The Vietnamese Wife, Western Husband Club

Our cartoon "The Vietnamese Wife, Western Husband Club" was published in September. All of my friends love it. Please have a look at the link below and let me know what you think 

http://vwwhc.blogspot.com/

The book is not just about us, it is about real life for Vietnamese wives and Western husbands. I don’t know about other couples, but destiny brought us together. We are different in that we have to adjust to other cultures and countries. The wives have so much in common, and I think the husbands do too but not as much. My husband’s previous life must be a Vietnamese because he loves Vietnamese food and he understands the customs so well. He understands me too, sometimes I can’t believe how an American guy can understand an Asian girl so much—when he sees my face he can guess what I’m thinking. He’s not just my husband, he’s also my best friend who I can share everything with. He’s a funny guy and he has a sense of humor, but you have to get to know him and then you will find out how funny he is. The reason why the book came out is when we got together with the other couples for dinner and my husband was chatting with the other guys about their Vietnamese wives. Reading this book, you will see yourself as a part in it. I hope you enjoy it!

Baked Char xiu Bao (Bánh bao nướng nhân xá xíu)

We love dim sum—good thing we live near Chinatown, only 3 train stops away. If you’re familiar with dim sum, you know how delicious Chinese pork buns are. They can be steamed or baked, but we love the baked version (baked char xiu bao). They’re soft, tender, juicy and slightly sweet. The filling is made of char xiu (Chinese barbeque pork), shallots, onions and seasoned with oyster sauce and sesame oil. It’s sweet and savory with intense pork flavors .

I never made baked char xiu bao before but it turned out so good and David ate 5. So yummy!

Below is the recipe for you to try.

Ingredients

For the bread/bao dough

1 cup milk

3 tbsp lukewarm water

2 teaspoons dried active yeast  (or rapid yeast)
1,5 tbsp oil

1/3 cup sugar

2 & ¼ cup bread flour

½ cup APP flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 large egg, beaten

3 tbsp melted butter, cooled

For the filling

1 teaspoon canola oil

2-3 shallots, diced

3 cloves garlic, chopped

4 teaspoons oyster sauce

1 teaspoons dark soy sauce

1 tablespoon sugar

1 pinch pepper

5 tablespoons ready-made chicken stock (Optional)

1 teaspoon sesame oil

2 teaspoon potato starch or Corn starch

1 cup chopped char siu

Directions

Dissolve 1 tsp sugar and instant dry yeast in warm water. Mix gently and let stand for 10 minutes.

Put the flour in a mixing bowl. Add oil, half of the beaten egg, milk and yeast water. Mix to form a rough dough.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work area then knead until smooth and elastic or mix the dough until it comes together using the dough hook attachment, about 5 minutes. Continue to knead on medium-low speed for a further 10-15 minutes, or until the dough is elastic.

Put the dough in the greased large bowl. Cover with cling film. Let it rest about 1 hour in a oven or until double in size.

While the dough is rising, you can make the filling. In a small bowl, mix together the oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar, pepper, chicken stock, sesame oil, and corn starch until smooth.

Place a wok over high heat. Add oil and garlic, shallots & onion. Stir-fry for about 3minutes or until fragrant.

Add the char xiu and the sauce mix. Stir constantly until the sauce thickened and transfer to a bowl. Let it cool.

Take the dough out from the oven. Punch down the dough and roll into a long shape. Divide the dough into 12 rounds pieces.

Put a tsbp of the filling in the center of the dough. Gather up the edges to enclose the bbq pork filling. Pinch to seal and twist it together. Put the bun upside down on the parchment paper square. Repeat with the remaining ingredients. Place the buns about 2 inches apart on baking sheet. Let it rest for 40 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

In a small bowl, combine 3 tablespoon of melted butter and half of the remaining beaten egg yolk. Brush the bun with egg mixture.

Bake the bun for about 20 - 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Chicken liver pate (Pate gan gà)

Chicken liver is a strange subject. You either love it or you don't. I love it, my husband doesn't. He always tells me the reasons why he does not eat liver but I am an adventurous eater and I just simply love it. When you make the pate from chicken liver, it's delicious and tasty. It contains a lot of the B vitamins, vitamin A, Iron, Protein and minerals, and it helps you meet your essential nutrient needs. However chicken liver is also high in cholesterol, heavy metals and other contaminants, so you should not eat it often ;)

The inspiration for this post comes from my friends. Last week, one of my friends sent me 30 loaves of bread from Uyen Thy Bistro in California. Another friend sent me the recipe to make pate from Braunschweiger, but it's made from ground pork, pork liver and bacon and is high in nitrates. But I just love chicken liver pate because it's mild and creamy so I came up with the idea to make my own to eat with bread along with homemade Vietnamese ham . 

