Peppermint Chocolate Cake Pops

Ingredients:

• 1 box of chocolate cake mix (or you can make from scratch)
• 16 oz of chocolate frosting 
• 1 tsp + 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
• 1 -2 lbs of white candy melts (I used Merckens)
• 1/2 tsp Paramount crystal or shortening 
• 4-5 candy canes
• White crystal sprinkles
• 4 inch lollipop sticks 
• Styrofoam

1. Bake chocolate cake as directed on back of box but add 1 tsp peppermint extract in the mix. 
   
2. When the cake is completely cool, crumble completely using your hands/fork/knife whatever. Optional:  You can slice off the top and sides to create a more even cake mixture before crumbling. 
3. Add half of the can of frosting (8 oz) into the cake crumbles. Make sure it is evenly mixed in. Add 1/2 tsp of peppermint extract. Add 1 crushed candy can as well. If you can form a ball with your mixture, then you're good. Add more frosting if needed.
4. Roll the mixture into 1.25 inch balls (like golf balls) and place in a container that is lined with wax paper. Don't worry about making perfect spheres.
   
5. Place the balls in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. 
6. Puncture holes in the Styrofoam and mark the holes with a marker if you can't see them.
   
7. Melt candy melts in the microwave. Click here for helpful tips. Be careful not to overheat! Add shortening or paramount crystals to thin the chocolate. Pour the melted candy melts into a narrow and deep cup. 
   

   

   To thick! Add paramount crystals or shortening.

8. Mix 3 crushed candy canes the white crystal sprinkles to ease sprinkling. 

   

   You can crush the candy canes in a Ziploc bag.

9. Roll the ball in your hands again if you need to perfect the sphere. Dip a quarter inch of one end of the lollipop stick in the melted chocolate and stick halfway into the ball. Let it dry. This will act as the "glue."
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
10. Dip your cake pop into the melted candy melt. Make sure your cake pop is not too cold (let it sit for a few min if taken right out of the refrigerator). If it's too cold, it will form cracks on the candy coating when dried. Dip straight down until completely submerged and then remove straight up. Tilt the pop at a 30 degree angle, twirling to drip the excess. 
11. Quickly sprinkle on the crushed candy cane and sprinkles.
12. Stick in the Styrofoam to dry. Repeat with the rest of the cake pops.
    

Bánh Flan ̣̣(Flan)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 10 eggs 
• 4 cups milk
• 1 can condensed milk
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

1. To make the caramel sauce: In a small pot, boil 1/2 cup of water and 1 cup sugar on high. Constantly stirring until the mixture reaches a warm brown. Remove from heat when color is reached and stir in 1 tbsp of water to thin out caramel sauce.
2. In a large bowl, gently whisk the eggs. Do not overbeat!
3. Stir in the milk. 
4. Pour the mixture through a sieve into another large bowl. Discard the thick egg whites that are caught in the sieve. 
5. Add the condensed milk, sugar, and vanilla extract. Stir to evenly combine and dissolve the condensed milk. 
6. Using a spoon, create a thin layer of caramel sauce on the bottom of your container. If the caramel sauce has thickened, place on the over over medium-high heat and stir until it's liquid again. 
7. Scoop some egg mixture and pour into the container over the caramel sauce. Repeat for the rest of the containers.
8. In a double boiler, fill one-third of the bottom pan with water. Place the lid on the bottom layer and boil the water on high.
9. Place as many containers as you can fit on the top layer of the double boiler. 
10. When the water is boiling, remove the lid, position the top layer on the bottom layer, and put the lid back on the top layer. 
11. When a lot of water collects on the lid, remove the lid and shake off the excess water or take a towel to wipe off the moisture. This is to prevent excess water falling on the flan. After you clean the lid the first time, lower the heat to medium-high heat. Repeat removing and cleaning the lid  2-4 more times until the flan is cooked. 
12. The flan is cooked when the tops have slightly whitened or when you can cleanly insert and remove a toothpick in the flan.
13. Remove the flan from the pan to cool. 
14. With plastic wrap or lids, place the flan in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
15. To serve:  You can eat directly out of the flan container. OR take a knife and cut around the edges and invert the flan onto a plate. Add 1/2 tsp of black coffee on top to add some coffee flavor. 
    

