The Year Of The Tiger And My Dad The Cook

February 6, 2010 by aVUonFood

Chuc Mung Nam Moi! Gung Hei Fat Choy! Happy New Year!

On February 14th this year, many people will be celebrating Valentine’s Day. But if you are of Chinese, Vietnamese, Mongolian or Korean decent, you will be celebrating the first day of the lunar new year. For the Vietnamese, this will be the Year of the Tiger or otherwise known as Tet. According to OnlineChineseAstrology.com, it is the Year of the Metal Tiger for the Chinese.

“The Norwegian story goes that, once a group of [white tigers] starts moving across the fields, they will charge ahead and unthinkingly run straight off a cliff to their doom… The point is now is the time to attack the most difficult issues you face. -OnlineChineseAstrology.com”

I think that that most difficult issue for the women in my family at the moment is that my Dad is kicking their butt in cooking. No offense Mom, Bac Oanh, Tata and Ba – but you know it’s true. I’ve heard you all moan over Dad’s Banh Chung! (pronounced bye-ing choong) For those of you who have not had the good fortune of eating this, it is a Vietnamese rice cake filled with sticky rice, mung beans and fatty pork seasoned with black pepper and (of course) fish sauce. This rice cake is normally bought at Vietnamese grocery stores but almost never served at a restaurant. It is one of the traditional dishes eaten for the Vietnamese New Year. The legend states that King Hung Vuong held a competition to determine his successor and his young prince Lang Lieu created the dish Banh Chung and won the throne. From then on, it was decided that Banh Chung would become one of the traditional foods of Tet. Now enough of the history lesson and back to the food.

Banh Chung - Vietnamese Rice Cake

Thankfully, my parents are retired now, and I am living at home for a couple months before school starts. Normally when my siblings and I come home, we look forward to a home cooked meal made my brilliant mother (or by one of my brilliant aunts). However, the tables have certainly turned. Retirement – it seems – has allowed my Dad to discover that he can do pretty much any single thing he puts his mind to. Aside from having skills in auto body work, designing and building homes, landscaping (and building a greenhouse recently) and sewing, my Dad has now proven to all of us that he can cook pretty much anything. I want to emphasize that I have never heard of anyone actually making Banh Chung at home. I have only ever bought it at the store which we would be overjoyed at buying when warm. But now, oh yes, now we can eat it the minute it is done cooking.

Gio Lua (Vietnamese Sausage) also known as Cha Lua

I’m afraid the recipe will stick with my dad for now, but just take a look at the pictures below and you’ll get the idea. If you’re really curious, shoot me an email and perhaps I can convince my Dad to reveal his secrets. IN ADDITION to making Banh Chung, my Dad succeeded in an even more unbelievable feat – he made his very own Gio Lua (Vietnamese pork sausage). (pronouncd yaw loo-uh) Although this is eaten very frequently and not just at Tet, it is again an example of something I have never heard of anyone I know making at home. Furthermore, I’ve never seen anyone actually make sausage other than a butcher. So to see my Dad make this in our very own kitchen was really a treat. It was incredibly easy (he just did it in our food processor). This sausage is wonderful and can be steamed, boiled, baked or fried. It’s got a squishy texture to it which is a result of the baking powder in it. It’s amazing and my favorite way to eat it is in a sandwich with mayo, Maggi, black pepper and cilantro (of course!).

But enough talking – enjoy the pictures!