Vietnamese Addictions

Vietnamese food holds a special place in my heart. I literally could eat it every day. It's a borderline addiction.

Rice noodles, grilled meats, FISH SAUCE. It's all freakin' fantastic.
I can't get enough.

Now that August is over, it's okay to order a big bowl of soup. Still want something light? Get some rice vermicelli or lettuce wraps with mint. Whatever, order out of season; who cares? Just enjoy it.

I've realized that Vietnamese food is perfect for every season. In summer, the fresh vermicelli and cooling mint accentuate grilled pork and shrimp. Salty, briny, sweet fish sauce tastes much better when you've been sweating all day, replacing salts and electrolytes lost throughout the day. In winter, a fat bowl of Pho can nourish you in ways you cannot imagine, warming your stomach and soul. Banh Mi sandwiches are perfect for quick pick me ups during the crunchy leaves and hoodies of fall, or the crisp chilly evenings of springtime.

So here is my favorite place to eat Vietnamese food in Brooklyn. Next time I'll give you the Manhattan goods.

To be honest, I haven't found good Pho since I first discovered it and fell in love in Maryland. (So tell me where you get good pho in NYC!) I've tried places in the city, I've tried pho at my favorite restaurants. I haven't found good pho. Come colder weather, I'm going to need a fix.

First up, for my Brooklyn foodies, is Nha Trang Palace. (I think most of the yelp reviews are stupid, although some are helpful.)

This place is awesome. I love the delicious food, fast service, and ample fish sauce.

The dishes to get?

Rice Vermicelli with grilled beef and spring rolls. They have several variations of this. Recently I went with my sister and she got the beef. Delicious. The choice of meat is less important than the composure of the whole dish. Pickled daikon, carrots and spring onion bulbs, raw cucumber, a sprinkling of scallions and cilantro get the job in ways you have to taste to believe. I would also suggest you pour all of your fish sauce over the top. I also highly suggest the same dish with grilled pork and spring rolls.

Crispy squid with garlic sauce. The squid are crispy, with enough give and chew to make them joyous. The onions underneath and the shredded wilted lettuce are reason to get this dish alone. I fight for them when I share. It comes with a sweet chili sauce I don't even use. The garlic on this is not heavy brown bullshit like at the ghetto Chinese spots that riddle every corner in many NY neighborhoods. No, this sauce is lightly garlicky and sparingly applied. No swimming squid with this dish. Order rice on the side if you like. I usually dip my squid in  nuoc mam, or a mix of hoisin and Sriracha.

Spring rolls! (No matter what you order, get these.)
Served with mint and large romaine leaves, these crispy morsels start your meal off right, whetting your appetite and readying your palate for the pleasure to come.





These are so good, it's hard not to pick them up right away. They arrive promptly and are bubbling hot with oil, fresh from the fryer. Here's what the inside of these bad boys look like. Cheaper places will fill these with a vermicelli and egg mixture to stretch the meat. Not ideal. Nha Trang does not disappoint.

Grilled shrimp on tiny rice stick! In fact, any dish on tiny stick is awesome. Eat with your hands! It's another dish served with mint and lettuce leaves. I like this combination in particular. I also love that the rice stick soaks up a decent amount of the nuoc mam I pour over top. Sorry no pic of this one. It really is a stunning dish both visually and flavor wise. The tiny rice stick is a mat of cold tiny rice noodles that are cut into squares and layered underneath the shrimp.

Another fantastic dish is Marinated Beef cubes over salad. This dish is so good. So good.
The greens in the salad wilt slightly with the heat of the beef on top. It's a fantastic dish that can be called upon anytime you need a big meaty dish.

Oh man, I can eat almost anything here. Stay away from the dishes on the back of the menu that are sopping with ugly sauce and not worth the trouble.

I've been to this restaurant so many times and there are still things I have yet to try.

Although the soup is good, it often leaves something to be desired. So whatever; skip it, there's probably enough food on your table already. A lot of the locals and regulars will be slurping down soup around you; so if you're curious, go for it. I've had better, and I think the other dishes are too good to  pass up.

