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Free Resources General Recipes

How to make Vietnamese Bun Cha (Pork Patties)

Some background…

Bun Cha is one of Hanoi’s famous dishes. It’s the Northern equivalent of South Vietnam’s Bun Thit Nuong. The two dishes are very similar in that it is rice noodles with grilled pork, served with a sweet chili dipping sauce and salad with fresh herbs.

In Bun Thit Nuong, the meat, noodles, and salad are all mixed in a bowl together drizzled with the iconic Vietnamese dipping sauce.

In Bun Cha, the meat is separated from the noodles and salad and served in a variation of the dipping sauce which is slightly thicker in consistency.

Anyhoos, this is an authentic hybrid recipe, in so much that it was taught to me by my mum who is proper Vietnamese.

Ingredients (serves 6-ish or 4 Lushes)

Patties

  • 500g ground/minced pork
  • 3 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 2 large sprigs of spring onions – finely chopped
  • 1 slice of bread – the bit at the end (chopped into small breadcrumbs)
  • 1 egg
  • 1 small chili – finely chopped (optional)
  • Handful of fresh mint and coriander – finely chopped (optional)
  • 1 Shallot – finely chopped (optional)
  • 1/4 cup minced lemongrass (optional)
  • 1/2 teaspoon of ground salt and chili flakes (optional)

Salad

  • Assorted fresh salad (iceberg lettuce, bean sprouts, mint, coriander, sliced cucumber)
  • 2 bags rice vermicelli (Jiang Xi rice stick or Bun Giang Tay – normally in a red packaging)

Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce

  • 1 cup water
  • 4 tablespoons of granulated sugar
  • 4 tablespoons of fish sauce
  • 3 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 4 minced garlic cloves
  • 2 tablespoons of sweet chili sauce
  • 1 carrot thinly sliced into penny coin size – extra points if you can score them to make them into flower petals

The sauce should be sweet, tangy, and salty (and garlicy). Adjust the amount of sugar, fish sauce, or lemon accordingly.

Instructions

  1. To make the pork patties (cha), combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well. You can leave it to marinate for 30 minutes (if you can wait).
  2. Roll the ground pork into small patties. Think ping-pong ball, but squished.
  3. Grill the sliced pork and patties over charcoal fire for a more authentic taste. Cheat-version: You can also pan-fry them on a medium-high heat using a griddle pan with a dash of olive oil for around 10 minutes. Make sure to turn and rotate frequently for even cooking. They need to be caramelised and crispy on both sides.
  4. To make the dipping sauce, in a small bowl, combine water and sugar and mixed until dissolved. Add fish sauce, lemon juice, garlic, chili sauce and sliced carrots.
  5. Cook the noodles per package instructions. Normally, it’s fill a large pan with water and bring to the boil. Add the noodles (two square portions will serve 6 people) to the boiling water. Cover and turn off the heat. Leave to steam for 10 minutes. Drain the hot water and run under cold water.
  6. To serve, add layer of noodles followed by the salad and then place the patties on top. Drizzle a generous amount of the sauce over everything.
  7. Enjoy! Don’t forget to take photos and share it with me on social media @whoatemycrayons, because “photo, or it never happened”.
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Free Resources General Tutorial

Mailchimp Introduction

Mailchimp Introduction Session

Prepared and presented to the PriorityOne team on Tuesday 2nd June 2020 via remote access.

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How to guides
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Free Resources Handmade Recipes Tutorial

How to make Vietnamese spring rolls

A family recipe handed down from my Mum who was born and lived in Hanoi, Vietnam. It’s a lot of preparation, but I promise, once you try these, no other spring rolls will come close.

With help from Miss Crayons with all the instagram-y bits.

Vietnamese spring rolls, made the way my Mum taught me.
Recipe makes around 30-35 rolls. Don't forget the veg cooking oil!
Soak and then cut glass noodles into small inch sections (use scissors).
Add the salt and pepper and fungus to cook with the pork and onions in step 2.
Add about two tablespoons of fish sauce.
This size would make around 30-35 spring rolls.
Wraps can be purchased from Asian supermarket or large supermarkets in freezer section.
Pastry wrap gives a crunchier roll, traditional rice paper is chewier and harder to work with.
Deep fry for 5-8 minutes until golden. Serve with rice noodles, fresh green crunchy salad with fresh mint and coriander.
Correction: 1/4 ml of cold water. Sweet and tangy sauce to be drizzled all over the dish.
Flower carrots garnish to go into the sauce. The way my Mum made them.
This is the SECRET ingredient. This is what gives our spring rolls a sweet flavour.
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Free Resources Random Thoughts

Say no to Comic Sans

From homemade party invitations to a corporate assets and Government signage, people have made the choice to go for Comic Sans for the following reasons:

1. It’s an informal and fun font
2. It’s easy to read and the audience will understand the message better
3. It’s included in my computer fonts package

Image taken from Huffington Post article.

