SHAREABLES & PLAYFUL COCKTAILS for ANY GATHERING Vietnamese Vietnamese
SHAREABLES & PLAYFUL COCKTAILS for ANY GATHERING
PHOTOGRAPHS
Chapter THREE
Viet Dumpling Party
62 Dumpling Dough Bánh Hoành Thánh
67 Phở Dumplings Pho Hoành Thánh
69 Pork & Prawn Soup Dumplings
Heo Tôm Súp Dumplings
71 Prawn and Brown-Butter Leek
Dumplings Tôm Tỏi Tây Dumplings
75 Butter Tofu Dumplings
Đậu Hũ Bơ Dumplings
Chapter FOUR
Wrap Feast
89 Roasted Salmon Spring Rolls Cá Hồi Nướng Lá Chuối
91 Roasted Eggplant & Tofu
Puff Spring Rolls Cà Tím Đậu Hũ Nướng
Lemongrass Rib-Eye Spring Rolls Bò Nướng Sả
Crispy Shrimp & Tofu-Skin Patties Đậu Hủ Ky
Sizzling Viet Griddle Nướng Vỉ
Chapter FIVE
One-Pot Wonders
107 Beef-Rib Phở Phở Sườn Bò
110 Buttery Roasted Chicken Phở Phở Gà Nướng
115 Pork-Sparerib Noodle Súp Bánh Canh
119 Extra Chicken Sup with Glass Noodles Miến Gà
121 Lamb Kho Pot Pie Bánh Thịt Cừu Kho 126 Crab Feast with Mushroom
Stir-Fry Miến Xào Cua
Lemongrass-Tamarind Steamed Crabs for a Crowd Cua Hấp
Chapter SIX Cocktail Hour
139 #KhoaWuzHere: A Pho Fat–Washed Whiskey Shot with Phở Broth Chaser
141 Sleepless in Seattle Phintini
145 Gin & Juicy
147 Coconut-Washed Cognac Old-Fashioned
Mango-Lemongrass Paloma
Quynh Bee
Cà Phê Jell-O Shots
Pandan-Infused Dry Martini
Lychee Pop Spritz
Grilled Piña Margarita
A DINNER PARTY,
But Make It Viet (andUnforgettable)
The dining room is buzzing with patrons on a Saturday afternoon; we are standing behind the bar and can’t help but look out in awe at the vibes of the shop. It feels like every type of Seattleite is here eating a bowl of phở, from the Asian families rolling in ten deep to the group of friends still in sweats after a late night out. We’ve spent our lives observing our guests, shaping menus they genuinely want to eat and atmospheres that feel effortlessly good. We live in a rhythm of hosting, feeding, and making sure people have a good time—and that’s just how we like it.
This book is not only a Vietnamese cookbook but also an intimate look at how we entertain. Of course there are phở recipes tailored to the home cook, but most of the recipes aren’t offered at our restaurants. We hope this entices you to cook the recipes in the book and host like the Phở Bắc sisters!
WHAT MAKES AN EPIC VIET DINNER PARTY?
Great food that leaves you craving more. A gathering with a silly amount of booze and your favorite people around you, where you leave absurdly full.
The flavor profile in this book captures what we create at our restaurants: well seasoned, satisfying, and true to what a Vietnamese person craves the most—a balance of salty, sweet, umami, and herbaceously fresh. Vietnamese cooking is all about hitting your palate with soft, crunchy, and chewy textures all at once. It is true, Vietnamese cooking is as fussy as its people, but that extra effort is what makes it so delicious! Our people’s favorite hobbies are eating and telling you how to eat. Expect to stock up on fish sauce and bird’s-eye chilis as 95 percent of
Pho ? ’ Fresh Rolls
Makes 12 to 16 rolls
Difficulty
For the Beef
Fresh rolls are a perennial crowd favorite. They’re light, chewy, and always the first to disappear. This dish is different from fresh spring rolls, as the wrap is made of steamed rice noodles and not rice paper. Confusing, I know! The rice sheets used here are steamed and sold as whole flat sheets. Look for packets that say “rice ribbons” or “sha ho fun.” In Seattle, my favorite brands are Rose Brand or King of Tiger brand by P&S Food Company (my neighbor across the street from Hello Em Coffee!). This recipe takes the best parts of phở and turns them into small handheld appetizersize wraps, one version with a beef filling and another with egg. The secret to the perfect roll is fresh rice sheets, so avoid refrigerating the rolls and eat these on the same day for the best texture. If your rice sheets feel a bit stubborn, just wrap them in a damp paper towel and warm them in the microwave for 30 to 60 seconds to soften. You can roll these ahead of time and set them out for guests to nibble on at their leisure; the rice sheets should keep their form for up to 4 hours uncovered, but by then I am sure they will be all gone!
