Hu Tieu Ba Nam Sa Dec (Vietnamese Mrs. Five's Clear Noodle Soup from Sa Dec)

Shortly after dining at Vung Tau Restaurant - San Jose, I was in the mood to recreate one of my favorite dishes from there, Hu Tieu Ba Nam Sa Dec (Vietnamese Mrs. Five's Clear Noodle Soup from Sa Dec). Unlike the more popular Hu Tieu Saigon (Vietnamese Clear Noodle Soup with Barbecued Pork and Shrimp), the version from Sa Dec, a city in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam, also features ground pork in tomato sauce and a disc of shrimp tempura.

So who is Mrs. Five? Vietnamese often refer to people by their birth order. Since parents are always no. 1, the first child is no. 2. Ba Nam (Mrs./"auntie" 5) is the fourth-born in her family. Or her husband was fourth-born if she adopted his birth order salutation status after marriage. According to Tin Tuc (Vietnamese news), ba Nam was born in 1907 and her name was Nguyen Kim Chung. She had some fame singing Vietnamese opera, and not to be confused with another singer who was also ba Nam, but from Can Tho, she went by ba Nam Sa Dec.

In 1973, after some financial difficulties, she supplemented her income by venturing into the restaurant business, selling her version of hu tieu with the ground pork in tomato sauce and shrimp tempura. As word spread, people would mention hu tieu ba Nam Sa Dec when talking about it. After the Vietnam War ended, ownership of the shop changed. Her adopted child ended up in Sweden, where her photo is displayed at the restaurant that bears her name.

Vung Tau Restaurant is the only place I've eaten that has hu tieu ba Nam Sa Dec on the menu so I've based my recipe off its version. Instead of boiled pork, which is also used to make the broth, I salted and pan-fried mine. The shrimp can be boiled, grilled, or as I did, quickly sauteed. The real key is to add some tomato sauce to the ground pork and to fry up some shrimp tempura. If you don't want to, you could substitute by adding a shrimp to a potsticker wrapper and fry up that. Hu tieu can be served dry or with broth on the side.

Tasty Garden - Alhambra

Hong Kong cafe fare is comfort food for me, but I have to admit that I always gravitate to the same places. I've been going to Baccali Cafe and Rotisserie - Alhambra since it opened in the late 90s. It's still my favorite cafe for the larger portions and unlimited refills. Every once in a while, I might visit Garden Cafe - Alhambra, which I'd been eating at since the mid-90s, but it only offers one refill.

So in May 2007, lil' sis and I decided to try Tasty Garden. Well, I think I was with lil' sis. It's been so long that I can't remember with whom I was dining, but the dishes we ordered were our favorites.

Chinese Deep-Fried Pork Chops with Spicy Salt

I'm reaching back to August 2008 for this one. Actually, I don't know why I haven't made this dish since! It's so simple and so good. This recipe really deserves better photographs, but I think even taken with my old point-and-shoot, the pork chops look pretty yummy. And sometimes, I just feel like being contrary. As if I want to prove that good recipes don't need a fancy camera.

Chinese Deep-Fried Pork Chops with Spicy Salt is a staple at Hong Kong cafes. Serve it without the minced jalapenos and garlic and it's a staple at Taiwanese restaurants too. I didn't go off of any recipes, but used what I like in typical Chinese marinades. For the spicy salt, instead of adding MSG to the salt like some restaurants do, I did a mixture of minced garlic and jalapenos with just a dash of salt.

I cut the pork chops into two-bite-sized pieces, roughly about 2-inches. Marinated them with soy sauce, rice wine, and a bit of Chinese 5-spice powder. Then coated them in a mixture of flour and corn starch, and deep-fried them until crispy. And finally, I tossed the pork chop pieces with minced jalapenos and garlic. The result was layers of flavor and texture. Delicious.

Was it like what I ate in Chinese restaurants? Even better! And it only took me half an hour from start to finish.