Enjoy this fresh treat!

The first time I had this dish (in a dingy, basement restaurant) in Edmonton, I wasn’t quite sure how to eat it. I didn’t know then that the best way to enjoy the big bowl of noodles was to pour the dressing over the noodles, dig into the bowl with chopsticks and toss the vegetables with the noodles and meat. Then slurp, slurp away! The dressing has a salty, slightly sweet tang that ties together the fresh, crispy lettuce, the caramelized slices of pork, the crunch of roasted peanuts and the thin, slippery rice noodles.

This homemade version of the ever-amazing Vietnamese noodle salad mostly calls for every day ingredients that may be hanging out in your pantry or fridge. If not, you can replace or substitute as needed to make a quick and relatively healthy meal. The amount of each ingredient is really up to you – but I’d recommend a handful of each per bowl. You can serve this salad as a starter or side dish (as I have in these photos) or go ahead and use a large Asian bowl and have it as a light meal. It’s also fun to let guests make their own salad bowls by

Vietnamese Noodle Salad Recipe

 Salad Ingredients

• Rice noodles (the white, very thin variety)
• Lemongrass pork, sliced (see recipe here)
• Roasted peanuts, crushed
• Cucumber, julienned
• Lettuce, sliced thinly into strips

 Nuoc Mam Cham – Salad Dressing

(Makes 2 cups, enough for 4 meal-size bowls)

• ½ cup lime juice
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 ¼ cup water
• 6 .5 tablespoons fish sauce
• ¾ cup shredded or grated carrot

Optional toppings (available at Asian stores or make at home)

• Imperial Rolls (spring rolls)
• Shredded Vietnamese pork
• Sliced Vietnamese sausage or meatballs

Instructions

Start by making the Nuoc Mam Cham. Don’t be intimidated by using fish sauce – it may smell really strong, but it is absolutely delicious when used in dressings and sauces.

Nuoc Mam Cham – a salty, sweet and sour dressing

Add the sugar to the lime juice and water, stirring until dissolved. Add the fish sauce. Mix. The dressing should be amber-coloured and should have a good balance of salty, sweet and sour. Bear in mind that this dressing flavours the noodles and lettuce, which are bland on their own. Taste and adjust. Add the grated carrot and mix well. Keep the dressing refrigerated until use.

Lemongrass pork

Make the pork (see this recipe) or use any leftover meat (or omit completely for an almost vegetarian dish).

Boil water. Add rice noodles. Cook only for a couple of minutes (until just soft). Drain and toss in cold water to stop the cooking.

Boiled and chilled rice noodles

To serve: Place a handful of lettuce and sliced cucumber at the bottom of a large bowl. Cover with a handful or two of rice noodles. Top with pork, peanuts and optional toppings. Serve with a small dipping bowl of Nuoc Mam Cham dressing. To eat, pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine.

Layer toppings and pour over Nuoc Mam Cham

Alternatively (as in photos), serve all the ingredients separately and let your guests assemble their own bowls!

You can layer the ingredients yourself or let your guests do the work!

When I think of Montreal (Canada), I think of family, French and…amazing Vietnamese food. I have very fond memories of eating in tiny family-run Vietnamese restaurants that serve nothing but pho - a tantalizingly aromatic soup seasoned with star anise and caramelized onion and filled with rice noodles, mint, basil and a tasty assortment of beef cuts. I love pho, but try as I might, I’ve never been able to achieve that tasty flavour that seems specific to Montreal. So, you’re not getting that recipe, unfortunately.

However, another of my favourite food memories from Montreal includes other Vietnamese classics: banh mi (a sandwich) and noodle salad bowls – both of which use sliced lemongrass pork (this is a recipe which I’ll gladly share). This pork recipe is great for sandwiches and salads, but it is equally nice on its own with rice and a side of steamed vegetables, making it an easy weekday meal – which is perfect for me, especially now that I’m discovering all the joys of being a new mum. (Oh yeah, that’s my other big news – we have a son who is almost 5 months old!)