Nước Mắm (Fish Sauce)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup fish sauce (the raw one in a bottle)
• 2 cups water
• 1 whole lemon
• Chili if desired

1. Stir everything in a bowl. Squeeze lemon in last. Add chili if desired. Done! 

Fish sauce has a ratio of 1:1:2 for sugar, fish sauce, and water. The lemon juice is added for more flavor. Adjust recipe as needed.

This is great for dipping fish in, for rice platter plates, and is widely used as a dipping sauce in Vietnamese dishes. 

Baby Bok Choy Stir-Fry with Beef

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs of baby boy choy
• 2 lbs of New York Strip Steak or Beef Tenderloin or Ribeye (whatever meat you want)
• 3-4 cloves of garlic (peeled, crushed, and diced)
• 1 tsp sugar
• Pepper to season
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp chicken powder
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp corn starch
• 1/2 tsp + 1-2 tbsp olive oil 
• pinch + 1 tbsp of salt
• 1/2 lb of shiitake mushrooms (nắm) 
• 1 tbsp canola oil

1. Wash the meat with salt and white vinegar. Cut meat into slices. 

   

   Wash meat with salt and white vinegar.

   
   

   

   Cut meat into slices. (Cut perpendicular to the indentations of meat.)

2. Cut off the ends of the bok choy and wash.
   
   
   
3. Marinate the beef:  In a bowl with the sliced meat add half of the diced garlic, 1/2 tsp sugar, sprinkle some pepper, 1 tbsp oyster sauce, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1/2 tsp of chicken powder,  1/2 tsp sesame oil, 1/2 tsp corn starch, 1/2 tsp olive oil, pinch of salt. Mix the meat in the seasoning using chopsticks. Set aside on the table for 15 minutes to marinate (or in the fridge for a few hours).

   

   Diced garlic.

   
   

   

   Marinated meat.

4. Remove the ends of the mushrooms and rinse the caps under water. Slice mushrooms.
   
   
   
   
5. Fill 1/3-1/2 of a wok with water and boil with the lid on. When it boils, add 1 tbsp of salt and 1 tbsp of canola oil. 
   
6. Place half of the boy choy in and submerge in the water for 20-30 seconds until cooked. Remove from water and place in strainer to drain excess water. Repeat with the other half of bok choy. Heat should still be on high. When done, turn off the heat and dump the rest of the water. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
7. With heat on high, add 1-2 tbsp of olive oil and the other half of the diced garlic into the now dry wok.
   
8. Pour meat into work and stir to cook. 
   
9. When meat is semi-cooked, turn off heat, continue stirring for another minute, and remove the meat from the wok. 
   
10. In the same wok, put the heat back on high, add the slices shiitake mushrooms with 1 tbsp olive oil. Add the bok choy, 1/2 tsp chicken powder, 1/2 tsp sugar, and a pinch of salt. Mix well. (Heat should still be on high.)
    
    
    
11. Add the semi-cooked meat back in the wok and stir again. Turn off the heat when the meat is cooked (should be very fast). Season with pepper. 
    

Tip:  The meat is removed after cooking partially and added at the end again to prevent overcooking the meat. 

