Vietnam

Okay, sadly, I do not have the photos for Vietnam. See my Thailand post for explanation.
I also may have mentioned, I recently discovered where the Vietnamese markets are near me - when the weather gets better (seriously, is it ever going to be consistently not winter?) I plan on taking the el up and exploring. Anyone want to join?
Anyway.

Summer rolls with Peanut Hoisin Sauce
Soak the cellophane noodles in bowl of hot boiled water until they soften. Drain noodls and shock in cold water.
Working with one sheet at a time, completely immerse a sheet of rice paper in hot water for a few seconds. Remove and lay it on a board. Place a leaf of lettuce, 2 pieces of shrimp, 3 cilantro, 2 mint leaves, a wad of noodles, bean sprouts and carrots. Fold the sides of rice paper over the filling and roll up the rice paper into a cylinder - really tight - you don't want it to be able to open up.
Serve with peanut hoisi sauce: rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, peanut butter, fish sauce, hot water, sugar, lime juice, minced garlic, ground peanuts. Simmer until sauce is not too thin or too thick.

Bo Nuong - Beef Skewer
Soak bamboo skewer in water. Combine lemon grass, chopped garlic, sesame seeds, fish sauce, oyster sauce, soy sauce, onions, honey, an dsugar. Marinate meat at least 2 hours, turn periodically. Skewer and wrap with caul fat then grill well done. Serve with dipping fish sauce: hot water, sugar, white vinegar, fish sauce, minced garlic, minced thai chile, and juiced lime.
This. was. fantastic. Caul fat is not exactly pleasant to work with, but when it melts into the meat, it makes it juicy and delicious.

Lessons Learned:
I miss Chef T! He subbed this night, and he brought all kinds of Vietnamese herbs for us to sample. He's the one that told me where the markets are, and encourage me to go exploring. He was such a nice teacher, and actually very interesting to talk to. I would have liked to have ended the program with him.

Just in case you wanted a reason to keep reading (for those of you that do)... I'm actually back to cooking at home these days, and I'll probably keep blogging about things I've enjoyed making. And then you can listen to me daydream about my plan to buy a stand mixer.