Traditional Northern Vietnam Cooking Recipes In Hanoi's High-end Restaurant

With fluorescent lights bleaching the steel surfaces and plumes of scented smoke rising from shine copper pots, this could be anyone of the bustling kitchens in Hanoi's high-end restaurants. But at KOTO (which stands for Know One, Teach One), creating tantalising dishes is only one of the restaurant's aims. The other is to provide training, employment and housing for 100 local "street children". Enjoy the most vibrant recipes from the restaurant:

Caramel pork

2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

2 shallots, peeled and chopped

1/3 teaspoon ground black pepper

150 ml fish sauce, plus extra to taste

1 kg port belly

Vegetable oil for frying

Boiled rice to serve

Pickled bean sprouts (see following recipe) to serve

Caramel sauce

220 g caster sugar

Juice of ½ lime

Place garlic, shallots, pepper and 2 tablespoons of fish sauce in a bowl and stir to combine. Slice pork into 2 cm strips and place in a shallow tray. Pour marinade over and marinate for 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 160 degree Celsius and place a clay casserole in the oven to warm. To make caramel sauce, place sugar and 3 tablespoons of water in a heavy-based saucepan over a low heat. Bring to the boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Continue to boil and when mixture starts to colour, swirl the saucepan. After 2-4 minutes, when caramel turns a deep brown, remove from heat and quickly but carefully add lime juice and 375 ml water; the hot caramel may spot. Return to heat and swirl sauce-pan to combine. Remove from heat and cover until required. Heat a small amount of oil in a wok or frypan over a high heat and sear pork, tossing frequently so it colours evenly and does not stick. Add caramel sauce, remaining fish sauce, 400ml water and bring to the boil. Place wok contents into heated casserole, cover and cook in oven for 1 hour or until pork is tender. Taste for seasoning, add a dash more fish sauce if desired and cook, uncovered, for a further 15 minutes. Server with rice and pickled bean sprouts. Serves 6 as part of a banquet.

Pickled bean sprouts

½ cup rice vinegar

2 teaspoon sea salt

¼ teaspoon caster sugar

500 bean sprouts

1 telegraph cucumber, peeled and cut into 5 cm batons

½ pineapple, peeled an d cut into 5 cm batons

1 long red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

Place vinegar, salt and sugar in a small saucepan over a low heat and stir until sugar dissolves, then cool to lukewarm. Place remaining ingredients in a bowl, pour pickling liquid over and lightly toss to combine. Stand for 30 minutes and serve. Serves 6 as accompaniment.

Rock ling with turmeric, dill and rice vermicelli

3 cm fresh galangal *, peeled and roughly chopped

1 long red chilli, deseeded

2 tablespoons ground turmeric

1 tablespoon caster sugar

3 tablespoons fish sauce

800g rock ling (or other firm, white-fleshed fish such as barramundi or gemfish)

Vegetable oil for deep-frying

2 large handfuls dill sprigs

12 spring onions, thickly sliced

200 rice vermicelli

½ cup roasted unsalted peanuts, chopped

Thai basil leaves to serve

Coriander leaves to serve

Classic dipping sauce (see following recipe) to serve

*Galangal is a knob-like rhizome from the same family as ginger, available from Asian food stores and select greengrocers.

Place galangal, chilli, turmeric and sugar in a mortar and grind with a pestle to form a paste. Add fish sauce and 2 ½ tablespoons of water and stir until sugar dissolves. Remove skin and bones from fish and cut into 3cm chunks. Pour marinade over fish and refrigerate for 2 hours. Remove fish and pat dry with paper towel. Preheat a grill or barbecue to a high heat, cook fish on both sides until lines appear, but remove before fish is cooked all the way through. Heat oil in a large frypan over a high heat, add a third of the fish and deep -fry for 3-4 minutes, turning once. Add a third of the dill and spring onion and toss until jilted. Remove fish and herbs with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel. Pace vermicelli in a large saucepan, cover with boiling water, stand for 4-5 minutes, then stir gently to separate. Drain and refresh vermicelli under cold water, then cut with scissors into manageable lengths. Place some vermicelli in 6 serving bowls, top with fish and herbs, scatter peanut over and serve with accompaniments. Fry remaining fish and herbs in two batches and encourage diners to continue piling vermicelli and fish into their bowls. Serve with classic dipping sauce. Servers 6 as part of a banquet.
The great variety of dipping sauces plays an essential role, supporting the Vietnamese principle of five flavours in every meal: bitter, sweet, sour, spicy and salty.

