Western meal at Ut Tinh's house, rustic and delicious

Ut Tinh's family, author of authentic Western dishes

These are the Western meals of Ut Tinh's family. Western meals include dishes with simple ingredients, sometimes fish and shrimp caught from the river near the house, fresh vegetables grown in the garden cooked in soup, and dipped in kho quet.

For people in the West, on rainy days, cooking a meal like that is probably satisfying.

Chicken salad with figs, bitter melon stew, braised pork with duck eggs

Ut Tinh is a native of the West. On Tet holiday, his family's meals include typical Western dishes such as pickled cabbage with braised pork and duck eggs, and stewed bitter melon.

Besides the familiar dishes, there is also a plate of chicken and fig salad, which is often called "prosperous" chicken salad.

Fig chicken salad is considered a lucky dish to welcome the new year in the meals of people in the West - Photo: Ut Tinh's family story

He hopes all the hardships of the old year will pass, to welcome a more peaceful and smooth new year.

The "prosperous" chicken salad is beautifully presented, with chicken mixed with figs, carrots, onions, Vietnamese coriander and chili, piled up full like the name "prosperous".

Steamed chicken retains the natural sweetness of the meat, combined with the astringent taste of figs, the crunchy sweetness of carrots and onions, and the spicy taste of chili and Vietnamese coriander. All of these are mixed in a sweet, sour, and spicy fish sauce to create a unique dish with many layers of subtle flavors.

Pumpkin soup stuffed with meat served with fried salted and lemongrass pork belly

Confiding in Tuoi Tre Online , Mr. Ut Tinh said that his father really likes to grow vegetables, squash, and pumpkin vines. Therefore, his family has fruits to eat continuously. In addition to boiling and stir-frying, he also changes things up by stuffing meat and cooking soup for the whole family to eat for a new taste.

His mother cooks delicious pork belly. Both his father and he like it. He said that in the West, there is usually a soup and a savory dish on the dinner table. According to him, combining these two dishes together makes for a great meal.

The refreshing squash soup with the salty pork belly is also a great combination in delicious meals - Photo: Ut Tinh's family story

Fried pork belly with lemongrass is crispy on the outside and soft and sweet on the inside. The golden brown color of the meat and the aroma of lemongrass will probably stimulate the taste buds of many people, making the meal more delicious and complete.

Hot pot with balut and squash shoots

This will probably be a delicious meal for Westerners and also help improve health and blood circulation.

To have a delicious hotpot, you must carefully select and prepare each ingredient. The balut must be fresh and young. The squash shoots must have all the outer fibers removed.

Before putting it in the hot pot to boil with the prepared spices, you need to boil the duck eggs over high heat for about 25 minutes until the eggs are cooked.

Balut hotpot will be more delicious if eaten with vermicelli, noodles and indispensable fresh green squash shoots.

Mixed-flavor hotpot is both delicious and nutritious - Photo: Ut Tinh's family story

Fish sauce, rice water

When mentioning kho quet, people immediately think of people from the West. Because in the past, this dish was associated with them in difficult times or when they were in a hurry to go to the fields without having time to eat.

The way to eat kho quet is shown in its name: braised and then dipped with rice and vegetables.

The dish has a distinctive salty taste due to the fish sauce used to make it. Just a few chopsticks can "eat" two bowls of rice.

The dish has easy-to-find ingredients, is easy to prepare, and can be stored for many days. Therefore, in the past, when people were poor and in need, they often ate kho quet.

On rainy days, any house with a pot of braised fish sauce will never go hungry.

Besides kho quet, the meal tray cannot lack raw vegetables and a bowl of rice water instead of soup.

The dish of braised fish sauce is a childhood memory, appearing on the dinner table of many people in the West - Photo: Ut Tinh's family story

Choosing boiled vegetables to eat with kho quet is also very important. Normally, a plate of vegetables includes all kinds of familiar vegetables to people in the West such as: okra, sesban flowers, squash, winged beans, water spinach...

Nowadays, life is more prosperous but kho quet has become a simple dish that is popular with people in the South. Many people who are far from home still make a pot of kho quet to eat to ease their homesickness...

Sour squash soup with fish braised with pepper

Sour soup and braised fish are an indispensable duo in Vietnamese culinary culture, especially in the Southwest region.

Sour soup and braised fish are the perfect combination in meals - Photo: Ut Tinh's family story

Braised fish is best served hot and thick on the plate. The fish meat is smooth, fatty, and has a beautiful cockroach-wing color.

Westerners pick up a piece of rich braised fish and eat it with hot rice.

And finally, add a bowl of sweet and sour soup, light with squash and a piece of firm fish, dipped in spicy fish sauce.

Then what could be better!

When braising fish, you should braise it with pepper and chili; the mild spiciness makes it even more appealing.

We can take a whole squash, cut it into pieces about the size of a hand, and dry it in the sun until it wilts. Mix a little salt water, boil it, let it cool, and then pour it into a glass jar. Then, put the dried squash in, let it soak in the salt water, after a few days the squash will be sour, and it is delicious to use in soup or stir-fry.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/bua-com-mien-tay-nha-ut-tinh-dan-da-bao-ngon-20240407162103663.htm