Journal #6

A while ago, I had some homemade Vietnamese dessert called Che Ba Mau, which translates to 3 Colored Pudding. This sweet dessert is a mixture of textures as well as flavors and colors. As I was eating this scrumptious dessert, I was thinking, maybe I don't like anything that have a texture similar to shrimp, either that or I have a bias against shrimp . . . so lets find out what my revelation was:

This is Che Ba Mau (above: before its mixed, below: after mixed)

This is some green jelly strips, they are supposed to be soft and kind of chewy, but since they were homemade, it was a little tough and stiff.

This is called Red Thai Rubies, but is is just water chestnuts with a tapioca starch covering. The texture was kind of squishy as soft on the outside, but on the inside it was very crunchy . . .

This is some sweet coconut milk.

This is sweetened mung bean paste, and since it was homemade it was a little bit chunkier than any regular paste.

This is sweetened red beans. These have been boiled in water and sugar which creates a soft and light texture to the beans, but at the same time the outsides of the beans prevent the beans from having an overcooked pea texture.

This is how you assemble some Che Ba Mau:

First add some crushed ice to a glass cup.

Then add as much green jelly strips as you like.

After that, add some red thai rubies (as much as you like).

Then on top of the red rubies, add as layer of sweetened mung bean paste.

After adding the sweetened mung bean paste, add about one or two or three tablespoons of coconut milk.

And finally, add the sweetened red beans last, mix it up, and enjoy!

So the revelation I had was that I am just biased to the texture of shrimp! 

Journal #5

Hey guys! Sorry for not posting for a very long time. These last few weeks of my junior year has just been hectic!! So I apologize for not posting in a long time, but this will be a continuation of Journal #3!
So here are the pictures for Journal #3:
Main Dish = Vit Nau Chao (Duck and Fermented Bean Curd Hot Pot)

This is Chao, fermented bean curds, and this is what goes into the stew to make it more aromatic and savory!

This is also Chao, but it is made into a dipping sauce with consists of Chao, sugar, and lime juice! Yum lol! :)

The vegetable above is called On Choy. This is vegetable that is usually eating with this dish. You can also eat this vegetable boiled or saute with rice.

This vegetable here is Chrysanthemum leaves, which is not usually eaten with this dish, but we made an exception for my daddy :) This vegetable is usually eating in soups or other kinds of hot pots!  

The 3 pictures above are all picture of the stew :)

The dinner table

And the noodles!! :D