Vietnamese Lemongrass Pork

(adapted from Viet World Kitchen)

Ingredients

• 5-6 pork steaks (about 2 pounds, preferably shoulder, sliced thinly)
• 4 tablespoons brown sugar
• 6 large cloves of garlic, finely minced
• 4 shallots (or 1 white onion), finely minced
• 2 stalks lemongrass, finely minced
• 4 teaspoons soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons oil

Instructions

Mix all of the ingredients except the pork in a shallow dish (approximately 9 inches by 9 inches).

Mix the marinade ingredients

Put the pork steaks into the dish and turn them in the marinade with your hands, carefully massaging the marinade into the meat. Cover the meat and let sit for at least one hour (or marinate in the refrigerator overnight and let sit for 1 hour before cooking).

Cover and let marinate

Heat a BBQ or grill pan until hot. Place the steaks on the grill, but do not crowd them or they will not brown well. You may have to grill in batches.

Grill pork

Grill the pork until both sides are darkly caramelized. Transfer to a heat-proof plate.

Grill until caramelised

Serve the pork as steaks with rice and steamed pak choi (other other vegetable).

Slice for salad or sandwich

Or slice the pork thinly for sandwiches or salad.

Perfect for Vietnamese noodle salad

My favourite way to eat lemongrass pork? Sliced in a Vietnamese noodle salad – that recipe is coming soon!

I’ve decided to make this meal even better by adding some crispy pork belly to the meal. You don’t have to, of course, but it is yummy!

Crispy Pork

Ingredients

• Portion of pork belly, bone in and with skin
• 1/2 cup of soy sauce
• juice of 2 lemons and/or limes
• 2 tablespoons of ground garlic
• salt

Instructions

Prepare the marinade by mixing the soy sauce, lime/lemon juice and ground garlic in a shallow pan.

Separate the bone from the pork belly. Set aside. Score the skin of the pork belly if the butcher has not already done so.

Put the pork belly, meat side down, into the pan. Cover and refrigerate for two hours or over night.

Heat the oven to broil or gas mark 9. Pour away the marinade, being careful not to wet the skin side of the pork belly. Rub salt in the skin. Roast the meat for about 15 minutes or until the skin has puffed up nicely.

Remove the meat from the oven. Turn down the oven heat to gas mark 1/275 F.  Cover the pan completely with foil. Return to the oven and slow roast for 4-6 hours or until very, very soft. Once the meat is deliciously tender, remove the foil and turn up the heat back to broil or gas mark 9. Roast for another 10-20 minutes – or until the skin has crisped up again.

Let the meat rest for about 15 minutes and serve alongside the mung bean stew.

Monggo Stew

Ingredients

• 1 package (250 grams) of dried mung beans
• water for soaking
• 150 grams of smoked bacon lardons (or chopped smoked bacon)
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped
• pork belly bone which was set aside from the crispy pork recipe (or 2 cups of chicken stock)
• 2 cups malunggay leaves (can substitute spinach)
• fish sauce to taste
• soy sauce to taste
• oil for sautéing

Optional Toppings

• smoked, flaked tinapa (or other smoked fish, such as mackerel)
• crushed chicharon (or pork crackling)
• fried shallots
• fried garlic

Instructions

Soak the dried mung beans in water for at least 4 hours or over night. Drain and discard the water.

In a deep, heavy-bottomed pan, sauté the lardons until fully cooked and just lightly browned. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for another 3 minutes or until soft and fragrant. Add the chopped tomatoes and sauté for another 2-3 minutes.

Add 1 tablespoon each of fish sauce and soy sauce. You can add a little more if you like a saltier dish!

Add the soaked mung beans and cover with water (at least 2 inches above level of beans).

Add the reserved pork rib bones. (If not using bones, add the stock and top up with water.)

Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low/medium and let it simmer for one and a half hours – or until the mung beans are soft and have soaked up most of the water. Watch the stew as you may have to keep adding water; you definitely don’t want the stew to dry out or it will burn to the bottom of the pan! Also, I prefer my stew on the soupy side, so I keep adding water until it reaches the consistency of pea soup.

Remove the pork bone and shred the meat. Return the shredded meat to the stew and stir.

Add the malunggay (or spinach) leaves and stir gently until they are wilted.

Serve the stew hot in small bowls, topped with fish flakes, pork crackling, fried garlic and shallots. Don’t forget the rice and crispy pork!

A delicious treat!