The chicken liver pate is inexpensive and simple to make. You can buy organic chicken liver from Whole foods grass fed, without antibiotics and you're good to go.

Below is my recipe for you to try:

Make 4 small individual ramekins 

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh chicken livers, cleaned
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup half & half
• 1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter cut into pieces
• 1 cup chopped yellow onions
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon chicken powder
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup Cognac or brandy (cooking wine or Marsala or Amaretto) 

Directions

In a bowl, soak the livers in the milk for 2 hours. Drain well.

In a large saute pan, melt 1/2 stick of the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the chicken livers, the bay leaves, salt, chicken powder, sugar and pepper and cook, stirring, until the livers are browned on the outside and still slightly pink on the inside, about 5 minutes. Add half of the Cognac or wine and cook until most of the liquid is evaporated and the livers are cooked through but still tender.

Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Discard the bay leaves.

In a food processor, puree the liver mixture. Add the remaining butter in pieces, the rest of the Cognac, 1/4 cup half & half and pulse to blend and adjust the seasoning to taste.

Pack the pate into 4 individual ramekins, about 4 ounces each. Cover with plastic and refrigerate until firm, at least 5 hours.

Almond chocolate chip cookie-cakes

I was so busy for the past few weeks and haven't updated my blog.  Actually, I went back to school to keep me busy and to learn how to write in English properly lol. As you all read in the news, the subway system had been shut down after hurricane Sandy visited New York. Luckily we live in the highest point so we are fine, but we had no school and no work for the whole week, so I had lots of spare time to play in my kitchen and create some new recipes.

At the beginning, I just wanted to bake some cookies for David, but I found out I had butter milk and almond flour left, and I came up with cookie-cakes. It's kinda new and weird right? If you love to try something new and want to experiment, you will love this one. It's soft, fresh, tasty and yummy.

Ingredients

• 1 & 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, (sifted)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup butter milk
• 2 tablespoon almond flour (sifted)
• 1/4 cup almonds (roughly chopped)
• 2 - 3 ounces chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
2. Using an electric mixer, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, vanilla; beat until smooth. Add flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk to the mixture until incorporated. Stir in the almonds & chocolate chips.
   
   
3. Heap tablespoons of dough onto two baking sheets, about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until puffed and edges are golden, 12 to 15 minutes, rotating sheets once during baking. Immediately transfer cookies to wire racks, and cool completely.
   

How Jenny met David

Everyone has their own love story and I'm sure your love story is beautiful, so is mine, lol. This is  what my husband thought when we first met at JFK airport:

David: I’ll never forget the day Jenny and I first met at JFK airport. She was tinier but really gorgeous. But she had this foot thick wall of ice between us—it was pretty awkward, especially after we’d been writing for so long. Eventually she thawed a little, and we shared a really nice, never-let-you-go kind of hug, and then we were pretty much on a long date throughout her stay in New York. I would say i loved her at  first sight. 

We are so different, but we’ve been adapting to each other; so much that Jenny is hardly the same girl she was last year. She went from a party girl with her dial stuck on “Sexy” to a sweet girl who can be ready in 5 minutes with a T-shirt and shorts. It is really a miracle — over year ago I’d never have fit the description of her ideal husband, yet Jenny is totally committed with her choice. I am extremely lucky that destiny brought Jenny to me. Each day we learn something new from each other and I adore her more and more.

And for me 


I’m not your typical Vietnamese girl—everyone says I’m an independent, outspoken woman full of character. I’m just not a stay-at-home wife who wants to look after her husband full-time. My life was full of travel, exploring new places, trying new foods, hanging out with friends. Even though I’d had quite a few relationships, I never felt I had that special someone. Maybe I was afraid I’d turn out like many of my friends who were suffering after miserable breakups.

Love finds people who aren’t looking…

I’d been working for an Australian-based traveling company, providing counseling and recommendations about traveling in Vietnam to top-shelf clients. One day I was asked to design a tailor-made tour for a family from the States (we don’t get many requests for bird-watching). As I was processing their visas, the picture of one decent guy immediately caught my attention. His name is David from New York, and he was going on a Southeast Asia tour with his mom and his brother’s family.
I thought, “it would be great to have a cute friend in New York. Maybe he could show me around.” But it was a silly daydream; I’m not a tour guide and I knew we wouldn’t meet.

