Spinach, Pork & Homesickness

A taste of my childhood

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Memory Lane

Family dinners were so important when I lived in Vietnam. It was the norm to have all my relatives gather at my Grandpa’s house for dinner. I didn’t realize how magical those moments were because it was literally a part of my everyday life and it was the same with the neighboring families as well, so I just thought that it was just something everyone did. 

When my family moved to America, my parents made sure to keep the family dinners alive and made sure that dinner was a family thing for us. Of course, there would be days where I’d miss dinner because I was “ham chơi” (a Vietnamese phrase that basically translates to being out and about with friends). But dinner really is a family thing for me and now that I’m away from home, it turned into more of a bonding and connecting thing.

I moved out of my parent’s house at 18 because I went straight to Culinary school. It was a really lonely and sad time for me. I was broke, living out of my car (we’ll get into this later) and eating in the car  alone made me realize how precious and magical family dinners are. I remember crying a lot in my car at the time because I was going through a breakup and my dad moved really far away. I remember crying the most when I would eat by myself, I didn’t realize how important meals with my family was until I was eating in the car alone. 

When I finally got a place of my own that had a kitchen to cook in, I was so excited, but that bubble quickly bursted when I realized how expensive groceries can get. This was the beginning stage of my culinary journey so there was absolutely no creativity or knowledge on my end. I had no idea how to make cheap (99 cent store cheap) groceries into something enjoyable. There was no way I could call my mom to ask for guidance because 1. She doesn’t give me measurements 2. I am miss INDEPENDENT lol, I was not about to show my mom that I was not capable. So I had boiled… yes boiled chicken! not even poached, and steamed broccoli for a really looooooooong time.

Looking back, there were so many dishes that I could’ve made. If there’s anything I’ve learned from cooking and studying Vietnamese food is that, it doesn’t need much. Dishes that were considered the poor man’s food is now being celebrated and drooled over, it shows that it doesn’t matter what you have, it’s what you do with it. So here’s a recipe from my childhood that highlights the beauty of simplicity.

The Meal

The dishes that you are about to dive into is called Rau muống xào tỏi (sautéed garlic water spinach) and Thịt luộc (poached meat).

Rau muống a.k.a Water Spinach or Morning Glory is a long leafy green vegetable that grows in water or damp soil with hollow stems and tender leaves. It can be found in most Southeast Asian dishes, the leaves have a texture like regular spinach but the stem is hollow giving the vegetable a nice bite and crunch like texture. I’ll also be showing you a bonus recipe to turn the water spinach water into a soup. I got mine my my local Ranch 99.

Thịt luộc a.k.a poached meat is typically made with pork belly, but a less fatty alternative would be pork shoulder a.k.a pork butt. The poaching water is usually just salted, but I added a few more ingredients in there to really elevate the meat and also turn the poaching water into a nice pork broth.

Ingredients

the two main stars

Rau muống xào tỏi ( sautéed garlic water spinach)

• Water spinach ( 1 pound)

• Garlic (1 bulb)

• Cooking oil (2 tablespoons) I usually use avocado oil or olive oil

• Fish sauce (2 tablespoons)

• MSG (optional)

• Salt & pepper

Thịt luộc (poached meat)

• Pork belly (1 pound)

• Ginger (2 knobs about 1 inch each)

• Yellow onion (1/2)

• Peppercorns (5-6) this is optional

Directions

Rau muống xào tỏi ( sautéed garlic water spinach)

1. Clean the water spinach by soaking it in water for 5-10 minutes, rinse it with water and then pluck the old and wilting leaves. Chop the water spinach into equal 3-4 inch sections and set aside.

2. Prep the garlic by mincing half of the bulb, I usually say to finely mince it but for this recipe, it’s better with the chunks of garlic in it. Then with the other half of the bulb just crush the cloves and set both aside.

3. Add about 10-15 cups of water in a pot or enough to cover the water spinach, add a generous amount of salt and bring it to a bowl.

4. While waiting for the water to come to a boil, make sure to prepare an ice bath. Add ice and water to a big mixing bowl and set aside.

5. When the water comes to a boil drop in the water spinach and leave it in there for about 3-4 minutes. It’s like cooking spinach, it happens very fast so don’t walk away from it.

6. Once it’s done cooking, place the spinach in the ice bath right away. The ice bath is an optional step, and it’s not something that my mom does, but I like to do it because it keeps the color of the spinach nice and green. It’s important for me to do this step and encourage you to do this step because we are going to sauté the spinach next and it’s really easy to overcook it and the color will be dull and not as inviting.

   

   nice and green

   7. Leave it in the ice bath for a few minutes then drain. Don’t get rid of the spinach water yet!

   8. In a 20 in pan, heat up 2 tablespoons of cooking oil and sauté the garlic chunks for 1-2 minutes.

   9. Add the water spinach in the pan and add 2 tablespoons of fish sauce and a pinch of MSG.

   10. Sauté for about 3-4 minutes, it doesn’t take long to cook so make sure that you’re not overcooking it

Bonus soup

I told you not to throw away the spinach water because you can make Canh (soup) from it. All you have to do is add about 2-3 limes along with a few pinches of salt and you’re done! I love my water spinach soup to be really sour so I add lots of lime juice but feel free to make it your own.

Thịt luộc (poached meat)

1. Use a small pot for this because we don’t want the flavors to get sucked out from the meat, we want to add flavor to the meat so use only enough water to slightly cover the chunk of meat.

2. Add the meat, half an onion, ginger knobs and peppercorns into the pot, and pour in only enough water to cover the meat.

3. Bring the water to a boil and turn the heat down to a low medium heat. Let it poach for about 30-40 minutes or until the interval temperature is 145 degrees Fahrenheit.

4. Once the meat is done, let it rest for about 10-15 minutes and cut it into thin or thick slices, it’s up to you.

5. The simple dipping sauce for this is just straight up fish sauce, I like to add some bird’s eye chillies for the heat. My family also enjoy this poached meat with shrimp paste, but if you’re not familiar with shrimp paste, I would suggest you to start with the fish sauce first.

6. This whole meal is enjoyed with white rice, family style. Enjoy! (:

Bonus soup

The broth that’s been created during the poaching process is actually really delicious! I saved it and I had it fo breakfast. I added a dash of soy sauce, fish sauce, sambal and a squeeze of some lime wedges, with angel hair, broccoli and a ton of green onions, cilantro and crispy shallots for garnish. It was soooo damn good!

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