What is Your Best Recipe?

Ok, I had to pick this dish. I first tasted cha ca la vong back in 2003. And even though I usually don't like fish dishes that much, I instantly fell in love with it. I tried to recreate it back then after I got home, with variable success....but ultimately my home versions never wowed me like my memories of the original. It's a dish specific to Hanoi, so despite returning to South Vietnam a few years later, it wasn't till 2019 I returned to Hanoi.

Being so long later, I kind of fully expected to be disappointed when I retried cha ca la vong, as we all know how memories can play tricks on us and set my expectations low. I shouldn't have worried, it was awesome. And this time when I got home being a more experienced home cook, set about recreating it in my humble home kitchen, and this time was so happy with the result.

I've set out the recipe exactly as I cooked it and there's a video as well to cross check. I used a couple of exotic ingredients (sword fish and fresh tumeric), and I think you could confidently use both a different fish and sub in powdered tumeric. But as I said, I just wanted to post the recipe exactly as I made it.

61274


61275


Link to recipe post: Recipe & Video - Cha Ca La Vong


Back when I first started dabbling with YouTube, I actually filmed my return to Hanoi in 2019 and tasting this dish again. Will link it below, goes a bit over 5 minutes I think.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNkepyC3GvU
 
I cannot say which is my best recipe. I have favourite recipes which I and my family likes/liked.

For almost 20 years my favourite recipe was chilli con carne; easy to cook and very suitable for freezing. Then came egg and potato dum which my kids loved. Then a bog standard curry (usually chicken) but that was surpassed by my current favourite chicken Kohlapuri.

If I can obtain decent beef and the weather is cool, beef stew and dumplings takes some beating.

 
I cannot say which is my best recipe. I have favourite recipes which I and my family likes/liked.

For almost 20 years my favourite recipe was chilli con carne; easy to cook and very suitable for freezing. Then came egg and potato dum which my kids loved. Then a bog standard curry (usually chicken) but that was surpassed by my current favourite chicken Kohlapuri.

If I can obtain decent beef and the weather is cool, beef stew and dumplings takes some beating.


Your chili looks very good, and I live in Texas, the birthplace of chili.

BTW, I don't know why we spell it chili and people in other countries spell it chilli. Autocorrect on my computer won't even allow me to spell it with "LL." Another of those things I'd love to understand, like "favorite" and "favourite." Autocorrect on my computer won't allow "favourite," either, even though it is common in British English.

CD
 
Your chili looks very good, and I live in Texas, the birthplace of chili.

BTW, I don't know why we spell it chili and people in other countries spell it chilli. Autocorrect on my computer won't even allow me to spell it with "LL." Another of those things I'd love to understand, like "favorite" and "favourite." Autocorrect on my computer won't allow "favourite," either, even though it is common in British English.

CD
Color, colour, gray, grey, apologize, apologise, etc. We have US English versions of our operating systems, I guess.
 
Your chili looks very good, and I live in Texas, the birthplace of chili.

BTW, I don't know why we spell it chili and people in other countries spell it chilli. Autocorrect on my computer won't even allow me to spell it with "LL." Another of those things I'd love to understand, like "favorite" and "favourite." Autocorrect on my computer won't allow "favourite," either, even though it is common in British English.

CD

My auto-correct is turned off on both my computers and my handphone.
 
I cannot say which is my best recipe. I have favourite recipes which I and my family likes/liked.

For almost 20 years my favourite recipe was chilli con carne; easy to cook and very suitable for freezing. Then came egg and potato dum which my kids loved. Then a bog standard curry (usually chicken) but that was surpassed by my current favourite chicken Kohlapuri.

If I can obtain decent beef and the weather is cool, beef stew and dumplings takes some beating.


I had forgotten hot butter chicken which was between the standard curry and the Kohlapuri.
 
The Late Night Gourmet
I hate you!! Not really. I just hate having to make a choice.
I like Morning Glory 's idea.
This might be a way to play this if members really can't decide their 'best' recipe. I mean to post links to a (small!) number of their recipes and ask other members for their preference.
Link another post where members can post a limited number of recipes (3 - 5) that the community can judge the best for your cook book.
BTW I love the idea of a Cooking Bites Forum Cook Book!!
My tops are Drunk Pork Roast, Chicken and Sausage Gumbo. Cream of Mushroom Soup and Savory Sweet Potato Casserole. I am working on a recipe for a carrot cake, cheese cake recipe for Mother's Day. If my vision comes to fruition it will be in my top 5.
 
Back
Top Bottom