-
Preparation
30 minutes
-
Cooking
1 hour
-
Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Nam Pho Noodles Serves 5
Rice flour 200 gr Tapioca flour 130 gr Shrimp paste 200 gr Minced meat 300 gr Fresh shrimp 200 gr Onion 1 bulb Green onion 5 stalks Minced garlic 4 teaspoons Minced shallot 3 teaspoons Fish sauce 1 teaspoon Chili powder 1/4 teaspoon Fermented shrimp paste 1.5 teaspoons Red food coloring A little Cooking oil 5 tablespoons Common spices A little (Salt/ pepper/ sugar/ seasoning)
How to choose fresh ingredients
How to choose good shrimp paste
- Choose shrimp paste that is bright white or pink and has no strange odor.
- If choosing packaged products, check the expiration date carefully, ensure the packaging is intact, not torn or discolored, and the product inside is not moldy, has no bruises, or unusual leaks.
- Additionally, you can try making shrimp paste at home to ensure food safety for your family.
How to choose fresh and delicious shrimp
- Fresh and delicious shrimp will have transparent legs that are tightly attached to the shrimp body. Do not buy shrimp with discolored or loose legs.
- Pay attention to buy shrimp with a slightly curved body, firm flesh, intact shell, and a head that is tightly attached to the body.
- Do not buy shrimp with spread-out, loose tails, missing tail fins, and not neatly arranged together. These may be shrimp that have been caught for a long time or soaked in preservatives.
How to choose fresh and delicious pork
- You can buy pre-ground pork or buy whole pork to chop or grind using a meat grinder.
- You should choose pork with bright pink color, no strange smell, and clear white fat; avoid pale and smelly meat.
- You can press the meat with your hand; if you observe that the meat bounces back immediately without leaving a dent, is dry, and does not stick to your hand, this indicates it is good meat.
- Good pork should have even, firm fibers and not leak juice or be slimy.
- When buying meat, you should ask the seller to cut the meat along the grain and avoid choosing meat with small white spots interspersed between the meat fibers, as this may indicate the meat is infested with cysts, which can adversely affect your health when consumed.
How to make Nam Pho Cake
-
Prepare the shrimp
After buying the shrimp, peel off the shell, remove the head, and clean the black vein on the back of the shrimp, then wash thoroughly with a little diluted salt water and drain.
Once drained, use a knife to chop the shrimp finely and transfer it to a plate.
Quick tip to remove the shrimp’s back vein- Count backwards from the shrimp tail to the second groove connecting the two shell segments, use a toothpick to pierce through and gently pull to remove the black vein.
- Use a toothpick to pry at the head of the shrimp body, you will see a black thread, pull this black thread out with your hand without using a knife.
-
Mix the shrimp mixture
In the plate with chopped shrimp, add 200g of ground pork, 2 teaspoons of minced garlic, 2 teaspoons of minced shallots, 1 teaspoon of fish sauce, and 1 teaspoon of sugar.
Add 1/2 teaspoon of seasoning powder, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, a little red food coloring, and mix the mixture well.
Then, cover the mixture with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 1 hour.
Tip: Refrigerating the mixture will make it firmer and tastier.
-
Mixing the dough and shaping the bánh canh
Put 200g of rice flour, 30g of tapioca flour, 300ml of water, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt into a pot and mix well, then add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil, continue mixing well and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, place the pot on the stove, stir the dough continuously over low heat for about 10 minutes until the dough thickens, then turn off the heat.
Put the dough into a plastic bag and tightly tie the bag. Use scissors to cut a small corner of the bag.
Next, add 1 liter of water to a pot, place it on the stove to boil, add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil, and squeeze the dough into short pieces about 3 finger lengths, stirring gently to prevent the dough from sticking to the pot.
When the bánh canh is cooked, it will float, use a ladle to scoop the bánh and place it into a bowl of cold water to soak for about 10 minutes, then scoop it out to drain.
Tip: For the drained bánh canh, add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil and stir well to prevent the pieces from sticking together.
-
Marinate minced meat
Marinate minced meat with 1 teaspoon of minced garlic, 1 teaspoon of minced shallots, 1 teaspoon of fish sauce, 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of seasoning powder, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon of chili powder.
Use a spoon to mix the mixture well and let the meat marinate for about 30 minutes to absorb the spices.
-
Cook the broth
Place a pot on the stove, turn the heat to medium, and add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil. Once the oil is hot, sauté 2 teaspoons of minced shallots, 1 teaspoon of minced garlic, and 1 teaspoon of chili powder.
When the shallots and garlic are fragrant, add 1/4 teaspoon of red food coloring and the marinated minced meat, stir-frying for about 15 minutes until the meat is cooked.
Then add 3 liters of water, along with 1.5 teaspoons of fermented shrimp paste, and 1 onion that has been roasted until fragrant, then boil until the water is bubbling. Lower the heat and skim off the foam to make the broth clearer.
Season the broth with 2 teaspoons of salt, 2 tablespoons of seasoning powder, 2 tablespoons of sugar, stirring well for the spices to dissolve evenly, and taste to adjust the flavor.
Put the shrimp mixture into a nylon bag, tie it tightly, and use scissors to cut a small hole in the corner of the bag to create a suitable opening. Squeeze firmly and use chopsticks to press the shrimp mixture into small balls and drop them into the boiling broth.
-
Completion
Dissolve 100g of tapioca flour with 1/2 cup of water, then gradually add it to the pot of broth. Turn the heat to high to bring the broth back to a boil, then add the noodle and cook for another 10 minutes to finish.
You scoop the noodle into a bowl, add a bit of chopped green onion, and enjoy it with a bowl of spicy chili sauce!
-
Final Product
A bowl of hot and fragrant noodle soup with soft and chewy noodles combined with sweet and firm shrimp cake, the broth is thick and fragrant with the distinctive shrimp paste flavor, the taste is rich, very delicious and appealing!
See more:
The above is a guide on how to cook Nam Pho cake soup extremely simply and can be done right at home. Wishing you success!
*Refer to images and recipes from the YouTube channel: Viet Nam Cuisine