In reality, because a font that looks like a five year old can read and understand, does not mean that it has the same effect on an adult. The font was originally designed for cartoon speech balloons and lemonade stands, not for tributes, shop signage, van decals or resignation letters. It’s about how you want your brand personality to be perceived. When used in any professional context it looks lazy, unprofessional, and lacks seriousness.

It is all about choosing the right tone of voice that matches the way you want your message to be perceived.

There are many free fonts available that still allow you to be informal, fun, easy to read, and appropriate to your audience. For your convenience a small selection is listed below!

Thank you for converting. Happy fonting.

Click on the image to go to Google Fonts.

Comfortaa
Handlee
Muli
Poppins
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Free Resources Giveaway

Letter to Santa 2016 – Free Download

Christmas is just around the corner, so it’s time to start sending your letters to Santa (also known as Father Christmas or the Reindeer Whisperer). Download a free printable letter/wishlist for your small person to personalise. If you are super organised (AND live in the UK) and you send it to the address on the printable before the 9th December 2016, you could get a reply from Santa!

By downloading this file you agree to the following terms:

You may use the file
For personal use ONLY.

You may NOT use the file
For pornographic, unlawful or other immoral purposes, for spreading hate or discrimination, or to defame or victimise other people, sociteties, cultures.
To endorse products and services if it depicts a person.
As part of a trademark, service mark or logo.
SELLING AND REDISTRIBUTION OF THE FILE AND ANY ASSOCIATED PARTS (INDIVIDUALLY OR ALONG WITH OTHER IMAGES) IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN!

Happy Christmas folks!

icon_downloadTo download the PDF, right-click on the link below and select ‘Save Link As’.
Who Ate My Crayons – Free Letter to Santa – December 2016 – PDF 130KB

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Free Resources Giveaway

Free Letter to Santa – Download

Free download letter to santa 2015

New design for 2015!

By downloading this file you agree to the following terms:

You may use the file
For personal use ONLY.

You may not use the file
For pornographic, unlawful or other immoral purposes, for spreading hate or discrimination, or to defame or victimise other people, sociteties, cultures.
To endorse products and services if it depicts a person.
As part of a trademark, service mark or logo.
SELLING AND REDISTRIBUTION OF THE FILE AND ANY ASSOCIATED PARTS (INDIVIDUALLY OR ALONG WITH OTHER IMAGES) IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN!

Happy Christmas folks!

icon_downloadTo download the PDF, right-click on the link below and select ‘Save Link As’.
Who Ate My Crayons – Free Letter to Santa – December 2015 – PDF 370KB

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Free Resources Giveaway

Letter to Santa – Free Download

Letter to Santa Free Download

Updated design for 2014!

By downloading this file you agree to the following terms:

You may use the file
For personal use ONLY.

You may not use the file
For pornographic, unlawful or other immoral purposes, for spreading hate or discrimination, or to defame or victimise other people, sociteties, cultures.
To endorse products and services if it depicts a person.
As part of a trademark, service mark or logo.
SELLING AND REDISTRIBUTION OF THE FILE AND ANY ASSOCIATED PARTS (INDIVIDUALLY OR ALONG WITH OTHER IMAGES) IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN!

Happy Christmas folks!

icon_downloadTo download the PDF, right-click on the link below and select ‘Save Link As’.
Who Ate My Crayons – Free Letter to Santa – December 2014 – PDF 370KB

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Digital Art Free Resources

Dear Santa Letter – Free Download

template_dearsanta_free_2013

By downloading this file you agree to the following terms:

You may use the file
For personal use ONLY.

You may not use the file
For pornographic, unlawful or other immoral purposes, for spreading hate or discrimination, or to defame or victimise other people, sociteties, cultures.
To endorse products and services if it depicts a person.
As part of a trademark, service mark or logo.
SELLING AND REDISTRIBUTION OF THE FILE AND ANY ASSOCIATED PARTS (INDIVIDUALLY OR ALONG WITH OTHER IMAGES) IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN!

Happy Christmas folks!

icon_downloadTo download the PDF, right-click on the link below and select ‘Save Link As’.
Who Ate My Crayons – Free Letter to Santa – December 2013 – PDF 311KB

***UPDATE November 2016*** There’s also a 2016 version now available for FREE downloading.