Tag Archives: Mint

The mints are a genus (Mentha) of herbaceous perennials of the family Lamiaceae (Labiatae), Nepetoïdeae subfamily, tribe Menthae, including numerous species, many of which are grown as herbs and culinary plants, medicinal or ornamental.

The origins of the mint, are unknown, and it would come from a vast region encompassing North Africa, the Mediterranean and western Asia. Its use dates back to distant periods, for example, peppermint leaves have been found in Egyptian pyramids. The Greeks and the Hebrews in scented while the Romans put their wine and their sauces. Europeans have discovered its virtues in the 17th century. The cultivation of peppermint requires cool soil, clay, light and rich.

Mint is one of the most famous medicinal plants. It would have digestive, spasmolytic, carminative, antiseptic, tonic and stimulant. She would participate in the digestive balance and improve the general tone.

Peppermint is the most commonly used in herbal medicine for its properties, known for tradition and studied scientifically.

Spearmint is used most commonly as a herb, mainly in Mediterranean cuisines, such as mint tea or tabbouleh, and Asian (Vietnamese) with spring rolls and salads.

Bun Cha – meatballs and pork belly grilled

écrit le par
Reply

Ingrédients :

  • 300 g of ground pork
  • 500 g of sliced ​​pork belly
  • 400 g rice vermicelli
  • 200 g green papaya
  • 1 lettuce
  • 1 garlic cloves
  • 1 red chili
  • 1 carrot
  • 1 onion
  • 1 bunch cilantro
  • 1 bunch mint
  • 1 bunch Thai basil
  • nuoc mam sauce
  • rice vinegar
  • sugar
  • salt
  • pepper
  • water

sauce:

  • 6 tablespoons of nuoc mam
  • 6 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 18 cl of water
  • 1 clove garlic

Préparation :

Chop the onion, garlic and red chili, put them in different bowls, wash and peel the lettuce, and cut into pieces about 5 cm and book.

Cut the pork belly into pieces about 5 cm.

In a bowl put 1 tablespoon of nuoc mam sauce, 1 tablespoon of sugar, ½ teaspoon of salt, ½ teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper and half the chopped onion, mix well until the sugar is well dissolved then add the slices of pork belly and marinate 2 hours in the fridge.

In another bowl put the remaining onion, 1 tablespoons of sugar, 1 tablespoons of fish sauce, ½ teaspoon of salt, ½ teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper, mix well until the sugar is well dissolved then add the ground pork stir and marinate 2 hours in the fridge.

Prepare the sauce by putting in a bowl, fish sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, water and garlic and stir well to dissolve sugar and refrigerate.

Peel the papaya and carrot, grated the papaya and make thin slices of ​​carrots sliced and put in a bowl and add 50 ml water and 10 tablespoons of rice vinegar and marinate in the fridge.

Prepare the noodles according to cooking instructions indicate on the package and set aside.

Shape the meatballs, chopped the same size then flatten them slightly for a homogeneous cooking.

Prepare the grill and arrange slices of pork belly and meatballs and cook 10 minutes per side.

Put in a large plate, the lettuce leaves, cilantro, the mint and the vermicelli.

Arrange the plates of the meatballs, slices of pork belly and pickled vegetables and then the individual bowls containing the sauce.

Put In the individual bowl of sauce, some vermicelli, marinated vegetables, coriander, mint and lettuce then add the meat of your choice and savor.

Tips : if you do not find green papaya, you can use a chayote or call christophine, the kohlrabi or the cucumber cut into julienne strips. You can also cook to oven, preheat oven to 180 ° C and bake for 10 minutes (5 minutes per side) for people who live in apartments.

Anecdotes : This is an emblematic dish of North Vietnam who equal the famous dish ” The Pho”, it is very appreciate of Vietnamese living in Hanoi. It can be eaten in small stalls on the pavement.

Nhoam svay bekie krime – green mango salad

écrit le par
Reply

Ingredients :

  • a green mango
  • 1 lime
  • 1 tablespoon of nuoc mam sauce
  • 1 teaspoon of sugar
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • ½ cup dried shrimp
  • 1 shallot
  • 1 teaspoon of fresh bird pepper
  • 1 tablespoon of chopped mint
  • 1 tablespoon of chopped green onions
  • 1 tablespoon of Thai basil
  • 2 tablespoons of chopped roasted peanuts crushed

Preparation :

Peel and grate the mango. Soak the dried shrimp in ½ cup of water for 30 minutes then drain well.

Chop the mint, the green onion, thai basil and mince shallot.

Heat a small saucepan lightly oiled, add the dried shrimp and saute quickly enough to give them a nice crunchy texture.

Transfer to a blender and blend coarsely and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine lime juice, nuoc mam sauce, sugar, salt and fresh chili .

Add shallots, mango, shrimp, mint, the green onion and the thai basil, mix well so that are homogeneous and sprinkle with crushed peanuts.

Serve.

Tips : You can add grated carrots and serve this salad as an appetizer or side dish with sticky rice or white.

Anecdotes : In Cambodia this dish can be served as an entry or basic dish with fried marinated chicken or fried fish or during some occasion as party with friends or family.

Cha gio – nem – pork rolls with crab

écrit le par
Reply

Ingredients :
For 24 nems

  • 1/2 cup of soy vermicelli
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 6 spring onions, finely chopped
  • 250g of minced pork or sausage
  • 185 g of crab meat
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt
  • 1 teaspoon of fish sauce
  • 1 1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper
  • 1/2 packet of puff pastry for spring rolls or rice
  • cooking oil
  • salad leaves
  • Fresh mint leaves
  • fresh coriander leaves
  • half cucumber slices

Preparation :

Soak some vermicelli for 10 minutes in hot water, drain and cut into 2.5 cm, with a knife.

