Saturday, January 18, 2020

Get away

I just woke up at 1:15 in the afternoon.

A very long nap! Three hours. Truth be told, I was finishing my sleep from a 4:30 a.m. departure from Wolfe Island. Caroline had tapped me twenty minutes earlier with the news she wanted to leave early, due to the winter storm warning. I then nudged Kaarina. That's how we found ourselves waiting for the first ferry, and how we found ourselves headed west on the highway, driving into the dark as the skies brightened into morning. Beating the storm home.


We'd been visiting Laura for an Epitourist feast, this month's theme Vietnamese, and as soon as the theme was picked I chose Hotpot.



Years ago, when I first arrived  in Toronto, there had been such a glowing review of a Vietnamese restaurant's hot pot, I just had to make a visit. Delicious broth kept so hot, diners could essentially cook their own meal at the table by spearing meat and veg and poaching in the golden liquid. Once cooked to satisfaction, wrapping the tasty bits as contents inside a lettuce leaf and dressing with a light sauce. After the wraps are enjoyed, a delicious soup to finish the meal.

Over the last month and as part of the research, we all tried a few Vietnamese restaurants. I asked a server at Saigon Lotus what the difference was between Phở and hotpot, and he said they were actually the same meal, with the difference being the hotpot was something people made together at the table. So that's the approach I took with the hotpot.



One of my favourite Asian markets is closing the end of January so I had to find another. Sunny Supermarket  is just a short drive away and had the lemongrass, oyster mushrooms, quail eggs and raw beef. For the broth itself I picked up the best quality beef bones I could find at St. Lawrence market.

I bookmarked an authentic pho recipe, packed up the ingredients, and travelled with Kaarina to Wolfe Island.

Bone broth is so full of goodness - all that collagen is being touted as better than botox, a cellulite reducer, great for arthritis and healing for the digestive tract. Three hours in the Instant Pot brought all the little pearls to the surface.

As the soup was the last course of the night, we were able to make use of all the other veg that was prepped and still left over: carrots, cabbage, red and yellow peppers, enoki mushrooms, bean sprouts, fresh coriander, mint, thai basil.

Epitourists had each prepared a few dishes to share:



Laura - Fresh spring rolls, tofu with caramel sauce, Vietnamese flan for dessert and vietnamese coffee

Kaarina - Ca Chien Nucor Mam Gang (Fried Whole Snapper with Vietnamese Ginger Sauce) and fresh green papaya salad 

Caroline - Bánh Xèo (Vietnamese crepes) and Ca Tim Nuong Mo Hanh (grilled eggplant)





I loved the colours and the freshness of the ingredients. Such a contrast to the chilling cold outside.

Watching the others prep, I learned a few things about frying fish (not too long), and making crepes (use a wok). We also adapted a few of the recipes. Laura talked me into using the pressure cooker for the stock and reduced the sugar in the baked tofu in caramel sauce, both to good effect.

We experimented with a variety of wine pairings, including Gewurztraminer, Reisling, Rose, and Saki. All quite pleasant. Clean Slate, a Riesling Mosel readily available at the LCBO was one of the table favourites.

Laura had also compiled a musical playlist based on Kim Thuy's cookbook, Secrets from my Vietnamese Kitchen: Simple Recipes from my many mothers

A great getaway to get away from it all, and then a get away to get back before a breaking storm.

2 comments:

Caroline Lafleur said...

Beautifully captured! You were a trooper to jump out of bed at 4.10 ish a.m. Désolée if I ruined your yoga time (and your sleep). Glad we made it home before the storm hit. Snowing and blowing like there's no tomorrow as I write this. Hugs, Carø

Anonymous said...

Fer a gumment girl, yer a pretty good writer!
- Good looking guy with snow shovel