I just ate here, and I already want to go back right now. Did I mention my addiction to Viet food?

Worldly Dips

Fresh salads, cold food, and no-cooking meals.
In summertime, these become necessary phrases for everybody.

But what happens when those leftovers need a little pick me up?
I'll show you three dips that will immediately spice up your day and make cold summer meals come alive with flavor. (Corny, but true.)

These dips from around the world and around the kitchen bring levels of intensity, layers of flavor, and a fresh pop to any cold summer meal spread.

Mexican Multiple Chili Dip
Mint Cardamom Yogurt Dip
Cilantro Lime Nopales Dip

I read them twice too. Get your ingredients ready.

First up is this fantastic dried chili dip. Adapted from Diana Kennedy's The Essential Cuisines of Mexico, this dip is a wonderful accompaniment to cold meat, with tacos, used as a marinade or as a hot sauce (add extra hot chilies for hot sauce.)

Mexican Multiple Chili Dip

Ingredients:
2 Cascabel Chilies
2 Chilies de Arbol
2 Meco Chilies
1 Guajillo Chili
4 Tepin Chilies
2 Roma Tomatoes (about 1/2 pound)
1 Clove Garlic roughly chopped
1/2 cup Water
Salt to taste

From top left, counter-clockwise:

Chilies de Arbol, Guajillo Chili, Tepin Chilies, Meco Chilies, Cascabel Chilies

Fire roast the tomatoes or broil for 8 - 10 minutes. The skins should char and the tomato should be soft and cooked through. Toast the chilies in a hot dry skillet, turning constantly to avoid burning. When they cool, take out the stems and crumble, leaving the seeds and ribs.
Put tomatoes with their skins, water, salt and garlic in the bottom of a blender, adding the chilies on top. Blend until relatively smooth, you'll want to see some of the chili skins and seeds throughout. Serve at room temperature.

A bit about the chilies here. Feel free to substitute different dried chilies if you don't have some of these available. Keep in mind that spicy or smokey chilies are used here, so stay away from sweet fruity chilies like ancho. You may use canned chipotles if other smoked chilies are unavailable, but skip toasting them. The smokey flavor is essential to this dip. The Tepin Chilies and Chilies de Arbol are included for their heat, and the Guajillo and Cascabel chilies are here for their light fruity flavor and low heat index. I also only used two of the tomatoes, but feel free to use more if you find the sauce too spicy.

Mint Cardamom Yogurt Dip

This dip is based on many mint-yogurt dip recipes available online, but I added green cardamom for it's bright lemony flavor. I wanted to use mint because I have so much growing in my backyard and fresh herbs are the rule for summer spreads.

Ingredients:
about 8 ounces Greek style yogurt
1 packed cup fresh mint leaves
1 cup cucumber chopped
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon water
3 green cardamom pods
1 small clove garlic, finely diced
Salt to taste

In a hot, dry skillet, toast the green cardamom pods until fragrant. Grind in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle with a pinch of salt. Add the mint, oil, 1/4 of the cucumber and water to a blender, pulsing until relatively smooth. Leave some of the mint rough if you like. You may want to add a little of the yogurt to help get everything moving. Combine the rest of the ingredients and mix until everything is incorporated into the yogurt. Salt enhances the flavors, but be careful not to add too much. This should be a chunky, minty cooling spread or dip, fantastic alongside heavily spiced foods.

This can be served immediately, but improves drastically after a day in the fridge.

Cilantro-Lime Nopales Dip

Ingredients:

1 Nopale cactus paddle, trimmed and cleaned of spikes and nubs
Juice of one large lime
1 clove garlic, rough chopped
1/2 cup chopped sweet or white onion
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
A generous handful of fresh cilantro
salt to taste

Fire roast your cactus paddle over a flame on your stove, until lightly charred and soft. Chop roughly and add to a blender, along with all the other ingredients. Blend until smooth.
This is a fresh tasting dip whose main flavors are cilantro and lime. The cactus paddle adds volume and texture to this dip. Fresh Nopales paddles have gooey, okra-like characteristics that is desired in many stews and tacos. When blended with the other ingredients in this dip, the cactus' viscosity keeps everything together without feeling like you're eating slime.

