#156 Summer Kitchen: Cooking with What My Garden Gives Me | Vietnamese home cooking ☺️

fish sauce

🥗Healthier: soy sauce

💰Cheaper: salt + vinegar

Soy sauce is lower in calories and easier to find.

meat (chicken, pork, or beef)

🥗Healthier: tofu

💰Cheaper: chicken thighs

Tofu is plant-based and lower in fat.

fresh vegetables

🥗Healthier: frozen vegetables

💰Cheaper: canned vegetables

Frozen vegetables retain nutrients and are often cheaper.

rice

🥗Healthier: quinoa

💰Cheaper: bulgur wheat

Quinoa offers more protein and nutrients.

Harvest radishes and prepare them for pickling by making cuts to create thin layers.

Add salt to the radishes and let them rest for 10-15 minutes.

Wash the radishes thoroughly.

For every 20-22 radishes, add 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup rice vinegar, 1 cup water, and 1 tsp kosher salt.

Add lemon zest and ensure everything is covered in water before refrigerating for at least six hours or overnight.

Prepare the leaves and stems of the radishes by sprinkling with coarse salt and massaging gently.

Let the leaves and stems rest for 6 hours, rinse thoroughly, and drain dry.

Prepare the brine with warm water and 1 tbsp brown sugar for every liter of water, then pour it over the vegetables in sterilized jars.

Store the jars at room temperature for about 3 days, then refrigerate to slow down fermentation.

Harvest chayote and Vietnamese spinach for the salad and soup.

Soak dried shrimp in water for the Vietnamese spinach soup, then drain and squeeze excess liquid from the chayote.

Add salt, sugar, and vinegar to quickly pickle chayote and carrot.

Prepare the stir-fried squash by lightly crushing the leaves and blanching the squash in boiling water with a pinch of salt for 2-3 minutes.

Roughly chop the herbs and crush peanuts for the mango chayote salad.

Prep the rolled omelette and beef shank in fish sauce brine from a previous recipe.

Cook the Vietnamese spinach soup using dried shrimp for broth.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level:

Dietary

Allergens