Viet World Kitchen

Charles Phan vs. Cat Cora on Iron Chef America: Battle Almond

Andrea Nguyen — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:42:31 -0800

Any of you catch Charles Phan on Iron Chef America last night? He duked it out with Cat Cora in a battle of almonds. It was a tough ingredient to employ for making Vietnamese food. Chinese-Vietnamese Phan pointed out during the judging that he wanted to highlight the cooking of Vietnam. He and able team of women chefs (Lien Ho and Justine Kelly have worked with Charles at Slanted Door in San Francisco for about 15 years) turned out: Snow (white) fungus with almond Steamed almond banh beo cakes topped with mung beans shallots and toasted almonds (note the misspelling on TV – bahn bao??!) Claypot grouper poached in almond milk Stir-fried chicken with almonds, gingko nuts, and jujubes (a Slanted Door classic) Almond cake with almond cream Cat Cora presented a number of things including fish encrusted in crushed almonds, duck confit atop almond polenta. The judges – Jeffrey...

Tiny Little Saigon in New York

Andrea Nguyen — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:57:34 -0800

There are “Little Saigons” in cities throughout the world. But in New York City, the Vietnamese area exceeds the diminutive connotation. In Manhattan’s sprawling Chinatown, “Little Saigon” is truly little. In fact, it’s tiny. However, I’ve found all my culinary needs for preparing Vietnamese food in a handful of shops near the Grand Street subway station. Pop your head up from the station and you’re looking at the New York’s bevy of Vietnamese shops. It’s an L-shaped teeny area that spans Grand Street up to Bowery and southward down to Hester. There's produce for sale on the street and people milling about looking for groceries and sundries. The shops are small and packed, kind of like what you'd find in Vietnam itself! Along Grand, I’ve found a butcher, seafood vendor, and a Vietnamese market that proudly announces its Vietnamese affiliation as a “Sieu Thi Viet Nam” – Vietnamese market. You’ll...

Charles Phan vs. Cat Cora on Iron Chef America: Nov. 8

Andrea Nguyen — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:01:07 -0800

I've been wondering when Charles Phan would do battle on the Food Network's "Iron Chef America."Turns out that he did last year and now the episode will air -- this Sunday, November 8, at 10 p.m (ET/PT). Phan battles Cat Cora so we'll see who prevails? (I'm getting tired of: "Whose cuisine will reign supreme?") I recall a battle where Mario Batali shamelessly rolls a fat, humongous rice paper roll that practically bursted because Batali over stuff (no-no number 1). If Charles and his crew employ rice paper (banh trang), I'm sure they'll do it right and with more grace. Cora grew up in Mississipi so I wonder if catfish will be involved? Hmm.... For details visit: Carolyn Jung over at Foodgal.com has a great interview with Phan where he kind of dishes on the show. Food Networks official page on the Cora vs. Phan (just has air times right...

Xie Xie Vietnamese Sandwiches: Gimmicky or Good?

Andrea Nguyen — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:18:28 -0800

Right before I went to New York last week, I asked people for restaurant recommendations. Cathy of Gastronomy Blog promptly responded and suggested that I try the nouveau Vietnamese banh mi at Xie Xie -- a place that describes itself as an "Exclusive New York Asian Fast Food Restaurant Specializing in Tasty Sandwiches." On my first day there, I walked uptown from Chelsey and picked up a to-go order of their Cha Ca La Vong (fish with turmeric and dill) and Vietnamese beef sandwiches. It was the perfect lunch for me to share with a Viet friend, Holly, with whom I had a business lunch meeting. New York restaurants are often like jewel boxes – tiny. Xie Xie was bustling at lunch, their two sandwich cooks working steadily and rapidly to make each sandwich to order. They were a bit slow as they’re meticulous with reheating the bread for every...

New York Vietnamese Restaurant Recommendations

Andrea Nguyen — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 07:51:43 -0700

When visiting New York, my question always is: Where should I eat? This weekend I'm in New York and a number of people have emailed, tweeted and Facebooked me restaurant recommendations. One person, Jennie M. sent this detailed message and though I can't go to all of these places, I'm sharing her list of mostly Vietnamese restaurants with you: Hi Andrea, I just saw your tweet about NYC asian food recommendations on Twitter. Honestly, Asian food is really watered down in the city. Cong Ly is about the only Viet place I go to when I'm in Manhattan's Chinatown. I usually order pho, #57, banh beo, or cha gio there. I think the outer-boroughs have much more variety and flavor compared to Manhattan. It's not California for sure, but it's the best list I've got. Thanh Da (review) 6008 7th Ave (between 60th St & 61st St) Brooklyn, NY 11220...

Thai Sticky Rice with Coconut Cream a la Chez Pim

Andrea Nguyen — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 12:39:25 -0700

I live in Santa Cruz, a beach/hippie/arty/university town in Northern California that is very slowly shedding its mantra of “Keep Santa Cruz Weird.” Eleven years ago when my husband and I moved here from Santa Monica (Los Angeles), a long-time local told us that Santa Cruz is a cosmic place. Groovy, man . . . I don’t know if this quirky town offers a harmonic convergence or not, but life has put us here and I’ve met some wonderful, one-of-a-kind people, including Pim Techamuanvivit, the gourmet behind the Chezpim.com blog. Pim and I get together on occasion for coffee and dinner out, but we have more fun when we cook together. Recently when Pim was over, I had a pot of purple rice prepared from a new rice blend I found at the Whole Foods down the street. I’d never seen the Alter-Eco fair trade rice before but it was...

Megachef: Premium Fish Sauce You Have Not Heard of – Yet

Andrea Nguyen — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 22:55:39 -0700

It’s not hard for anyone to figure this out about me: I love fish sauce. The salty-sweet, umami-laden condiment occupies the soul of and serves as the ballast for countless Vietnamese dishes. I’ve test tasted various brands of fish sauce (nuoc mam in Vietnamese, nam pla in Thai) and for years settled on Vietnamese-style fish sauces, such as those produced by the Viet Huong company that have a lighter flavor than Thai or Filipino-style fish sauces. Last week in Sydney, Australia, I attended a launch event for Thai-produced Megachef fish sauce, and it made me reconsider my options for nuoc mam. It was a swank party, with wine flowing and lovely passed hors d’oeuvre prepared from recipes in David Thompson’s new book, Thai Street Food. (The gorgeous oversize book won’t be released in the U.S. until October 2010 though I managed to get a copy. Sorry.) Thompson is one of...

Richmond and Footscray: Old and New Vietnam in Melbourne

Andrea Nguyen — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:22:03 -0700

After the fall of Saigon in 1975, Australia was among the nations that opened its doors to Vietnamese refugees. There is a very large population of Vietnamese-Australians, numbering roughly 200,000, and 75% of the Vietnamese people in Australia live in New South Wales (Sydney) and Victoria (Melbourne). My trip to Australia began in Sydney where I explored the Vietnamese community of Cabramatta with Luke Nguyen. On my own in Melbourne, I headed for Richmond and Footscray, as recommended to me by Stephanie Wood, a Sydney Morning Herald food journalist who also blogs at The Elegant Sufficiency. Stephanie used to live in Melbourne and directed me to these two suburbs to explore the Vietnamese scene here. Some of you recommended Springvale as well but I did not have enough time to make the trek. Richmond After checking in to my hotel, I got on a tram and spent the afternoon in...