Vietnamese Food

This week, instead of talking about restaurants on Main Street, I thought I'd hit a little closer to home—or my roommate's home.
My roommate Mai-Lien is Vietnamese and I've been begging her since our sophomore year to have our roommates over her parent's house to eat some of the traditional Vietnamese food her mom makes.
A few weeks ago, Mai-Lien made plans to have us over to help her mom (an extremely gracious host) cook some of these dishes, and then of course eat them. On Thursday, six of us drove to Wilmington to help her mom out and enjoy one of the greatest pleasures in college—not having to cook for yourself.
When we arrived at 5 p.m., her mom had already finished the vegetable fried rice, made with shiitake mushrooms and bacon, so it was up to us to help finish the menu. My roommates Chrissy and Kate got to work preparing the string beans and Courtney and Mai-Lien began preparing Chayote.
Chayote?
It's also called "vegetable pear" and to be honest, that's pretty much what it looks and tastes like. On the outside, it looks like a mix between a pear and a squash and it's sweet with the juicy crunchiness of a pear.
Courtney and Mai-Lien chopped the Chayote into small slices, which Mai-Lien's mom, Mrs. Tron, then put in a pan with oil and let them sauté with some minced fresh ginger for about 10-15 minutes until the ginger was fragrant.
While this was happening, Mrs. Tron and I got to work preparing Minh-Nhat, a pork dish. The dish started with washing dried shiitake mushrooms. I'd previously only had them fresh, and I must admit that she's onto something with using the dried variation. They were way more flavorful than the fresh ones and a great addition to the dish.
After we washed them off, we soaked them in water to extract some of the flavor. The mushroom-water then combined in a pan with the ground pork and four tablespoons of fish sauce to cook.
Fish sauce is a condiment that is derived from raw or dried fish and is an important part of a lot of different Asian cooking styles. It adds a different dimension or depth of flavor to dishes.
We then chopped up the rest of the mushrooms and added them to the pot, along with clouds ear fungus. Yes, fungus.
The fungus has a softness that adds texture to a dish and they look like, as my roommate Chrissy said, seaweed.
When all of the ingredients were mixed with the beef, we added an additional tablespoon of fish sauce and about a cup or so of scallions.
Tip: When Mrs. Tron saves scallions for later use, she not only puts them in a ziplock bag, but first wraps the scallions in newspaper before putting it in the bag in the freezer. This keeps the strong smell inside the packaging and not all over your fridge and freezer.
Once the pork was done cooking and the green beans had sautéed, we were ready to sit down and eat.
The fried rice was salty with a crunch added by the bacon strips. The softer textural qualities of the shiitake mushrooms and other assorted vegetables added depth to the dish. It was also great as a leftover (we're still eating it.)
The Chayote may have been the find of the night though; the soft crisp crunch of the ‘pears' with the added sweetness of the fresh garlic was a taste combination I've never experienced before, and a vegetable to add onto my short list of ones I actually like.
My favorite of the night would have to be Minh-Nhat though. Maybe it's because I had a hand in making it, but the mushrooms and pork were, again, salty and delicious and completely different from any pork dish I'd ever had.
Mrs. Tron and Mai-lien's dad were not only nice enough to open up their home to us, but I think we all actually learned a lot about Vietnamese food as well. And my picky roommate Chrissy actually ate everything on the table…well, except for the mushrooms.
The food is actually easier to cook than you think, too. Look below for the recipe for a Vietnamese pork dish.
If you try your hand at Vietnamese cooking, let me know how it goes, and if you have any great family recipes that you love, send them in! Keep Craving!
Ingredients

2 lbs Ground pork
8-10 Dried black shiitake mushrooms
¼ C. Dried clouds ears (tree fungus)
1-2 Tbsp. Vegetable or peanut oil
4-5 stalks green onions
2-3 Tbsp Fish sauce
¼ Tbsp.Black pepper
Salt (optional, to taste)

When buying pork, choose a lean, boneless cut (pork loin, rib end or center cut). Ask the butcher to cut off visible chunks of fat and have him grind the rest. Some butchers will be happy to do this for you free of charge.
Dried mushrooms and fish sauce (preferably Vietnamese fish sauce) can be purchased in most American or Asian grocery stores. I have found clouds ears fungus only in Asian grocery stores.

