Recipes

All recipes

Vegetarian, or something you can't eat? Set your diet once and we'll hide recipes that don't fit.

Filters (8)

442 recipes

Xôi vò (mung bean coated sticky rice)

Xôi vò is a Hanoi sticky rice offered at the altar for Vu Lan, the Buddhist full moon of the seventh lunar month when people honour their parents and ancestors, and again on the first days of Tết. Unlike most xôi, it is not a sticky mass: 'vò' means rubbed, and the soaked rice is rubbed with crumbled mung bean so each grain steams up separate, glossy and pale gold. It tastes mild, nutty and lightly salty, and is eaten with chè (sweet soup), a little sugar, or toasted sesame salt. Chef's tip: crumble the warm mung bean paste through a coarse sieve; fine, dry crumbs are what keep the grains apart.

90 min

Vietnamese Rice & Grains

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Mứt bí (candied winter melon)

Pale as rice paper and crunchy at the edge, mứt bí is one of the cheapest and best-loved sweets on the Tết candy tray all over Vietnam; its white colour stands for a clean, bright start to the year. The melon is first firmed in clear lime water made with food-grade slaked lime (vôi ăn, calcium hydroxide, sold for pickling), which sets the outside so the batons stay crisp while the sugar soaks in. If you would rather not use lime, a quick blanch and longer drying gives a softer but still delicious result. Serve with green tea, or with candied ginger and coconut. Chef's tip: choose an old, heavy winter melon with a dusty white skin; young ones are watery and collapse in the syrup.

240 min

Vietnamese Desserts

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Thịt heo ngâm mắm (fish-sauce cured pork)

In southern Vietnam a jar of thịt heo ngâm mắm is prepared a week before Tết so that hosts always have something ready when relatives drop by; the jar full of pork is a sign of a well-stocked home in the new year. Pork belly is boiled until fully cooked, then submerged in a boiled and cooled brine of fish sauce, sugar, garlic and chilli, where it turns amber, savoury-sweet and firm enough to slice paper thin. Serve it with steamed rice, pickled mustard greens or củ kiệu, and fresh herbs. Chef's tip: make sure the belly and the brine are both completely cold before they meet, and keep the jar in the fridge throughout.

65 min

Vietnamese Meat

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bánh thuẫn (Tết sponge cakes)

In Huế and across the south, bánh thuẫn are baked in small flower-shaped moulds for the Tết table and ancestor offerings; the top splits open like a blossom as it bakes, and a well-cracked cake is said to bring a year that blooms. They are dairy-free, made only of eggs, sugar and flour, so the texture is springy inside with a golden, crisp rim, a little like a madeleine but airier. Children love them, and they keep in a tin for days, ready for visitors with tea. Chef's tip: heat the oiled moulds in the oven before filling; the batter hitting hot metal is what makes the tops crack into petals.

45 min

Vietnamese Baking

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Nộm su hào (kohlrabi and carrot salad)

When the Tết table in northern Vietnam fills with sticky rice cakes, pork in aspic and boiled chicken, a plate of nộm su hào brings freshness and balance, and its bright colours are a cheerful sign for the new year. Kohlrabi is at its sweetest in the northern winter, so it is shredded with carrot, salted to draw out water and dressed with fish sauce, lime, sugar, garlic and chilli, then finished with roasted peanuts and Vietnamese herbs. It is crisp, juicy and tangy; serve it beside rich meats or bánh chưng. For a vegetarian version, a soy dressing is given in the last step. Chef's tip: squeeze the salted vegetables really dry, or the dressing turns watery and dull.

30 min

Vietnamese Salads

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kẹo dừa (Bến Tre coconut candy)

Bến Tre, in the Mekong Delta, is coconut country, and its workshops turn out mountains of kẹo dừa, the chewy coconut candy that Vietnamese families put on the Tết tray and bring home as a souvenir from the south. Thick coconut milk is boiled with sugar and rice malt syrup until it becomes a soft, pale caramel that tastes of toasted coconut and a little salt. Each piece is cut into a small bar and wrapped in a sheet of paper-thin edible rice paper, which melts on the tongue. Offer them with green tea, or at the end of a family meal. The candy is naturally egg-free: the long boil reduces the coconut milk until its own fat and solids, with the malt syrup, set it to a chew. Chef's tip: use a wide heavy pan and stir right across the base without stopping; the common mistake is walking away, which scorches the coconut solids and leaves brown specks and a bitter edge.

