Vietnamese Kale and Tomatoes

Lots of kale - and tomatoes - coming in from the garden these days. Here's a quick and easy combination of the two that is a little different from the usual. And did you know that a few Valley farmers actually grow ginger here? I got some fresh Lionsville Farm recently.

Canola oil
3-4 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
1 1/2 cups diced tomatoes
6-8 cups chopped kale leaves
1/2 - 1 tsp fish sauce

Heat a little canola oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic and ginger and saute over medium high heat until fragrant, about a minute or so. Add the tomatoes and saute for another couple minutes. Add the kale and cook, stirring frequently, until wilted. Add fish sauce to taste and serve hot.

Serves 3-4.

Vietnamese Grilled Eggplant Skewers

I often use a grill basket for grilling veggies in chunks, but sometimes I use skewers to mix it up. It also saves me a bit of room on the grill. Eggplant worked well here, but you could use whatever vegetables you like. If you use bamboo skewers, be sure to soak them well ahead of time; I use these bendy stainless steel ones that hook together in a loop.

Nuoc Cham:
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp chili paste
2 Tbsp lime juice (ideally fresh)
2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup water
1/4 tsp salt

Skewers:
2 medium Asian eggplants (the long skinny ones), in rounds or cubes (peeled or not as desired)
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
Salt
1/2 cup chopped herbs: Cilantro, Thai basil, mint, or a combination

Make the Nuoc Cham first so it has time for the flavors to blend while you prepare the skewers.

Toss the eggplant chunks with the canola oil and rice vinegar. Sprinkle liberally with salt and toss. They will soak up the marinade quickly. Thread them onto skewers.

Grill the eggplant over medium-high heat for about four minutes per side, turning the skewers once.

Serve the eggplant hot, topping with nuoc cham and sprinkling generously with the herbs.

Serves 2-4.

Vietnamese Root Vegetable Hash with Fried Egg

A root vegetable hash with egg on top is a pretty yummy idea even without the the Vietnamese sauce making it special. My original idea for this dish was to turn the shredded veggies into fried pancakes, but I quickly realized it would be much faster and easier - and at least as good - to just mash a hash instead. With a food processor to do the shredding, this goes together pretty quickly. I liked the flavor of the celeriac here, but feel free to mix and match with other root veggies.

Hash with egg

Nuoc cham

Nuoc Cham
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp chili paste
2 Tbsp lime juice (ideally fresh)
2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup water
1/4 tsp salt

Make the Nuoc Cham first (unless you have some from a previous batch in the fridge already) so the flavors can meld while you prepare the bowls.  Combine all ingredients in a small bowl or jar and let sit.

Leftovers and a fresh egg

Root Vegetable Hash with Fried Eggs
2 large shallots or a small onion, minced
1 lb celeriac, peeled and shredded
1 lb potato, peeled and shredded
Canola oil
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp salt
Black pepper to taste
Butter to fry the eggs
8-10 eggs (2 per diner)

Combine the shallot or onion with the shredded celeriac and potato and mix well. Heat a tablespoon or so of canola oil in a large skillet (or wok if you don't have a large skillet) and add the shredded vegetable combination. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are nearly tender. Stir in the cilantro, salt, and pepper, and continue to cook until the vegetables are completely tender. Remove from heat.

While the hash cooks, melt a little butter in another skillet and fry the eggs, a few at a time. Sunny side up makes the prettiest presentation for the dish, but cook them however you like best. Ideally the yolk should still be quite soft and oozy so that it will combine nicely with the hash once broken.  Keep the cooked eggs warm on a covered plate while you finish frying the remainder.

Serve mounds of hash on each diner's plate, topped with a fried egg or two. Pass nuoc cham at the table and top the whole dish with a couple spoonfuls before digging int.

Serves 4-5.

Southeast Asian Grilled Flank Steak

I was really pleased with how this marinade came out.  Serve the steak on its own or as a topping for Vietnamese Vermicelli Bowls. Substitute top round, hangar steak, or skirt steak here if you like.

2 large garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp lime juice
A 1 1/2 - 2 lb flank steak

Combine the garlic, soy sauce, brown sugar, and lime juice and stir until the sugar dissolves.  Lay the steak in a baking pan large enough to hold it laid out flat.  Pour the marinade over it and turn it over a few times to coat.  Let sit for at least 15 (but not hours because the lime juice will start to break down the meat and give it a less pleasing texture).

Grill over high heat, about 4 minutes per side for medium rare.

Serves 4-6.

Vietnamese Vermicelli Bowls with Shiitakes and Bacon

Back in our California days, my husband and I ate a lot of Vietnamese food, especially these wonderful cool vermicelli bowls in hot weather.  If you get the noodles, veggies, and sauce right, you can put pretty much anything on top.  Here I've used flavorful shiitake mushrooms and bacon because I had them on hand, but you could just as soon use grilled chicken or steak (some nice marinated flank steak would be excellent), leftover roast pork, marinated tofu grilled or broiled...etc.

