Persimmon Pecan Salads, Gratitude, and Deals
My family creates our own Thanksgiving traditions not simply because my mom dislikes turkey, mashed potatoes, and apple pie. The American holiday is about gratitude and we’re annually happy for all good Vietnamese food we have to enjoy. This year, we celebrated early to avoid traffic.
My mom, 89, prepared 90% of the meal last weekend: lemongrass stuffed whelk (oc nhoi) with ginger nuoc cham, bun thang (a surf-and-turf, labor intensive northern Viet rice noodle soup), banh chung sticky rice cake (a Tet must-have), and pork belly in caramel sauce. These are Viet celebration dishes and we celebrate family togetherness.
I stir-fried a bunch of baby bok choy with garlic and oyster sauce, and brought the citrus-spice marble cake from Ever-Green Vietnamese (EGV). Mom couldn’t wait to cut into the cake the day before so we only had half a cake. My sister supplemented with the French apple tart from Trader Joe’s. (Tarts are different than pies to my mom.) It was a complex menu and Mom was relieved she was able to pull it off. Cheers for cooking up a feast when we’re 89 years old.
What are your family’s traditions or non-traditions?
While I visited, Mom surprised me by suggesting we make banh cuon, Viet steamed rice rolls. She has her trusty method but she was game to try my new EGV recipe. Below is a video I made. And if you’d like to make them, here’s a how-to video for filling the rolls (on the “Ever-Green Tips” page at my website).
Best Cookbooks of 2023
2023 has been one of the best years for cookbook publishing. There have been a wider range of voices that cut across cuisines. There has also been a focus on underexposed topics like West African fare.
We lead intersectional lives and we should cook and eat that way too! That’s why I made Ever-Green Vietnamese — to invite cooks to include Vietnam’s wholesome foods in their healthy habits.
It’s a subtle message for some but not for others. I was thrilled to see Epicurious and the Los Angeles Times include the book in their annual Best Cookbooks lists. The reviews by Anna Hezel (Epicurious) and Jenn Harris (LA Times) were extra meaningful because they’ve cooked from the book. To have the book’s cover featured in the lead images is icing on the cake!
Our local Bookshop Santa Cruz also selected EGV as one of the best 2023 cookbooks. Here on Substack, you may have read about the book in dispatches by fine writers like Marian Bull, Jenny Rosenstach, Andrew Janjigian, Georgia Freedman, the Bittman Project, and Leslie Brenner.
Thank you for your generous Amazon reviews too! I appreciate all of it.
Black Friday Deals
We all like sales. These stand out to me:
Get 3 for the price of 2. Amazon is doing a fun promotion on Ever-Green Vietnamese and the new Britney Spears memoir! Or, you can purchase 3 copies of EGV and get 1 of them for free.
Dare I say that Misuzu Silky scissors are as good if not better than the cult-favorite Joyce Chen scissors? Yes. The Silkys are less than $20 a pair at Amazon and MTC (a Japanese cookware e-tailer).
I’ve been loving Made In’s nonstick 10-inch skillet because it heats up relatively fast and cooks evenly (look at the browning on the scallion pancakes below). The pan’s wider cooking surface is more like what you get in an 11-inch skillet. If you’re not into coated nonstick, check out their carbon steel skillets, which have seen a lot of use in my kitchen and have not warped. Made In cookware is long lasting but can seem pricey. Check out their Black Friday sale.
Note: If you purchase something, I may receive a small financial benefit.
December 3 Zoom Meetup + AMA (ask me anything)
Before things get holiday crazy, I’d love to meet up with paid subscribers to talk about what you’d like to see happen with the newsletter in 2024! I’d love to hear your ideas! Feel free to ask me anything also.
Let’s meet via Zoom on Sunday, December 3 at 11am PST / 2pm EST / 7pm GMT. Mark your calendars and I’ll send the Zoom link that morning.
If you’ve been on the fence about joining us, how about a 20% discount off of annual subscriptions? The offer is good until December 1.
RECIPES
Persimmon Salads and Spicy Pecans
2023 is a so-so season for persimmons in Santa Cruz. I’m making the most of what I can get my hands on. I favor Fuyus and this lime, persimmon and pecan lettuce cup salad at the website is fabulous. My friend John made it for Thanksgiving last year. Add fresh pomegranate seeds for jewel-tone sparkle.
I also made a new persimmon salad dressed with the PTFS 2023 superstar recipe — nuoc cham vinaigrette. The salad incorporates what my husband describes as “wickedly good” spicy sweet pecans (the nuts are flavored with Vegan Sate Sauce from Ever-Green, though you can use chile crisp, if you like). Lots of herbs refresh the palate too. Recipe details, plus a PDF, and links are below.
Persimmon and Spiced Pecan Salad
For textural integrity and to match the persimmon’s heft, I use a 1-to-1 combo of crisp romaine and softer red leaf lettuce. Fuyu persimmons are the squat ones that are edible when firm-ripe. Note: The pecans are an updated version of the chile crisp nuts shared on PTFS in 2022. The link below includes my edits and update to the recipe.
Serves 2 as a light lunch or 4 as a salad course
1/2 cup Nuoc Cham Vinaigrette
1 1/2 to 2 tsp grated fresh lime zest (grate the zest before squeezing the limes for the vinaigrette)
2 medium firm-ripe Fuyu persimmons, or 1 large Fuyu persimmon
8 to 9 cups lettuce, cut or torn into bite size pieces
Fine sea salt or kosher salt
1 tablespoon neutral oil, such as canola
1/3 to 1/2 cup torn mint, cilantro, or basil
In a large mixing bowl, combine the vinaigrette with the lime zest and let sit for a few minutes (or up to several hours) to develop flavor. If the nuts are big, coarsely chop them.
Core the persimmon. If you like, peel it with a swivel peeler or paring knife. Halved the persimmon then cut into thin pieces.
To serve, add the persimmon to the mixing bowl with the nuts. Toss to coat and let sit for about 4 minutes to develop flavor. Add the lettuce and sprinkle on 2 pinches of salt. Drizzle on the oil to enrich a tad. Add the mint. Toss well then divide among 2 (or 4) plates. Serve immediately.
I’ll close with this beautiful California vista.
Talk to you next week!
Andrea
I will try other markets! At the usual ones, the persimmons were rock hard.
I can’t find persimmons except rock hard ones that rot before they ripen!!!