60 min

Vietnamese Desserts

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Giò thủ (pressed pork roll)

Giò thủ is a northern Tết classic, a mosaic roll made from pork ear, pork tongue and boneless pork cheek meat with crunchy wood ear mushrooms and plenty of black pepper. Using these cuts is an old way of honouring the whole animal at the year's biggest feast, and the roll's neat round slices are a wish for a complete, well-ordered year. The pieces are boiled, sliced, stir-fried with fish sauce and packed hot into banana leaf, where their natural gelatine binds them as they cool. Every slice is crunchy, chewy and peppery; serve with pickled shallots, fish sauce with lime and chilli, and bánh chưng. Chef's tip: pack and press the filling while it is still very hot; once it cools the gelatine sets and the roll will not hold together.

240 min

Vietnamese Meat

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bánh tổ (Hội An New Year cake)

In Hội An and the rest of Quảng Nam, families steam bánh tổ for Tết and place it on the ancestors' altar; its name echoes 'tổ', the ancestors, and its slow-cooked sweetness is a wish for a smooth, sweet year. The cake is like a darker, ginger-scented cousin of Chinese nian gao: dense, chewy and glossy, with toasted sesame on top. Eat it in thin slices at room temperature, or fry slices until crisp outside and molten within, and serve with tea or sandwiched in rice crackers as locals do. Chef's tip: keep the water at a steady simmer and top it up with boiling water; a steamer that boils dry is the only real way to ruin this cake.

300 min

Vietnamese Desserts

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bánh in (pressed rice-flour cakes)

Bánh in, literally 'printed cakes', come from Huế and central Vietnam, where they are stacked on the Tết altar for the ancestors and later shared with guests; the moulds stamp flowers or the characters for luck and longevity into each cake. The dough is just toasted glutinous rice flour bound with fragrant syrup, so the cakes are crumbly-soft, melt in the mouth and taste nutty, with a smooth mung bean heart. Serve them with jasmine or artichoke tea. Any wooden or plastic mooncake mould of about 40 g works. Chef's tip: let the pressed cakes rest overnight in a closed tin; they firm up and the flavour of the toasted flour deepens.

60 min

Vietnamese Desserts

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bánh phồng tôm (prawn crackers)

In the Mekong Delta, and above all in Sa Đéc, whole streets lay out trays of prawn crackers to dry in the sun before Tết; a cracker that puffs big in the hot oil is a cheerful sign that the family's fortunes will grow too. Home-made ones taste far more of prawn than packet crackers: light, airy, crisp and a little sweet, perfect for guests with drinks or beside a salad. The dough is steamed, chilled, sliced thin and dried for a day in the sun or a few hours in a very low oven, so plan ahead; if you buy dried crackers, just do the frying step. Chef's tip: slice the chilled logs as thin as a coin; thick slices stay hard in the middle instead of puffing.

90 min

Vietnamese Snacks & Starters

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kẹo mè xửng (Huế sesame peanut chews)

No one leaves the old imperial city of Huế without a box of kẹo mè xửng, the soft sesame chew sold on Đông Ba market stalls and handed out at Tết and on family visits. Rice malt syrup and sugar are cooked with a little tapioca starch into a glossy, stretchy mass, chopped peanuts are folded in, and the slab is pressed between layers of toasted sesame. It chews like a soft toffee, nutty and gently sweet, and the sesame gives every square a roasted fragrance. Serve squares with hot lotus or green tea after dinner. The candy is naturally egg-free: tapioca starch gives it its springy chew and the malt syrup binds it, so nothing else is needed. Chef's tip: oil your knife and cut while the slab is just warm. The common mistake is adding the starch slurry without stirring hard, which leaves white lumps through the candy.

75 min

Vietnamese Desserts

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Turrón de maníPeanut nougat

On an Argentine Christmas Eve, after midnight toasts, the 'mesa dulce' appears with pan dulce, garrapiñadas and turrón de maní: a chewy white nougat of honey, sugar, whipped egg white and roasted peanuts, often set between two sheets of rice paper. Families make it in the days before Nochebuena. The egg white is cooked by the hot syrup. It is gluten free if you use gluten-free wafer paper or none. Chef's tip: work fast once the syrup is in, as the nougat stiffens as it cools and gets hard to spread.

