Chuc Mung Nam Moi!

Welcome the year of the pig!

Wishing you all a happy Tet! Have a wonderful new year :)

I found this sweet "Recipe" for Tet eve at the Viet World Kitchen website. Here are the Vietnamese and English translations. Enjoy :)

Cong thuc nau mon dem 30 tet:

1. Lay 12 thang trong nam dem rua sach mui cay dang, ghen ti, thu oan .... roi de rao nuoc.

2. Tuan tu cat moi thang ra 28, 30 hay 31 phan.

3. Tron deu voi:

Mot chut tinh yeu Mot chut kien nhan Mot chut can dam Mot chut co gang Mot chut hy vong Mot chut chung thuy

4. Uop them gia vi: lac quan, tu tin, va hai huoc.

5. Dem ngam mot lat trong dung dich "Nhung dieu tam niem... more

from VRG.org

Green Papaya Salad (Serves 6)

1/4 cup lime juice 2 Tablespoons water 3 Tablespoons soy sauce 1 Tablespoon minced garlic 3 cups peeled, seeded, and shredded green papaya 1/2 cup shredded carrot 1/2 cup julienned red pepper 1/4 cup coarsely chopped mint 1/4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro 3 Tablespoons coarsely chopped scallions 1/2 cup coarsley chopped peeled and seeded tomatoes 2 Tablespoons sesame seeds (optional) 2 Tablespoons chopped, unsalted peanuts (optional)

Combine... more

Vietnamese Restaurant-Style Salad Rolls From Rhonda Parkinson (about.com)

This vegetarian appetizer is served cold with a spicy hoisin sauce.

INGREDIENTS: 2 ounces vermicelli noodles 8 large round rice paper wrappers 1 cup mung bean sprouts 1/2 cup cucumber, cut into thin strips to make 1/2 cup 1 medium carrot, shredded 8 2-3inch strips of head lettuce Sauce: 1/4 cup hoisin sauce 3 TB peanut butter 3 TB water

PREPARATION: Make vermicelli according to package instructions, set aside. Soften 1 rice... more

Vietnamese Tofu From: Frank Durante (ivu.org)

Here is a modified version of a Vietnamese recipe I found which calls for the addition of nouc mam (fish sauce). Adjust ingredients to your taste.

1 cake of firm or extra firm tofu Fresh ginger juice - 3 tablespoons 5 large cloves sliced garlic 3-4 large shallots sliced hot chili pepper paste (sambal olek) to taste fresh ground black pepper finely chopped scallions fresh squeezed lime juice - from one lime 1 stalk of lemongrass chopped very fine Slice tofu lengthwise in... more

My husband, Ella and I just got home from the local Asian supermarket and it was a wonderful trip! I just love it there. It reminds me of shopping in Hanoi, only it's much larger here. We found wonderful treats and goodies for our Tet party and lots of the ingredients I needed to make some Tet recipes. The next few posts are going to be the recipes I'm going to try on Sunday. I'll let you know how it all goes :) And I'll post pics of all the goodies we found at the supermarket~who knew that candied water chestnuts were a treat?!? But we got them, so we'll see!

Vietnamese Style Vegetarian Curry Soup from... more

SKETCHES OF TET CUSTOMS The way to greet the spring is very old, perhaps originated thousands of years ago in the soft drizzle in Northern Vietnam. Back then, the Vietnamese people began calling the first days of spring Tet (mispronounced from the word "tiet", meaning "season" or in an elaborated sense, "festival season"). However old they are, the customs of Tet still reflect special characteristics of the Vietnamese culture generation after generation. Tet is the time to reunite one's family, both the living and the dead members; Tet is also the time to renew and strengthen one's friendship bondage; and, finally, Tet is the time to revive past experiences in preparing oneself... more

Even if a full celebration isn’t possible for Tet, here are some things you can do at home to celebrate the holiday:

Cook traditional Vietnamese dishes Make dragon puppets Color pictures of the zodiac animal of the coming year (this year is the pig) Print out Tet themed coloring pages at Rainbowkids.com for the kids to color Create your own alter to remember family members who have... more

Tet is an extremely festive and important time of year in Viet Nam. Tet is short for Tet Nguyen Dan, which means the first morning of the first day of the new period. The holiday marks the beginning of a new year on the lunar calendar; as well as the beginning of spring, and it is cause for much celebration throughout the country. This year (the year of the pig), Tet falls on Sunday, February 18th.

Tet is a time for family, friends and hope for the future. To outsiders it would seem that the country virtually stops during Tet, but there... more

I'm so excited! We're going to be celebrating Tet at my house :) My husband and I were throwing around the idea of having people over for Tet and this morning I realized that it's in twelve days!!!

So I put together an evite with a 'Happy New Year' theme and sent it out. We decided to limit our guest list to family only because we just don't have the space for many people. It's going to be tight as it is. It makes the thought of having a larger home even more exciting~then we can have more people over for Tet next year.

I'm... more