Pizza 4P’s Hanoi

When making my “To Do” list for Vietnam, Pizza 4P’s were on top of my list. Arriving in Ho Chi Min City we gorged ourselves with anything and everything Vietnamese from Bahn Mi’s, Pho Ga, Bun Cha and Dim Sum to name a few. Unfortunately we missed Pizza 4P’s in Ho chi Min City but were so delighted to realise that Hanoi has is its very own Pizza 4P’s too.

What attracted me to them was the fact that they have their very own artisan cheeses made in Da Lat. Freshly made Mozzarella and Burrata gets transported every couple of days by train. Other ingredients like Parma Ham gets imported all the way from Italy.
Their menu ranges from authentic Italian to Asian-Italian. I have to admit their pizzas were so amazing we went there twice. On our first visit we felt adventurous and tried their Half & Half Pizzas, which is a different pizza on each side. If I can remember correctly I had Duck & Apple Blue Cheese on one side and the other Teriyaki Chicken. Absolutely out of this world!!!!!!!
On our second visit I opted for a more traditional Italian pizza; Parma Ham, Rocket, Tomato and the beloved Burrata that I heard so much about.

The waiter helped us cut the burrata in a perfect star shape, ensuring that every pizza slice is covered in this creamy cheese.
The staff at 4P’s Pizza is exceptionally well trained, well spoken, helpful and friendly.
Young pizza chefs work with absolute precision and we especially booked a seat at the kitchen counter to see them perfect their craft.

This Pizza haven is an absolute MUST when visiting Vietnam, I recommend booking as they can get extremely busy.

Also check out our little video on Instagram ( @marizkadutoit )

24 Ly Quoc Su street                   +84 – 120 – 803 – 4444
Hoan Kiem District
Hanoi

Korean Sticky Chicken

Ingredients:

1 kg  chicken braai pack of drumsticks and thighs
2 Tsp garlic ginger paste

Sticky Sauce:

2 Tsp sesame oil
1 Tbs finely grated ginger and garlic
2 Tbs honey
2 Tbs dark soy sauce
1 Tbs fish sauce
2 Tbs Korean Chilli paste (gochujang)
100ml water

Recipe:

Rub the chicken pieces in the garlic-ginger paste, drizzle with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Grill chicken in the oven at 180C until golden on both sides. While the chicken is on the oven, add all the sticky sauce ingredients into a sauce pan and let it reduce over medium heat.
Once the chicken is done, brush all the sticky sauce on both sides of the chicken. Return  the chicken to the oven and grill for another 15 minutes on both sides. During this time you must keep an eye on the chicken so it doesn’t burn!!!

Sprinkle with sesame seeds, serve with sticky rice or Jasmin rice, some steamed broccoli and asian slaw or kimchi.

 

 

Vietnamese Grilled Pork With Sticky Rice

Its been a month since our return from our Vietnamese adventure. We scampered through a sweltering hot, chaotic Ho Chi Min City and we experienced some incredible Pho Ga. We also found this little street food night spot where they served a different dish every night after 22:00. Here we had grilled pork with broken rice .

Ingredients 

Marinade:

1 shallot
1 lemongrass stem
1 birds eye chilli
2 cloves garlic
3 tbsp honey
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp oil
500g pork fillet

Dippings sauce:

6 tbsp lime juice
6 tbsp fish sauce
3 tbsp water or coconut water
sambal oelek to server and use to taste or chopped red chilli and garlic

Pickled vegetables:

1 cup apple cider vinegar or rice wine vinegar
1 cup water
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
2-3 large carrot julienned or grated
1/2 english cucumber sliced

Accompaniments:

Sticky rice
Fresh mint and coriander

 

Recipe:

Marinade
Start by slicing the pork loin in 1cm disks and set aside while you make the marinade. Add the shallot, lemongrass, chili, garlic, honey, fish sauce and oil to a blender and blitz to a paste. Mix this paste into the sliced pork and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours to overnight.

Pickle
Combine water, vinegar, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl and make sure all the salt and sugar has desolved.
Slice cucumbers and julienne or grate carrots and place it in 2 separate glass containers. Pour the liquid over the vegetables. Let these pickled vegetables sit in the liquid for at least 2 hours or over night.

