Vietnamese Cooking Class Master

• 
• Servings
  2
• Prep
  120 m
• Cook
  120 m

Recipe By: Viet Chef

Vietnamese Cooking Class Master

Nước Chấm - Fish Sauce Dressing
Cha Gio - Vietnamese Spring Rolls
Gỏi đu đủ - Green Mango/Papaya Salad
Chả Cá Thăng Long - Fried Fish with Dill and Turmeric
Phở Gà - Rice Noodles with Aromatic Chicken Broth

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🐟 Nước Chấm - Fish Sauce Dressing

This sweet, savoury and sour dressing is an absolutely essential part of Vietnamese cuisine. It makes its way into so many dishes as a dipping sauce, marinade, and any-occasion dressing.

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Execution time: 5 minutes
Serves: 2

INGREDIENTS

• 4 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 2–2.5 tbsp sugar
• ½ lime, juiced
• 1 bird’s eye chili, minced
• 1 clove of garlic, minced

METHOD

1. Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl until all the sugar dissolves.
2. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if necessary.

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🍥 Chả Giò - Spring Rolls

These quick and easy spring rolls are a great way to clear the fridge of leftover vegetables. You can substitute any of the following ingredients with some of these ideas: broccoli, capsicum, white onion, pumpkin.

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Execution by time: 15 minutes
Serves: 2

INGREDIENTS

For the filling:

• 100g chicken mince
• 4 raw prawns, tails removed, diced
• 1 spring onion, minced
• 1 dried shiitake mushroom, rehydrated in cold water overnight, minced
• 1 cloud ear or black fungus mushroom, rehydrated in cold water overnight, minced
• 20g bean vermicelli noodles, rehydrated in cold water overnight, sliced
• 30g carrot, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2x2cm ginger, minced
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• 12 sheets of spring roll wrappers, cut in half diagonally, the middle corner trimmed off.
• 3 cups vegetable oil for frying
• 1 tbsp beaten egg (for sealing the springrolls)

For serving:

• 3 tbsp nước chấm
• fresh herbs: coriander, mint, Vietnamese mint
• Assorted lettuce leaves: butter lettuce, cos lettuce etc.

METHOD

1. Mix all filling and seasoning ingredients together until quite homogenous.
2. Spoon about a small amount of the mincemeat mixture (about the size and shape of your index finger) into the centre of the dough.
3. Tuck the left side of the pastry over the mincemeat mixture.
4. Repeat with the right side.
5. Then roll the dough to seal, resting the spring roll so that the seam is on the bottom.
6. Heat the oil to 160C or place the tip of a wooden chopstick in the centre of the oil and begin frying when a steady stream of bubbles exudes from the tip of the chopstick.
7. Cook for 5-6 minutes, turning halfway through until each side is golden brown.
8. Drain on a paper towel.
9. To serve, place the nuoc cham in a small sauce bowl. Place some of the spring rolls, herbs and lettuces on a plate.

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🌿 Gỏi đu đủ - Green Papaya Salad

This green papaya/green mango salad is a crowd-pleaser. The sharp and zest flavours of the unripe mango or papaya compliment plump bites of prawn and the crispy bits of texture that mix in with this salad.

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Execution time: 5 minutes
Serves: 2

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (200g) green papaya shredded
• ⅓ carrot, shredded
• 50g Vietnamese beef jerky, shredded
• 4 prawns, cooked, sliced in half
• 6 prawn chips
• 2 tbsp toasted peanuts, roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp fried shallots
• 2 sprigs of mint, picked
• 1 sprig of Thai basil, picked
• 2 sprigs of coriander, picked
• 2 sprigs of Vietnamese mint, picked
• 3–4 tbsp Nước Chấm

METHOD

1. Mix everything together in a bowl, add 5–6 tablespoons of the Nước Chấm to taste.
2. Garnish with more chopped, toasted peanuts, fresh herbs, and fried shallots.

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🐟 Chả Cá Thăng Long - Fried Fish with Dill and Turmeric

This dish is a famous recipe from Hanois using snakehead fish from the local lakes. However, you can substitute and firm fleshed white fish instead. Try barramundi, or snapper.

