"It makes Sophie and me happy to cook what we remember," says Eric. Even though they depart from their grandmother's dishes by using Northwest ingredients, "it's not really fusion," he says. The smell of her cooking is still there."
On a recent drizzly day, Eric and Sophie welcomed Sunset into the kitchen of their more casual restaurant, Ba Bar, to show us how to cook some of their favorite at-home dishes. Although the more exotic ingredients they use (broken rice! shiso! pickled leeks!) can be substituted with easy-to-find choices, a trip to the Asian grocery store is a worthwhile part of the cooking adventure too.
Sauteed bean sprouts and Chinese chives are a true comfort dish that every family in Saigon makes. Its ultrasimple, deliciously crunchy, and ready in a flash. If you can't locate Chinese chives (see photo at right), use green onions instead.
1 tbsp. fish sauce, preferably Red Boat
2 tsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. Shaoxing rice wine
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 rounded tbsp. minced garlic
6 cups bean sprouts, rinsed and dried
5 oz. Chinese chives, ends trimmed, cut into 2-in.
lengths, or green onions, dark green part only (cut
lengthwise in half first)
Salt and pepper
1. Blend your cooking sauce: In a small bowl, mix together
fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, and rice wine.
2. Have your other ingredients lined up next to the stove:
oil, garlic, bean sprouts, and Chinese chives. "For extra
flavor, use the oil left from frying the shallots for the
salad," says Sophie (salad recipe is on page 94). You'll
also want salt and pepper handy.
3. Heat a large-12 in. or wider--heavy skillet or wok over
high heat. Swirl in oil. Toss in garlic and fry, stirring
constantly, until it just begins to brown, about 15
seconds. Add bean sprouts and cooking sauce and fry, stirring
and tossing, about 90 seconds. Sprinkle in chives and cook,
tossing well, 30 to 60 seconds. "The chives should be barely
cooked--darker but not wilted," Sophie says.
4. Remove pan from heat and stir in a couple of pinches of
pepper, plus salt to taste. Lift the sprouts out of the hot
pan and onto a platter quickly, so they don't continue cooking.
"That keeps them crunchy. And putting them on a platter
instead of in a bowl keeps them from steaming."
