I went over to one of my aunt's house for dinner tonight. Seems like something I find myself doing ever so often. On the way there I decided to stop by Pho Island restaurant which is nearby and they serve a great bowl of vegetarian pho, says one of my aunts. I figured it would be polite to bring my aunt and her family a dish from the restaurant to share around the dinner table. I picked up a deep fried tarp that came with a seasoned savory sauce along with my veggie pho.
My vegetarian pho came with a lot of vegetables, carrots, napa cabbage, celery, mushrooms, green onions, bean sprouts and Thai basil (single most important vegetable for any pho). I love the tofu put in, it wasn't too soft, breakable or chewy but rather a firm texture and to the point of goodness. The broth was wonderful made from 100% vegetable broth and although the aroma and flavor were not up to the standard of a regular bowl of pho, it got the job done.
So my aunt was preparing dinner and I had to snap a couple of photos of what she was making that could possibly be another type of vegetable I could utilize in my vegetarian diet. These are called water spinach or Chinese spinach which ever you prefer. It's my #1 favorite Asian vegetable, I have worked with them before and they're pretty easy to dish out an awesome side dish. Here it was being prepared for a soup she was making that included some shrimp. I could've had it but decided to pass it up because my vegetarian pho was a handful.
To start off my dinner I had what you call it banh tet in Vietnamese or rice cakes for the lack of a better term. Usually the filling is made up of mung beans and pork meat rolled up in glutinous rice, I checked with my aunty before diving in and she said these were filled with bananas that turn a purplish-red color after hours of steaming. They were delicious, I had two slices before dinner and best of all my aunt personally made it today. She actually gave me one roll to take home. Thanks aunty!
-Timothy Pham
No comments:
Post a Comment