My husband asked me to bake some cookies for his work colleagues this week – an excuse to bake?! I was only too happy to oblige. These deliciously crispy oatmeal cookies dipped in chocolate were the result. And since he didn’t bring any back home, I can only assume they were popular!

Though I love chewy cookies, sometimes I like nice crisp, buttery cookies – which is exactly what these are. The trick to getting them just right is to make your cookie discs quite thin – unlike drop oatmeal cookies, these moulded cookies won’t spread out very much as they bake.

Crispy Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup or 225 grams unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 cup of packed dark brown or muscovado sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
• 4 cups oats (I like using old-fashioned or scottish porridge oats, not instant)
• 200 grams good quality milk chocolate

Instructions

Heat the oven to 375F or Gas Mark 5. Cut the butter into cubes and put in a large mixing bowl. Add the sugar.

Cut butter into squares. Add dark brown or muscovado sugar.

Beat the butter and sugar until creamy with an electric mixer- about 2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth.

Cream the butter and sugar

In a separate bowl, mix the flour, salt and baking soda.

Mix the salt, baking soda and flour

Stir in the flour mixture into the butter and sugar until well incorporated.

Stir in the oats

Stir in the oats. The dough will be thick and stiff.

The dough should be thick and stiff

Take a large tablespoonful of dough into you hands. Roll between your palms until it is a perfect sphere.

Roll a small ball between your palms

Carefully press the sphere between your palms until it is a thin disc. If you like your cookies thin and crispy, I recommend pressing the discs until they are about a centimetre thick.

Flatten the ball

Arrange the cookies on a baking sheet. Use parchment paper or a silicon baking sheet.

Place on a baking sheet.

Bake for 15-20 minutes (depending on the size of your cookies) or until the edges are golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Cool cookies

Once the cookies are cool, melt the milk chocolate. (I usually put a bowl of broken chocolate pieces in the microwave for 1-2 minutes and stir). Dip each cookie in the chocolate and place on wax paper until the chocolate hardens. It usually takes a couple of hours for the chocolate to be completely hard, so I usually just leave them overnight.

Dip in milk chocolate

Spinach with Peanut Dressing

Yes, it’s been a while. The Christmas holidays were a whirlwind affair of parties and trips – not that I’m complaining. But now that it’s all over and done with, my clothes seem suspiciously tight. So in honour of all those attempting New Year diet adjustments, here is my first recipe of the year: spinach with peanut dressing.

I know that spinach is good for me – but unlike my husband, I don’t like eating it raw. So when I discovered that I loved spinach blanched with almost any kind of dressing or in soups, I was ecstatic! It also helped that the recommended daily serving of 2 cups of fresh spinach shrunk to about a quarter cup when cooked. Hoorah!

The trick to blanching spinach is to NOT OVERCOOK it. What I found works best is to get the water in a pot to a rolling boil, drop handfuls of spinach leaves into the water, and press them down into the water with a slotted spoon. As soon as the spinach has wilted enough to be able to stir (about 10-45 seconds depending on how much spinach you’re using), quickly drain away the hot water. The spinach will be bright green.

This recipe serves 2 people as a side dish.

Spinach with Peanut Dressing

Ingredients

• 4 large handfuls of spinach
• water for boiling (about 4 cups)
• 5 tablespoons organic crunchy peanut butter
• 3 tablespoons light or reduced salt soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar (dark or white)

Instructions

Bring water to a rolling boil in a pot large enough to hold the spinach.

Mix the peanut butter with the sugar and soy sauce.

Next, prepare the dressing by mixing the peanut butter, soy sauce and sugar. It should be a thick paste. To thin the paste, you can add about 1-2 tablespoons of the boiling water to the mix – the dressing should be slightly thicker than heavy cream.

Add the spinach to the boiling water and push down.

Add the spinach to the boiling water. Quickly push the leaves into the water with a slotted spoon. Watch the spinach carefully so that it doesn’t get over cooked. This only takes seconds!

Drain as soon as wilted. Do not overcook!

As soon as it is wilted, drain away the water.

Blanched spinach should still be a vibrant green

Stir in the peanut dressing. Reserve about a tablespoon for topping

Add all but 1 tablespoon of the dressing to the spinach in the pot. Turn quickly with a spoon until the spinach is coated.

