Vietnamese Caramelised Pork and Eggs (Thịt Kho Trứng)

Ingredients

• 300g pork belly, roughly cut
• 2 liters of coconut water 
• 1/4 cup fish sauce
• 4 hard boiled eggs
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and halved 
• Sugar, salt
• 25g bean sprout
• 25g garlic chives
• 25g carrots, long thinly sliced
• 25g onion, thinly sliced

Method
- We should prepare the pickle to go with the dish a day before, mix all the vegetables in a mixing bowl. To prepare the sauce for the pickle, combine 2 cups of water, 3 tbsp sugar, 1/2 tsp salt in a bowl and mix well to dissolve, then add 1 cup of white vinegar. Stuff all mixed vegetables in a big glass bottle, add the sauce and close the cap, adjust the quantity of water and vinegar to make sure it's enough to almost reach the top of the mixed vegetables. Refrigerate the pickle overnight before serving.
- Heat water in a big casserole, when it comes to a boil, add the pork and boil it for 2 minutes. Then discard the water and rinse the pork thoroughly under cold water. Marinate it with 1 tbsp sugar and 1 tsp salt, mix well and keep it marinated in the fridge for 2-3 hours.

- To make the caramilised sauce, add 2 tbsp sugar and 2 tbsp water into a sauce pan over low heat, cook until the sauce turns golden brown. 
- Boil all the coconut water in a big pot, add the marinated pork and let it cook uncovered over medium low heat for 1 hour, remember to skim off the scum in the meantime.
- Then season the stock with fish sauce, salt to taste, add the hard boiled eggs, the caramilised sauce and halved garlic cloves to the pot and let it cook over low heat for another 1 hour.
- As cooked, the pork should be very tender and the broth should be clear and has a natural caramel color.
- Serve hot with steamed rice, and the pickle. Another serving idea is that you can wet a rice paper, add cabbage, mixed vegetable pickle, a little of pork and egg, then roll and eat it with the broth as dip.

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Masala Stuffed Okra

Ingredients

• 300g okra
• coriander seeds
• 2 medium sized onion, sliced
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil

* Spices for stuffing:

• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp roasted cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp mango powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1-1/2 tsp coriander powder
• 1-1/2 tsp fennel seeds powder
• 2 tsp salt

Method
- Wash the okras and let them dry. Make a long slit and spare 1/2 inch from each end. Keep aside.
- In a small bowl, mix all the spices together. Use a teaspoon to stuff the mixture into the okras. For each okra, we need about 1/4 tsp of the mixture. Keep the leftover spices mix for cooking later.
- Heat oil in a wok over medium flame, add coriander seeds and onions, saute the onions till just translucent then add the remaining spices, fry it for a minute then add the okras. Stir fry them over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, then cover the wok and cook over low heat for around 8-10 minutes. No need to add any water. Check and stir the okras sometimes to make sure they don't stick to the bottom of the wok.
- Serve hot.

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Vietnamese Ginger Chicken (Gà Kho Gừng)

Ingredients

• 500g chicken chunks (thigh & drumstick), cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 tbsp minced ginger & 1 thumb sized ginger piece, julienned 
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp minced shallot
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp chicken powder
• 3 tbsp fish sauce
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2-3 cups coconut water

Method
- Marinate the chicken with minced ginger, shallot, garlic, salt, 1 tsp sugar, chicken powder, fish sauce and ground pepper for 30 minutes.
- In a large sauce pan or a wok, heat 1 tbsp oil and sprinkle 2 tbsp sugar into it. Melt sugar under medium heat until it turns dark amber. Quickly add in marinated chicken and stir-fry on high heat until chicken is no longer pink.
- Add in coconut water and julienned ginger. Bring to a boil, skim off the foam and some of the floating fat. Lower the heat to medium and cook for 15-20 minutes without cover until the sauce reduces by one third.
- Serve hot with steamed rice.

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Steamed Scallops in Shell with Asian Sauce

Ingredients

• 6 scallops in shell
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp minced fresh chilli
• 1/4 tsp minced ginger paste
• 2 drops of sesame oil
• 1 tsp chopped coriander leaves
• 1/4 tsp roasted sesame seed.

Method
- Preheat a steamer for a few minutes. Add the scallops and steam them for 5-6 minutes or until cooked.
- To make the Asian sauce, combine all ingredients into a small bowl. Mix well.
- Add a bit of the sauce into each scallop. Serve hot.

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