Tiffany Bee

Delicious recipes for vegetarians, vegans, pescetarians, & omnivores alike.

Spicy Barramundi Roll

Soups

Alternative Meal for Thanksgiving

November 26, 2013 // Posted in Food I Made, Gallery, Noodles & Pasta, Photo Journal, Recipes, Soups

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Bánh Canh Cua

With Thanksgiving on the horizon, I’ve finally found a pocket of time to squeeze in a small update with a recipe. I don’t have very many Vietnamese recipes on here, but that’ll change soon enough. Many Americans & Canadians look forward to this day to give thanks with a wonderful & hearty meal, yet there are some of us out there that are just a bit tired of the same meals every single year. My family isn’t a huge fan of turkey & as I don’t eat land creatures, my mother decided to opt out of making a turkey. Although I could’ve attempted to make a tofurkey to save a turkey, I volunteered to contribute my fair share of holiday cooking since mommy dearest has been at it for decades. So while I’ll be making the most traditional Thanksgiving dinner with my first time making turkey, my mother will be making all of the delicious Vietnamese alternative dishes. Who says Thanksgiving should only be mashed potatoes when you can have Bún Bò Huế on the side with your turkey?

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Banh Canh Cua

November 24, 2013 // Posted in Entrées, Noodles & Pasta, Recipes, Soups

Banh Canh Cua is a traditional Vietnamese noodle soup consisting of large rice noodles & crab. The soup (canh) is usually made with a pork broth, but as I’m a Pescetarian, I create my own broth that requires honey, an Asian pear, ginger, & anchovies. Crab meat (cua) in a plastic container that’s refrigerated in your local grocery store works well without needing to crack open a live crab. Banh Canh Cua is one of my absolute favorite Vietnamese noodle soups & it goes well with fish balls & fish cake (kamaboko). All of these ingredients you’ll be able to find at your a wide variety Asian market.


Banh Canh Cua
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Banh Canh Cua

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  • Total Time: 105
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Ingredients

Scale
  • 8 oz crab meat
  • 2 oz ginger, sliced
  • 5 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 tbsp of olive oil
  • 1 small yellow onion, sliced thinly
  • 1 Asian pear, sliced
  • 10 dried anchovies &/or 2–4 tbsp of fish sauce
  • 1–2 tbsp of honey
  • 3 tbsp crab paste in soya bean oil
  • 10–12 cups of water
  • 2 tsp of paprika
  • 2 tsp of cayenne pepper
  • 3 tsp of sesame oil
  • Salt & pepper
  • Muslin bag(s)
  • Fresh banh canh
  • Fish balls, halved if desired
  • (optional) Shrimp
  • (optional) Kamaboko, sliced
  • Cilantro, chopped
  • Green onions, chopped
  • Lime, sliced

Instructions

  1. 1. Stuff the pears, anchovies, & ginger in a muslin bag. Bring water in a large pot to a boil & toss the muslin bag to infuse for about an hour on low. Remove the muslin before adding the crab mixture.
  2. 2. In a mixing bowl, mix together crab, crab paste, paprika, cayenne, a little honey, a pinch or two of pepper, & 1 tsp of sesame oil. Set this aside while you sautée the garlic & onions on medium high heat.
  3. 3. When the onions have browned a bit, pour in the crab mixture & sautée for about 10 minutes & turn the heat down to medium. Pour this into the large pot of your broth.
  4. 4. Prepare the noodles as instructed to the package it came in.
  5. 5. After the crab mix has been stirred into the broth, add the fish balls, & fish cake into the soup. Cook on medium low for about 15 minutes. Taste the broth & add the remaining honey, fish sauce (ponzu sauce or soy sauce work well too), salt, & pepper to taste.
  6. 6. Ladle the soup into a bowl of freshly prepared noodles & sprinkle the cilantro & scallion (green onions) mix over. Enjoy with some Sriracha & lime!

Notes

  • If you’d like to add a more natural spice to it than Sriracha, try chopping some Thai green chilies or habañero & placing them into a separate muslin bag. The longer you seep the chilies, the spicier it’ll be. I’d recommend just seeping it for about 10-15 minutes. Always taste test!
  • Prep Time: 30
  • Cook Time: 75

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 6
  • Calories: 220
  • Sugar: 9
  • Sodium: 487
  • Fat: 8
  • Saturated Fat: 1
  • Unsaturated Fat: 6
  • Trans Fat: 0
  • Carbohydrates: 21
  • Protein: 18
  • Cholesterol: 68

This is Why I’m Fat

March 25, 2013 // Posted in Food I Ate, Food I Made, Gallery, Photo Journal, Recipes, Soups

