
• 1 cup (240ml)  warm water
• 2 teaspoons + 1/2 cup (105g) sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt

Preparation:

Pickled vegetables:

Put the already cut daikon and carrot in a seive and cover with the teaspoons salt and sugar. User your hands to massage the vegetables for about 3 minutes, or until everything is coated. A good indication is to try bending the daikon, if it is flexible (both ends can touch eachother) the coating is done.

Now flush under streaming water and drain the liquid well.
Meanwhile add the rest of the ingredients (sugar, water, vinegar) to a bowl and mix until the sugar is dissolved.

When the vegetables are drained add them to the brine and mix well before finally closing the lid.
Keep refrigerated. These pickles you can save up to 1 month.

Sandwich:

Prepare the meat in any way you want to. I always go by some of the recipes in "The Banh Mi Handbook: Recipes for Crazy-Delicious Vietnamese Sandwiches" by Andrea Nguyen.

Personally I am a fan of chicken, so usually I go with that.

Season the chicken any way you want to (you can find a recipe online f.e.) and fry/grill the chicken until done.

Now cut the bread lenghtwise until the edge, but do not cut through.

Remove some of the inside for the filling to hold better, but it is up to you how much.

Start with adding mayonaise on both sides of the bread, be sure to cover every edge. On top of that a few drops of maggi, if you want Then a bit of sriracha if you like it spicy.

Then add the meat, the pickes, the jalapeño, cucumber and coriander, in this order.
Leave out what you don't like, and close the bread.

Cut in pieces if desired and roll in aluminium foil so the filling doesn't fall out.
Enjoy your sandwich, it sure is one of my favourites!

Mike & Leda

Gyoza

 

This recipe makes about  50 pieces

Ingredients:

• 1 package gyoza wrappers (find them in the frozen section of an asian supermarket, or google an online recipe)
• 1 tablespoon oil
• ¼ cup water
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil 

Meat:

• 350 g minced meat (pork/chicken) 
• 3 cabbage leaves
• 2 scallions 
• 2 shiitake mushrooms
• 2 clove garlic 
• 1 thumb sized piece of ginger

Seasoning:

• 1 teaspoon sake 
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil 
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt  (half the amount for table salt)
• freshly ground black pepper

Dipping Sauce:

• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

Preparation:

Put the meat in a large bowl.

Heat the cabbage leaves in the microwave for about 1-2 minutes so they go soft. It is easier to cut this way. Remove the core of the cabbage.

Finely cut the vegetables (scallion, shiitake, cabbage) and add to the meat. Finely cut the garlic and add it too. Peel the ginger and grate it over the meat.

Add all the ingredients of the seasoning to the meat. Start mixing everything by kneading it until the mix becomes pale. Set aside.

Now, you might want to google for wrapping instructions on how to fold the gyoza. Down below I will provide a link to where I found this recipe.

Here you can also find how to make your own gyoza wrappers if needed.

Take a wrapper and put it in your non dominant hand. Use a teaspoon to scoop some of the filling in the center.

Dip your finger in water and circle it around the edges of the wrapper.

Fold the gyoza according to the instructions that you found, but feel free to use your own way. Place them on a baking sheet to rest while you 

prepare the others.

When everything is done, heat up oil on medium heat in a sauté pan, or any non sticky frying pan that can hold a lid.

Add the gyoza in a circular shape, but don't let them touch eachother.

Fry for about 3 minutes, or until the bottom is golden brown. Now add the water to the pan, but be careful and use a lid not to burn yourself.

Immediately cover the pan and steam for about 3 minutes, or until most of the water is evaporated.

Remove the lid to evaporate the rest of the water, then add 1 teaspoon of sesame oil and fry until the gyoza's are crispy on the bottom.

Mix the ingrediants of the dipping sauce and serve along with the gyoza.

Now it is common that you might want to save some of the gyoza for another time. You can easily freeze them by placing them on a baking sheet on a tray and put them in the freezer until the outside is frozen. After this you can add them in a zip lock bag. This is so that the dough won't stick together.

The source of this recipe can be found by clicking here

I hope you like this recipe and enjoy!

Mike & Leda

Corned beef with rice

 

Serves 4 - 6

Ingredients:

- 2 cans of corned beef
- 1 onion
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 madamme jeanette (replace with milder chili, or leave out if you can't handle spiciness) 
- 1 teaspoon trassi (shrimppaste)
- 1 spoon suiker
- 4 tomatos
- 2 maggi cubes
- a dash of ketjap (preferable "A" - brand)
- 1 teaspoon black pepper

- dash of oil

Preparation:

Finely cut the onion, the garlic and the chili.

Cut the tomato in cubes. The corned beef you can either scoop it out the can, or cut in slices/cubes to make the cooking progress easier later on.

Heat up a sauté pan with a dash of oil and stir fry the onion until golden. Add the garlic and fry for 2 minutes more, while stirring.

Add the chili and the tomatoes along with the maggi, sugar, shrimp paste and black pepper. Mix to blend and add the ketjap. Mix until everything is combined.

Add the corned beef and turn the heat to medium while you break it apart. When everything is mashed, turn the heat on high and stir fry until cooked.

Serve with rice and a salad/stir fried vegetables.

Enjoy your meal,

Mike & Leda