The months flew by and I totally forgot about the whole thing until the agency forwarded me an email from David. He thanked me for the wonderful trip and asked me for the contact of his tour guide because he wanted to send him a gift. A couple of months later, the agent went to South Africa and asked David to email me himself:

“Hello Jenny! My name is David Perry. My mother, Laura Perry and I had a phenomenal trip to Vietnam & Cambodia with your company. We had an especially excellent guide in Hoi An and Hue. We wanted to thank him personally but the email address he gave us did not work. It's been a long time, but could you please find an email address for us to contact him? We'd appreciate it so much. Thanks again for a fantastic trip” 

I replied:

“Thank you for your email. I’m glad to know that your family had the fantastic trip in Vietnam. I just contacted with your guide and he said that you could contact him at the email address. Aw, i remembered you live in New York? I’ve been in NYC couple times. New York is an amazing city. I’m coming there again at the beginning of June. Do you know any new places to explore, a place for local people not a typical tourist place?”

David listed all the places he thought might have me interested and he said that he would love to ask me out for dinner to express his gratitude. After checking my schedule, I agreed, and I sent him my photo so he would recognize me when we meet at Central Park. Ever since that day, we kept emailing each other and eventually we figured out the reason why David couldn’t email his tour guide. He accidentally forgot about to put “.vn” at the end of the guy’s address, no wonder not one of his emails ever reached that guy. Up to now, thinking back about the past, I believed that my marriage was guided by destiny.
Just before my trip to New York, I was in a motorcycle accident. I wasn’t hurt badly but I had to take a week off from work. I would have died of boredom, but David and I kept in touch on facebook. One day he bought a headset and we talked face-to-face on Skype. He always cheered me up, and I realized that he liked me a lot.
The day I arrived in New York finally came. Walking myself out of customs at JFK airport, I scanned the crowd for the cute guy I got to know from afar and found someone totally different from my expectations. He looked better in his photos and for some reason I thought he was tall. But I could tell he was extremely happy when he saw me. After a few awkward minutes, I let him give me a tight loving hug- the hug that glued our two hearts together. I extended my stay to give him a chance and was able to forget about my ideal in men.

(To be continued)

below is the cartoon my husband made for our Wedding entrance.

Thai Red Beef Curry (Cà ri bò kiểu Thái)

I'm a fan of Thai food and luckily my husband loves Thai food too. Last friday, we had a date night and we tried a new Thai restaurant in Midtown on the East side of Manhattan. We ordered a Thai beef curry and the taste was kinda weird. After I found a Thai grocery store, I decided to make my own. Actually, I never follow the exact recipes, I always adjust to my taste--luckily it always turns out good. For The Thai Red Beef Curry, I used lots of vegetables with the beef and red curry paste: taro, potatoes, okra, string beans, tomatoes, carrots, Thai lime kafirr, and Thai sweet basil. I also used coconut milk and Coco Rico for the soup. If you want to try something new, I think you will love this one. My husband told me I made this dish better than the Thai restaurant in NYC lol. I know that he loves me and he loves my food but i think he's telling the truth :)

Ingredients:

• 2 sirloin beef or bison steaks (6 to 8 oz. each) OR equivalent, cut into thin strips or small bite-size chunks
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 4 cloves garlic
• 3 Thai lime Kafirr OR substitute bay leaf
• 1/2 cup diced tomato 
• 1lbs taro (chop/slice and steam)
• 10 Okra
• 1- 2 big carrot
• 1/2 tsp. whole cummin seed
• 1 cup string beans
• 1-2 medium potatoes (chop/slice and steam)
• 1 Tbsp. coconut oil or vegetable oil 
• 5Tbsp. Coco Rico
  
  CURRY SAUCE:
• 1 stalk fresh lemongrass, finely sliced, OR 2-3 Tbsp. frozen prepared lemongrass
• 1 thumb-size piece galangal OR fresh ginger, sliced
• 2 Tbsp. fish sauce
• 1+1/2 tsp. Red curry paste
• 1 Tbsp. ground coriander
• 2 tsp. ground cumin
• 2 Tbsp. chili powder
• 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 2/3 can coconut milk (reserve remaining 1/3 for later)

* Tip: To make the beef more flavorful, you can season it first for 15minutes with 1tsp of salt, 1tsp of pepper, 1tsp of chicken powder, 1tbsp of yellow curry powder, 1tbsp of ground garlic.