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Sanriku Kaisendon: The Best Chirashi of my Life

Donald & I went to Sushi Koto yesterday to fulfill his sushi craving. I had read about how it has some of the best Chirashi bowls to offer in Orange County. Hands down, absolutely not disappointed. Everything in that bowl was fresh, high quality, & delicious. It was also very filling, especially since it came with salad, miso soup, & dessert. The Chirashi bowl consisted of: steamed abalone, salmon, tuna, big scallop, yellowtail, squid, masago, ikura, & avocado all over a bed of rice. Talk about a day in the life of a fatty. In my defense, it was the best Chirashi I’ve ever had & any type of “Best I’ve Ever Had” experience is well worth it!

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French Onion Soup

May 12, 2012 // Posted in Recipes, Soups

A modern-ish twist on a French classic, this completely vegetarian recipe can be made in a crockpot. Traditionally, French Onion Soup should have a slice of baguette with Gruyere Cheese melted over it, but I used my homemade sourdough bread instead. To make it vegan-friendly, substitute the cheese with soy cheese. If you’d like to make this in a crockpot, just toss all the ingredients together & cook on high for 1-2 hours. Reduce the heat to low & cook overnight. Ladle the soup into ramekins & bake as per instructions.

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French Onion Soup

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  • Author: Tiffany Bui | TiffanyBee.com
  • Total Time: 165
  • Yield: 8 1x
  • Diet: Vegetarian
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Ingredients

Scale

Caramelizing Onions

  • 2 Tbsp canola, safflower, or grapeseed oil
  • 4 pounds white or yellow onions, peeled & sliced to roughly 0.5″ thickness (roughly 5–6 large onions)
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1 Tbsp water
  • 1 tsp Kosher salt

Soup

  • 2 Tbsp ghee or salted butter
  • 5 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • 2 cups enoki or crimini mushroom, roughly chopped
  • 1 Tbsp herbs de Provence
  • 3 tsp thyme, stemmed
  • 3 Bay leaves
  • 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 cup dry white wine (or Riesling), cooking sherry, or light beer
  • 10 cups water
  • 2 Tbsp of concentrated vegetable stock (such as Better Than Bouillon)
  • Salt & pepper to taste

Bread

  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • Gruyère cheese, sliced to roughly 1/2″ thickness
  • Sourdough bread or baguette, sliced to fit ramekins

Instructions

  1. In a Dutch oven, heat up oil on medium-low heat. In a separate bowl, combine salt, baking soda, & water.
  2. Add onions to Dutch oven & add the baking soda, salt, & water mixture. Cook for about 15 minutes until onions are golden brown & very soft, stirring constantly. Be careful not to burn the onions!
  3. Preheat your oven to 400ºF/205ºC.
  4. In your Dutch oven, add ghee, garlic, mushrooms, parsley, thyme, & herbs de Provence. Increase the heat to medium. Cook for about a minute or two before adding Worcestershire sauce. Stir for about 5 minutes. Add wine to de-glaze your pot & allow soup to come to a boil.
  5. Slice bread proportionately to the size of your ramekins. Butter the bread & set aside. You can lightly toast the bread before buttering it.
  6. Return to the Dutch oven & add water & vegetable bouillon. Toss in bay leaves. Stir occasionally & bring to a boil.
  7. Bring your soup to a simmer by reducing the heat to low. Add salt & pepper to taste. Cover your Dutch oven with a lid, but leave the lid slightly ajar, & cook on low for about 1 hour.
  8. Place your ramekins on a large baking sheet. Ladle your soup in the ramekins, leaving enough room for the bread. Add slices of cheese on top to cover ramekin completely. Top each ramekin with a bit of pepper.
  9. Load the ramekins on the baking sheet into the oven & bake for 10 minutes. Switch the oven to broiler & broil on high for about 5 minutes until cheese has melted & browned a little on bread.
  10. Remove soup from the oven. Sprinkle thyme on top of the soup & serve.

Notes

  • You can use vegetable stock instead of the concentrated base. You can also use Vegemite or Marmite since they’re both concentrated yeast!
  • Use fresh thyme! You can wash the sprigs & leave them in your soup whole, but be sure to pull them out before serving them.
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 150
  • Category: Soup
  • Method: Stove-Top, Baked, Broiled
  • Cuisine: French

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 8
  • Calories: 370
  • Sugar: 5
  • Fat: 17
  • Saturated Fat: 8
  • Unsaturated Fat: 8
  • Trans Fat: 0
  • Carbohydrates: 36
  • Protein: 15
  • Cholesterol: 39