Spinach with peanut dressing

Transfer carefully to a bowl and top with the reserved tablespoon of dressing.

Enjoy as a healthy side dish!

For two people, use a 6-inch round of Camembert (or Brie). You can easily use a larger round or prepare two or three smaller rounds for a bigger number of people.

Baked Camembert Dip Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 6-inch round of Camembert at room temperature (try to get one that comes in a round wooden box)
• 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary and thyme (dried herbs will also work)
• (optional) 2 cloves of garlic, slivered
• freshly ground pepper
• 1 cup dried cranberries (or raisins)
• 1 cup walnut pieces (or pecans)
• 1 french baguette

Instructions

Heat the oven to 400F.

Remove the Camembert from it’s box. Remove the wax paper lining. Carefully slice off the white rind at the top of the disc. Put the cheese back into its box – this will allow the cheese to keep its shape as it heats up. Push the herbs (and garlic, if using) into the soft cheese. Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper. If you can, carefully replace the top of the white rind. Wrap the cheese in foil and place in the oven. Let it cook for at least half an hour and up to 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, finely chop the cranberries and walnuts. Mix in a bowl.

Slice the baguette into rounds and then quarter them. Remove the cheese from the oven and unwrap.

Serve hot with the bowl of chopped nuts and dried fruit and bread slices. Enjoy by first dipping into the cheese and then into the fruit and nut mix. Absolutely heavenly!

The star of these treats is the tangy but sweet custard filling which is complimented by fresh berries and a sweet glaze. I used a really simple oil pastry crust. This crust worked well because I made the tarts the night before and needed something that would not get soft or soggy overnight in the fridge. If you plan to serve the tarts right away, a nice flaky butter crust would work well too.

Here are the three main steps:

1. Make and bake the pastry cups.
2. Make and chill the lemon curd.
3. Fill the pastry cups with lemon curd and top with berries and a homemade sweet glaze.

Lemon Berry Tart Recipe

You can buy prepared cups or make your own!

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup cold milk

Heat the oven to 375 F. In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt. Measure the vegetable oil and the milk into the same liquid measuring cup but do not stir. Add to the flour/salt mixture; mix briskly to combine until the dough comes together into a ball.

Divide the dough in half. Roll out each half to 1/8 inch thick between 2 sheets of wax paper.

Roll it out as thinly as possible! Cut the dough into 3.5 inch circles.

Carefully push the circles into muffin tins. You can either use non-stick silicone muffin pans (as I did), or regular tin pans.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown and crisp. Let cool completely.

Part 2: Lemon Curd

While your pastry cups are cooling, prepare and chill the lemon curd.

Use this easy recipe for lemon curd.

Part 3: Fill and Top Tarts

Ingredients:

• Prepared pastry cups
• Lemon curd
• Assorted berries (raspberries and blueberries work wonderfully!)
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup water, plus 2 tablespoons
• 1.5 tablespoons cornstarch or cornflour

Prepare the sugar glaze (optional if you’re strapped for time). Boil the water and sugar over high heat in a sauce pan. Dissolve the cornstarch in the other 2 tablespoons of water. Add to the boiling sugar mixture. Whisk quickly for two minutes and then reduce heat. Continue stirring until the glaze has thickened. Remove from heat and let sit until cooled to just above room temperature (you don’t want to custard to melt).

Fill the pastry cups three-fourths full with lemon curd.

Top the curd with assorted berries.

Brush the glaze carefully over the berries.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Easy Lemon Curd Recipe

(Adapted from The Joy of Baking)

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 4 tbsp (or 56 grams) unsalted butter, cubed and at room temperature
• 2 large lemons at room temperature

Instructions

Fill a saucepan half full with water. Put over medium high heat and bring to a simmer.

Roll the lemons on a board with the heel of your palm. This will loosen the flesh and help you squeeze out more juice. Squeeze the juice from the lemons. It should be about 1/3 to 1/2 cup.

Zest one of the lemons.

Reduce the heat to medium low. Place a heat-proof bowl (stainless steel or glass) over the simmering water. Whisk the eggs, sugar and lemon juice in the bowl. Whisk continuously until the sauce because thick (with the the consistency of hollandaise sauce or sour cream). This may take up to 12 minutes. Keep whisking so that the egg does not curdle. Once the curd has reached the desired thickness, remove it from the heat immediately. It should be glossy and thick – but not overcooked. Pour it through a sieve to remove any lumps.

