Tet has arrived. Once again, we return to the eternal topic of tet food, a common issue for every family: too much food and too similar (banh chung, braised pork, vietnamese pork roll, sausage, chicken…). To change the family’s taste simply and quickly, without much time spent, we consulted with ms. Tuyet anh, a chef and owner of the famous banh xeo di tuyet restaurant in the nam vien area (2s a1-6 my vien, phu my hung, tan phu ward, district 7). She is also the owner of the tam hy vegetarian buffet restaurant. Ms. Tuyet anh mentioned that in the southern delta, people have quick preparation techniques by using available or surplus food during the three tet days to change the family’s taste. She suggested three dishes that the locals often use to refresh the palate.
STEAMED SNAKEHEAD FISH WITH FISH SAUCE
Snakehead fish is always available in the delta. The challenge is to prepare it quickly while preserving the pure flavor of the fish, without using too many spices. This is the principle for making the steamed fish with fish sauce dish.
Use a big snakehead fish, about 1.8 kg, keep it whole, only clean its innards and rinse off the slime. Place the fish in a pan, pour 2/3 of a cup of fish sauce over it, and simmer for 35 minutes. The nature essence from the fish combines with the fish sauce to create a mixture that eliminates any fishy smell while preserving the purity of the fish’s flesh.
Prepare the dipping sauce by cooking fish sauce with sugar and fried garlic, then adding chili sauce and a bit of chopped ginger. Once the fish is cooked, slice it lengthwise, then sprinkle with peanuts mixed with scallion oil for a fragrant touch.
Snakehead fish is wrapped in rice paper with various wild vegetables like starfruit leaves, coriander, basil, and served with pineapple, cucumber, and banana blossom slices.
This is a rustic yet refined dish after three days of meat-heavy Tet meals with Banh Chung, pork rolls, and sausages.
VEGETARIAN MEAT ROLLS
To avoid fedding up with Tet foods, the vegetarian meat roll is a way to refresh the taste buds while reducing the intake of protein, carbs, and fats. This dish is also easy to make quickly and to reduce the time when cooking during Tet.
The main ingridents are brown oyster mushrooms for their crisp texture (do not use white oyster mushrooms as they have a strong mushroom smell) and tofu skin. Tear both into small pieces by hand, then mix them well with vegetarian seasoning, pepper, and crispy flour. Roll the mixture and steam it quickly for 10 min- utes (the total preparation time is only 15 minutes). After steaming, slice the sausage into pieces and fry them until crispy, serving with salt, pepper, and lime for a refreshing, delicious taste.
VIETNAMESE PORK ROLL SALAD
To solve the problem of surplus food and repeated dishes during Tet, this dish uses the surplus one to cre- ate a new flavor. It’s an easy dish to make. Using what- ever is available but tastes light and fresh.
Take the leftover pork rolls (chả lụa) from the fridge and cut them into strips. Utilize whatever vegetables are available: cucumber, carrots, kohlrabi, pickled onions, dried shrimp… Slice all the vegetables into small strands and mix them with the sliced pork sausages.
Prepare a dressing with fish sauce, lime, vinegar, sugar, and chili. And just like that, you have a salad-style dish with pork sausage to nibble on.
Ms. Tuyet Anh, the owner of Banh Xeo Di Tuyet restaurant in 2S A1-6 My Vien complex and Vegetarian Buffet Tam Hy, is preparing three Vietnamese folk dishes for Tet due to this article.
