sustenance

food. recipes. restaurants. food news.

 

Mekong

Richmond, Virginia

On a recent trip to Richmond, we stopped at Mekong, a Vietnamese restaurant on Broad Street because I had been craving Vietnamese food. Mekong received excellent reviews (four stars, in fact) from Richmond.com.

I started my meal with Vietnamese coffee, French roast coffee served in a single drip filter placed over a cup containing sweetened condensed milk. When the coffee finished dripping, I stirred it into the sweetened condensed milk. It was divine! I like my Vietnamese coffee hot, so I didn’t use the tall glass filled with ice that was served along side (in case I wanted my drink cold).

For appetizers we ordered fried vegetable spring rolls and soft spring (summer) rolls. The vegetable spring rolls were small, crispy and full of cabbage. They were tasty but I didn’t care for the gloppy peanut dipping sauce served with them. The sauce was oily and reminded me of chicken gravy with peanuts sprinkled on top. It had an off, funky flavor. Unfortunately, the summer rolls were served with the same sauce. The soft rolls were filled with lettuce, rice vermicelli, and sliced pork and were rolled up in thin rice paper. The pork tasted old cold cuts. Liberal amounts of fish sauce and hot chile sauce, two condiments on the table, were able to mask the flavor of the pork.

My husband and I are huge fans of Vietnamese rice vermicelli (bun) dishes. We ordered two bun dishes at Mekong, bun ga cha gio (grilled beef and spring roll on rice vermicelli) and bun thit cha gio (grilled pork and spring roll). The portions of grilled meats were substantial and served in a big bowl full of rice vermicelli mixed with lettuce, mung bean sprouts, Thai basil, cucumbers, pickled carrots and diakon radish. Each bun dish was accompanied by nuoc cham, a spicy, pungent, sweet, and sour fish sauce that is absolutely and addictively delicious. We asked for a side of fresh Thai basil, bean sprouts, and Thai chiles to go with our bun. Unfortunately, the spouts and chiles were browning and not as fresh as they should be. Aside from that, the bun was decent. The combination of the different textures and contrasting tastes was wonderful.

Overall, Mekong is not the best Vietnamese restaurant we have ever been to, but it wasn’t the worst. Mekong did satisfy our craving for bun, so that was a good thing.

posted by: artichoke72 at 02:27 | link | comments |
restaurant reviews

don't vote for bush enchilada gravy and tex-mex veggie enchiladas

enchilada gravy

3 tablespoons shortening
3 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons chili powder
3 cups water
garlic powder
salt

melt shortening in pan over medium heat. whisk in flour and chili powder. whisk in the water and stir until thickened. season with garlic powder and salt. use to make your favorite enchilada recipe.

tex-mex veggie enchiladas

for the enchiladas, i just sauteed chopped onion and garlic in olive oil. added diced zucchini, chopped black olives, drained canned diced tomatoes, chopped spinach, chopped jalapenos, and corn. i seasoned that with salt, pepper, ground cumin, and ground coriander. i let the veggies cook until the zucchini was tender. i took the mixture off the heat and added shredded cheese. when the cheese was melted, i use the mixture to fill corn tortillas, that had been softened in the microwave and dipped in the enchilada gravy. i placed the filled enchiladas, seam side down, in a baking dish in which the bottom was covered with enchilada gravy. when all the enchiladas had been filled, i covered them with the remaining sauce, sprinkled them with cheese, and covered them with foil. i baked them in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes until the enchiladas were hot all the way through and the cheese was melted and bubbly.

posted by: artichoke72 at 14:39 | link | comments |
all recipes, vegetarian recipes

thai chiles from my garden

thai chiles from my garden

i just wanted to post a picture of some thai chiles from my garden. i think they are beautiful!

i grew 4 varieties of hot chiles this year....all in containers on my deck. they did really well despite the very mild (and wet) summer we had in virginia. so now i have tons of chiles to deal with. i pickled some jalapenos and super chiles, i made hot sauce and thai sweet chile sauce, and am going to dry the thai chiles to use in stir-fries and sauces. i still have a good supply of green jalapenos on the plants to get me through for the next few weeks.

i'm already planning my chile garden for next year and i'm sure it's going to be larger than this year's!

posted by: artichoke72 at 01:17 | link | comments |

thai sweet chile sauce

i snagged this recipe off www.pepperfool.com and made it yesterday with some of my super chiles. this stuff is wonderful! the super chiles are a bit hotter than serranos (but not as hot as thai chiles), so the sauce was really, really hot (the sweetness helps tame it some). when cooled, the consistency was like jelly....a little thicker than i wanted. so, when i make this again, i'll probably add a little water to make the sauce more pourable. i'm making summer rolls to dip into this addictive sauce tomorrow. i can't wait!

Thai Sweet Chile Sauce

200g fresh chiles (about 7 ounces)
8 cloves of garlic
2 tsp. salt
2 cups sugar
2 cups vinegar.

Place ingredients in a saucepan. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Blend ingredients in a blender or food processor and then place in sterilized jars or bottles. Store in the refrigerator.

posted by: artichoke72 at 16:10 | link | comments |
all recipes, asian recipes