I’m Aihoa! I created Food with Aihoa to share my food experiments and favorite recipes.
All in Vietnamese
One of my favorite dishes growing up was this Vietnamese chicken salad (gổi gà). My mom would serve this either alone or with rice porridge drizzled with ginger fish sauce (mắm gừng). It’s light, tangy, slightly sweet, and full of yummy herbs like Vietnamese coriander and fried shallots. For an added crunch, you can add some shredded cabbage, but it’s totally optional!
Here's a classic Lunar New Year dish that can be enjoyed throughout the year - thịt kho, or caramelized pork and eggs.
Canh chua cá is an iconic Vietnamese sweet and sour soup made with pineapples, tamarind, tomatoes, and catfish. It’s sweetened with pineapple and its sour component comes from tamarind.
One of my favorite ways to repurpose leftover duck? Make roast duck noodle soup! Tip: if you reheat the duck in an air fryer, the skin will come out extra crispy and the meat super moist, just as if it’s freshly roasted!
I don’t always make bò kho (Vietnamese braised beef stew) but it is always worth the time and effort when I do. Kho is the Vietnamese word for braise because you’re essentially braising the meat in this stew. The longer you cook it, the softer the meat becomes so you end up with mouthwatering, fall apart chunks of beef and tender carrots, loaded with fresh herbs (I like lots of cilantro and Thai basil, but feel free to leave either of them out if it’s not your thing) and aromatics all in a delicious broth. Every family has their own recipe for this dish. It’s incredibly satisfying and hard to mess up - if you can make stew, you can make bò kho. Traditionally, bò kho is served with warm baguette, but it transforms beautifully into a noodle soup or rice dish!
I had some udon, chicken, and baby bok choy in the fridge and was inspired to make this quick stir fry. Honestly, it was a great idea. The result - this super simple, super comforting, and deliciously saucy udon with chicken and baby bok choy.
Another day, another noodle soup. Bún riêu cua (Vietnamese crab noodle soup) is one of my favorite childhood soups. If you’ve never had it, it’s a tangy tomato and freshwater crab based bowl of blissful soup with “riêu”, or meatballs, made of crab and usually ground pork.
There’s never a bad time to make these addicting shrimp and crab toasts. Featuring a savory shrimp and imitation crab mixture on top of crispy, golden sliced baguette, these tasty little toasts are perfect for any occasion. Plus, you can make the shrimp and crab mixture ahead of time. The imitation crab adds a subtle sweetness, which I like, but you can use real crab if you’d like!
Vietnamese chicken curry (cà ri gà) is a dish that I grew up eating as a child. It’s a bowl of cozy comfort packed with curry and lemongrass flavors. I could eat bowls and bowls of this with LOTS of freshly toasted baguette slices for dipping.
This kimchi bacon udon stir fry is so easy to make and so satisfying! In this dish, kimchi shines as a component of the dish, rather than as a condiment. The dish is full of heat and balanced with tangy kimchi and subtle sweetness from raw honey. For all you spice lovers out there, this dish is hands down a must-try! And the fact that kimchi is full of probiotics and is good for you makes this stir fry a tasty no-brainer for your next meal!
This egg drop tomato soup is a novice-friendly treat that relies heavily on fridge and pantry staples. It's one of my go-to's on days when I'm in the mood for soup but don't have hours to simmer broth because it's super-speedy and insanely good. I like mine spicy so I add chili oil and lots of sambal at the end, but this soup is completely versatile so don't be afraid to experiment! Also, be sure to use good quality, ripened tomatoes to get the best flavor! We use our very own homegrown campari tomatoes.
There’s nothing quite like a nice hot bowl of wholesome chicken noodle soup. This chicken noodle soup has toothsome noodles, tender poached chicken, nutritious bok choy, fresh chopped scallions, and an aromatic broth that you can’t stop slurping. The soy sauce-based broth contains ginger, which is particularly good for colds. Poaching in broth also happens to be a great way to cook chicken and as far as this recipe is concerned, is guaranteed to give you moist, tender, chicken every time.
