Let's ĐĐ Mau to Vietnam

Vancouver has so many great places to eat, and not only that, some of these places are like little cultural treasures.
One of them recently attracted me, with its name - " ĐĐ Mau". Although, first letter is similar to the one from Serbian language alphabet, like Đoković, yet this is another part of the world...
I was curious what's behind this unusual name, and I took my daughters for a quick lunch. We ended up having really great puled pork sandwiches -Vietnamese style.
And we learned something there: ĐĐ Mau ( pronounced Di Di mau) means "get lost, go quickly", phrase picked up by American soldiers during the Vietnam war to tell citizens to “get outta here”.

It's an interesting start of the exploration of one exotic cuisine, like Vietnamese. Pho Bo soup, noodles and spring rolls, it's all related and it's all here, in this post!

Vietnamese Pho Bo soup

In Vietnam, Beef soup - Pho Bo, is sold by street vendors as a breakfast, late night snack or lunch. To make it more satisfying or to make a change, hard-boiled egg cut into quarters can be added or substituted for the beef. This soup is great also because there is no long cooking involved, thin slices of beef are infused with other flavours by hot stock.
½ lb - 225 g 1 1 4 tbsp 4 4 tbsp 1 100 g 3 or 4 4 tbsp (or to taste)					Wide rice noodles (Banh Pho) or yam noodles Onion, chopped into rings 1 ginger root Juice from 1 lemon Fresh coriander, finely chopped Lettuce leaves, washed and shredded Lemon or lime, cut into quarters Sirloin steak, cut into paper thin strips Fresh hot chili peppers, cut into rings (optional) raw bean sprouts Beef stock
Soak the noodles for 30 minutes in boiling water, until soft. Drain, cold wash and keep aside. Soak the onion rings in the lemon juice for 20 minutes. Arrange the coriander, lettuce and lemon or lime wedges on different plates and place on the table.Add the noodles to the soup bowls, then the lettuce, herbs, onion and chilies if desired.Add the meat, layering it scooped over the noodles and veggies. Pour the boiling stock over the paper-thin meat, turning it from raw to rare and releasing flavours of the herbs. Add the raw bean sprouts and a squeeze of the lemon or lime.
Vegetarian Sandwich with Sesame Sauce Recipe
3 1 12-15 2-3 leaves 1 Spread 35 g 2 tbsp 3 tsp 1 tbsp 1/2 tsp 1/2 tsp 1 tsp 1 tsp				Thin slices of good wholegrain bread or buns, toasted Medium tomato, thinly sliced Fresh celery leaves, coarsely chopped Fresh lettuce, torn into bite-sized pieces Small onion, thinly sliced Raw sunflower seeds, presoaked at least 3 hours or overnight in cool water and drained Dark sesame paste blended with 3 teaspoons water Water Sesame oil Salt Sugar Soy sauce Ground black pepper
To prepare the spread, place all the ingredients in a blender, and blend to a smooth paste. Taste and adjust salt if necessary. To assemble the sandwich, slice and toast the bread. Place a slice of toast on a plate and cover with one quarter o the spread. Arrange half the tomato, chopped celery leaves, lettuce and onions on top of the spread. Top with a second slice of toast spread-side down, then cover the top of that slice with spread and arrange remaining vegetables on it. Complete the sandwich with the third slice of toast placed spread-side down. Cut in half with sharp knife, or serve whole.
Hue Stuffed Pancakes
	5 tbsp 2 55 g Pancake batter 85 g 1/4 3 125 ml Pancake Filling 7.5 g 1 clove 15 ml 125 ml 145 g 85 g 30 g 30 g 1/4 1/4					Oil (for frying) Eggs Seasoned flour Rice flour Salt Eggs, beaten Coconut milk  Ginger, chopped Garlic, chopped Soy sauce White sauce Crab meat Mushrooms, chopped Green onions (scallions), chopped Bean sprouts Salt Pepper
	Method : Combine rice flour, coconut milk, 3 eggs and salt to make a pancake batter. Heat a little in an nonstick frying pan, add batter. Make pancakes until all batter is used.  Meantime, blend ginger, garlic, soy and white sauces. Add crab meat, mushrooms, green onions (scallions) and bean sprouts. Season to taste. Place 1 tablespoon of the mixture on each pancake. Tuck in ends and roll like a burrito, so mixture doesn't escape. Carefully roll each pancake in seasoned flour then in remaining beaten egg. Fry until golden. Serve on lettuce leaves, sprinkled with chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves, accompanied by some exotic sauce with finely sliced, seeded red chili pepper. As a variation, use thinly rolled puff pastry or dough instead of pancakes. Pancakes can also be filled and served without deep frying.
Vietnamese Fried Noodles Recipe
375 g 2 tablespoons 1 1/2 tablespoons Marinade A: 125 g 1/2 tablespoon 1 teaspoon Marinade B : 125 g 1 teaspoon 1/4 teaspoon 1 1 4 60 g 500 ml 2 dessert spoons 60 g 1 stalk 10 tablespoons			Dry noodles Soy sauce Sesame oil Pork, shredded Soy sauce Cornstarch Shrimps, shelled and de-veined Cornstarch Salt Chicken liver, sliced Chicken gizzard, sliced Dried black mushrooms, soaked and drained. Discard stems and shred. Canned bamboo shoots, drained and shredded Chicken stock Cornstarch, blended with 2 tablespoons water Spinach , cut into 4 cm lengths Spring onion (scallion), cut into 4 cm lengths Cooking oil
Bring a pot of water to the boil. Add noodles and cook for 3 minutes. Remove and plunge into cold water. Drain well. Add 1 tablespoon soy sauce and 1 tablespoon sesame oil to noodles and mix well. Heat 4 tablespoons cooking oil in pan and add noodles. Fry till the underside is brown, about 3 minutes. Turn noodles over, add 2 tablespoons oil around the edges and fry till other side is also browned. Dish up. Heat remaining cooking oil in pan and stir fry pork shreds till color changes. Drain into pan and keep aside. Reheat the oil and stir fry shrimps till pink. Add chicken liver, gizzard, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, stock and remaining soy sauce. Bring to the boil, then thicken with cornstarch paste. Mix in spinach, spring onion and fried pork shreds. Add remaining sesame oil. Dish up mixture over fried noodles and serve immediately.
Vietnamese Spring Rolls Recipe Cha Gio
20 - 25 310 g 20 g 1 1/4 2 5 g 2.5 g 2.5 15 ml 3 cloves 45 ml 1 Garnishing 1 sprig 1 sprig			Rice paper wrappers (some may be broken) Ground chicken (or half crabmeat, half ground pork) Green bean thread vermicelli Carrot, cut into thin strips Cabbage, cut into fine strips Green onions (scallions), minced Sugar Salt White pepper Oyster sauce Garlic, minced Vegetable oil (extra oil may be required for deep frying) Egg Lettuce leaves Mint leaves
In hot water, soak vermicelli for 5 minutes until soft. Drain, cut into 2 in lengths and reserve. Add 3 tablespoons oil to wok or pan. Add garlic and chicken (or crabmeat and pork) and cook about 8 minutes, mashing with a fork so they do not clump together.Add cabbage, carrot, green onions (scallions) and vermicelli to cook on high for about 3 minutes until vegetables soften.Turn off heat, add salt, sugar, pepper and oyster sauce. Stir to mix well. When mixture is cool, brush each side of the rice wrappers or dip them hot water to moisten them or they will dry and break.Place 1 tablespoon of the mixture into each wrapper, turn sides in first, roll and seal each with beaten egg. Refrigerate until needed.Heat extra oil in wok or pan. Deep fry rolls until golden.Serve on lettuce leaves garnished with lettuce and mint leaves.Serve with bottled sweet chili pepper sauce or nuoc cham sauce.
Shrimp Spring Rolls Recipe (Cha Tom)
1 kg 1 1 tablespoon 1/2 teaspoon 1 teaspoon 1 teaspoon 3 10 sheets 5 tablespoons 4 tablespoons Garnishing 3 tablespoons 3 tablespoons 1 sprig 1/4		Shrimps, peeled and deveined Fresh coconut juice from 1 young coconut Spring onions (scallions), white portion only, finely chopped Ground white pepper Salt Sugar Eggs, white and yolks separated Large Vietnamese rice paper, sprinkled with water to soften Tapioca flour or corn flour (cornstarch) Cooking oil for deep frying Mixed fish sauce Plum sauce or mayonnaise Lettuce Cucumber, thinly sliced
Soak shrimps in coconut juice for 10 minutes, then rinse and dry thoroughly. Discard juiceGrind or pound shrimps together with spring onion, pepper, salt and sugar until mixture is smooth and sticky. Add 2 egg whites and mix well.Beat egg yolks and apply a thick layer onto each sheet of rice paper.Divide shrimp mixture into 10 equal parts and spoon each part in long strips onto each sheet of rice paper.Roll up neatly into long spring rolls and cut each roll into 4 pieces (each about 5 cm long)Dip into remaining beaten egg yolks and roll in tapioca or corn flour until well coatedHeat oil over medium heat and deep fry rolls until golden brown. Remove and drain well.Serve with mixed fish sauce, plum sauce or mayonnaise for dipping and lettuce and cucumber on the side.

