Drop #35: Create a Signature Dish

I am so close to completing this drop... I am actually making the original concept of the dish tonight for dinner. I do, however, have ideas as to how my current interpretation of the dish can be improved, and would like to post the recipe complete with side dishes and all. Stay tuned!

Complete- Drop #25: Cook Bun Mam

     Once I got past the fact that this recipe does not exist in English, and varies so much in Vietnamese, I think I was finally able to figure out how to cook this thing! With that said, I am pretty sure this is the only English recipe for Bún mắm. I'm not for sure if this is the way it's typically done, or how close it is to the actual taste it's supposed to be since I have never actually eaten it elsewhere, but it passed the taste test.


     For the Soup:

Pork Bones
Mam Tom (a very stinky, purple shrimp paste)
Catfish
Squid
Shrimp
Aubergine (not pictured)
Pork Belly
Lemongrass (6 stalks did the job)
Garlic (however much. I used 4 large cloves)

Rock Sugar

MSG (Optional)

  Parboil the pork bones. Rinse, heat up a fresh batch of water, and put bones back into the pot. Heat to boiling and skim top as needed. Cut the bulb off the lemongrass, smash, and add to broth. Skim periodically. Add the Mam Tom (maybe about a quarter of the container... I put a bit more than half and it came out really strong... You can add more later) to the broth. After a few hours of cooking chop/food process the remaining lemongrass stems until very small. Do same with garlic. In a frying pan, put some oil in the pan. Cut up one of the pork belly, add to the hot pan, and fry up with the lemongrass and garlic. Once cooked, add to the pot. 
     When you think you're getting close to being done (you can let the soup boil as long as you want) get your seafood ready while you're frying up a whole strip of the pork belly. Slice the fried pork belly the same was as before, and set aside. Cut the aubergines so that the slices are circular, about 1 and 1/2 inch thick, and cut those in fours. Throw in the soup. cook until tender, then remove.


     Strain the broth, and remove the bones, lemongrass etc. Reheat the broth, and cook the seafood. While doing this, start your noodles (bun rice noodles)


Toppings:

   

Bean Sprouts
Culantro (similar to Cilantro but stronger...)
Ngo Om (Rice paddy herb)
Rau Den (Chinese Spinach)
He (Type of Chive)
Ong Choy (Water Spinach, stems only)
Bac Ha (Taro Shoots)
Thai Basil
Banana Flower
Scallion
Lime


     I found I had to pickle the banana flower after cutting it into thin rings in order for it to keep color, so don't slice this until you're just about to serve. The only other odd prep for the toppings is to remove the stems from the water spinach and to cut them in long, thin strips. Keep them in cold water so they curl.


     Put noodles in bowl, ladle broth on top, throw on culantro and scallions. Serve with the plate of herbs and a spoonful of the mam tom on the side, and you're all set!

     The smell of the soup, I have to be honest, was not pleasant. Once I was able to push past that, the broth itself was pretty good! Again, I'll have to check it's authenticity to another one (once I find it), but I am considering this a success!

Anti-Drop: General Complaints About Myself and my Bucket List

     I've only just begun this list, and already I have personal complaints about it.

     My goals are so very boring! Everything I hope to complete before I die, it seems, has to do with personal self improvement. Although I can say I have tried to be the best I possibly can be, it's honestly not very exciting. I even googled other people's bucket lists for ideas as to some exciting things I might want to do, and nothing sounds remotely desireable. It's official: I'm boring. With that said, I need to live a little.

     Complaint #2: The point of trying to keep up with this blog is to remind myself of what goals I want to accomplish. Although I have thought about the drops that I have blogged about thus far, I honestly can't say that I have done too much towards thier completion. For example, every day I wake up and decide that tomorrow is the day to start drinking more water and eating healthier; it's never TODAY! And, although I have acknowledged my desire to wean myself from social media, I still feel the need to check it a million and a half times a day. Even this is somewhat considered a social media... Although I do not normally announce my updates of this particular blog on sites such as Facebook.

     So, although it is not a drop, my general goals at this point seem to be 'live a little' and 'be proactive'.



               Yeahhh.... We'll see how that goes......

Drop #27: Wean Myself from Social Media

     I've written about this very topic on other occasions: the distinguishable difference between the present and past's ideaology of 'here and now,' and how the definition has drastically changed due to the role of social media. The concept itself is comprehensible. Before the internet, the last memory of someone would be in their flesh and blood.  After that, their lives would become a mystery.  The mind would fabricate scenarios as to what became of them. Often times, the next time we would hear their name would be upon their death.  In today's day and age, comparably, the ability to keep in contact with people we would have otherwise left behind is mind-boggling. With the click of a mouse, I can rediscover an old friend from elementary school. I can track the lives of old boyfriends and preoccupy my mind with their recent marriages, and learn useless information about people I never really cared about. Honestly, I don't care to know about anything that I can't ask anybody personally.

