Bitter Melon (aka bitter gourd) is called “muop dang” or “kho qua” in Vietnamese. They call it bitter melon because it’s quite bitter and can be an acquired taste for some. In Vietnamese cuisine, it’s often cooked with other ingredients to offset it's bitter punch.

I often think it’s almost a right of passage and knowing that you’ve crossed over to an Vietnamese adult lol. A popular dish to cook bitter melon in Vietnam is with eggs so today we’ll be making stir fried eggs with bitter melon! Read on to learn a few tricks to avoid overly bitter bitter melon!

Simply translated Suon Ram Man means salty pork ribs. These pork spare ribs are pan seared in a marinade that’s equally savory, salty, and a little sweet all at the same time! It is a classic Vietnamese dish that is traditionally served with a side of hot jasmine rice and some fresh sweet vegetables.

There’s many recipes out there and many have them braised in coconut juice where the meat is super soft and basically falls off the bone. This has a slight little chew factor which I love and the glossy marinade sauce makes the ribs super tacky with a slight crisp to the edges. As a kid I would love chewing and pulling the meat off the bones so it was all about this slight chew factor for me! This recipe below is a different way from my other recipe --here-- where we basically fried the ribs. In this recipe we create make a caramel sauce to coat the ribs then braise it in a savory marinade until tender.

There’s a few things that Vietnamese people love to do, and one of those is caramelizing things. What better recipe to adapt than all American nut brittle!

I made a few variations including a Vietnamese Ca Phe and a Miso Butter Nut Brittle, click above to find full recipe and instructions.

Tom Ram Thit Ba Chi- This was one of my mom’s personal favorites which is also known as Vietnamese caramelized pork belly and prawns.

The secret to the dynamic flavor of pork and shrimp is buying fresh or frozen pawns (uncooked) and keeping on the head and shell for that super rich caramelized crunch with little bursts of umami shrimp yumminess! I love eating the shells but you can totally peel these prior prior to chomping down on these prawns!

Crispy roasted pork belly is one of the most coveted Vietnamese dishes and it was definitely one of my dad's favorite dishes that he was very proud of. Check out the recipe to learn how to make it!

Why didn’t I know about this leaf sooner? It’s so delicious and full of all the good stuff! These delicious spinach like leaves are known in asian cultures as the “queen of vegetables” and the “longevity vegetable” and are touted to be anti-cancer greens.

I received this along with a bunch of other asian herbs, vegetables, and greens as part of my CSA share that I posted the other day.

Easily misinterpreted as “cafe soda”, it’s actually “ca phe sua da”, where “da” is translated as ice (= Vietnamese iced milk coffee).

Vietnamese coffee (Aka “cà phê sữa nóng” (hot), or “cà phê sua dá” (iced)) is known for its extra caffeine kick and in Vietnam street coffee stalls use simple aluminum drip filters for this slow drip coffee favorite! I usually don’t drink coffee but since this is on the sweeter side, it’s definitely my go to coffee when I need my caffeine fix 😍

Thit Nuong is one of the most popular dishes in Vietnamese restaurants and it’s often served in a noodle & fresh herb bowl with a side of fish sauce (nuoc mam Cham) aka Bun thit nuong.Thinly cut pork belly or pork shoulder are slowly cooked on a grill until caramelized and slightly charred on the edges.

Simply translated Suon Ram Man means salty pork ribs. These pork spare ribs are pan seared in a marinade that’s equally savory, salty, and a little sweet all at the same time! It is a classic Vietnamese dish that is traditionally served with a side of hot jasmine rice and some fresh sweet vegetables like cucumber and tomatoes to offset the saltiness of this dish.

It’s one of my childhood favorites (yes, I have quite a few since my dad was quite the chef) and these are literally finger licking, bone gnawing good!

Buttered beef summer rolls - aka “Cuon thit bo chien beure”.So, this is one of my little sister’s (@altnyc ) favorites. She loves Vietnamese summer rolls but these are harder to find in a menu anywhere (more commonly you will see shrimp or pork & shrimp summer rolls).This dish is super fun to make. Thin cuts of beef is flash seared in front of you with butter (on a small hot plate in the center of a table) and everyone at the table gets to assemble their own rolls and eat them freshly made.

This traditional Vietnamese beef stew is very rich and savory. I love how you can see the French influence in this dish. Oxtails and beef are deeply stewed with ginger, lemon grass, and garlic along with root vegetables, aromatics and it’s also traditionally served with a warm french baguette.

This stew is sometimes red’ish in color with the addition of tomato paste and paprika. I love using oxtails because they really make your stew very rich and dark. What makes this dish a little different from other recipes is that my mom also uses a dash of curry powder, and uses aromatics like star anise and cinnamon.

In our hometown in Kansas my dad was known in our neighborhood and close friends for his delicious pho.  And, did you know that for chicken pho you can literally make it in less than 2 hours from start to plating? 

Today, I’m imparting some of his life-long tips in achieving that perfect & delicious pho- The House Of Trinh way!