Menu 25 & 26 february 2021

February 12 is Tết, or Vietnamese New Year.
It is a 3-day festival that can extend to 10 days, giving everyone the opportunity to visit relatives and friends. Everything during this festival is about enjoying food and drinks and it is also a time of paying respect to the elderly and ancestors. Rituals such as offering food to the spirits of ancestors are performed: this is done at an altar at home or at a cemetery. This is how one invites the ancestral spirits to Tết. The house must then be cleaned extra to receive them. In this way one hopes to appease them and get lucky in the new year.
As always, food is very central and during Tết there is usually a lot of unpacking. The colors red (happiness) and yellow (prosperity) are indispensable.
At home it is no different and my mother makes Thịt kho tàu (stewed pork belly - pork stands for wealth, so prosperity), fried spring rolls, a noodle dish (noodles stands for long life) and a dish with fish or shrimp.

Next week I will serve:
Thịt kho tàu:
Bacon marinated with a caramel of soy and fish sauce, stewed in coconut water with a boiled egg
Egg noodles with bean sprouts
Stir fried with vegetables

'Claypot' Tofu - Vegan:
A stew with taotjo-tofu-shiitake mushrooms-Judas ear-carrot-sugar snaps
Egg noodles with bean sprouts
Stir fried with vegetables