i love mango

I hadn't had lunch yet, so on the way to get the kids from school I was daydreaming about what I'd eat when I got the chance to stop at a store. Fruit sounded good. It always does these days, but the choices are limited to apples or bananas. Sure there are some others out there, but my favorites are so expensive ($3 for one Asian pear?! Who can afford to buy them?).

Pondering my lack of choices, the thought of mangoes burst in and I couldn't get them out of my mind. Oh how I ached for the sweet nectar of mango, so juicy it slides down my chin and I have to stand back to avoid being dripped on. I miss having a nice thick oval piece, sliced off the side of a deep yellow mango, cut into squares, right up to (but not through) the skin. Sucking the delicious meat of the peel, saving the pit for later. It's the best part, if you don't mind the stringy bits.

I never knew that memories of mango could bring me to tears.

The cold, damp weather lately makes me crave the warm days of the spring, when I didn't realize just how lucky I was, licking mango juice from my fingertips.

more yummies

From dinner last night: garden rolls. Also called fresh spring rolls. And the Vietnamese name escapes me right now. I'll have to look it up. We used carrots, cucumbers, asparagus, snap peas, bean sprouts and basil. Then dipped it in Trader Joe's asian dipping sauce (which was actually pretty okay).

Thanks go to Steve and Desiree for suggesting and providing for dinner. It was well worth the prep time.

mm, mm, good~

I've been madly depressed lately and can't quite seem to shake it. Until this afternoon when I decided to spend my last few dollars on Vietnamese food for lunch. I headed over to Fubonn, our Asian mall in Portland, picked up some spring roll wrapper, Choco Pie and some instant Chinese noodles. There happened to be a Vietnamese restaurant outside the grocery, so I checked out the menu. Typical fare: Cha gio, goi cuon, banh xeo, bun ba Hue, then, there it was.... Bún Chả Hà Nội!

I have looked for months for this lovely meal, first introduced to me by Keith on Hang Manh street in Ha Noi on my second night in the country. That restaurant made bun cha like it's supposed to be made, and try as I might I couldn't find anyone that even made it in a similar style (pork patties, noodles, veggies, nuoc mam). Until today.

May good luck fall upon the fine folks at Bánh Cuốn Tân Dịnh. The food was wonderful, service great. I asked about ché and sure enough, they have it on Sundays. Looking through the cooler, I queried each item until I heard "homemade yoghurt" at which time I squealed with delight and pulled out my cash. Oh, how I've yearned for VNese yoghurt. And here it was!

I am happy, so happy, with my belly full of bún chả and yoghurt.

Bánh Cuốn Tân Dịnh: 2850 SE 82nd Ave; Suite 11; Portland, Oregon

supreme row

Mrs Hanh never could say spring roll right, it always came out something like "supreme row" (the row rhyming with cow). I loved them, though, and finally got around to trying to make some with my sister's help. Here's the photos and my adaptation of the recipe:

Combine one chicken breast (minced while slightly frozen), 1 diced scallion, 1 minced garlic clove, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. pepper, 1 oz. rice vermicelli (chopped into 1-inch pieces), 1/2 cup chopped carrots, 1/2 cup chopped zucchini, 3 minced shiitake mushrooms and 1 beaten egg. Mix it all together with your hands, chopsticks, fork, whatever. This part takes the longest.. getting everything cut-up. Give yourself a half hour to assemble it all.

In a separate bowl, beat 2 eggs. Using rice wrappers, let them soak for a minute or two in hot water, then using a pastry brush, brush eggs over both sides of rice wrapper. Put a tablespoon or mixture in the center of the wrapper. Fold over the sides, then roll tightly. Rinse and repeat. No, just repeat.


Fry them in hot oil for a few minutes, until nicely browned, then drain. Oh my gosh! Mmmm. They were gone within an hour or so. Delish!

Finally- good Phở Gà!

I've checked out a couple of places, though the visits have been few and far between. At an average cost of $6/bowl (versus 30cents in Viet Nam), phở gà has been an infrequent treat. Most have not been the delicious market taste that I so crave, but then we went to Phở Văn.

My mom ordered the phở gà (Vietnamese chicken noodle soup) and I spruced it up for her with a little green vegetables, bean sprouts and fresh-squeezed lemon. It tasted just like the market in Thanh Hoa and I, quite honestly, couldn't have been much happier.

I had Bún Bò Huế ("round shanghai rice noodles, beef shank, slices of chả lụa, and picnic pork in a spicy lemongrass beef broth") which was delicious and spicy. I used to dislike the heat of spicy food, but grew to almost enjoy the burn of chilies. Crazy, but true.

Audrey tried the cơm gà (rice with grilled, lemongrass-marinated chicken), a variation of the kind we'd made in Tam Ky. It came with some nước mắm that was made to perfection. None too fishy and perfectly seasoned.

My sister chose the Bún Tôm Thịt ("pork marinated in honey and lemongrass and shrimp grilled over an open flame") and while not a fan of shrimp, found it quite delicious.

The prices are reasonable for America (insane for Viet Nam!), but the food was wonderful. Very authentic Vietnamese flavor, presented in a more Western fashion. No plastic chairs or wooden benches. No napkins tossed to the floor after use. While I miss all that periphery as well, it was so good to have the taste of Viet Nam again.