Bánh Mì Chiên (Fried Baguettes)

Ingredients:
-1/2lb each: shrimp and ground pork
-3 eggs
-2 ½ tsp fish sauce
-1 tsp sugar
-pinch of salt
-1/2 tsp pepper
-3 green onion
-old baguettes
-oil for frying

What to Do:
Slice bread into thin slices. Peel, devein, crush and mince shrimp. Chop onions and lightly beat eggs. Mix everything together (except bread). Heat oil in a pot (enough to deep fry). Spread meat mixture onto bread slices and fry until golden (when adding the bread into the oil make sure to put the “meat side” down first). Serve with đồ chua (sour stuff) and pepper paste.

Note:
Use the oldest bread possible, as new bread will soak up a lot of oil when frying; old bread soaks up less oil.

Bánh Dẻo (Vietnamese Ping Pei Mooncakes)

Syrup:
-1.5kg sugar
-1kg water

*Boil together until sugar dissolves, cool completely before using.

Dough:
-600-700g koh fun
-6 cups syrup (always measure syrup by volume never by weight)
-2 tsp cafe mali flavor or whatever flavor you want
-1 tbs lime juice
-2 tsp oil or shortening
-100g koh fun for dusting (approx.)

*In a bowl, stir together syrup, lime juice, extract, and oil. Add koh fun and mix well (will be very "syrupy" at this stage, the flour will "expand" as it soaks up the syrup). Let mixture rest for 1/2 hour or until thicken. Grease hands with oil and knead dough until smooth. Divide dough into the appropriate size (depends on mould). Take a portion of dough, flatten it and wrap filling in the center. Dust with koh fun and mould.

Filling:
Refer to filling for Bánh Bía.

Note:
Dough is should be 2/3 the weight of the total pastry and filling should be 1/3 of the total weight. For example if the mould size you have is 150g (weight of pastry the mould will produce), then the dough should be 100g and filling is 50g.

Thạch Xoài (Mango Pudding)

Ingredients:
-300g mango puree
-300g cream
-200g warm water
-2 1/2 envelopes of gelatin (approx. 17g)
-sugar, yellowing coloring
-evaporated milk

What to Do:
Mix gelatin with water and let mixture sit for 10 mins. Bring gelatin mixture to a boil and add in mango and cream add sugar to taste (if necessary) and coloring. Bring mixture back to a boil and pour into moulds. Cool until set, serve with evaporated milk.

Xôi Nếp Than (Black Sticky Rice with Coconut and Mung Beans)

This rice is traditionally served on a rice cracker, however I find the Korean “pop snack” easier to find and it tastes just the same as the rice crackers. There are two ways to serve this rice; sweet and savory. The picture above is for the sweet version. If would like to try the savory version just use the recipe below and modify according to the notes at the bottom of the recipe.

Ingredients:
-300g black glutinous rice
-150g mung beans (peeled and split)
-grated coconut
-sugar
-salt
-sesame seeds
-Korean “pop snack” (optional)
-Pandan leaves

What to Do:
Wash and soak rice overnight. Steam over high heat with pandan leaves while drizzling hot water on rice and fluffing it up every 15-20 mins until rice is tender (can also cook in a rice cooker) Mean while rinse, cook and mash mung beans, add sugar and stir fry over medium heat for about 10 mins (doesn’t have to be thickened). Toast and crush sesame seeds and mix with a little sugar and salt (approx. 3 parts sesame seeds to 3 parts sugar and ½ part salt). Scoop some cooked rice onto Korean pop snack, spread on some mung beans and sprinkle with grated coconut and sesame sugar. Use the Korean pop snack to wrap the rice and serve warm or cool.

To Make Savory Version:
>>Omit Korean pop snack (serve in a bowl or plate)
>>Omit grated coconut
>>Add coconut sauce
>>Add onion oil