I work near this incredible Deli/Cafe, Gateway Cafe, near the San Jose Airport, which serves up fresh sandwiches, salads, and yummy daily specials for breakfast and lunch daily. Every Tuesday, they serve this amazing Spicy Thai Chicken Wrap as a lunch special item and it is my absolute favorite lunch item walking distance from work. … Continue reading Spicy Thai Peanut Salad
Category: Vegetarian
In my house, I always stress the importance of eating veggies. I do this all the time to the girls, without trying to be annoying of course. Why? Because it is healthy for you and it helps you POOP! The girls have bought into this belief and blame lack of veggies for any bad poops … Continue reading Chrysanthemum Soup (Canh Tan O)
The entree ain't as good without something on the side, ya know? Every time I hear these beautiful rap lyrics from Fabolous, I think about Rau Muống Xào Tỏi, the perfect Vietnamese side dish. Fabolous might be talking about something else in the song, but it makes me daydream about delicious, nutritious, and tasty Rau … Continue reading Stir-fried Water Spinach with Garlic (Rau Muong Xao Toi)
In 1990, my parents became really religious after my grandfather died and started following Caodaism religiously. My dad started reading countless Cao Dai books and spent most of his days listening to Cao Dai teachings on his cassette player. My parents met some people from a Cao Dai temple and started taking us to the Cao … Continue reading Fried Lemongrass Tofu (Dau Hu Muoi Sa Chien)
Every Tet, or Lunar New Year, I make a big container of Pickled Bean Sprouts to enjoy with all the Tet food specialties that are available during Tet. It is the perfect accompaniment for all the braised and savory dishes, like Thit Kho Trung, Banh Chung, and Banh Tet eaten during Tet. You can also … Continue reading Pickled Bean Sprouts (Dua Gia)
If you're in a time crunch and don't have time and/or energy to simmer chicken/beef/pork bones for 4-6 hours, this recipe allows you to still extract tons of fresh flavor from a few fruits and vegetables to create a robust veggie broth in a fraction of the time. This vegetarian broth serves as the base … Continue reading Vegetarian Broth
Season 2 of Luke Nguyen’s Vietnam aired a few months ago on the Cooking Channel. If you have not watched his show before, you should check it out. I love the cinematography of Vietnam scenery and food. It makes me want to visit Vietnam again so bad! Anyway, this Tomato Pepper Tofu recipe is another … Continue reading Tomato Pepper Tofu (Dau Hu Sot Ca Chua)
Last night I hosted hotpot night at my house and had tons of left over noodles and bok choy. Since the noodles were ready to cook, I went to the grocery store and picked up some tofu, Shitake mushrooms, and vegetables to make a quick Vegetarian Chow Mein. I was excited about using dried Shitake … Continue reading Vegetarian Chow Mein
Wow, I have not had any postings since the end of November! Hopefully I can start testing new dishes again and post more frequently this summer. Vegetarian Pho is delicious. The best thing about this recipe is it is super easy to make and takes much less cooking time than making regular Beef Pho. For the "meat" … Continue reading Vegetarian Noodle Soup (Pho Chay)
I think I've mentioned in a previous blog that I've been practicing vegetarianism, 10 days a month, since I was about 9 years old. I remember when I first started this vegetarianism thing, my mom always tried to make vegetarian food seem like it was real meat so we can eat it. I didn't really … Continue reading Tofu Burger