Canh Cải Xanh (Kai Choi Soup)

Ingredients:

• 1-2 lb pork neckbone or rib
• 1 can chicken broth
• Some rock sugar
• 2 spoons of chicken powder
• Pinch of salt
• Bundle of kai choi (cải xanh) (this is a type of mustard green!)
• Sliced ginger pieces

1. Wash and prepare the meat. (See "How to Prepare Meat & Bone for Canh/Kho)
   
2. Wash and prepare the kai choi. Remember to take out the bad leaves.
   
3. Fill 1/3 of a medium pot with water and add one can of chicken broth. Cover with lid and bring to a boil.
4. Put meat in, rock sugar, chicken powder, and salt. Bring to a boil again and simmer at high medium heat for 1 hour with no lid. 
5. Add more water if needed.
6. After you can stick a chopstick into the meat without much effort (meat is soft enough), add the kai choi and ginger. Bring the heat back to high. When it boils again, turn the heat off and serve.
   

Dưa Giá (Pickled Bean Sprouts)

Ingredients:

• Bean sprouts
• Garlic chives (hẹ)
• One carrot 
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups vinegar
• 2 cups water
• 1 bundle of green onion chopped in 3 inch pieces
• 1-2 shallots vertically sliced

1. Wash the bean sprouts and garlic chives. 
2. Peel carrot skin and use a big peeler to make thin carrot strips.
3. In a bowl, combine the bean sprouts, garlic chives, carrot strips, and green onion. 
   
4. In an airtight container, add the sugar, vinegar, and water. (This is a 1:1:1 ratio!) Stir until sugar is dissolved.
5. Put chopped shallots into the container and submerge the vegetables. Make sure your mixture covers the vegetables. 
   
6. Use a small plate to lay on top of the submerged vegetables. 
   
7. Put the lid on the container and leave on the counter for 3-4 hours. 

Thịt Kho Trứng (Pork and Eggs Simmered in Coconut Juice)

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs pork belly (đui) chopped into palm-sized pieces
• 8 eggs
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp chicken powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 2 phở spoons of fish sauce
• 4-5 cloves of garlic
• 3-4 shallots
• 5 green onion heads (hành lá) 
• 1 wedge of lime
• 2 cans coconut juice (24oz)
• 1 can chicken broth (12oz)
• 1 yellow onion

1. Wash and semi-cook the pork belly. (See "How to Prepare Meat & Bones for Canh/Kho”)
2. Using a tweezer, pluck out any remaining hairs. 
3. Put the pork belly in a large bowl and add the following:  sugar, chicken powder, salt, pepper, fish sauce, and lime juice. 
   
4. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and put in fridge to marinate for 2-3 hours or overnight. 
5. Hard-boil the eggs.
6. After the meat is done marinating, put the garlic cloves, whole shallots, and onion heads into the same marinating bowl. 
   
7. Place the contents of the marinated bowl into a big pot over high heat. Wait for the fish sauce to be absorbed into the meat (should see the sauce bubbling and slowly disappearing). 
8. Pour the coconut juice and chicken broth into the pot. Add water if needed to cover the meat. 
   
   

   

   Use either brand of coconut juice.

   
   

   

   Bad foam.

   
   
9. Use a ladle to scoop out any "bad foam" while the oven is still on high.
   
10. When it boils, lower heat to medium to simmer.
11. Peel and add one whole yellow onion.
12. When the eggs are hard-boiled and peeled, place them in the pot and turn the heat back to high. (Make sure as much bad foam is taken out before you add the eggs. You may need to put the heat back to high to collect more foam.)
13. Leave lid off and let it simmer for 3-4 hours on medium heat until the meat is soft. The water should change color to a light brown.
    
14. When meat is soft, take out the collection of onions and serve!

This is typically a dish for New Year's and is eaten with dưa giá. Eat over rice or wrapped in rice paper. 

How to Prepare Meat & Bones for Canh/Kho

Ingredients:

• Salt
• Vinegar

1. Fill sink with water and place the meat in.
2. Pour some salt and vinegar into the mix. Let the meat sit in your mixture for a few minutes.
3. In a pot with boiling water and some salt, add the now washed meat. 
4. Wait until the water is boiling again, and then take out the meat. Dump the dirty water and wash the pot with clean water.
5. Rinse the meat under cold water.