eating vietnam

Anders and I just returned from two weeks in Viet Nam where we basically did nothing but eat from the time we landed in the north until we flew out of the south. We worked our way through the country seeking out every back alley street cart we had heard or read about. This country really is as delicious and filling as you've heard. It's probably the best fed we have ever been on vacation. 

My beautiful SLR camera broke pretty early in the trip. I need to check it out and see what picture I can salvage from it. In the meantime, here are a bunch of cell phone picture I took of our eating escapades. I promise we did do more than actually eat, but since the food was a main reason we chose to come to Vietnam, I decided that the food deserved it's own post. Regular shots to come soon!

Our first meal in Vietnam was Bun Cha, which is basically hamburger/sausage and noodles in a broth.

Close up of Anders' Bun Cha fully doctored up to his liking.

 A banana seller on the streets of Hanoi

 We drank a lot of Cafe Sua Da, which is coffee with condensed milk. This was our favorite coffee shop called Cong Caphe. It had cushions for lounging and windows for watching the craziness of the city.

 I can't remember the Vietnamese name for this dish, but it was sticky rice and pork belly and apparently the restaurant has a house Cho (dog). No restaurant in Vietnam would ever meet the USA's health code.

 The only way to eat street food in Vietnam is on a tiny plastic stool. They are as uncomfortable as they look.

We got a tip off about the best Pho in Hanoi at a place called Pho Thin. We were the only non-locals in the whole restaurant. It was Anders' favorite Pho we ate.

 We ate a lot of Banh Mi on this trip. Delicious baguette sandwiches filled with all sorts of goodness. Mine had beef and egg while Anders had pate.

Grilled pork spring rolls in Hoi An

 Anthony Bourdain led us to this seafood joint called Thi Nhan. We ordered the tamarind crab (and a whole lot else). Despite being the only customers in the restaurant, it was one of the best meals we ate the whole trip.

During a layover in Sai Gon, we left the airport and headed to Com Nieu Sai Gon, another Anthony Bourdain recommended spot. They make this dish where they bake rice in a clay pot. When it's done they break the clay pot open in the restaurant and throw the hot rice to another worker. So fun!

Our favorite beach side bar on Phu Quoc island called Rory's. The food is catered to Westerners and just okay, but the vibe and drinks are where it's at.

All this eating had to be washed down with drinks!

 More Pho. This time in Sai Gon, where the broth is a bit sweeter than up north.

 We tracked down Miss Lan in the Ben Thanh market. She is the only vendor who makes Banh Cuon, a rice paper "ravioli" of sorts stuffed with pork and mushrooms.

Bahn Cuon up close.

We also got a tip off about a street seller making a bahn mi with bbq sauce and grilled sausages, which is very non-traditional. We found her down a dark alley with an impressive line of customers. It was spicy but amazing!

 Anders with his "meatball sub" in the dark alley.

 Back with non-eating shots soon!

carols on the lake

Now that Thanksgiving is officially over, people are in full Christmas mode around here. On Saturday, a Christmas ship set sail on Lake Union carrying the Dickens Carolers, and while the ship cruised around they also broadcasted the lovely songs the carolers sang out across the lake. Anders and I, along with some friends, rented a boat from the Electric Boat Co. and chased after the Christmas ship to hear the songs. We ate chili and drank wine and felt very festive. And even though it's not quite December yet, we embraced the holiday spirit just the same. You can find the entire caroling schedule here.

homemade cioppino!

So, I'm one of those annoying people who likes to tell everyone that I NEVER get sick. In fact, I can't recall having the flu ever in my life. I'm sure I had it as a small child, but I don't remember. I haven't had it since. Well, that is until this week. Yes, the girl who never gets sick, got sick, with the flu, and it was possibly the closest to death I've ever felt. Dramatic, but true. Anyway, I'm feeling much better after four days of doing nothing but laying on the couch, sweating out a fever and watching a lot of Bravo TV. 

To celebrate my return health, Anders made us homemade cioppino! He made the whole thing from scratch...even the stock and it made such a difference in the soup that I think I'm going to start requesting homemade stock from here on out. Sorry, love!

