Gourmet Bún Riêu Cua B**ches!

Yeah, you read right: gourmet bún riêu cua, a noodle dish that is one of the top vendor foods in Vietnam. The original vendor dish is made with grounded paddy crabs, tomatoes, deep-fried tofu and an egg and shrimp paste mixture. The dish is sometimes known as tofu-curdle noodle soup, since the chunky eggs in the soup resemble curdled milk. The broth is colored with annatto seeds to produce a bright orangy-red color to the broth. Other ingredients such as pig blood is sometimes also added. The dish is accompanied with a variety of condiments ranging from chili pepper paste, fermented shrimp paste, limes, bean sprouts, shredded banana flower, spearmint, shiso leaves, and/or exotic leaves called rau kinh giới (Elsholtzia ciliata).
My mom made an incredible version using an amazing load of real crab meat, crab brains/innards, and crab paste, all of course, with tomatoes and egg (for lunch). It was basically a crab extravaganza! Served over vermicelli, this piping hot dish was so vibrant and aromatic that I almost gave in to its' temptation (even though I disliked this dish as a child and still do even if it was vegetarian-friendly) but I stood my ground!

Fun fact(s): "Bún" (boom) literally means noodle and "Riêu" (reew) means to simmer at low heat. "Cua" (goua) basically means crab so the dish is literally, "Simmering Crab Noodle" which explains the process of cooking: at low-medium heat to slowly simmer all the flavors of the crab and tomato together. Claaassic!!!

Tempura Udon and Unagi Maki

So, for dinner today, I made Tempura Udon Soup and Unagi (Grilled Eel) Makizushi for my brother.
Udon is a thick, Japanese wheat noodle, almost equivalent to the Shanghai thick noodle. Broth for the soup was made from shiitake mushroom concentrate and seaweed broth; it was then seasoned with mirin, sugar, soy sauce and sake, along with salt and pepper. I bought new bowls to make this specific dish (mwahaha! I am such a nerd). Toppings included kamaboko (steamed fish cake; I accidently bought the white kind instead of the 'aka' or pink kind), naruto-maki, spinach, chikuwa, egg and shrimp tempura. Perfect for a cold night. (The broth was vegetarian so I added my own toppings that were non-meat/fish to it for myself).
For the side, I made Unagi Maki, which was a sushi roll filled with cucumber and sliced ginger and topped with grilled eel. Seved wtih pickled ginger and wasabi (on the new plate that matched the bowls mwahaha!). Yum yum!! My brother loved it!!

Christmas Eve Feast

 

So, for Christmas Eve, my family and I hosted a huge, bad-ass party for both sides of my extended family. I was the cook, making several dishes for the buffet style dinner. We had three ducks, four crowns of pork, purple mash, brussel sprouts, apple-cranberry stuffing, spinach tarts and etc. Appetizers included smoked salmon on crostini, shrimp wrapped in prosciutto in peach sauce, whole wheat cranberry scones, cheeseballs with crackers and apple with cheese pastries. Dessert included mini peppermint cheesecakes, pastries and Viet treats and fruit. My brother made is signature Cran-Orange Berry Swirl Drink for guests.
Unfortunately, I was unable to take many photos. Most of these photos are taken by my cousin. She, unfotunately did not have enough time to take pictures of the ducks before they were consumed by my hungry guests. Hopefully my other family members have a picture so I can borrow and post.

It was a night full of anxiety, laughter, and satisfied tummies. I don't think I ever cooked that much in my life...

Pine Cone CheeseBall with crackers

 

Whole Wheat Cranberry Scones/Biscuits

Two of the Four Crowns of Pork, Wrapped in bacon