Family Dinner for Tet & Win Royal Umbrella Rice 5kg packs

I do get sentimental as the years go by, in the past, New Year had been a time I would look forward to the challenges ahead.  I still do because there's still so much to look forward to, but now I try to take more time to look back and reflect on how lucky I've been - to take a selfish moment and savour the wonderful people in my life.

This new year mark's so many milestones for my family, my father turns 90, and I celebrate my 21st anniversary. New Year is good like that, it makes you stop and look at your priorities and appreciate the ones you love... especially over a family dinner.

For me there are a few Vietnamese dishes that is a must for a New Year family dinner...

Canh chua, Vietnamese sour soup is so uniquely Vietnamese, both sweet and sour, that unique flavour was one of my first food memories.

And you can't have canh chua without goi, Vietnamese salad, that other quintessential homeland dish.  You can have so many types of goi, this one is prawns and bamboo shoots.  The sour and fish sauce mixed with the fresh greens, together with some white rice, send me off on a high.

The other childhood memory was my mother coming home late from work and having dinner on her own.  I would come and lay on her lap.  The aroma of the ca kho, fish slow cooked in fish sauce and pepper until it was brown and tender was so mesmerising to me as a child.  She would lean down, kiss me then feed me a mouthful of rice mixed with fish.

Just like the loved ones that I take for granted, I often forget the other essential ingredient of any meal, com - white rice.  My father, god bless him, still refuses to eat any meal that doesn't have rice.  In Vietnamese to eat dinner or lunch we say "an com", literally eat rice, that's how important rice is to Vietnamese families.  Back in 1976, my mother notoriously said she wouldn't come to Australia unless she could buy fish sauce and rice there.

These days, we don't compromise of what we eat because our family is worth it and more.  We buy the best ingredients, we don't skimp on family.  Year and years ago we switched from Sunlong rice (every Vietnamese family used to eat Sunlong) to Royal Umbrella Jasmine Rice.  It's a premium product that is loved worldwide and awarded world's best rice 2009.

My family is sooo worth it!

Win in the New Lunar Year

Start your year with good luck by winning a 5kg bag of Royal Umbrella Jasmine Rice, new crop 2011.  Email thang[at]noodlies[dot]com and tell me about a favourite family dish or meal.  Why is it special?

I also encourage you to also share those memories with us by putting it in the comments section of this post.

The three most creative entry wins.  Winning entries will be published on noodlies on 8 January 2011.

Prizes will be sent to addresses in Australia.

 A few rules:
- 50 words or less
- Entries close 11pm, 7th January 2011
- Residents of Australia only
- make sure it's full of love

Email thang[at]noodlies[dot]com 

and tell me about a favourite family dish or meal.  Why is it special?  

Share your experiences with us in the comments section...

This post was supported by our friends at Royal Umbrella rice.

Hai Au Vietnamese Restaurant, Canley Vale

Hai Au has been consistently on my Best Restaurants in Cabramatta list.  We came back tonight because they have this new roast chicken which is done at the entrance to the restaurant (see above).  The chicken is wrapped in banana leaves and cooked over an enormous flame (below).

 

Bau Truong, Cabramatta

Taro spring rolls

We headed to Bau Truong for a quiet, private birthday dinner.  Bau Truong has been around for around 20 years but in a different location in Cabramatta.  Now it's on both the main street, John Street as well as Canley Vale Road in Canley Heights.  Both are riotously popular.

These spring rolls might look like any other but they have the added ingredient of taro; the neutral starchy taste contrasts brilliantly with the spicy meat filling.

Lime leaf chicken salad

The chicken salad is the sort of dish mum always makes, and like Bau Truong, she makes it with heaps of onion, delicious - just make sure you're not having a big night out with friends.  The thin green strips are lime leaf, tart and tangy, they lift the chicken perfectly.

Salted squid

Usually I'm not a fan of salted squid, but these were light and extremely tasty when dipped in the clean, lemon salt and pepper sauce.

fish in fish sauce

Another home style favourite is canh chua or sour soup. Today we ordered the fish version.  I did what we would do at home, take the cooked fish out and soak it in undiluted fish sauce.

Excellent food!

Duy Linh Vegetarian, Cabramatta

I reckon the best kept secret in Sydney when it comes to fresh, tasty vegetarian food is Duy Linh in Cabramatta.  It's vegetarian that doesn't give up on taste or insult the customer with something plain or oily.

Some might find it odd that many dishes replicate meat dishes, like spring roll noodles or duck with rice. Those people would find it even more odd that the food looks and tastes like their meat counterpart too.

Their vegetarian version of Vietnamese Canh Chua (sour soup) is easily the best in Sydney.

You can get vegetarian Vietnamese fresh rolls, instant noodles or ingredients to spice up your cooking from the counter.

Vietnamese Canh Chua, Canley Heights

My all time favourite dish is Canh Chua (sour soup). It's what you'd have at home usually with fried fish for contrast.

Canh chua is basically a sour soup from tamarind, pineapple and tomato. Then there's just too many Vietnamese mints added to name, bac ha, chilli, been sprouts, garlic and choice of meats; usually fish or prawns are popular but you can have it with chicken.

This dish is from Phuoc Loc Tho in Canley Heights... all the ingredients are raw, including the fish. The soup is in the centre and will come to biil from coal underneath... once it's boiling you just push all the ingredients into the soup stock in the centre and enjoy!