Read my latest press and Q&A by Morgan Y Evans in the Kingston Wire- “Life In Kingston”.

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!

Do you like Chinese style sweet and sour chicken? Well this recipe is sure to please and replaces the chicken with a plant based substitute, golden oyster mushrooms!

These mushrooms are dredged in a flour/egg batter and then deep fried to perfection for that extra crispy crunch. The wet batter creates a nice doughy crust that makes it more fluffy while the chewiness of the oyster mushrooms gives you that mock chicken texture!

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.

This Vietnamese lemongrass chicken is a super popular pan-fried chicken recipe. Infused with fragrant and savory lemongrass marinade. Typically served with sweet rice and a side of fish dipping sauce, aka “Nuoc Mam Cham”. The cut of chicken is typically chicken thighs with skin on. Since chicken thighs are dark meat they cook up perfect & juicy- they absorb so much of that delicious marinade. A lot of recipes call for soy sauce or oyster sauce but those are more Chinese influenced. Below is our family’s recipe!

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!

TGIF who's ready for an ice cold one? If you love the drinks as much as we do from Stockade Tavern, then this drink won't disappoint! This drink is brought to you by Stockade Tavern owners, Jenny & Paul, and resident mixologist/bartender Gregory Hedderman.

Crispy “birds nest” aka Vietnamese crispy noodle with stir fried shrimp and vegetables.

This is a relatively easy dish but it requires a lot of prep work. I like my noodles very crispy and vegetables also has to be firm with a crisp. I DESPISE mushy noodles & veggies, and over cooked shrimp especially in stir fried recipes. So the best way for everything in your mi xao to be nice and crisp is to cook EVERYTHING separately.

This Japanese Shoyu Ramen was created with a homemade shoyu broth using dried shitake mushrooms and some aromatics.

Did you know that ‘Shoyu’ means soy sauce in Japanese? So simply translated, shoyu ramen, is basically ramen with a soy sauce-based broth. The broth is beautifully clear and brown colored and full of umami richness that it’s great without any chicken or beef stock, making it very vegetarian friendly!

Also known as ramen eggs, these soy eggs are typically marinated in a simple solution of soy sauce and mirin- a MUST HAVE for any decent ramen dish! Featured: Mora Ceramic & Mud Australia bowls.