Here is his recipe:

Anders' Homemade Fish Stock and Cioppino

Serves 8

For the Stock:

1 cup of chopped fennel

1 large carrot, chopped

1 yellow onion, quartered

4 cloves of garlic

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 cups of dry white wine

Pinch of red pepper flakes

1 T. oregano

Splash of red wine vinegar

2 teaspoons olive oil

The shell of a 1.5 pound lobster (save the meat for the soup)

The carcass of a 2 lb rockfish (bones and head) or any other lean, mild white fish, broken into pieces (save the meat for the soup)*

*If you don't want to filet your own fish, just ask the fishmonger to filet it for you, skin removed and save everything.

Stock Directions:

1. In a large stockpot, heat 2 teaspoons of oil over medium heat. Add fennel, carrot and onion and saute 5 minutes until they start to sweat and soften. Add garlic, oregano, red wine and red pepper flakes and stir.

2. Add the lobster shell and fish carcass and saute 5 more minutes.

3. Add the dry white wine, cover and let simmer for 10 minutes. Stir often. Since the wine is open, go ahead and drink a glass.

4. Add water until contents are covered, about 5 cups, and simmer for a half hour minimum...longer if possible.

5. Strain stock in a separate bowl. Save stock for later, discard the rest.

For the Soup:

3/4 lb of spot prawns (shells on)

1.5 lbs of lobster meat, diced small

2 rockfish fillets, diced small

3/4 lb of bay scallops

1 lb of clams

1 onion, diced

1 shallot, diced

1 cup of fennel

2 cloves of garlic, minced

Red pepper flakes

1 Tb. oregano

1 teaspoon of salt

28oz can of diced tomatoes

3 tbs. of tomato paste

1 tbs of olive oil

Soup directions:

1. Add oil to the same stockpot you used for stock and saute onion, fennel, shallot and garlic over medium heat until soft about 5 minutes. Add oregano, red pepper flakes and salt. Stir.

2. Add lobster and saute another 5 minutes.

3. Add fish, scallops and spot prawns and saute another 5 minutes.

4. Add the can of diced tomatoes, tomato paste and the stock you made earlier.

5. Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, add clams and simmer an additional 15 minutes.

6. Serve and enjoy!

heart love soup

Last year, around this same time, my good friend Dina started a gratitude project where she made homemade soup and delivered it to a new recipient every night for the ENTIRE month of November. The idea behind it was simple…be grateful for what you have and give back to others. Anders and I were lucky enough to be one of those recipients of her delicious soup. Remember this post about it? Well, Dina has decided to start up her project again this year. I know she is trying to not repeat the same people, so you can imagine my surprise when pea soup with bacon showed up in our mailbox overnight! We were thrilled to be included in her sweet project again. It not only feels so good that she considers us worthy enough friends to be on her soup drop list again, but we also get to eat her amazing soup! She makes the BEST soup. If you haven’t heard about her project, you can read her first post here, and you can read about our specific soup drop here. She is already seven days into her project, but it’s definitely not too late to start following along. It’s not only inspirational, but you’ll snag some killer soup recipes as well.

Dina, thanks again for thinking of us and good luck with the rest of your soup drops!

italian night

Anders and I are SO excited because we finally bought plane tickets to Italy for a trip next year, so our friends, Jake and Dina, suggested getting together and having "Italian night" to celebrate. We don't actually go on our trip until September of 2012, but Anders and I never, ever turn down an opportunity to have dinner with good friends, drink wine, eat pasta and celebrate...anything.

Okay, so maybe this doesn't relate to Italian culture, but Jake and Dina had on matching cowboy boots and that is just too rad to not include on my blog.

I really love a good theme night.

P.S. After dinner, Dina was on her way to drop off soup to her day 14 recipient. We got a sneak taste of the soup she made, and it was really awesome. We literally took soup shots of this deliciousness.

i love free food

My friend Dina just started the coolest/sweetest/most inspiring project where she delivers homemade soup to someone every day for 29 days. Anders and I were lucky enough to be the very first recipients, and, boy, were we excited. I mean, when was the last time someone brought food to your doorstep?!?! Um, never! We got to try out the tomato basil soup, and it was deeeeelicious. Read all about her project here.