Gỏi Đu Đủ Xoài

Been totally lazy to upload anything lately, but I've recently tried a twist to the regular gỏi đu đủ that we usually eat with kho bò. Now I love mangoes, from fresh fruit to ice, cold treats; therefore I decided to add mangoes to the recipe. It's a shame I didn't take a picture because it looked really good with a mix of the sprinkles of green from the Thai Basil (rau huế), the green papaya, the yellow of the mangoes, and of course the kho bò.

-1 lb of shredded green papaya (you can find this at the Asian supermarkets in the vegetables section)
-1 very firm green mango, slice to thin strips, like the shredded papaya
-1 to 2 bags of beef jerky, depending on how much you eat of it. You can use a scissor to cut it into strips.
-Thai basil leaves. Give it a rough cut.

Sauce. You can use soy sauce or fish sauce. I prefer soy sauce.
-1/2 cup of soy sauce
-1/2 cup of vinegar
-2 teaspoons of sugar
-Chili sauce
Mix everything into a bowl and then make adjustments to your liking, whether you want the sauce to be saltier (add more soy sauce), sourer (add vinegar), or spicier (add chili sauce).

When you eat, just put everything into a bowl, mix in the sauce, and enjoy. People sometimes complain that there's not enough kho bò to the amount of papaya and mangoes, but I like it that way. It is after all, gỏi, so there should be a larger about of the fruits.

Even though I put chili sauce into the sauce, my dad prefers to eat the gỏi with more chili sauce, so when he eats, he adds more chili sauce. He was basically sweating while eating. I can never go that hardcore unless its bún bò huế. So cool to the tongue from the cold and water infused papaya, but very spicy afterwards. A nice summer treat, I would say.

Many Calorie Intake Today

My mouth just didn't stop snacking today ever since I woke up. I think the only time I did stop snacking was when I stopped to write the paper that I have been putting off the whole weekend. What I learned today was the noodles that are in the Nong Shim bowl noodles, well, I have a suspicion that the noodle itself is already somewhat salty without the powder ingredient. I only took the noodles since I had some leftover soup that my mom packed me. So I threw the dried noodle into a bowl, threw the soup in (after about an hour of defrosting because the container wouldn't fit into my microwave)and gave it a 3 minute run. I gave it another 2 minute run after that. Very. Salty.
After that, I went to the campus store to buy some snacks. I found this gelato ice cream and I immediately snatched it up. It was coconut flavor.
The Real Italian Gelato Massimo. I guess it's as real as it can get...since it originated from Watsonville, CA. I was excited to try it and as I did, the coconut flavor hit me. Hard. Now I love coconuts, but only the fresh ones from tropical areas where I can drink the juice from the coconut and then eat the flesh with a metal spoon. I dislike artificial coconut. So why did I buy this? Like a-many things in life that I do, I have no idea. But fortunately, I also have another ice cream. Ciao Bella Sorbet Mango. Now, I love mangoes, especially the large green ones called xoài tượng (which I once told my sister was called 'elephant mangoes' since xoài = mango, and tượng = elephant in some old archaic Vietnamese). But yes, my favorite mango is that one, sweet and sour, more on the sour, dipped in a concoction of fish sauce saturated in sugar mixed with black pepper. Nothing makes the mouth more watery-unless you're anti-fish sauce. But back to my mango sorbet. It was delicious. Filled with mango flavor and is smooth.

Today was also my San Francisco trip buddy, Kelly's birthday. And she gave me two slices of chocolate cake! A total heaven in my mouth, smooth chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. Which was why there was only one slice left when I took a picture of it. She also gave me bánh bao, or steam buns. It was stuffed with chicken, lettuce, and ginger, although I can only smell the ginger and not really taste it, which is how I like it to be. A thanks to Kelly and her sweet mom for the steam buns. I had asked her mom where she got it from and she said in San Francisco. Another reason to love SF.


Oh yes, and add some very horrible rice that is not rice according to my standards with broccoli, zucchini, and the carmelized pork that my mom made for me added up to my day of random food. And also the three cans of Yeo's soy milk I drank. It would have to be salads for the whole week to get rid of this guilt from today's intake!