60 min

Argentinian Desserts

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Thịt đông (pork in aspic)

Thịt đông is a dish of the cold northern Tết, when families once left bowls of simmered pork outside overnight to set; today the fridge does the job. Pork hock and pork skin are cooked gently with shallots, fish sauce and black pepper until the meat is tender and the broth is rich in natural gelatine, then wood ear mushrooms are added for crunch and everything sets into a clear, wobbly jelly. It is eaten cold, cut into wedges, with hot rice, bánh chưng and a bowl of pickled shallots to cut the richness. No gelatine powder is needed. Chef's tip: keep the pot at a bare simmer and skim often; a rolling boil clouds the jelly.

240 min

Vietnamese Meat

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Canh măng (dried bamboo shoot soup)

A deep bowl of canh măng sits at the centre of the northern Tết feast tray, where its long, chewy strands of bamboo stand for steady growth in the new year. The dried shoots are soaked and boiled several times until mild and tender, then simmered with pork hock until the broth is clear, sweet and lightly smoky. It is rich but clean-tasting, served with rice beside the boiled chicken, spring rolls and giò. If you prefer chicken, a variation is given in the steps. Chef's tip: tear the soaked shoots into thin strips along the grain rather than cutting across; they stay chewy and soak up more broth.

180 min

Vietnamese Soups

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Canh bóng (Hanoi puffed pork skin soup)

Canh bóng is the showpiece soup of the Hanoi Tết feast tray: a clear pork bone broth full of colour, with carrot flowers, cauliflower, snow peas and mushrooms floating beside pork meatballs, prawns and bóng bì, the puffed dried pork skin that soaks up broth like a sponge. Its many ingredients stand for abundance, and its clarity for a clean start to the year. It is light yet deeply savoury, served with rice and the rest of the feast. Buy bóng bì ready-puffed in packets from Vietnamese grocers. Chef's tip: soak and squeeze the pork skin in warm ginger water twice; it removes the frying oil so the broth stays sparkling.

90 min

Vietnamese Soups

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kẹo cu đơ (Hà Tĩnh peanut and ginger candy)

Kẹo cu đơ belongs to Hà Tĩnh province in north-central Vietnam, where it is chewed slowly with a cup of strong green tea, especially on cold mornings and during Tết visits. Roasted peanuts are folded into a dark, sticky toffee of sugarcane molasses and malt syrup, sharpened with fresh ginger, and the hot mass is sandwiched between two crisp, toasted sesame rice papers. Every bite gives a crackle of rice paper, then a chewy, slightly smoky sweetness and a warm ginger finish. Cut it into wedges and serve it with tea rather than as a pudding. It is naturally egg-free: the molasses and malt syrup are cooked to the hard-ball stage, which is what sets the candy and binds the nuts. Chef's tip: toast the rice papers until they are completely puffed and blistered; the common mistake is under-toasting them, which leaves them leathery once the hot toffee goes on.

45 min

Vietnamese Desserts

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Chè kho (mung bean fudge pudding)

On New Year's Eve and the last days of Tết, Hanoi families place a plate of chè kho on the ancestors' altar: a smooth, golden mung bean fudge whose sweetness asks for a gentle, prosperous year. 'Kho' means cooked down dry, and that is the whole technique, stirring the bean purée with sugar until it becomes a thick, glossy paste that can be cut. It tastes nutty and delicately floral from grapefruit-blossom water, with a crunch of sesame on top. Serve small slices with lotus or green tea. Chef's tip: use a heavy non-stick pan and a wooden spoon, and never leave it; the paste catches in seconds once it thickens.

75 min

Vietnamese Desserts

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Mứt sen (candied lotus seeds)

No Tết candy tray in Hanoi or Huế looks complete without a mound of mứt sen, the ivory lotus seeds that stand for purity and, because a lotus pod holds so many seeds, for a family blessed with many descendants. Done well, each seed is soft and floury inside, almost like chestnut, under a dry, sparkling shell of sugar. Guests nibble them with a pot of hot green or lotus tea while they swap New Year wishes. Fresh seeds are best; dried ones from Asian grocers work if soaked overnight first. Chef's tip: pull out every green germ in the centre, because a single bitter heart spoils the sweet mouthful.

90 min

Vietnamese Desserts

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Quinotos en almíbar (Argentine kumquats in syrup)

In Buenos Aires and the river provinces of the Litoral, kumquat trees ripen in the middle of winter, between June and August, and the fruit goes straight into jars of syrup. Grandmothers' pantries held quinotos for the whole year, brought out for birthdays and long Sunday lunches. Each little fruit turns glossy orange and translucent, with a soft, bittersweet skin and a sharp, juicy centre. Spoon them over vanilla ice cream, serve them with a slice of fresh cheese in the style of postre vigilante, or eat them straight from the jar. Many bar menus offer them steeped in spirits; this version keeps only the syrup. Naturally egg-free, the quinotos rely on sugar syrup to preserve them, while pectin from the peel gives the syrup a light, jammy body. Chef's tip: blanch the fruit three times from cold water; the common mistake is skipping this, which leaves the skins tough and bitter.

