Poke (pronounced poh-kay) literally means to slice crosswise into pieces. Effectively, to cube. And its origins are every bit as humble as that name implies (at least compared to the profusion of variations now available). The first poke was eaten simply as a means of …
The plate lunch is as Hawaiian as it gets. You can find them all over the place, and they always have the same formula: a meat, two scoops of rice, and one scoop of macaroni salad. Common meats include Hawaiian favorites like kalua pork, huli huli chicken, and teriyaki chicken or beef. A plate with more than one meat is typically called a mixed plate, and for me there are few better meals out there. Continue reading The Plate Lunch (Huli Huli Chicken and Mac Salad)
Spam Musubi is one of those dishes that could only come about in Hawaii. It stands as an example of exactly what is so interesting, comforting, and delicious about Hawaiian food. In Hawaii, spam is a highly regarded food. Oahu is home to that famous …
There was a long period of my life where I was afraid to delve into Asian cuisines. It was not the strange ingredients or new flavors, no–it was simple ineptitude at cooking rice that kept me from exploring these amazing foods. Whenever I tried to …
This is a dish that might fall into what we would call “fusion cuisine.” I’ve never particularly like that moniker. Everything we eat nowadays is fusion of some kind. Pizza is fusion. Empanadas are fusion. Most modern dishes involve techniques and ingredients that originated in different cultures, so it seems a little silly to call any particular food fusion. That said, if I’ve ever produced anything that could be called “fusion,” this is definitely it. The ingredients and flavors are definitely Vietnamese, but the styling is western. Continue reading Vietnamese Pesto with Claypot Pork
This sweet soup is a delicious vegan pudding made with coconut milk, tapioca pearls, and ripe bananas. With only 2 tablespoons of added sugar, it is also an amazing, healthy dessert.
Before traveling to Vietnam, I had no idea that they were known for their coffee. To be honest, when I landed in Ho Chi Minh City, I knew an embarrassingly small amount about Southeast Asia in general. Fortunately, I started filling those gaps immediately.
I discovered claypot eel at maybe my second dinner in Vietnam and proceeded to eat it just about every day for the rest of the trip. At the time, I didn’t know much about what I was actually ordering, but I knew that each one of those little clay pots full of eel in that rich, brown sauce was as good as the last, and I couldn’t help myself. Continue reading Cá Kho Tộ – Claypot Catfish
In its simplest form, cháo (Vietnamese rice soup) is a soup made with broth, rice, and maybe a few pieces of ginger and scallion. I’ve heard it referred to as the Vietnamese equivalent to chicken noodle soup, and the similarities are certainly there: it is …
