Winter Break

Sorry for the break in posting. Will relaxing in 75 degree weather in southern California count as an excuse? I had a great time at home, eating almost every kind of Asian food I could get my hands on. I think the only one I missed on my list was Malaysian food.

I also saw friends, looked at wedding dresses, and adored my nieces. It was jam-packed!

I wanted to spotlight this Vietnamese dish my mom made for me on Christmas day. It's banh beo, which are little disks of rice flour noodle that have been steamed and topped with various delicious things. I prefer the "wet" version, which is bigger than the "dry" and has a topping made with pork, shrimp, shrimp head, fish sauce, and corn starch, accompanied by scallion oil, deep fried shallots, and nuoc cham. Hope you enjoy the following photos as much as I enjoyed eating the banh beo!

First, the meat filling, in all its raw glory. The shrimp heads lend flavor and color.



Deep frying the shallots.



Steaming the rice flour mixture.



The assembled product. YUM!