Classic dipping sauce

3 tablespoons of fish sauce

100 ml lime juice

1 teaspoon rice vinegar

6 tablespoons caster sugar

2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

1 long red chilli, deseeded and chopped

Combine fish sauce, lime juice, rice vinegar and sugar in a small bowl. Stir until sugar dissolves, then add garlic and chilli. Pour mixture into 6 individual dipping bowls and server. Serves 6.

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Four Traditional International Recipes

Do you find that you prepare a lot of the same dishes every week? Maybe you wish you could try something a little different, but nothing too crazy that will make your family blanch. Preparing international cuisine is a great way to experience the traditions of other cultures, and it also keeps your food schedule from becoming too dull! Take a look at the following recipes from nations all over the world.

England

There are many great traditional English recipes, but one that still holds a firm place in the hearts of both the British and anyone who has ever had a roast beef dinner the Yorkshire way is the "Yorkshire pudding." The Yorkshire pudding is essentially a bread-like item baked in a muffin pan to give it a bowl shape. They are traditionally served as a side to a roast beef and vegetable dinner with gravy, but you'll find that they go well with practically any dish that contains brown gravy. The recipe is as follows:

3 eggs
Pinch of salt
1 pint of milk
2/3 cup of flour

Pre-heat your oven to 475 degrees F. Put a greased muffin pan in to heat up while you prepare the batter. Beat the eggs and salt together, then add milk and flour. Stir until smooth. When your muffin pan is hot, take it out of the oven and pour batter into each cup-about half way should do. Return the pan to the oven to bake for a few minutes until the puddings are golden brown. These should be the last items added to your plate and topped with brown gravy.

France

We have an easy recipe here for pineapple bisque. Bisque dates back to the 1600s and is traditionally a soupy concoction that contains some form of meat usually seafood. The recipe we have for you here is a sweet, frozen twist on the original, but you should enjoy it quite well as a quick dessert or snack. Here's the recipe:

4 eggs
1 cup pulverized sugar
1 pint of cream
1 small can of shredded pineapple
Brandy to taste

Beat the yolks of the eggs with the sugar. Add the cream and stir until the mixture is very light. Add the shredded pineapple. Mix well with a small glass of brandy and then let it freeze. Once frozen, serve in small glasses.

India

Rice is an essential part of the Indian culture. It is a cheap and highly available resource that often helps to curb the spiciness of many traditional Indian dishes. Here we have a recipe for Indian rice that you can put with nearly any main dish, but it particularly goes well with an Indian curry.

1 cup of rice
1 cup of chicken broth
Pinch of curry powder
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon of saffron

Bring the chicken stock and saffron to a boil, then add the rice. Mix in curry powder and season to taste with salt and pepper. Reduce to a low heat and cover. Let all cook slowly until the broth is entirely absorbed by the rice. Serve very hot.

China

Many of us have likely had the pleasure of visiting a good Chinese buffet or take-away, but you don't have to go out to have a great Chinese meal. Stir-fry chicken is probably one of the easiest DIY Chinese meals that don't require a great deal of time or effort! Below is a basic chicken stir-fry recipe that is terrific served with plain rice or Asian noodles.

2 chicken breasts
1 chopped onion
Bamboo sprouts, green beans, peas, and carrots to taste
Walnuts (if desired)
Shredded pineapple (if desired)
Soy sauce or stir fry sauce

Cut the chicken into cubes and place in a well-oiled skillet or wok. Fry until chicken is fully cooked, then start adding the chopped veggies of your choice. Add some soy or stir fry sauce and parsley. Serve with shredded pineapple.

See, the idea of cultural foods doesn't necessarily have to make you think of boiled tongue or lamb intestines! There are plenty of great foods all over the world that are just waiting to be explored. Will one of these great world recipes make it to your table?

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