Last month’s menu from Thailand was outstanding! (Wait a minute while I pat myself on the back.) My children ate, my husband ate, and we all learned a great deal about Thailand. If you missed cooking Chef Hong’s Pad Thai recipe last month, put it on this week’s menu immediately! Pad Thai is now one of my kids’ favorites, and my husband keeps asking when I will make the Geng Kheaw Wan Gai or Green Curry Chicken again.

May brings us to Vietnam and so I asked for help from my daughter’s kindergarten teacher, Ms. Minh-Trang Do. She kindly provided me resources and suggestions for this month’s menu of which I’m so grateful! More specifically she pointed me to two sites that have recipes and videos to help us as we cook this new cuisine. The Spices of Life and Danang Cuisine  are both helpful first stops to learn about Vietnamese cooking.

I asked Ms. Do to share a favorite recipe with the Blended community. Here is what she said:

I wanted to share my favorite childhood recipe with you. So I chose a braised pork recipe because it is a savory dish that I am sure all Vietnamese children like. It is a “country style” food, meaning it is simple: a meat, a steamed or boiled vegetable, and rice. I suggest the vegetable to go with this is steamed broccoli that is still a little crisp and long grain rice.

Here is the link to Recipe #42 Thịt kho tàu – Caramelized pork and eggs:

http://www.danangcuisine.com/2012/07/recipe-42-thit-kho-tau-caramelized-pork.html

The pork in the recipe is quite fatty and has the skin on it too. You can buy whole pork  shoulder or pork picnic for less fat. Don’t go too lean like pork cutlets or it will turn out too dry. The sauce from the braised pork is great poured over rice and/or for dipping the steamed broccoli.

You’ll see that she even provided a link for us to follow along over at Danang Cuisine! Thank you Ms. Do. So with no further ado, here is the menu for May:

Thịt kho tàu or Caramelized pork and eggs: Found in any part of Vietnam and eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Bun cha ca or Fishcake Noodle Soup: This recipe has its origins in Central Vietnam where the fishing industry is vital. Fresh fish is in abundance and would be used in this soup.

Bun bo or Beef Noodle Soup: A very popular dish in the central and southern regions of Vietnam.

Bun mam or Noodle Salad with Pork and Anchovy Fish Sauce: Don’t confuse this dish with its southern counterpart which is sweet and sour. This dish is salty and one of the most popular in Danang.

Mi Quang or Noodle with Pork: Helen Le of Danang Cuisine says this about Mi Quang:

“If you want the truly original dish of Danang, this must be it. “Mì” means noodles and “Quảng” here stands for the province Quang Nam. Well, before you get confused, Danang used to be a part of Quang Nam in the past (called “Quang Nam – Da Nang” province) until 1997 when it was separated and became one of the five independent municipalities in Vietnam.”

Xoi Ga or Chicken Sticky Rice: A classic and simple dish of Viet Nam that is served both in everyday life and at celebrations.

If you missed a month, no worries, its a goal, remember? So here are the menus from January, February, March and April.

Here’s to helping our kids become better global citizens – one dinner at a time! Happy cooking everyone!