     So, why are social media sites so addicting?

     I was recently listening to a program on NPR (forgive me for not linking to the original source) which discussed the current addiction to certain technological medias such as social web sites, email and text messaging. According to the expert, the hope that somebody has made a comment on one of our recent posts or the idea that we have received an email from an old friend results in a rush of adrenaline. This rush is more likely to be desirable when bored. It is the addiction to that adrenaline; the prospect something has happened results in the sudden urge to check our facebook statuses or email accounts. Really, it makes perfect sense. After all, nobody really expresses the desire for boredom. In the age of portable media, the adrenaline is but a click away. What prevents one from tapping in to a solution to boredom?

     For this reason, I would estimate that I check my facebook a minimum of twice a day. Necessary? Of course not. In reality, it is the procrastination of mundane tasks such as completing a paper that results in constantly checking my 'newsfeed'. However, everything I learn about those individuals on my facebook is not only subjective, but single-sided. In other words, I get a part of the story and no major impact is made on my life. Rather, I am left desiring the memories of the past rather than the black-on-white status updates. Meaningless. Intangible. For this reason, it is my goal to wean myself from social media sites. Of course, completely giving up such technology in this day and age is unrealistic. Therefore, that is not my goal. Instead, I just wish to un-obsess myself from it: to only check up on old connections once a week rather than twice a day. That is the goal; we'll see how it goes.

Drop #4: Get back down to 130 lbs (and stay there)

     I am not by any means huge, but 130 has always been a magical number for me. Perhaps it is because it was what I weighed when I got married... Regardless, it is a completely realistic goal and a more healthy weight. The trickiness of this 'drop' is the last part added in parentheses. This does not require a diet or detox, but rather a change in lifestyle.  That's right: frest fruits and veggies, regular exercise, drinking lots of water, and consuming less fat (sugar, carbs). I've been putting this off for quite a while now, mostly due to my love affair with hearty pastas and delicious breads... Well, it's time. Sad face.

     I am going to have to take this slow; one change at a time. So, here's the plan:

Step 1: Consume more water (approx 64 oz/day)
Step 2: Replace bad snacks with healthier ones
Step 3: Eat more fruits and veggies
Step 4: Start excersizing again

     It's pretty simple, really... It is committing to the change which is difficult. So, my goal is to master each step individually before continuing on to the next.

Drop #25: Cook Bun Mam

     Apparently, Bun Mam does not want to be reproduced...

     From what I can gather, this is quite a unique soup originating in- and not straying far from- South Vietnam's Mekong Delta. It is not in any of the cookbooks I have searched in, and it seems as though restaurants do not make it in this area. The recipe is unGoogleable in English. However, if I go to google.vn and search, I can find the recipe in Vietnamese. When translated, the ingredients are:

- colorful fish sauce
- Flexible fish sauce
- catfish (or snakehead fish)
- bacon
- fresh squid
- Shrimp silver card
- open water, chili slice
- delicious sauce
- pork bones
- fresh rice noodles
- a private branch of fingers
- minced garlic, cilantro
- banana cells, stem cells guns, vegetables and basil plants, vegetables, coconut, sprout.

http://my.opera.com/Norah-Nguyen/albums/showpic.dml?album=725762&picture=9803043#bigimg

     Where am I going to find a private branch of fingers?

      Regardless, I am determined to make this soup. All in all, it doesn't seem to be so difficult. The challenge is going to be figuring out exactly what is in this stuff, what it's supposed to taste like, and what the hell are all this new, crazy herbs that are supposed to go on top of it? Any insight from a random passerby would be greatly appreciated at this point.

Drop #20: Cook Through an Entire Cookbook

The Cookbook: The Williams-Sonoma Cookbook

 

      I chose this cookbook in hopes that cooking some more complicated recipes would aid me in drop #11. It has something like 325 recipes ranging from spaghetti and meatballs to tea-smoked duck with a honey-soy dipping sauce; from appetizers to home-made breads and desserts. Some of the recipes do require special tools and ingredients that I have never worked with, while I have no desire to make some of the others. Regardless, I have plenty of time and occasions to make all of these recipes, so hopefully I can just bring the recipes featuring ingredients I don't favor and drop it at some fancy holiday party.

Drop #17: Visit all 50 States

Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
TexasUtah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

19/50. Still got some work ahead of me!

Happy New Year!!!

I was going to start this out as a New Year's Resolution Blog for 2011, but that seemed rather pointless and boring. So rather, I decided to turn my Resolutions into bucket list goals- and added just a -few- long term desires- into a list of what I wish to accomplish before I 'kick the bucket'. Being I am still young, crossing off the items on this list should prove not only challenging, but also rewarding. I hope you enjoy this blog as I unexpectantly embark on this journey of life-goal fulfillment!