Mắm Tôm Chua | Vietnamese Fermented Pickle Shrimp
Mắm tôm chua has a beautifully balanced flavor—salty, slightly sweet, pleasantly sour, and fragrant with garlic and galangal. As it ferments, the shrimp develop a beautiful pink-red color and a complex flavor that pairs perfectly with boiled pork belly, fresh herbs, steamed rice, or rice noodles.
Pork Rillettes
Pork Rillette
Slow-cooked pork preserved in its own fat until tender, rich, and spreadable.
Simple ingredients, patient cooking, and deep flavor.
Bánh Bông Hồng (Vietnamese Radish Dumplings)
Bánh Bông Hồng (Vietnamese Radish Dumplings)
Delicate translucent dumplings filled with savory radish and mushrooms, shaped carefully into small flowers by hand.
Some traditions survive because hands remember them.
Bánh bông hồng is one of those recipes.
It is a Vietnamese dumpling, but shaped like a little flower.
The dough is made with wheat starch and tapioca starch, soft and chewy, similar to har gow.
The filling can be made with shrimp, pork, and radish.
Crème Brûlée
A smooth vanilla custard with a delicate caramelized sugar top — rich, simple, and quietly elegant.
Bake Butter Croissant at Home
A good croissant is flaky, but soft, all while having a rich buttery flavour.
Making butter croissants at home is a labour of love. It takes time, lots of rolling, and patience. But imagine when you pull out a tray of fresh croissants from the oven. The aroma will make you feel like you’re in a Parisian bakery without even leaving your home. Mmm totally worth it!
Broccoli and Leek Soup
A classic apple crumble consists of an autumn apple filling in a buttery crust with crunchy baked crumbles overtop. It can be served hot or cold but I think it’s best served hot with a cool scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.
Mix Berries Fruit Tart with Pastry Cream
Fruit Tart
A classic dessert made with a crisp sweet pastry shell, smooth vanilla pastry cream, and fresh seasonal fruit.
Mustard Pickle soup
Mustard Pickle Soup
A comforting, tangy soup made from aged mustard greens, slow-cooked with tender meat and simple aromatics.
Butter Chicken
A rich, comforting dish that brings together warm spices, tender chicken, and a smooth tomato cream sauce.
This is one of the first Indian dishes I learned, and it has stayed with me ever since.
BÚN THANG
The base of Bún Thang is a clear and delicate chicken broth.
It starts with chicken stock, but what makes it special is the addition of dried squid, lightly toasted until fragrant and slightly charred, then washed and added to the broth. This gives a subtle depth that’s hard to describe but very important.
Vietnamese Fish Cake (Chả Cá) with Dill
This is one of those simple dishes I like to make at home.
In Vietnam, chả cá is often made with a fish called cá thác lác, where the fish is scraped and prepared for you. You just bring it home, season it, and cook.
Flavors of My Travel: Sugar, Trains, and Chocolate Croissants
Long hours in the kitchen, working with sugar, understanding technique, and starting each day with a chocolate croissant from a small boulangerie.