Whisk in the butter until melted. Stir in the lemon zest. Cover and refrigerate immediately. The curd will thicken even more as it cools.

The lemon curd will keep for about a week in an airtight container.

The first time I had this wonderful pasta dish was in Rome. It was the hottest part of August in Italy, and I had just stepped off a plane from Canada to meet my husband after 4 months of being apart. The very first meal we shared was a plate of piping hot Spaghetti Carbonara – which is why it will always have a special place in my heart. That, and it was so delicious that we had to try it in different restaurants in Rome. Smoky pancetta and buttery noodles in a  light cheesy and subtly eggy sauce – that’s a proper Spaghetti Carbonara.

After being reunited in North America, we just couldn’t find a place that made it they way we had it in Italy. Everything was either too sticky, too salty, too cheesy, too heavy or too mushy. So, to preserve our memories of that dish, we swore off ordering it for a long time. That is, until I finally attempted this recipe a few nights ago. I’m fairly certain this is not the truly Italian way of making this dish (and I am open to suggestion), but the tastes and texture bring me back to a hot summer’s night in Rome. Enjoy!

Spaghetti Carbonara

Ingredients

• About 500 grams of spaghetti, cooked until al dente
• 1 teaspoon olive oil, for frying
• 1 cup pancetta, cubed
• 3 eggs
• 100 grams fresh Parmesan, grated
• 4 large cloves of garlic
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• freshly ground pepper and salt, to taste

Instructions

If you haven’t already, boil the spaghetti until just cooked. It should be tender but not mushy. If you already have cooked spaghetti on hand, run cold water over it to loosen the strands.

Beat the eggs.

Whisk in the Parmesan cheese, ground pepper and salt. Crush, peel and mince the garlic.

Heat the olive oil over medium high. Fry the pancetta cubes for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and fry for another 2 minutes. Add the butter. Let it continue frying until the butter smells slightly nutty and turns golden brown – about 3-5 minutes. The pancetta should also be crisp and golden.

Quickly add the noodles. It is okay if a little water goes in with them. Toss the spaghetti until evenly coated. Season generously with freshly ground pepper.

Pour the egg mixture over the top and immediately reduce the heat to low. Toss quickly until the egg has coated the noodles and looks slightly scrambled but is not overcooked.

Remove immediately from the pan and serve!

Filipino BBQ Chicken

This is my go-to recipe when I need to make a tasty meal but don’t have a lot of time to peel, chop, and fry in stages. It’s usually a dish I make on Saturdays when our house is full of friends and fun – and I don’t want to disappear into the kitchen for hours preparing meals for 6-8 people. Getting the chicken ready only takes between 5 -10 minutes, and then you can pop the tray in the oven! Et voila! A delicious meaty meal in an hour. Of course, you can also marinate the chicken overnight.

I call it “Filipino BBQ” because it has a similar taste to its more famous cousin,  Filipino pork skewers, which are traditionally grilled over charcoal. Each family has their own version of the recipe – some people use 7-Up to sweeten and tenderize the meat, others use sugar and vinegar. Everyone includes garlic – and lots of it! In my recipe for both chicken and pork BBQ, I use a combination of garlic, dark brown sugar, low sodium soy sauce, cane vinegar and ketchup.

Filipino BBQ Chicken Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 lbs chicken thighs and/or legs
• 1/2 cup tomato ketchup
• 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce (or Filipino soy sauce)
• 1/2 cup cane vinegar (or white vinegar)
• 1/2 cup  dark brown sugar
• 1 head of garlic

Instructions

Crush and mince the garlic cloves.

You'll need lots of garlic!

Mix all the marinade ingredients in a bowl.

Mix all the marinade ingredients

Pour the marinade into a deep baking tray. Add the chicken pieces and toss them in the marinade. You can bake the chicken right away or cover and marinate it overnight. When you are ready to cook the chicken, preheat the oven to 425F. Bake for 1 hour to 1.5 hours. You can also grill the chicken.

Bake the chicken in the marinade for 1 hour.

Enjoy with rice!

A delicious menu item for a large buffet party!