Hello Saigon!

The heat will not deter my foraging for food! That's not to say that I won't be found lazing away wherever there is air conditioning.

My plane landed around 10 pm last night. By the time I got home, it was close to 11 pm. The streets were mostly empty except for those selling the last of their pushcart food. No worries! My cousins took me for banh bot chien (fried rice cakes) in an alleyway. They cut it up for you in bite-sized pieces here and it's actually crispy (who would've thunk!). Back in the states, no matter how many times I reiterate the fact that I want my rice cakes to be crispy, they always come out as if they never even touched a frying pan.

My cousin Ky and I stopped by her cousin Kim's place for ice cream. Kim needed an electronic whisk but we only brought over tongs for kneading dough. Suffice to say, that wasn't of much use. It also turns out that she was trying to make more of a mousse than ice cream, since she was planning on whipping up some cream and adding coffee and sugar...unless that's what people consider to be ice cream over here? I'm confused. Will have to find out later.
Anyway, we sat in the kitchen for about an hour trying to whip the cream until its peaks were stiff but that was to no avail. Once again, I blame the heat! Heat = no peaks!
Kim likes to try out new recipes and her parents left her and her brother to live by themselves in a pretty big house. Something tells me I'll be over there pretty darn often.

I apologize for the lack of pictures. It's been less than a day and I'm still a paranoid newbie. Using an iPhone on the streets is just asking for trouble over here.

Will be meeting up with my aunt and cousins for more rice cakes and whatnot later for dinner today! Hopefully pictures come up soon?

Che Xoi Nuoc

Not lost in translation: Mochi dumplings in ginger syrup. 

Most of the time, my mother's new food concoctions turn out to be utter disasters (thank goodness she doesn't know what a blog is to read this). Then other times, she gets recipes from those who have really mastered it, and that it when I'm really at my happiest. 

On Sunday, she made this dessert for lunch. For LUNCH, people! 

Che xoi nuoc is a Vietnamese dessert. It is basically mochi with mung bean filling (the Japanese equivalent is more or less daifuku) that is cooked in a rock sugar based syrup infused with ginger. The difficulty in making this dessert lies in the texture of the mochi. The dough is easily overworked, so even when cooked in syrup, the consistency is harder than desired. 

Not pictured, che xoi nuoc is usually drizzled with a coconut reduction and sprinkled with toasted sesame. 

Pesto!

I found this charming little video on homemade pesto today. Enjoy!