 Preparation:

1. Combine all 'Curry Sauce' ingredients together in a food processor or blender, process until well blended and set aside OR you can simply pour all the "Curry Sauce" ingredients to the wok if you don't want to blend it in the food processor.
2. Warm a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add oil and swirl around to coat, then add onion and garlic. Stir-fry 1 minute, then add the beef and stir-fry 1-2 minutes.
3. Add prepared curry sauce, lime leaves and Coco Rico. Stir well and bring to a gentle boil (if it's too thick, add 2-4 Tbsp. water or stock).
4. Reduce heat to medium-low, so curry is gently simmering. Cover and simmer 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add carrots and whole cumin seed and continue simmering until carrots are soft enough to pierce with a fork (about 10 - 12 minutes). Add the string beans, Okra, tomatoes and simmer until everything is well cooked (5 more minutes). Finally add steamed taro and potatoes.
5. Reduce heat to low and add the last 1/3 can coconut milk, stirring to incorporate. Taste-test the curry. If not salty or flavorful enough, add a little more fish sauce. If you'd like it sweeter, add a little more sugar, or add more chili if you'd like it spicier. If too salty or too sweet, add a squeeze of lime or lemon juice.
6. Serve with plain Thai Jasmine rice/Sticky rice and enjoy!

                                              GOOD LUCK & ENJOY!

Classic Thai fish cakes (Chả cá Thái Lan)

I love Thai food. When i was in Vietnam, I went to a Thai restaurant 2 -3 times a week. I would say the taste of Thai food in Vietnam is similar to authentic Thai, but in NYC Thai food is adjusted to American taste. Actually, I do want to make some Thai food at home as I'm craving for Thai fish cakes and Tom yum soup, but it is not easy to find Thai ingredients in NYC. One day, when i was wandering around Chinatown, I found a tiny Thai grocery store located in a little alley called Mosco street. I bought some Thai lime Kafirr leaves which is very hard to find in New York and costs $3 just for a few leaves.

Thai fish cakes are a popular dish in Thai cooking. It makes a great snack, especially when you dip it in spicy sweet chili sauce. You can also serve it as a main course with sticky rice and pickled cucumber and carrot.

Well, let's get cooking now.

Ingredients: (Adapted & modified from About Thai food.com)

• 1 lb (.454 kg) white-fleshed fish fillets (Cod, Tilapia etc....)
• 6 kaffir lime leaves, snipped into thin strips with scissors
• 2 Tbsp. coconut milk
• 2 Tbsp fish sauce
• 1/2 tsp. shrimp paste OR 2 tsp. red curry paste (I use red curry paste because my hubby doesn't eat shrimp paste)
  
• 1/2 Tbsp. chili powder
• 1/3 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp. ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp. brown sugar
• 5 big string beans, sliced
• 1 thumb-size piece galangal OR ginger, grated ( I use ginger)
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cucumber (to accompany cakes)
• Olive or Canola oil for high temp. frying
• To SERVE: Thai sweet chili sauce & lime wedges

Preparation:

1. Rinse fish and use paper towel to pat thoroughly dry (if using frozen, the fish will be more moist so be sure to dry it as well as you can). Cut into chunks and place in food processor.
2. In a cup, combine the coconut milk, fish sauce, red curry paste, chili powder, cumin, ground coriander, and brown sugar. Stir with a fork to combine, then pour into the processor over the fish.
3. Add remaining ingredients (kaffir lime leaf strips, string beans, ginger and garlic). Pulse to create a thick fish paste.
4. Picking up a small amount in your hand, pat the paste into a small cake and set on a clean plate. Note that traditional Thai fish cakes are small (about 2 inches in diameter and 3/4 to 1 inch thick) and not too thick.   
   
   Tip: If your paste is too wet to easily form into cakes, add a little flour or breadcrumbs to the mix. As you continue making the cakes, it helps to rinse your hands every so often with cool water to prevent the paste from sticking.
5. Set a plate of cakes in the refrigerator for 10 minutes to firm up. Meanwhile, prepare your pan for frying as well as your garnishes. Cut the cucumber length-wise, then dice up into small cubes and set aside. Pour oil into a small frying pan or wok (at least 1 inch deep).
6. Heat oil. When hot enough, gently place cakes in oil. Fry 30 seconds to 1 minute before turning, gently lifting cakes from the bottom of the pan (they may stick a little). Fry until golden-brown and drain on paper towel.
7. Serve fish cakes immediately with the chopped cucumber and Thai sweet chili sauce drizzled over. Top with fresh coriander and a squeeze of lime juice just before eating.

                                                    Good luck and Enjoy !