Place in bowl with onion, spring onion, pork, crab, salt, the fish sauce and pepper. Mix well.

Place the sheets of rice dough on a damp cloth. When each sheet is softened, cut into 4 pieces. Put amidst 2 teaspoons of farce.

Fold the ends toward the center and roll it so that the farce is completely trapped. Put some water on the edges so that it does not open.

When all the rolls are ready, heat oil in a wok or deep fryer and fry until they become golden. Then drain on paper towels.

Wrap each roll in a lettuce leaf with some mint and cilantro and a slice of cucumber. Serve with rice and the nuoc cham sauce.

Tips: There are many variations of traditional spring rolls, according to farce that can be used with pork, chicken, crab and shrimp. The farce of the Imperial vietnamese recipe is only seasoned with the pepper and salt, without adding soy sauce or fish sauce or spices. It includes bean sprouts and no added herbs or aromatic plant. The farce of nem is exclusively wrapped with the rice cake. Please note that the farce should never contain oyster sauce, or bamboo shoots, or ginger or curry powder or spice or mint leaves chopped or potato, and even less soy sauce. In any case, the farce not should be cooked before rolling in the rice cake! The farce is cooked during the frying of the roll.

Anecdotes : The Nem or Cha Gio is a traditional festive dishes of Vietnam. Very popular in the ancient imperial court of Vietnam, this dish is commonly known as Pâté Imperial, Imperial roll or nem in France or Spring roll and Vietnamese Spring Roll in Anglo-Saxon. Called Nem Ran in northern Vietnam, and Cha Gio in the south, where the name “nem” instead refers to pieces of pork into squares fermented (nem chua) or a skewer of pork meatballs, baked barbecue (nem nuong).

Khao Poun – broth with coconut milk

écrit le par
Reply

 

Ingredients :

  • 1 box of coconut milk
  • 1 tablespoons of red curry paste
  • 1-2 tablespoons of fish sauce
  • Salt
  • 2 pinches of glutamate
  • 2 tablespoons of cooking oil
  • 200 g of minced pork
  • 2 cups of water
  • 1 lemon
  • 5 slices of galangal
  • 5 lemon leaves
  • 200 g of rice noodles
  • Coriander
  • Mint
  • Basil
  • soybean sprouts
  • Banana flower
  • 3 lettuce leaves
  • 1 lemon

Preparation :

Wash the coriander, mint leaves, basil, bean sprouts, lettuce leaves and banana flower.
Chop lettuce and banana flower. Cut lemon into 4. Wash and cut into slices of about 3 cm lemongrass. Peel and wash the galangal and cut into slices. Reserved all.

Plunge the noodles into a pot of boiling water, stir until the noodles soften and remove from heat, drain and set aside.

In a saucepan, bring the red curry paste with 2 tablespoons of oil, stir 5 minutes,then add the coconut milk and stir.

Add ground pork and pour 2 mugs of water, add the galangal, lemongrass andlime leaves and stir. Season with salt, glutamate and nuoc mam sauce and simmer 45 minutes over low heat.

Serve the rice noodles in a large bowl, add the vegetables and then sprinkle withthe hot broth.

Tips : You can add to vegetables the green beans, grated carrot.

Anecdotes: The Khao Poun is an indispensable dish at a wedding Lao.

Lap kaï – laab kaï – chicken lap

écrit le par
Reply

Ingredients :

  • 4 chicken farmer thighs
  • 12 duck gizzards
  • 1 juice of a lime
  • 2 tablespoons of juice padek (kind of anchovy)
  • Salt
  • 1/4 of bunch cilantro
  • 1/4 of bunch of mint
  • 1/4 of bunch of chives
  • 2 shallots
  • 2 citronella
  • 20 g of galangal
  • 4 kaffir lime leaves (cytrus hystrix)
  • 2 tablespoon chopped toasted glutinous rice powder
  • 1 fresh chile
  • 75 cl of water
  • vegetables of choice (eggplant, green beans, radishes …)

Preparation :

Bone the chicken legs and put the bones aside.
Lightly season the chicken meat with salt and arrange on the grill to cook for 15 minutes, turning occasionally.
Fill a small saucepan with 75 cl of water, add salt and boil the bones and gizzards over medium heat for 20 minutes. Then collect 4 c. soup broth and reserve in a bowl.

Finely chop the lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves and shallots and chop galangal into small pieces.
Coarsely chop the mint leaves, cilantro and chives.
Coarsely chop the chicken  and finely chop the gizzards.

Arrange meat and giblets in a bowl, add the lemon juice, the padek, broth, lemon grass, galanga, chili, seeded and minced, shallots and kaffir lime leaves and mix well.

The dish should be a little spicy if not add a little salt. Finally add the roasted rice powder and the mint, cilantro and chives.
Place the lap on a plate and serve with fresh vegetables : eggplant, green beans, radishes and sticky rice.

Anecdotes: This dish is served to celebrate a big event, a birth, marriage or a new year. The lap is from the “traditional Laotian cooking.” Lap “in Lao means” wealth “Cooking the lap should bring wealth to the family and guests. Today, this dish so popular, is part of the kitchen everyday.
There are several kinds of lap : lap kai ; lap sinh (beef) or steak tartare Lao lap pèt (duck) ; lap pa (fish) … In general, the lap is always accompanied by sticky rice and fresh vegetables .