Directions
1. Wash and soak the dried mushrooms in warm water until soft. Cut off stems and slice the caps into strips. Reserve the clear part of mushroom water and discard the part with sediment.
2. Soak the clouds ears in warm water. When they are soft, wash them carefully—they can be very gritty—and slice. Discard this water.
3. Chop the green onions.
4. Heat oil in skillet on medium heat. Make sure the pan has a lid. Stir fry green onions until slightly brown.
5. Add the ground pork and brown it in the oil. As it browns, chop the pork with a spatula to break the lumps. Add the mushroom water at this time.

Funnel Cake

Funnel cake is one of those awesome snacks that you only get to eat one or twice a year.. until now. A roommate of ours found this recipe in Food Network Magazine, and surprise it was actually as easy as they said it would be and as tasty as the authentic versions at Hershey Park and Disney. It takes about 5 minutes to prep, 10 minutes to heat the oil and a minute per cake. While the recipe calls for a deep fryer, we made do with a large pot filled with canola oil, so its definitely something you can make in your dorm.

Check out the recipe below, trust us, its worth it.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sunny-anderson/easy-classic-funnel-cake-recipe/index.html

Thank you Sunny Anderson!

Until next time, Keep Craving!

Ole Tapas

We were both looking for a new take on Newark Dining, since by May students are tired of the classic Main Street options. Ole Tapas, On Capitol Trail just won best new restaurant in 2009 and is continuing to prove that its got a new take on Spanish cuisine. We went tonight and lets just say our palates were really happy.

The menu has over 30 great tapas options. In Tapas, you order a bunch of small plates to share with who you're with. Ole Tapas suggests ordering about three per person- this was more than enough food for us, but guys, maybe you'll want more.

Here's what we tried:

Bocata De Puerco- $6- braised pork belly min- sandwich with fennel slaw

Higos Con Cabrales- $6- bacon wrapped figs with cabrales

Polo Muruno- $7- Stewed chicken with winter squash and chick peas

Gambas Rebosadas- $7- crisp florida pink shrimp with saffron aioli

Paella Mini- $7- miniature seafood and chorizo paella

Tapas Del Dia- (today it was $7 and was roasted asparagus with tomatoes and capicolla

Best of the night was the bacon wrapped figs with cabrales, the mixture of sweet and salty hid every taste note and was completely delicious. The only one we wouldn't recommend getting again would be the stewed chicken- it was a bit wattery. The tapas is delicious but also be sure to look out for Sunday nights "all you can eat paella" for $15. A steal for the complex dish with both fish and chorizo.

So take a walk on the wild side and try something out of the Main Street beaten path, and until next time- Keep Craving!

Yogurt at the Movies, Who'da thunk it?

Word has come from Sony Pictures that American movie theaters need to step up their game when it comes to helping curb the obesity epidemic in the country. And for us college students who will no doubt inherit many of today’s issues when we graduate, the future of food is important.

According to ComingSoon.net, Sony CEO Michael Lynton movie theater moguls at ShoWest, the nation's largest convention for the movie theater industry, earlier this month that "adding healthier options to your existing menu is the right thing to do for our industry, for audiences and for our country."

It's true - buckets of butter-soaked popcorn, super sized calorie-packed soda and handfuls of Jujubes don't exactly fall under "healthy eating." And in today's world, where healthy eating has become a national concern deserving of attention, healthy options like fruit cups, veggies with dip, yogurt and granola bars at movie theaters is not an abomination of movie-going tradition.

A poll of moviegoers commissioned by Sony showed two-thirds of moviegoers are more likely to buy healthy snacks at theaters if they are offered. In other words, two-thirds of participants were quite possibly dirty liars. But let's be real here. How many Americans are actually willing to give up their movie-going traditions?

If those people polled were being completely honest, then the future looks bright for much of film-watching America. If people in high places are serious about getting Americans to eat better, then healthier options in some of the unhealthiest places is a step in the right direction.

But for those of us who can't resist a small popcorn at the movies, don't stress about the new changes - existing menus at theaters across the country will remain the same. More room will just have to be made for fresh fruits and veggies at the concession stand, and we have no problem with that.

Keep craving!

Spring Break

Spring Break is fast approaching and with US destinations as the hot new destinations this year (can you say bad economy?) We thought we'd look at some of the best places to go in some of this year's most popular spots: Today, New Orleans.

