New Year New Me
Moving to Substack, my go-to weekday lunch and more...
Hello all!
Happy New Year! It’s crazy how 2024 just flew by. How was your holiday? Mine was so fun. I went to London and Brussels with a few day trips sprinkled in there, and enjoyed every bit of it. As a blogger and content creator, you are always on - whether that be developing recipes or doing admin stuff - you never really get a break, so it was just so nice to sit back and not think about any of that. But I am back and I am so excited for what I have planned in 2025.
With the new year comes a new newsletter! I’m so excited to start writing a Substack. I’ll go into more about why I chose to switch over in another post, but it’s been great so far. I also gave my newsletter a name - The Lemongrass!
I’m planning on writing more newsletters this year, and you’ll get a whole lot more than just recipes. I will be sharing recipes of course, but there will also be more behind the scenes stuff like how I develop a recipe, tips I don’t share on the blog, and things unrelated to the blog like what my favorite LA Vietnamese restaurants are. Hopefully, you enjoy it as much as I enjoy writing it. If there is anything you would like to see, simply comment on this post (yes you can comment now!).
Other than getting back to writing CT, I am also looking forward to eating a tad bit healthier again. I went to town on all the unhealthy food and sweets during the holidays, so I just need a reset right now. Good thing Vietnamese cuisine is heavy on the herbs and vegetables, so that’s all I’m eating right now.
Below I share my go-to weekday lunch recipe that is so easy to make, there is barely any cooking involved. I’m so busy during the week I don’t have time to make something super elaborate, so I literally eat this every single day. I never get tired of it. In addition, I also included some of my favorite Vietnamese spring roll and vermicelli bowl recipes below. Please let me know if you make any of them!
Until next time…happy cooking!
Vietnamese Spring Rolls
This dish never gets old. I not only eat it in January but also all year round. No crazy cooking techniques here, just boiling ingredients. Serve it with a little Vietnamese peanut sauce and you have the perfect meal.
Vegetarian Spring Rolls
The vegetarian version of my favorite spring rolls. Instead of meat, these include lemongrass tofu. Full of flavor! I also link to my vegetarian Vietnamese dipping sauce too!
Bo Bia
My mom grew up really poor, and she used to tell that we’re so lucky we get to eat things like pho all the time. When she was little, she would eat stuff like these spring rolls Bo Bia. Fresh meat and seafood were expensive, so it was rare her family got to consume that stuff.
Bun Thit Nuong
This dish is always my go-to at Vietnamese restaurants and at home. Lemongrass grilled pork is paired with fresh herbs and vermicelli, served with a drizzle of Vietnamese dipping sauce.
Lemongrass Salmon Vermicelli Bowl
One of my newest vermicelli bowl recipes featuring some lemongrass salmon. I love how the salmon pairs with the noodles, sauce, and fresh herbs.
Rotisserie Chicken Vermicelli Bowl
I don’t include measurements for the ingredients because I don’t measure anything for this dish. I use however much I want.
Ingredients
Rotisserie chicken (shredded)
Lettuce
Mint
Heirloom tomatoes (or whichever tomatoes you like, cut into pieces)
Cucumbers (thinly sliced)
Vermicelli noodles
Instructions
Boil vermicelli noodles. Cool down for 5-10 minutes.
Add a handful to a bowl.
Break apart the lettuce into bite-sized pieces and add them to the bowl. Follow with the mint, cut up tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, and shredded rotisserie chicken.
Drizzle Vietnamese dipping sauce over the top and serve!
Matcha Iced Oatmeal Cookies
Matcha Basque Cheesecake
I have so much planned for this month including a more newsletters and more recipes of course! Some recipes coming up:
Xoi Gac - A red Vietnamese sticky rice made with a red fruit called Gac that is commonly made for Lunar New Year (or Tet in Vietnam) which is just around the corner. This year LNY begins on January 29th.
Ube Macarons - I never got around to writing up my ube macaron recipe before my trip but expect to have it up just in time for LNY!
Cold Cut Banh Mi aka the OG banh mi - Most people associate banh mi with lemongrass pork, but this is the one I grew up having. And this is still the one I default to when I get banh mi.
Thank you so much for reading! I love reading all your messages, DMs, and emails. If you have any feedback, comments, or just want to say hi message me on Instagram, email me at becca@cooking-therapy.com, or just comment below!
If you try any of my recipes, tag me on Instagram and use the tag #beccascookingtherapy.
Any chance I can request recipes without peanut (and similar nuts) / shrimp (shellfish)?