I attended a collaborative Tet dinner in Philadelphia tonight. One of my favorite dishes was fried banh tet, but it was not simply sliced and pan-fried, but seemed to have been coated with bread crumbs first. This made the outside light and crisp and the inside melty. All of the dishes were identified with the chef and restaurant except for this one! Have you ever seen this?
Hi Gail! I've seen fried slices of cylindrical banh tet and don't recall a coating on them. If you could see underneath it -- like it was gossamer -- it could have been a starch or ground rice flour. Tapioca starch may be what was used? You'd have to ask the chef!
The texture was more like a croquette (which I love). It was sprinkled with a bit of fried shallot and served with a spicy dipping sauce. I'm going to try making it with panko and let you know.
Your list of recipes has caused me to locate two Vietnamese grocery stores within walking distance from my apartment, although I imagine they might be a bit insane in the week leading up to the holiday. Fortunately, I love insanity.
Lunar New Year is 50 percent about the frenzied fun to cross the finish line to close out the old year and start anew. Well, that’s my annual experience.
I love all these recipes, Andrea. I don't know when, if ever, I'll get to cooking but it's almost as delicious just to read and dream. I first encountered Vietnamese cuisine in Paris in long ago 1968 (the Paris Peace Conference) where we frequented restaurants, some of which were recommended by the South Vietnamese delegation, others by the North Vietnamese. There was never any overlap, curiously enough.
Nancy -- Wow, what an experience that must have been in Paris. Have you written about it? Or, maybe we should have a conversation about it? I'm curious about what the restaurants were like, what the delegations suggested. Happy 2024 to you!
I wasn’t able to do your cooking class, but how thrilling that so many people were! I’m surprised not everyone cooked alongside you. I thought that was the whole point, but then again I’ve never done/taken one before. Nice to see the other side of your kitchen in your photos. Thank you for all of the New Year recipe ideas. I’ve been fretting over what to make. I also appreciate references to your many different cookbooks. Not related to PTFS, but definitely to food, we’re finally going to eat at Holy Basil later today!!!
Many people attend virtual classes to watch but some can prep everything and cook along. You never know who'll do what. There are so many options for Lunar New Year. I'm so happy you're going to eat at Holy Basil today! Enjoy!
I’ve just looked up the brittle recipe in VFAD. Do you refer to it as cashew coconut brittle because of the coconut oil in the recipe? Or do you make a variation that actually has coconut in it? Also, what would be an acceptable substitute for the coconut oil, perhaps peanut oil? (I wasn’t using the coconut oil I have, so I moved it to my bathroom to help with dry winter skin.)
Oh boy I am excited about getting my Tet meals ready. Thank you for these suggestions! Going shopping tomorrow to my local Asian market. I went to a huge (I mean really HUGE) Vietnamese-Asian supermarket in Cherry Hill NJ and had a great time reading labels and enjoying the atmosphere. It is called Hung Vuong. They had four aisles of noodles!
I attended a collaborative Tet dinner in Philadelphia tonight. One of my favorite dishes was fried banh tet, but it was not simply sliced and pan-fried, but seemed to have been coated with bread crumbs first. This made the outside light and crisp and the inside melty. All of the dishes were identified with the chef and restaurant except for this one! Have you ever seen this?
Hi Gail! I've seen fried slices of cylindrical banh tet and don't recall a coating on them. If you could see underneath it -- like it was gossamer -- it could have been a starch or ground rice flour. Tapioca starch may be what was used? You'd have to ask the chef!
The texture was more like a croquette (which I love). It was sprinkled with a bit of fried shallot and served with a spicy dipping sauce. I'm going to try making it with panko and let you know.
Your list of recipes has caused me to locate two Vietnamese grocery stores within walking distance from my apartment, although I imagine they might be a bit insane in the week leading up to the holiday. Fortunately, I love insanity.
Lunar New Year is 50 percent about the frenzied fun to cross the finish line to close out the old year and start anew. Well, that’s my annual experience.
I love all these recipes, Andrea. I don't know when, if ever, I'll get to cooking but it's almost as delicious just to read and dream. I first encountered Vietnamese cuisine in Paris in long ago 1968 (the Paris Peace Conference) where we frequented restaurants, some of which were recommended by the South Vietnamese delegation, others by the North Vietnamese. There was never any overlap, curiously enough.
Nancy -- Wow, what an experience that must have been in Paris. Have you written about it? Or, maybe we should have a conversation about it? I'm curious about what the restaurants were like, what the delegations suggested. Happy 2024 to you!
I wasn’t able to do your cooking class, but how thrilling that so many people were! I’m surprised not everyone cooked alongside you. I thought that was the whole point, but then again I’ve never done/taken one before. Nice to see the other side of your kitchen in your photos. Thank you for all of the New Year recipe ideas. I’ve been fretting over what to make. I also appreciate references to your many different cookbooks. Not related to PTFS, but definitely to food, we’re finally going to eat at Holy Basil later today!!!
Many people attend virtual classes to watch but some can prep everything and cook along. You never know who'll do what. There are so many options for Lunar New Year. I'm so happy you're going to eat at Holy Basil today! Enjoy!
I’ve just looked up the brittle recipe in VFAD. Do you refer to it as cashew coconut brittle because of the coconut oil in the recipe? Or do you make a variation that actually has coconut in it? Also, what would be an acceptable substitute for the coconut oil, perhaps peanut oil? (I wasn’t using the coconut oil I have, so I moved it to my bathroom to help with dry winter skin.)
Oh boy I am excited about getting my Tet meals ready. Thank you for these suggestions! Going shopping tomorrow to my local Asian market. I went to a huge (I mean really HUGE) Vietnamese-Asian supermarket in Cherry Hill NJ and had a great time reading labels and enjoying the atmosphere. It is called Hung Vuong. They had four aisles of noodles!
Delicious!