The Maltese Bacon

Corn and Tomato Omelette

A Vietnamese omelette is eaten during the day or in the evening. It's great in a pinch, as a supplement to a family style meal of rice and other dishes. Say you have one more person dropping in for lunch and need a little something more fast, this omelette is your answer. It's not traditionally made with tomatoes or corn, but I like it like this. And in case you're wondering fish sauce and eggs is the jam, rivalling duck fat and eggs.

Vietnamese Omelette My Way
 3 eggs
 1 small tomato chopped
 1 tablespoon corn kernels, optional  (not much more than this or it will be too sweet)
 one scallion, green and white part separated. white part chopped and green part either chopped or sliced
 1/2 teaspoon fish sauce (or to taste)
 black pepper to taste
 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
 thin pat of butter

 1. Heat small pan (b/w 6-8 inches) with oil to medium heat.
 2. Crack the eggs into a bowl. Add the fish sauce, green part of the scallion and black pepper. Whisk until mixed well.
3.Add the white part of the scallion, the tomato and the corn to the pan. Stir around until tomato softens, maybe 2 minutes. Spread the mixture evenly around the pan.
4.Pour the egg mixture evenly into the pan. After about one minute, turn down heat slightly, and flip the omelette carefully. (You can do this by sliding omelette on a plate. If you cannot do this simply put a lid on the omelette for a minute to cook and set.) After another minute the omelette should be set. Carefully slide it onto a plate, open faced. Spread a pat of butter on omelette. Slice the omelette into 1/6th's, like a pizza.

Eating in Brooklyn: Lan Zhou Hand Pull Noodles

It's amazing that you can still eat handmade noodles for $6. But that's the Chinatown Paradox isn't it? As the zig zag of inflation and deflation confuse food costs all across the board, Chinatown prices manage to stay compelling. I am referring to the noodles at the Sunset Park branch of Lan Zhou Hand Pull Noodles, a couple blocks off the N stop at 8th Avenue and 62nd St.

The Mixed Beef Noodles comes with tripe, gelatinous cuts, and sliced beef. The broth was not as tasty as I would have liked, but there are plenty of condiments to spruce it up. The Duck Noodle Soup broth was more flavorful. They do not skimp on the fresh noodles, and for once I had trouble finishing them. Afterward, we went to the new giant supermarket one block southwest of the train stop. The condiments section alone is to die for, not to mention the wide variety of fresh vegetables.

 Lan Zhou Hand Pull Noodles
 5924 8th Ave
 Brooklyn, NY 11220
 (718) 492-7568‎
 For photos of the noodles at Lan Zhou click here.

 Lan Zhou Handmade Noodles (This is a Manhattan location of hand pulled noodles, but I'm not sure if it is the same owner as the one I went to above.)
144 E. Broadway (b/w East Broadway & Pike St.)
New York, NY 10002
(212)566-6933

Pan Fried Salt and Pepper Shrimp

The only time I remember eating salt and pepper shrimp growing up was during Vietnamese wedding receptions, invariably held at Chinese banquet halls. I never paid them too much attention as they had to compete with the more exciting prospects of crunchy jellyfish salad, Peking duck and steamed carp.They would appear heads and shells on, looming larger than life.  (They reminded me of crayfish, who were my sworn enemies - residual scars left over from falling into a river full of them when I was young. They didn't bite me or nothin', but I couldn't shake the thought that they had been crawling all over me.)

In New York, salt and pepper shrimp is widely available at Vietnamese restaurants, which are mostly owned by ethnic Chinese-Vietnamese. You can call it Vietnamese shrimp, but I believe it's a dish that has been co-opted, thanks to those wedding banquets. ( Why are Vietnamese wedding receptions often held at Chinese restaurants? Not sure of the exact origins of this tradition, but the Chinese did rule over Vietnam for over 1000 years and their banquet food is seen as more formal. Also, the Vietnamese don't really have a lot of big restaurants appropriate for a wedding reception, which they need because there is often hundreds of people invited.)

I made these salt and pepper shrimp, without their heads on, as you can see. It would be good with the shells on, but I wasn't in the mood. I have simply fried it in a pan with a minimum of fuss, and they were terrific. If you want to make it more 'banquet style', fry the shrimp with some scallions, chili and shallot as instructed here.

Salt and Pepper Shrimp (Tom Rang Muoi)
 1/2 pound of shrimp (peeled and deveined is optional. If you want to keep the shell on you can snip the back with scissors to devein it if you want to get fussy)
 2-3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup of corn oil (or a combo of oil and butter)
salt
pepper

Salt the shrimp and let sit for a few minutes. (How much salt? A little more than 'lightly' salted)  Then rinse under cold water. This plumps up the shrimp and freshens them up. Now lightly salt the shrimp. Add freshly grated black pepper - as much as you can handle. Dip the shrimp in cornstarch. In a smallish saute pan (or wok), heat the oil to very hot, but not smoking. Spread the shrimp in the pan evenly. Hopefully they will all fit. After a minute or so, turn them on the other side. After another minute or two when they have turned pink, take them out of the pan. Squeeze some lime on and eat.