Khao lam: Thai sticky rice cooked in bamboo
Bamboo tubes are stuffed with uncooked sticky rice, sugar, coconut milk and salt, sealed, boiled then grilled in charcoal. Khao lam is delicious beyond words.
Food Tales
To understand food and its cultural and social significance, it is often necessary to go beyond recipes and cooking tips. This section includes a comprehensive guide on ramen broth, a history of mac and cheese, a dive into the (mostly Western) misconception that sate / satay is peanut sauce and how chocolate evolved to become the (second?) most popular Valentine's Day gift.
In Vietnam, banh tet is a lunar new year tradition
Mung beans and pork wrapped in glutinous rice, rolled into a log with layers of banana leaves, then boiled for long hours, banh tet is a traditional Lunar New Year food …
Guide to ramen broth: shio, shoyu, miso and tonkotsu
Shio broth has salt, shoyu broth has soy sauce and miso paste is added to make miso broth. Tonkotsu (not tonkatsu) is made with pork hock and trotters. But did you also …
Mooncake and the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival
Read more about this delicious pastry, what it symbolizes and the 3,000 year-old festival when making and sharing it is one of the most important traditions.
The carrot cupcake at Yellow Chair Cafe in Saigon
When Alex and I attended a coffee class in Saigon in early March of 2019, there was a short break between the “smelling” part and the actual coffee making …
Is Vietnamese lotus tea real tea?
It depends. Trà sen is real tea. Trà tim sen is an infusion. Both are sold as Vietnamese lotus tea.
Non-food uses of coconut at home
Long before coconut gained global attention, coconut consumption was already a lifestyle in the tropics. We ate coconut meat, drank coconut water, and cooked with coconut …