New Orleans:

Antoine's- Open since 1840 with classic creole dishes its a New Orleans landmark. Mind you, the prices are a bit steep but for one nice night out its a good pick. Antoine's is especially cool because they helped out all of their employees during the Hurricane and even paid to house their families. The food is awesome, but for support alone, try Antoine's:

http://www.neworleansrestaurants.com/antoines/menu.html

Casamento's - On Food Network's Diners, Drive ins and Dives "Cookin' and Old School" episode, Casemento's is featured, from Gumbo, Crab Claws and Soft Shell Crab Dinner- its a mix of old and new seafood dishes from as low as 6 bucks. And since Guy Fieri ate it, you know it has to be at least a little good (and way fattening) - but that's the best kind of food.

http://www.casamentosrestaurant.com/menu/menu.html

Progress Grocery- Has been making Muffuletta Sandwich with Olive Salad since 1924, you need to try this NOLA staple when you're there and its easy, cheap and filling food.

http://www.progressgrocery.com/

And of course, for Food Network junkies like myself- There's always NOLA- Emeril Lagasse's flagship restaurant- big $, but again, definitely worth it for a quality meal.

Until next location.. keep craving!

Philadelphia Flower Inspired Food Tour

Nothing like the Philadelphia Flower show to get your tastebuds in gear. Inspired by the "Passport to the World", City Food Tours has created a tour filled with amazing treats from around the world, all relating back to nature. They sample cheeses from across Europe, Chocolates from Central and South America and teas from Asia and Africa.

These specially crafted goodies all have botanical ingredients so its sure to get you in the mood for the flower show (open till March 7th!)

Here's a sample of what you get:

Exotic teas with jasmine, violets and chrysanthemums at Tbar

Lavender- dusted goat cheese and blue cheese with wildflower honey at Di Bruno Bros

Orange blossom and rose infused chocolates at Naked Chocolate Cafe

Prices are $35 per person or $30 for Seniors

If this isn't your cup of tea (ha.) city good tours has many other tours including the clasic flavors of Phili tour. So book and enjoy: http://www.cityfoodtours.com/philadelphia/philadelphia-food-tours.cfm?tourid=22

and until next time, keep craving!

Food in the News

It's time to get a little newsy about food. According to a recent story by The New York Times, the Food and Drug Administration wants to encourage manufacturers to print important nutritional information, including calories counts, smack dab on the front of food packages. That means that soon, that box of cookies, sugary cereal or even veggie crisps will tell you exactly how many guilty calories you're about to consume.

Essentially, the F.D.A.'s goal is to give food shoppers a jolt of reality before reaching for less than healthy snacks and treats. The problem is, official serving sizes for many packaged foods are just to small, and this means the calorie amounts that accompany them can be misleading. To fix this situation, the F.D.A. is going to define serving sizes for certain junk foods in terms of how we really eat.

For us, this is a pretty scary thought. We'll admit, we've gone through a pint of ice cream before without looking at exactly how many servings we were taking in. And really, how many of us can always muster the will power to eat just one serving and then put down that bag of chips?

So maybe a big reality check in the cookies and candy aisle isn't such a bad idea. There's a lot of confusion between serving sizes and fat and calorie counts, so many people think they're eating one serving and getting this many calories, when they're not. In today's world, in which a cheese steak or pizza pie is just a phone call away, it's difficult to tell how much we really eat in a day, a week or even in one meal. But eating anything we want is possible, we're just going to have to eyeball those food labels carefully and see how much of those delicious cookies we can eat. But the difference between how servings are doled out in the food industry and how much people actually eat is suprising... from the Times article:

"For ice cream, the serving size is half a cup. For packaged muffins, it is often half a muffin. For cookies it is generally one ounce, equal to two Double Stuf Oreos. For most children’s breakfast cereals, a serving is three-quarters of a cup."

If the F.D.A. pushes for major snack manufacturers to really stick those calories on the front packages of chips, will people strive to eat healthier and eat the proper servings of their guilty pleasures? It has potential. And because, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 34 percent of adults are obese, it may be necessary.

Until then, we're going to enjoy our proper serving (okay, maybe a serving and a half) of potato chips and wonder what our shopping experiences will be like when the truth about food appears in aisles 1 through 9.

Keep craving!