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon honey or loosely packed brown sugar
11/2 teaspoons Maggi seasoning or soy sauce
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons neutral oil, divided
1 medium shallot, thinly sliced
1/2 pound boneless beef loin, such as New York strip, thinly sliced
For the Omelet
4 eggs
11/2 teaspoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
Freshly ground black pepper
For the Rolls
2 pounds fresh, flat rice noodle sheets
1 head of green leaf lettuce or mustard greens, cut into 3-inch slices
1 cup of tender herb leaves, such as Thai basil or Vietnamese mint (húng cay)
For the Dipping Sauce
1⁄3 cup fish sauce
11/2 teaspoons Sambal (page 18, or store-bought)
Makes
50 to 60 dumplings
Difficulty
Pho ? ’ Dumplings
Soup dumplings are already a labor of love, but turning phở into dumpling form was a no-brainer. Each little dumpling hides a cube of gelatinized phở broth that melts back into liquid gold as it steams. This is next level Viet-ifying that I’m most proud of, and it’s also a sneaky way to lure your friends and family into helping. Make the gelatinous stock the day before, using the Beef-Rib Phở broth (page 107) as your rich and savory base. Remember that good phở broth doesn’t happen in an hour! Using steam paper or parchment paper with cut slits is key to making sure the dumplings don’t stick as they steam. Guests will burn their tongues and drop broth on themselves, so tell them no white shirts at this party.
For the Gelatinous Stock
4 cups beef broth (page 107)
21/2 tablespoons (34 grams) gelatin powder
For the Filling
1 pound ground beef (20% fat)
4 tablespoons fat skimmed from phở broth or neutral oil
2 to 3 tablespoons minced green onions
2 to 3 tablespoons minced cilantro
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon plus 11/2 teaspoons palm sugar or honey
2 teaspoons potato starch mixed with 4 teaspoons of water
Thai basil or culantro (ngò gai) leaves, for garnish Sliced jalapeños, for garnish
1 To make the stock, put the beef broth and gelatin powder in a large saucepan. Stir well and bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from the heat and pour the broth into a heatproof container. Transfer the container to the fridge for about 1 hour, uncovered, until set.
Makes
4 to 6 servings
Difficulty
Beef-Rib Pho ?
’
At Phở Bắc, we’re famous for our beef pho. Luckily this version requires less broth processing than how we make our phở at the restaurants! Who has endless time to babysit a pot when you’re trying to host a dinner party? Beef ribs carry this recipe to keep things simple and fast(er), but feel free to add in oxtails if you’re after that decadent gelatinous goodness. And if you would like a deeper broth, you can cut out the tender meat and throw the rib bones back into the broth for extra cooking. Total time of broth making is 4 to 5 hours.
For the Broth Seasoning
4 tablespoons palm sugar or granulated sugar
3 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon MSG
For the Soup
6 pounds beef back ribs
8 to 10 quarts water
2 large yellow onions, peeled and cut in half
1 (5-inch) piece of ginger, unpeeled, smashed or roughly chopped
7 star anise
4 cloves
1 cinnamon stick, or 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder
16 coriander seeds
For Serving
2 pounds of fresh rice noodles (phở noodles)
2 cups Súp Garnish (page 11)
Hành Giam (vinegar onions; recipe follows)
For the Optional Súp Fixings
Thai basil
Lime wedges
Sliced jalapeños or bird’s-eye chilis
Bean sprouts
Freshly ground black pepper
Sambal (page 18)
Sriracha
Hoisin plum sauce
Phở Dipping Sauce (Sốt Chấm Phở, page 25)
Chinese donut
1 To make the broth seasoning, mix the sugar, salt, and MSG together in a small bowl. Set aside.
2 To make the broth, put the ribs into a large stock pot (10 quarts or bigger), cover with water, and cook over high heat for about 10 minutes, uncovered. Once you see scum floating and the water coming to a boil, drain and discard the water and rinse the short ribs clean of debris.
3 Clean the stock pot, put the ribs back in the pot, and fill with water until just about three-quarters full. Bring to a boil over high heat and add 1 of the onions (two halves). Adjust the heat to let the broth simmer for 1 hour, uncovered.