 Serve all three together for a trio of complimenting flavors. If the chilies are too hot, have some cooling minty-yogurt. Have some tangy cilantro lime dip for a balance that will keep you coming back for more.

Make a spread of meats, breads, and vegetables for an easy, exciting break from plain leftovers. Cold fried foods are really great with these dips.

You can thank me later.

Papaya Vacation

Eat a lot of papaya? I've recently started to.

I am a recent convert to this juicy, sweet, tropical fruit. For years the only papaya I consumed was after two hot dogs at Grey's Papaya.

Now, I'm making papaya salads with mint and fresh oranges. What!

This salad is particularly delicious with grilled meats. Have a nice dollop of yogurt on the side for a nice, healthy dessert. I also found that after I eat this particular salad, I feel really good.

Papaya Mint salad with Oranges

You'll need:
1 1/2 pounds fresh, ripe papaya
Two large naval oranges (cara-cara are fantastic for this)
1 cup fresh mint leaves
One lime
One jalapeno
Fresh cracked pepper

1. Peel, seed and cut the papaya and oranges. Save one half of one of the oranges.
2. Clean the mint and tear the leaves from the stems.
3. Cut the lime in half.
4. You'll only need about half the jalapeno, diced fine.
5. Add all your prepared fruits into a large salad bowl, squeezing the lime and the reserved half orange over the top.
6. Grind some pepper over top and toss everything together.
Enjoy!

note; if making ahead of time, you can use less mint, as it will permeate the fruit overnight. Also, make sure you only use fresh, ripe papaya and orange for this salad. Also, if you decide to leave the jalapeno out, you can substitute with more lime juice and more black pepper.

Spice Hunter

Ever visit SeriousEats.com?
It's a great site.

I recently discovered two columns: "Spice Hunting" and "Salt Mining." This kind of column is right up my alley, and excellent fodder for the pantry. Have questions about fresh turmeric, or how to use chilies with chocolate? This is the go-to column.


Check out Serious Eats Spice Hunting column:

Spice Hunting!

It's Awesome!

This light hued flower is from

a mint plant in my backyard.
(I thought it would be fitting)

Mecca

A bee pollinates a bean plant in my backyard in Brooklyn.


Early in the summer I came home after classes ended and took my road test to get my license. I failed. But I saw my fathers garden beginning to grow. Every year he has grown a tremendous amount of vegetables for our consumption, as well as extra for pickling, friends and what have you.

This year was no different. Spring was giving way to summer and the garden was full of garlic and onions. Tomato plants had begun to take root, but first a lot of mint needed to be used.

The winter was mild, and this meant two things: lots of ants, and lots of mint. The mint had overgrown everywhere and my parents were making salads, teas, cocktails, and everything else they could think of. Some mint was taken and dried out for use as tea, some was taken fresh as use for tea. Many plants were harvested and given to friends, and more still was eaten by everyone.

But now I have come back again (and passed my road test) and the garden is overgrown. Because of my dad's use of compost, and the buildup of dirt over the last 15 years, the yard has shrunk, and the vegetables have taken over. At the end of the middle of summer, grass is hardly visible. Squash plants dominate the open space, while beans and tomatoes grow in the back; hardly on the back burner.

"Everything is really starting to produce," my dad said as we looked under 14 inch squash leaves for the little green orbs that had begun to grow.

For dinner every night we eat beans fresh from the garden. Every night tomatoes are served in one form or another. Squash is eaten, while it is still young and tender. The fridge is full of harvested things, and the pickling hasn't begun yet. Pickled vegetables will be eaten next year, and all throughout the winter.

Grapes grow on the fence. Mustard greens are scattered about. Swiss chard grows next to a rose bush, "that's a volunteer," dad points out. Potatoes volunteer, arugula, sunflowers and more all push up through the dirt that is so rich from years of compost.

We eat well during the summer.