Dipping sauce

Combine fish sauce, lime juice and water or coconut water in a glass container and store in the fridge for up to a week. You truly only need a few teaspoons per meal. I like to add a teaspoon of samba oelek to my dipping sauce at the table. You could also add sliced red chili and chopped garlic if preferred.

Pork fillet

These little medallions takes no time to cook at all, so make sure your table is set, your rice is sticky and hot and all your pickles and fresh herbs are on the table.
It is best to grill these pork medallions on the braai (bbq), it literally takes about 2-3 minutes per side and the smokeyness of the braai is what makes it great. I have also made these pork medallions on a griddle pan and works just as well.

 

 

 

Snoek Frittata With Mango Atjar

Snoek is favored by local South Africans and is definitely a big part of our food culture. In Cape Town and Western Cape, this deepwater fish is the main ingredient in many dishes ranging from paté to snoekbredie (stew). Snoek can be braaied (bbq) with butter and apricot jam too.
I had a piece of smoked snoek sitting in my fridge and usually I make fish cakes with it, but decided to take it up a notch with this frittata. I love frittatas because they are so versatile in terms of their ingredients. It is also an any time of the day type of meal, hot or room temperature and keeps well in the fridge.
And I must say; I was so enthusiastic to use samphire in this recipe. Samphire also known as sea beans grows wild along the West Coast. Edible wild plants and foraging is an absolute food trend at the moment.

Ingredients:

4 baby leeks / 1 chopped onion
2 cloves garlic
100g flaked smoked snoek
3 medium potatoes
100g ricotta
6 medium eggs
50ml milk
samphire (optional, you could use asparagus)
1 tbsp chopped fresh dill

Mango atjar to serve

Recipe:

Smoked snoek has a lot of bones, so take your time to flake the fish and set aside. Sweat the leeks in a bit of butter over medium heat until soft and set aside. Peal and slice the potatoes in thin slices, boil until slightly soft, drain and steam dry.
Put the oven on grill.
Add a knob of butter in a medium size non-stick pan (handles of the pan needs to be oven proof) and add the potatoes, sauté for 2-3 minutes. Crack 6 eggs in a mixing bowl and mix it with the soft cooked leeks, samphire and flaked snoek, add milk, dill, salt and pepper. Pour the mixture over the potatoes and scatter chunks of ricotta on top. Cook for about 3 minutes on medium heat and then transfer it to the oven to grill from the top until the frittata has set.
Serve with Mango Atjar

Pho Ga (Vietnamese Noodle Soup)

I am counting the days to our departure to Vietnam. Every day I can just taste and smell all the amazing street food just a little bit clearer. I have been making endless lists of foods and restaurants to try. I am hoping to pick up a few cooking secrets at Luke Nguyen’s cooking class called Grain. I will be sure to post something about that experience.

Today I am making this Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup and wondering how the real thing would compare.

Ingredients

Stock:

3 star anise
5 cloves
2 black cardamon
1 cinnamon stick
5-7cm fresh ginger cut lengthways
1 yellow onion cut in half
1 tsp sugar or rock sugar
1 tsp salt
1-2 tbsp Vietnamese fishsauce
1 whole chicken
Enough water to cover the chicken, at least 2-3 liters

Fresh Ingredients:

Rice noodles
Fresh mint
Fresh coriander
Spring onion
Asian bean sprouts
Fresh red chili
Asian mushrooms panfried
Lime wedges and fish sauce to serve

Recipe

Start by toasting the dried herbs in a pan for a minute or 2 to unleash their aromas and set aside. Cut onion and ginger in half, lengthways and blacken under the grill, this takes about 10-15 minutes. Take off the first black burnt layer of the onion and the charred skin of the ginger.
Bring 2-3 liters of water to the boil in a big pot and add the whole chicken in the boiling water. Add the whole onion and ginger and the roasted spices to the pot. You could put the dried spices in a tea ball or just fish them out one by one at the end.
Turn the boiling stock down to a simmer and keep on taking off any foam that floats to the top, with a spoon. Simmer the chicken for an hour.
After an hour take the chicken out of the pot and let it cool down. Also take out the spices and the garlic and onion.
The chicken broth needs to simmer for another 30 minutes and this is also the time to add the salt, sugar and fishsfauce. While the broth is simmering its time to boil the  rice noddles according to cooking instructions. Also get all the fresh herbs washed and ready. Panfry the asian mushrooms in a bit of olive oil. Debone the chicken and keep it aside.
Assembling Pho is very easy, add noodles to the bottom of the bowl and top with chicken, fresh herbs and chili, then ladle spoons of broth to the top of the bowl. Lastly squeeze a lime wedge and a drop or 2 of fishsfauce on top.
Enjoy!!!!