Banana Sago Recipe (Che Chuoi Chung)
8 100 g 1/4 tspn 500 ml 250 ml 4 100 g	Ripe bananas, peeled Sugar Salt Coconut milk Water Screwpine leaves* Sago*, soaked for 2 hours Ground, roasted peanuts (groundnuts) or toasted sesame seeds
Sprinkle bananas with some sugar and salt. Combine half the coconut milk, water, remaining sugar and salt and screwpine leaves in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring often. Add bananas and sago*. When bananas are well-cooked, add remaining coconut milk and remove from heat. Allow to cool then serve sprinkled with peanuts and sesame seeds. *You can substitute Screwpine leaves with banana or any other cooking neutral leaves.

Pepper leaves are not used well in Europe comparing to Asia. The taste is robust and something between kale and spinach. You can do a lot with these amazing greens. Sautee, rolls even bbq-ing.


Vietnamese Bo Nuong La Lot
(Beef wrapped in Pepper leaves)

½ lb ground beef
2 tsp minced garlic

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

2 tbsp finely chopped lemongrass3 tbsp chopped Roasted Peanuts
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp salt
30 large pepper leaves or grape leaves

4 bamboo skewers
vegetable oil
Dipping Sauce for serving

Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a pan over moderate heat. Add the garlic and onion and stir until softened. Transfer to a bowl. Add the lemongrass, peanuts, turmeric, salt and ground beef. Mix with a fork until well blended. Set aside for 30 minutes. To make rolls, place 1 tbsp of the meat mixture in the center of a pepper leaf. Shape the meat into a cylinder about 2 inches long . Wrap the leaf around the meat but leave the sides open. (If necessary, use 2 leaves.) When done, place the roll seam side down. Make the remaining rolls in the same way.
Place 3-5 rolls onto each bamboo skewer, positioning the rolls so they touch one another at the seams. Set aside until ready to cook.
Heat the remaining oil in a large nonstick frying pan over low heat or over the bbq Add the beef rolls and cook until the meat is done, about 5 to 7 minutes total.

Transfer the skewers to a platter. Remove the skewers and serve the rolls with some salad and thisk yogurt sauce.