BAH. FINALLY caught up with my numba one lady, JamieFuckingD. It's been more than a month since we've seen eachother, and before our separation we were together 24-7...doing yoga, eating good food, drinking coffee and surfing da waves bra. She has been working around the clock, so as soon as she had a free second I snatched her up. I knew that I could nail her down and with the promise of one of my home cooked meals. Wanted to mix it up and cook something different - challenge myself into a not-so-comfortable cuisine. Hmmm....VIETNAMESE + THAI! The menu was vegetarian vietnamese spring rolls with a spicy soy dipping sauce, inside out sushi salad, and a vegetarian Pho with tofu. Boom. Beverages you ask? White wine before dinner, Genmai Cha tea with the meal, and then a Sweet Orange Flower tea for dessert. Soup to nuts my friend, soup to nuts! No detail left unattended. So we ate, and we laughed, and bumped to some hip hop {jammie always has the best + baddest dirty hiphop around}.
vietnamese spring rolls:
these ones are not fried, and they are sooo freaking easy to make.
spring roll wrappers (can be bought at any asian supermarket)
vermicelli noodles (" ")
cucumber, julienned
carrot, julienned
scallions
sprouts (they usually use bean sprouts, but i used Alfafa Sprouts...and it was perfect!)
fresh basil
fresh mint
fresh cilantro
sriracha
soy sauce
cook the vermicelli noodles first. throw them into boiling water and they are done in about 45 seconds. drain them and then season with a bit of sriracha and soy sauce. to cook the spring roll wrappers you have to be patient, and willing to learn through trial and error. i fill up a skillet with water and put it on medium high heat. i submerge the wrapper in the hot water, holding on to one little bit with my fingers. pull it out, place onto WAX PAPER. fill it with cooked vermicelli, julienned carrot + cucumber, a piece of scallion, and then a bit of the fresh herbs. CAREFULLY and PATIENTLY wrap them up. it gets easier as you go, and as long as you have the right attitude - it's a ton of fun!
spring roll dipping sauce:
soy sauce {or bragg's liquid amino}
chili oil {or sriracha}
sesame oil
rice wine vinegar
hoisin sauce
just throw a bit of each into a bowl and mix it up. mmmmm dipping perfection.
inside-out-sushi-salad:
this was inspired by a salad that Gray for me, further inspired by a similar salad made for me by Nicole, and then taken to this place by me. a collaboration or sorts you could say.
mixed greens
grape tomatoes
avocado
cucumber
garlic
cayenne pepper
brown rice
nori seaweed {dry sheets of seaweed...like they use for sushi}
cook brown rice, let it cool. top mixed greens with grape tomatoes that have been halved. diced cucumber and cucumber on top as well. sprinkle with cayenne pepper, for a kick, and some garlic. top with brown rice. take a sheet of nori and slice it up into tiny little strips and mix into the salad. dress with olive oil and soy sauce, or my new favorite - braggs liquid aminos. mmm. a freaking circus in your mouth. its delightful.
PHO:
vegetable stock
limes
sriracha
soy sauce
fresh basil
fresh cilantro
tofu
garlic
ginger
vermicelli noodles
now this one...hmmm. i hate to admit it, but all the vietnamese places use a beef broth (most of the time even in your "vegetarian" pho)...and it's delicious. but heres my take on a completely vegetarian version, and as jamie d said "CHRIST...this is friggin AMAZING". 2 quarts vegetable stock. into this pot goes a few squirts of sriracha hot sauce, and several shakes of soy sauce. squeeze the juice of two limes in. then i drizzled some olive oil into the mix - why? i dont know...it just felt right. a handful of fresh cilantro and a handful of fresh basil went into the pot too. in a skillet i sauteed tofu in olive oil, with garlic and grated fresh ginger. once cooked it threw that into the pot as well. to finish it off i put in cooked vermicelli noodles. boom.
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