Saturday, June 5, 2010

Regional Recipes: Vietnam Round-Up and Next Month's Theme!

Welcome to this edition of Regional Recipes!  I hope you all brought your appetites because there is a serious feast awaiting you.  And if you weren't hungry before stopped by.  Well.  You will be.  Imminently.

So please, have a seat.  And get ready for Regional Recipes....VIETNAM!
 Marisa of The Creative Pot starts us off with a delicious Vietnamese Chicken and Pineapple Soup.  This soup helped her ward off some chilly weather while also satisfying her craving for Asian cuisine!  Talk about multi-tasking!
 Kim from The Ungourmet, one of my favorite blogs, took on this challenge even though she was unfamiliar with Vietnamese cuisine, choosing to make Com Ga, Nuoc Mam Gung, and Mang Tay Xao.  Nope, she didn't just dip her toes in...she dove headfirst!
Bonnie of Sweetlife Bakes was bemoaning her fate at having nothing to cook...when she realized that Vietnamese flavors share an uncanny similarity with those of Mexico.  And so she came up with this wonderful Garlic Shrimp and Green Papaya Salad. Ain't it pretty?
JS and TS of Eating Club (Vancouver) rejoin the Regional Recipes crew after a long hiatus and I sure am glad they did because they are bringing with them Cha Gio or Vietnamese Spring Rolls!  Who doesn't love a bite of some deep-fried goodness every once in a while?
Toni of New Veginnings turns her frown upside down with these Vietnamese Potato Patties, otherwise called Cha Khoai Tay.  She was kind of stressed out about not knowing what to cook for this edition of RR...but I think she chose quite a winning dish, don't you?
In an attempt to get out of her eating out rut, Lauren of Healthy Delicious makes this fantastic Vietnamese Braised Beef over Rice Noodle Salad.  With home-cooked food this good, who needs take-out!
Anne of Split Pear-sonality combined both sweet and salty flavors in her version of Vietnamese Caramel Ginger Chicken.  She decided to make this at home before trying it out at a restaurant near her house...and personally I think I'd take her version.  Any day.
Chaya of Sweet and Savory Says It All doesn't just cook these scrumptious looking Vietnamese Pancakes, but she also does some research on their Vietnamese name - Banh Xeo.  It's a fun story so stop by her blog and check it out!
I am so glad Christine of Kits Chow brought a dessert to this round-up because my sweet tooth was starting to ache!  Her Sticky Rice with Fruit Coulis is just the thing to satiate it.
Reeni of Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice, knowing my intense love of peanut butter, decided to bring some Vietnamese Herb Salad Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce.  It's a good thing.  Because no meal is complete without peanut butter.  At least in my mind.
The lovely Deb of Kahakai Kitchen decided to further her fish kick with some Fried Fish with Lemongrass and Salad.  The flavors in this sound so fresh and delicious that my taste buds are bursting just thinking about them!
Kim of Stirring the Pot is wonder woman.  Otherwise known as multi-tasker extroadinaire.  Check out her blog to see how many balls she had to juggle while making this amazing looking Vietnamese Caramelized Grilled Pork
I'm so glad Katerina of Culinary Flavors made some time in her busy cooking rotation to participate in Regional Recipes this month. Otherwise we wouldn't have this Caramelized Garlic Shrimp to drool over! 
And finally, to add some more caramel to the mix, we have my Braised Tofu In Caramel Sauce.  Sweet, salty, and good served over pork, chicken or fish for the non-tofu lover...this dish was fantastic.

Thanks to everyone for participating! 

And now for next month. 

We are going to...Greece!  Mainly because I've been craving some spinach and feta lately.  And what better reason is there than that!

I'll make an official post announcing it and the rules and everything but I wanted to get the word out so that you guys could put on your thinking caps!