To Cook
Combine ingredients for nuoc cham dressing in a medium-sized bowl and stir until sugar has dissolved. Set aside.
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic, onion, carrots, cabbage, bean sprouts and soy sauce. Cook for 5 mins or until softened. Add salt to taste. Set aside to cool.
Arrange spring roll pastry on diagonal. Place 1 tbsp of filling towards the bottom and roll upwards, making sure to wrap tightly. Fold in the sides before sealing the end with water. Place on a plate seam side down.
Heat oil in a pot or saucepan over medium heat. Deep-fry spring rolls in batches until golden brown, and then drain on paper towel.
Mix salt and five spice powder on a plate. Coat both sides of tofu squares in mixture. Heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat, and then pan fry tofu until golden brown on both sides.
To plate up dish, place a serving of vermicelli in a bowl. Top with lettuce, cucumber, carrots, pan-fried tofu and spring rolls, and then garnish with peanuts. Serve with vegan nuoc cham dressing.
Vegetables
Stir Fried Bean Sprouts with Salted Fish
To Cook
Heat oil in wok until hot, fry the salted fish until golden brown and fragrant. Remove and set aside.
Discard the excess oil, leaving about 2 tbsp of oil in wok and heat on high. Add in the garlic and sauté until fragrant.
Add in the salted fish and stir for about ½ min, then add chilli, bean sprouts, salt, sugar and pepper. Stir for another ½ min.
Toss in the spring onions and hot water, stir for another 1 min or until the water boils.
Remove from heat and serve.
Vietnamese Rice Vermicelli Salad
To Cook
Soak rice vermicelli in hot water for 2 mins. Drain and set aside.
Saute prawns in a pan with oil. Cool slightly, slice in half length-ways and set aside.
Dissolve brown sugar in lime juice over low heat. Remove from heat; add fish sauce and water and cool.
Add prawns, celery, capsicum, mint, basil and bean sprouts to the lime juice mixture. Place rice vermicelli on plate and top with salad mixture.
Garnish with peanuts and serve.
Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls with Prawns
To Make Rice Paper Rolls
Put the rice noodles in to a heatproof bowl and pour enough boiling water to cover them.
Let noodles cook until they soften before draining the water and rinsing the noodles under cold water.
Dip the rice paper sheet in to a bowl of water before draining it and placing it on to a clean work surface.
Arrange on to the rice paper sheet 2 of the prawn halves, 2 mints leaves, and some of the rice noodles.
Fold the sides of the rice paper roll before folding the bottom half of the wrapper over the fillings.
Before rolling to finish the roll, stick a couple of the chives on to the roll and then finish rolling.
Transfer to a serving plate and then repeat with the remaining ingredients.
Serve with chilli sauce or hoisin sauce!
Stir Fried Long Beans with Dried Anchovies
To Prep
Rinse the dried anchovies in water and then pat them dry with a paper towel.
To Cook
In a wok, add about 2 tablespoon of oil and then fry the anchovies until they are golden and crispy.
Remove the anchovies from the wok and then fry the garlic until they start to become golden.
Add in the long beans and stir fry them for about 5 minutes before adding in the oyster sauce.
Finally, add the fried anchovies back in to the wok mix them well before transferring to a plate to serve.
Cold Soba (Zaru Soba)
Prearing the mentsuyu (dipping sauce)
Prepare mentsuyu according to this recipe. Allow to cool in the refrigerator for 1 hr.
To cook
Cook the soba only right before serving. Drain the soba in a colander and rinse the noodles under cold, running water until the noodles are cooled. Transfer to a bowl filled with cold water.
To serve, divide the soba among 4 plates and sprinkle nori on top. Pour the dipping sauce into 4 small cups with the 1 tbsp spring onions and a dab of wasabi paste (optional) on the side of each plate. Reserve the remaining mentsuyu for top-ups.
To eat, add the spring onions to the mentsuyu. Dip the soba into the mentsuyu and make sure to slurp when enjoying the noodles!
Crispy Spicy Preserved Radish
To Cook
Heat cooking oil in a fry pan on low, sauté chopped garlic and shallots until aromatic.
Add the preserved radish and chillies, stir-fry until dry and fragrant.
Add the Seasonings and stir well.
Remove from heat, let cool and store in an airtight container.
Lean Pork with Bitter Melon
To Cook
In a wok, heat sesame oil and stir-fry soybean paste and fermented black beans for 30 secs or until fragrant.
Add in the garlic, ginger, pork and bitter melon, stir-fry until the surface of the pork turn white.
Add in the sauce ingredients and simmer covered for 15 mins.
Season with soy sauce or salt to taste. Add the Shaoxing wine before removing from heat and serve.
South Vietnamese Spring Rolls (Cha Gio)
To Prep
Combine all the ingredients for the dipping sauce in a small bowl and mix until the sugar has dissolved.
Set it aside.
To Cook
Add some salt to the Chinese turnip and mix well in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave the Chinese turnip until slightly soft and remove any excess moisture.
Add the minced pork, noodles, mushrooms, onions, salt, pepper, and sugar in a mixing bowl, and mix thoroughly. Then, add the Chinese turnip and combine all the ingredients.
Place a wrapper on your work surface so that one corner is facing away from you.
Fold the corner closest to you to the centers of the wrapper and place a spoonful of the filling on the wrapper on the edge closest to you.
Fold in the corners on the left and right so that they cover the filling.
Roll up the spring roll so that the filling is closed off.
As you roll towards the top edge, using your fingers to dab some egg white on the edge of the wrapper and roll the rest of the way. The egg white will seal the egg roll.
Repeat until all the filling is used up.
Heat up enough oil to 163 in a deep fryer and deep fry until the spring rolls are golden brown.
Drain and remove any excess oil. Serve with the dipping sauce.
Thai Stuffed Bean Curd
To Cook
Heat cooking oil in a wok, fry tofu until golden brown. Remove and drain.
Cut the tofu diagonally into triangles. Slit the middle of the longest side of tofu to form a pocket.
Stuff as much vegetables as you like into the tofu. Serve with Thai sweet chilli sauce.
Thai Papaya Salad (Som Tum)
To Prep
Coarsely pound the garlic, chillies, dried shrimps and peanuts. Add string beans and tomatoes and pound to slightly bruise the beans and tomatoes. Add palm sugar, fish sauce, lime / lemon juice and stir well to combine.
Add pounded mixture with papaya, carrots and prawns. Mix well. Taste test and adjust taste according to your personal liking.
Serve with fried cashew nuts.
Thai Green Chicken Curry (Gaeng Khiao Wan Gai)
To Prep
Pound the chillies with salt into a fine paste. Add galangal, lemon grass, kaffir lime zests and coriander roots. Continue pounding. Add shallots, garlic, shrimp paste, coriander seeds, cumin seeds and pound until all ingredients are well mixed into a paste.
To Cook
Stir fry the green curry paste with oil until fragrant. Add chicken and continue frying until partially cooked. Add sugar, fish sauce and coconut milk. Bring to a boil. Add kaffir lime leaves and simmer for 10-15 mins until chicken becomes tender. Add a couple of tbsp of water if curry becomes too thick.
Add eggplant pieces, beans and capsicum. Bring to boil and simmer until vegetables are slightly cooked. Add cooked pumpkin. Taste test and adjust seasonings. Add basil last. Serve with steamed rice or cooked rice noodles.