Monday, January 23, 2012

Banh Chung Chien (Paula Dean Style)


This is really not a recipe, but more of a epiphany. As any good 'ol Vietnamese (or in my case a Chinese whole really appreciates Vietnamese food) knows, banh chung is good, but when you chien it, it gets that much better. Now, if you are able to kick up the chien'ing (Americanized verb tense of a Vietnamese word) process, even better. For this, we can take inspiration from Paula Dean, then queen of adding butter to everything. Using butter to chien the banh chung gives it an additional layer of flavor that

Makes 5 servings (about 4 slices per person)

Ingredients

  • 1 5x5 square banh chung (preferably one made by Thi's Ba Noi) sliced into 1/4 in thick slices
  • 3 tbsp butter
  • 1/8 cup cu cai (pickled diakon and carrots) drained
  • Sriracha to taste
Directions
  1. Using a 12 in skillet, heat butter over medium-high until it stops bubbling
  2. Add 4-5 slices to skillet. Cook until golden brown and then turn each slice over and continue cooking until the other side is golden brown.
  3. Plate each 3-4 slices topped with the cu cai and Sriracha.

P.S. Thi is going to attempt her own Banh Chung recipe next Tet so stay tune.