If you like, you can double or triple the Nuoc Cham recipe - it keeps well in the fridge for weeks at a time.

Nuoc Cham
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp chili paste
2 Tbsp lime juice (ideally fresh)
2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup water
1/4 tsp salt

Make the Nuoc Cham first (unless you have some from a previous batch in the fridge already) so the flavors can meld while you prepare the bowls.  Combine all ingredients in a small bowl or jar and let sit.


Vermicelli Bowls
2 Tbsp sesame oil
1/2 lb shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
1/2 lb bacon, chopped
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 lb Asian rice vermicelli
1 large cucumber, shredded
A few carrots, shredded
2-3 cups shredded lettuce
1-2 cups chopped fresh mint, cilantro, and/or Thai basil

Start by preparing the shiitake-bacon topping. Heat the olive oil in a wok or large skillet.  Add the mushrooms and saute for 3-5 minutes, until mostly tender.  Add the bacon and stir-fry until cooked but not crispy.  Add the soy sauce and cook for another minute or so.  Pour off excess bacon fat (or remove with a baster) and set aside.

Cook the noodles in a large pot of salted boiling water for about 6 minutes, until al dente.  Drain and rinse under cold water until cool.

To assemble the bowls, place a generous quantity of noodles in the bottom of each bowl. Top with tidy mounds off cucumber, carrot, lettuce, and herbs, then add a spoonful of the shiitake-bacon mixture.  Top with Nuoc Cham at the table.

Serves about 4.

Vietnamese Noodles with Chicken, Red Pepper, and Peach

One of the things I miss about living in California is the ready access to Vietnamese food, especially vermicelli bowls on hot nights. This is one attempt at an approximation, using in-season local produce. It wasn't perfect, but it was quite good. And it made a fine use for the first red bell pepper from our garden! The sauce is a variation on nuoc cham, so if you have some of that in the fridge already, you can just add some more water and sugar.

1 1/2 cups shredded carrot
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 peach or nectarine, pitted and diced (a little underripe is okay)
1-1 1/2 cups chopped fresh Thai basil, mint, cilantro, or combination
1/2 tsp lime juice
Salt to taste
1/2 lb rice vermicelli, cooked and cooled according to package directions
4 cups cooked shredded chicken (warm or room temperature)
1/4 cup chopped peanuts, lightly toasted

Sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp chili paste
2 Tbsp lime juice (ideally fresh)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp salt

Combine the carrot, pepper, peach or nectarine, herbs, lime juice, and salt in a bowl.

Place generous servings of vermicelli in a bowl for each person. Top with some of the veggie mixture, then the chicken.

At the table, top generously with the sauce and a spoonful of peanuts.

Serves about 4.

Vietnamese Green Beans

Beans of all sorts are in season now. In our garden we have Romanos, a wide Italian variety with great flavor. But at the farmer's market last weekend I saw green ones, purple ones, yellow ones, and more. Any would be fine in this recipe, which is one of my favorite ways to use them. The onions are important, don't leave them out (I used sweet yellow ones from Crabapple Farm this time). I make this most often with tempeh (from Lightlife), but you could also do it with tofu, chicken, shrimp, etc. Or leave out the protein and serve as a side dish. You can leave the beans whole, which makes for a lovely presentation and easier prep, but it does make the dish a little harder to eat. Serve this over rice. Jasmine is good. Be sure to serve it with the Nuoc Cham (see below).

Canola oil
2 medium onions, sliced lengthwise
1 package tempeh, cubed
1 lb green beans, stemmed and cut into 2-inch lengths
8 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/4 cup water
Salt and pepper to taste
Thickener: 1 Tbsp corn starch mixed with 1 1/2 Tbsp water

Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet. Add the onions and tempeh and stir-fry for 4-5 minutes. Add the beans and garlic and cook until beans are just tender (the time will vary with the type of beans). Add the soy sauce, water, salt and pepper, and thickener and cook until it forms a nice sauce. Remove from heat and serve. Top with Nuoc Cham at the table.

Serves about 4.

Nuoc Cham
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp chili paste
2 Tbsp lime juice (ideally fresh)
2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup water
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp julienned carrots (optional)
2 Tbsp chopped peanuts, lightly toasted (optional)

Combine all ingredients except for carrots and peanuts in a small jar and mix well. Let sit at least 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to mingle. When serving, if desired, top with carrots and peanuts. Leftover Nuoc Cham will keep for many weeks in a sealed container in the fridge. It's good with spring rolls, fried tofu, steamed veggies, etc. in addition to the green beans.