Serves: 2
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Execution time: 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 250g barramundi or rockling, cut into bite-sized chunks
• 4 sprigs of dill
• 2 spring onions, cut into 4cm batons, white parts halved
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil or 2 tbsp pork fat

For the spice paste:

• ½ tsp sugar
• 1 tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ shallot, diced
• 2x2cm cube, galangal
• 2x2cm cube, ginger
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil

To Serve:

• 1 sprig dill, picked
• 1 tbsp nuoc cham
• 1 tbsp toasted peanuts ‘
• 100g bun (rice vermicelli noodles)

METHOD

1. In a mortar and pestle, grind all the ingredients of the spice paste together, starting with the toughest, and most dense, and ending with the softest, and most liquidy until you reach a paste-like consistency.
2. Mix the spice paste with the fish and allow to marinate for 1-2 hours.
3. Heat a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-low heat. Add in 1 tbsp of vegetable oil.
4. Fry the slices of fish until they are lightly golden brown on both sides.
5. Remove the fish from the pan, and rest them on a plate.
6. Place the spring onions and dill into the pan, and lightly saute them, stirring occasionally, until they have slightly wilted.
7. Place the fish and the wilted herbs on a bed of bun noodles.
8. Place some shiso, and dill on top, sprinkle some toasted peanuts on top, and place a spoonful of the nuoc cham on top of the noodles.

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🍜🐔 Phở Gà

Lighter than its sister beef variety, phở gà is nonetheless a delicious and light soup that makes a well-balanced lunch or breakfast. Definitely try making the stock yourself, as it’s more nutritious and unadulterated than the pre-made versions you find in the supermarket.

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Execution time: 10 minutes
Serves: 2

INGREDIENTS

• 1 chicken thigh, steamed, sliced (200g)
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp soy sauce
• 200g banh phở (rice noodles), cooked
• 500ml phở broth
• 2 tsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp raw sugar
• ¼ tsp salt

For garnish:

• 40g bean shoots
• ¼ brown onion or shallot, thinly sliced
• 1 sprig Thai basil, picked
• ½ spring onion, sliced
• ½ Thai bird’s eye chilli- sliced thinly
• 1 tbsp fried shallots
• ½ lime, sliced into wedges

METHOD

1. For the chicken: Prepare a steamer. Marinate the chicken in the soy sauce and salt for 1 hour.
2. Steam the chicken for 45 minutes - 1 hour or until it is cooked through.
3. Place the pho broth in a medium saucepan. Add the chicken into the pho broth, bring it back up to a simmer and simmer for 30 minutes.
4. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Boil the banh phở (rice noodles) for 10-13 minutes, or until tender. Rinse briefly in cold water.
5. Season the phở broth with the salt, fish sauce and sugar to taste.
6. Divide the phở noodles into 2 bowls, pour the hot broth over top of them and garnish with the bean shoots, Thai basil, fried shallots, lime wedges and sliced chilli.
7. Alternatively, you can sous vide the chicken thigh at 65C for 1 hour.

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🍜 Phở Broth - Chicken Broth

Phở is a national dish of Vietnam that originated as streetfood and is named after the portable clay pots that would carry and dispense vats of the aromatic broth. The chicken version is a little bit lighter than its beefy cousin but no less delicious.

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Execution: 4 hour
Serves: 10

INGREDIENTS

• 2pcs chicken carcass
• 4L cold water
• 4x4cm (40g) ginger, sliced
• 1pc brown onion, cut in half and charred over a gas flame
• 1pc garlic head, sliced in half horizontally
• 3 spring onions
• 1pc black cardamom
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 1pc star anise
• ½ tbsp fennel seed
• ½ tbsp black pepper
• ½ tbsp coriander seed

METHOD

1. In a large pot of boiling water, blanch the chicken bones for 2 minutes or until the water returns to a boil. This will clean off some of the scum and produce that tastes and looks cleaner.
2. Dump out the hot water, rinse chicken bones thoroughly in cold water.
3. Return the bones to a clean pot and fill with 4L cold water.
4. Simmer for 3 hours.
5. Add in the remaining ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes- 1 hour.
6. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer.

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