STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

Tell us about it

• What would you add to this story? Tell us what we missed.
• Do you have photos from this event? Documents we need to see? Share with us.
• Upload photos & videos
• More ways to get your stuff online and in the paper.

More Cuisine

• Cuisine: ‘Pickles to Relish’ Jamlady scores another hit
• Cuisine: Wining and dining — an art
• Cuisine: Flavors from the heights

Share and Enjoy [?]

If you’ve seen a small whirlwind skittering around Marco and wondered what was happening, you’ve probably encountered Jackie Pham, one of the busiest and hardest-working women in Collier County.

She was born in Vietnam and by age 28 was running two of her own businesses as a dance and exercise instructor and a physical trainer.

Due to a dangerous political development, she was forced to flee the country with 300 others in a ship which lost power and floated helplessly for 15 days. They were finally rescued and taken to the Philippines. Jackie went to work in a hospital and eventually began working as an exercise instructor again. She found a chance to come to California and began working in an electronics plant, studying at night to learn personal care techniques such as manicures, pedicures and facials. She found a job with a salon, but also cleaned houses and catered Oriental meals on the side so that she could send money home to her family in Vietnam. She constantly had to phone her mother for native recipes.

She says that her command of English was poor at the time, and she was learning as she went along. In Newport Harbor, a very upscale California community, she once put on a large dinner party which took all day to prepare for $200, and then received a $500 tip which she has never forgotten. The family in Vietnam did very well that week.

Jackie then went into business as a “suitcase nail salon” and traveled with the necessary materials to serve clients in their homes. She wound up in North Carolina, where she soon found herself managing five salons. Things were going well until a doctor advised her to move because of her son Justin’s health, and she moved to Marco Island.

She opened shop in Town Center, but Hurricane Wilma wiped her out and she took off a year.

“Bling! Bling!” says Jackie impatiently. “It was a good thing, but I didn’t know it at the time.”

She went back to work and now has one salon at Shops of Marco and another at Marco Walk. This bundle of energy trains her own staff and then expects them to work as hard as she does. She has no patience with people who won’t do this.

“Bling! Bling!” she says, frowning. “I had to work all my life. They should, too.” When the family finances finally reached the point where she no longer needed to send money home, she decided to treat herself, and she took up tennis. After lessons at the Marco YMCA, she entered a local tournament in the 40-49 age group. She was the only entrant, so they put her in with everyone 30-39, and Jackie won first place.

Laughing, she says now, “I decided after that to give myself a birthday party when I turned 47 — I had never had one in my life.”

She and her friends worked for days preparing native dishes, and two long tables were laden with wonderful exotic offerings, as well as American foods. Here are some foreign dishes you can make at home.

Kofta Kabebs

Jackie’s Egyptian friend Anthony Mattary made these simple and delicious canapés, and they’re the easiest you’ll ever find.

1 pound ground beef or lamb

1 large onion, minced fine

A handful of chopped parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix these ingredients well and store covered in refrigerator overnight. Form by hand into balls the size of a walnut and place on bamboo skewers — keep hands wet while working so meat does not stick. Broil kabebs on a grill or in the oven. You may, of course, dress these up with various seasonings or serve them with dips, but they’re wonderful just as is.

Red Curry Chicken

In Asia, this is called Kaeng Daeng Gai, and is a fiery and popular dish.

Jackie says to prepare some potatoes, maybe two medium ones, by peeling and dicing, then frying in hot oil until crispy. Set aside.

2 Tablespoons peanut oil

1 Tablespoon red curry paste*

1 cup chicken breast cut into matchsticks

1 ½ cups unsweetened coconut milk*

½ cup sliced bamboo shoots, drained

2 ½ Tablespoons fish sauce*

1 teaspoon sugar or more to taste

¼ cup chopped fresh basil

3 2-inch pieces lemon grass, slightly crushed (or 3 lime leaves)

2 sliced long hot peppers, seeded if desired

Chicken broth (optional)

* Starred ingredients are available at ethnic counters of large markets.

Heat oil in skillet and stir-fry curry paste. When fragrant, add chicken and continue to stir and cook for a few minutes. Add coconut milk and bring to the boil, then stir in bamboo shoots, fish sauce and sugar. Add basil, lime leaves or lemon grass and hot pepper. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

This may be served with rice after removing lemon grass or lime leaves. Alternatively , you may add chicken broth to make soup the way Jackie serves it. Add potatoes at the last minute so they remain crisp.

Vietnamese Rolls

Jackie says spring rolls are uncooked, much like wraps in Latino restaurant. Here’s a fried roll recipe that’s incomparable. Vietnamese cooks use rice wrappers, but you may have to use purchased egg roll wrappers.

1 pound ground pork

1 cup chopped cooked crab or shrimp

1 cup minced onion

1/3 cup finely chopped mushrooms

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

Combine all ingredients well. Soak wrappers in 1 cup water with 1 teaspoon sugar added. Place a tablespoon of filling on each wrapper and fold up as for regular egg rolls*. This amount of filling makes about 40 small rolls. Fry in deep hot fat and serve with sweet-sour dipping sauce or hot mustard. You may make this meatless by using only crab and shrimp combined with mushrooms and onions.

* If you’ve never made egg rolls, lay a wrapper on a clean surface with a corner toward you, place filling low in center and fold up bottom corner. Fold in sides and then roll wrapper away from you, finishing with the top corner — seal with a moistened finger.

---

Marion Nicolay is a regular contributor to the Marco Eagle. Contact her via e-mail at marion387@earthlink.net.