Vietnamese Morning Glory Salad

Morning glory salad

This is a super simple Vietnamese salad recipe from my dad that I grew up eating. The most labor-intensive part is shredding the Morning Glory, but it’s also kind of fun. Hope you like it!

Ingredients

1 cup sushi seasoning (available at Asian grocery markets)

1 cup coco rico soda (available at Asian grocery markets)

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

splash of balsamic vinegar

2 bunches of Morning Glory (available at Asian grocery markets)

1 bunch of cilantro

1 bunch of Thai basil (available at Asian grocery markets)

1 white onion

black pepper

1 lime

Directions

  1. Make the salad dressing first. In a bowl, add 1 cup of coco rico soda, 1 cup of sushi seasoning, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and a splash of balsamic vinegar. Set the dressing aside.

  2. Next, cut the stems off the Morning Glory and use a Morning Glory cutter like this one (also available at Asian grocery stores) to cut each Morning Glory stem into ribbons. Use scissors to cut the Morning Glory into little golf-ball sized bundles so that it’ll be easier to eat with your fork or chopsticks. Keep the ribbons in a bowl of cold water so that they stay fresh. If you can’t finish your Morning Glory, store it refrigerated in the same bowl of cold water, fully immersed.

  3. Chop the cilantro and set it aside.

  4. Chop the onion and set it aside.

  5. Chop the Thai basil and set it aside.

  6. Assemble the salad. In a bowl, combine the Morning Glory ribbons, cilantro, onion, and Thai Basil. Add dressing to taste and mix. Squeeze lime juice to taste. Add black pepper to taste.

  7. Optional: add your favorite protein and mix. I like beef sauteed with soy sauce, garlic, and onion or poached chicken.

Instagram Story

In case it’s helpful, here’s the Instagram story I posted on December 30, 2018, where my dad showed me how to make this salad.

Where to eat in Bangkok

Here’s a map of the places I ate at (or wanted to eat at but didn’t make it to) when I was in Bangkok recently.

The food is excellent in Bangkok. Some things you MUST do:

  1. Night market street food: either explore on your own or book a food tour with an experienced guide who will know the best vendor for all the most popular dishes, such as mango sticky rice

  2. Mall food courts: the food at them is to die for and it’s such an easy way to try a ton of Thai dishes in a really clean and comfortable environment

  3. High-end Thai food, at either Nahm or Bo.lan

  4. Floating market: you’ll have to hunt for really good dishes but the whole experience, though super touristy, is really comical and fun

Just be prepared for (1) hella traffic, probably the worst I’ve ever experienced and (2) a culture where it feels like a lot of people are trying to scam money out of tourists, particularly taxi drivers.


Where to eat in Hoi An

Vietnamese cuisine varies by region, so it was fun eating a lot of the dishes I had in Hanoi again in Hoi An and seeing how differently they’re prepared.

The Hoi An places I tried are below, with my favorites being Morning Glory, Banh Mi Tam Hoa (sells out by 10 AM), Vy’s Market, and Pho Xua. I’m sad I didn’t get to try Com Ga Ba Buoi because every time I swung by they weren’t open yet or were already closed. I bet I would’ve loved it there.

Most of the restaurant cluster you see in the map are in the Hoi An Old Quarter. I wish I had booked an AirBnB or hotel walking distance from that area because I pretty much hung out there the whole time I was in Hoi An. None of the restaurants I saw by the beach looked good to me.

You can also click this link to bookmark this map on your phone:

https://goo.gl/maps/kwxJLV7oNKD2

Where to eat in Hanoi

I had the best time eating and drinking in Hanoi, Vietnam for 5 days. Since so many of you who followed along on our Instagram stories requested that I share a list of where I went, here’s the Google Map I used to get around Hanoi. I ate at most but not all of these places. The list also includes a few gyms and tourist attractions, but I’d use this list for the food bookmarks.

BTW, all of my Vietnam Instagram stories are saved on the Highlights of our Instagram profile page: https://www.instagram.com/gomethodology/

You can also click on and bookmark this link on your phone: https://goo.gl/maps/VdCPCKFKudL2

Instagram Stories: 5 minutes to a fall-themed lunch

On today’s Instagram Stories I’m showing you how I combine two of our new fall items (our Pumpkin Turkey Chili and Cumin Carrots) to make lunch. Everything I use here is available on our menu, even the lime. It’s a super comforting and easy-to-make meal.

If you want to order some for yourself, the carrots will be on and off the menu through the rest of fall, and our turkey chili will be available through the end of October.