120 min

Argentinian Desserts

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Mứt tắc (candied kumquats)

In the south, potted kumquat trees heavy with fruit stand at the door for Tết, because their round gold fruit promises plenty; mứt tắc brings that same luck to the candy tray. Each fruit is slit, gently pressed to push out the seeds and juice, firmed briefly in clear water made with food-grade slaked lime (vôi ăn), then candied until glossy and amber, with a chewy skin and a pleasant bitter-sweet edge. A no-lime method is given too. Serve with strong tea, or drop a fruit into hot water with honey for a soothing drink. Chef's tip: blanch the fruit twice in fresh water before candying; it tames the bitterness without losing the perfume.

240 min

Vietnamese Desserts

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Dưa hành (pickled shallots)

In northern Vietnam the saying goes that fatty pork, pickled shallots and red couplets make Tết, and dưa hành is that pickled shallot. It is not the same thing as southern củ kiệu: kiệu are slim scallion bulbs pickled sweet and mild, while dưa hành uses round purple shallots (hành tím) that sit in a salty brine for a few days, turning faintly sour, crunchy and pleasantly pungent. Their bite cuts through sticky bánh chưng, pork in aspic and pressed pork rolls, which is exactly why every northern family makes a jar. Chef's tip: soak the unpeeled shallots in warm water first; the skins then slip off in seconds and your eyes stay dry.

30 min

Vietnamese Sides

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bánh tro (bánh gio, amber glutinous rice cakes in leaves)Lye water glutinous rice cakes

On Tết Đoan Ngọ, the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, families in northern and central Vietnam eat bánh tro first thing in the morning, believing it cools the body as summer heat arrives. Glutinous rice is soaked in alkaline water, which was once made by steeping plant ash, then wrapped in leaves and boiled for hours. It turns amber, translucent and jelly-soft with a clean, faintly mineral flavour, and is eaten cold, dipped in sugarcane molasses or palm-sugar syrup. Bánh tro is naturally egg-free: the alkali softens the rice grains so their own starch melts together into a firm, sliceable cake. We use food-grade lye water (an alkaline solution of potassium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate sold in Asian shops for noodles and mooncakes). Handle it with care: wear gloves, keep it away from children, never use drain cleaner or caustic soda, and always dilute it as written. Chef's tip: the common mistake is skipping the rinse; wash the soaked rice twice so the cakes taste clean, not soapy.

600 min

Vietnamese Desserts

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Cá hấp gừngGinger steamed whole fish

Cá hấp gừng is a family dish across Vietnam, from Hanoi to the Mekong Delta, put in the middle of the table for a weekend lunch or a Tết dinner and shared with rice and greens. A whole fish is steamed over ginger, then heaped with ginger and spring onion shreds and dressed with sizzling oil and a light soy and fish sauce. The flesh comes out silky and delicate. A portion has about 25 g of protein from the fish. The common mistake is oversteaming: thin parts go dry and woolly. Take it off as soon as the flesh at the thickest point pulls cleanly from the bone. Chef's tip: score the fish to the bone on both sides so it cooks evenly and the sauce gets in.

30 min

Vietnamese Fish

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Helado de dulce de leche (Buenos Aires dulce de leche ice cream)

Dulce de leche is the flavour Buenos Aires heladerías are judged by, and on a summer night the queues at neighbourhood ice-cream shops stretch out onto the pavement well after dinner. Locals order it plain, with a ripple of extra dulce de leche (dulce de leche granizado adds chocolate flakes), often by the kilo to take home. It is dense, chewy and deeply caramel. This home version is egg-free with no custard: a little cornflour cooked into the milk thickens it the way yolks would, and the dulce de leche itself is milk and sugar cooked down, its sugar and milk solids keeping crystals tiny so it stays smooth and scoopable. Churn it, or still-freeze and stir it every 45 minutes. Chef's tip: chill the extra dulce de leche before rippling it in; the common mistake is folding in a warm one, which melts into the ice cream instead of leaving ribbons.

295 min

Argentinian Desserts

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Showing 24 of 442 recipes

Show more recipes

Page 1 of 19