Green Papaya Salad with Prawns and G&T

Yes, I know its winter in Cape Town and we just had one of the biggest storms to hit the Mother City in years. You might be thinking; who in their right mind would want to eat crunchy, limey green papaya salad with Gin and Tonics, this while its 14 degrees outside and raining. This is not comfort winter food, not at all. But I can tell you it was darn delicious. Come summer time, I would eat this everyday. I just had to try this green papaya salad, as green papayas are not readily available in supermarkets here and it was only because of a tip from Sam Lindsels’ blog Drizzle and Dip that I was so lucky to get hold of a green papaya.

I must admit , I have never been a fan of Gin and Tonics but after tasting Wilderer Gin at Spice Route I am a changed woman. It seems like Cape Town has an array of amazing Gin distilleries and therefore we have our very own Gin and Tonic festival.  I see Hope on Hopkins is right here in my backyard and that will be the next distillery to visit.

Ingredients

Dressing

1/4 cup of lime juice
1 tbsp of fishsauce
2 tsp of honey
1 red birds eye chilli
1 clove of garlic

Salad Ingredients

1/2 green Papaya
1 big carrot
2 spring onions
1/2 red pepper
hand full cherry tomato
100 grams peeled, cooked and deveined prawns
1/2 cup crushed salted peanuts
Basil micro greens or coriander

Recipe

Make the dressing by adding all the dressing ingredients to a blender and give it a good whizz, keep it aside.

Peel and deseed 1/2 a papaya and shred finely with a Julienne Peeler, do the same with the carrot. Combine the 2 in a mixing bowl. Cut tomatoes in halves or quarters and thinly slice spring onions, add this to the mixing bowl. Thinly slice 1/2 a red pepper  and add this to the mixing bowl too. The salted peanut can be crushed in a mortar and pestle before being added to the mixing bowl too. Pour the dressing over and give it a good mix before transferring it to a serving dish. Lastly scatter with prawns and micro basil greens.

Winter Beef Barley and Mushroom Soup

My father makes a Bean and Beef Soup that I have eaten over a thousand times during my life. I have seen him make it, I have made it with him and I know every ingredient that goes into it, but I cannot replicate my fathers soup. I have come to the conclusion that a pot of soup is a uniquely individual dish. When a person serves you soup for dinner it should be appreciated, its made with love and their special touch.

Ingredients

500g stewing beef or cut of your choice
3 cloves of garlic
1 brown onion
3 celery stalks, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
2-3 large potatoes skin on, chopped
500g portabellini mushrooms, chopped
1/2 cup dried barley
fresh rosemary or thyme
2 bay leaves
1 beef stock cube
salt and pepper
fresh parsley

Recipe

I make this soup in my Breville slow cooker. It has a saute/sear option so I like to brown the beef  with a bit of salt, pepper and a drizzle of oil. But there is no need to do this if your slow cooker does not have this function. Then add the onions and garlic and saute for about 5 minutes. Add the chopped carrots, celery, mushrooms and potatoes and give it a good stir. Then add the barley, bay leaves, rosemary or thyme or both. Dissolve the beef stock cube in a bit of water before adding it and top the pot with enough water, depending on your pot size, I would guess 1,5 litre.
Lid on and set cooking time for 4 hours on high.
Stir every hour or so and adjust the salt and pepper to taste.

Cooks note:

At the end I take out about 1/4 of the soup, make sure you get some of the meat too, but very importantly NO BONES. The reason because I blend it till a smooth consistency and add it back to the soup. This way you get the best of both worlds, a smooth-chunky soup.

Serve with crusty bread, chopped fresh parsley and drizzle with olive oil.