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Tuesday, May 01, 2007

My Oldest Uncle's Wife's Banh Canh Chay (Vietnamese Vegetarian Udon) and Mien Chay (Vietnamese Vegetarian Bean Thread Vermicelli Noodles)

My Oldest Uncle's Wife's Banh Canh Chay (Vietnamese Vegetarian Udon) and Mien Chay (Vietnamese Vegetarian Bean Thread Vermicelli Noodles) 1

I don't keep track of the lunar calendar so I don't know which days of the month are Buddhist vegetarian days. But when my oldest uncle's wife (who does observe such things) called and asked if I eat vegetarian because she made some udon, I wasn't gonna turn her down.

So I got this tray of banh canh chay (Vietnamese vegetarian udon), mien chay (Vietnamese vermicelli noodle stir-fry), and che (Vietnamese dessert soup) with mung bean and tapioca. Normally, banh canh is made with crab and/or shrimp, but my aunt used several different kinds of mushrooms. It was quite tasty.

My Oldest Uncle's Wife's Banh Canh Chay (Vietnamese Vegetarian Udon) and Mien Chay (Vietnamese Vegetarian Bean Thread Vermicelli Noodles) 2

I miss my mom's and grandma's banh canh though. They made their own noodles. My mom's is thicker and doughy, my grandma's were thinner, translucent, and chewy.

And this is the vermicelli stir-fry. Mmm. I do so enjoy living near my relatives.

My Oldest Uncle's Wife's Banh Canh Chay (Vietnamese Vegetarian Udon) and Mien Chay (Vietnamese Vegetarian Bean Thread Vermicelli Noodles) 3

5 comments:

  1. You are so lucky! Are they staying just a few miles away? Well, you can jog to their place ;p

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yum...there's something about those fat, slippery noodles.

    My mom would observe Buddhist vegetarian days too. Sometimes I'd go home and find some tasty looking noodle stir fries and seared and sauced bean curd blocks proffered in front of Buddha, alongside burning incense sticks.

    "Hey Buddha...you gonna eat that?"

    I'd like to think I gained spiritual enlightenment by devouring Buddha's second hand meals.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Tigerfish,
    Closer than that! :)

    GC,
    Those occasional vegetarian days surely cleansed your body and helped with meditation right? ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Is your aunt willing to share her recipes? It all looks amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Bridget,
    I haven't thought of this post in years. They're easy enough to make.

    ReplyDelete

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