Whenever I introduce people to Vietnamese food, I always tell them that a majority of Vietnamese food is basically a cooked something that turns into a salad wrap. Anything that’s typically fried are traditionally enjoyed by wrapping said fried thing into a piece of lettuce, herbs, and dipped in nước chấm, or a sweet fish sauce based dipping sauce. The Vietnamese love the yin and yang play of textures, and flavors. If there’s something fried, it has to be accompanied by something fresh. This style of cuisine keeps the person eating from getting overly fatigued from eating the same dish. 

On our month long trip in Baja, improvisation was key. We couldn’t depend on our usual “things to buy” whenever we’re in the States. We were at the whim of what the markets had to offer. We lived the gentrified millennial dream: eating locally and seasonally. We travel with a fairly wide selection of spices and seasoning so we can whip together basically anything we want. We can throw together American, Indian, Korean, Mexican, or Vietnamese pretty easily. This salad was inspired a traditional Vietnamese chicken salad, gỏi ga, then fused with our love of grill seafood from the streets of Vietnam.

Hot pot. It’s a phrase that is synonymous with parties, get togethers, celebrations, and good times for many people around the world. Ever wonder how to feed a bunch of people delicious food without breaking the bank? Hot pot is the answer. Growing up, the lẩu thái (thai-inspired) variant of Vietnamese hot pot, was the go-to dish for my mom to serve whenever we knew that the rest of the massive Nguyen clan was coming.

In western countries, breakfast has become the excuse for desserts first thing in the morning. Don’t get me wrong, I’m ALL about desserts —especially breakfast desserts. I thoroughly enjoy the early morning western staples of pancakes, waffles, french toast, yogurt, açai bowls, and, of course, the sugariest of sugared breakfast cereals like everyone else. But, if I can choose to enjoy these desserts during non-breakfast times, that’s makes enjoying those sweet delights even better…

I have a simple philosophy for our on-the-road cooking: keep it under two cooking pots, have no more than ten ingredients, and a max of two exotic/harder to get ingredients. I tend to follow this self-made line of reasoning with very few variations. On the day-to-day, we have fairly simple meals….