Stephen explored the authentic food
OF VIETNAM
One of the things that Vietnamese people are proud of is street food. If you walk on the street, you can easily find a place to eat. From small food baskets (we call it Ganh hang rong) to food stalls, or even bicycle restaurants, food are everywhere. And good thing is, they are very cheap. Breakfast is only £2, a lunch of £3 is good enough. But I'm not discussing the Vietnamese cuisine here as it might take a few days to tell you. This article is only about the food Stephen has tried. Not everything he liked but he usually says "it's very good". So I assumed, he liked it. If not, he still enjoyed it though.
Pho Ha Noi
Stephen has tried Pho that I cooked a few times and didn't get it for the first time. But slowly he could get the taste of it. I took him to a restaurant in the old town which sells the best Pho in Hanoi. What we had was beef Pho which was cooked with beef, cow's bones, star anises, cardamoms, cinnamon sticks, onions, gingers and some special spices. After a few hour cooking, all the spices combine together which creates a strong taste and good scent of cinnamon. The soup will then be used with flat rice noodle (banh pho), slow-cooked beef and topping with spring onions & chilli sauces. Yummy Yummy!!
Banh Trang Thit Heo Da Nang (Pork Summer Roll)
Pork with fresh vegetables, pineapple, green banana are rolled in a super thin rice cake and used with special sweet sauce. This dish would not make you feel full and it's super healthy.
Cao Lau Da Nang
It's hard to describe this dish because it is the speciality of Hoi An town where it was home to Japanese and Chinese a few centuries ago. Therefore, the food must be influenced or inspired by Japanese cuisine. The deep fried noodles, bbq pork, fried onions, fresh vegetable are mixed with the family's traditional sauces. The taste is very sweet and light.
Bun Cha Hanoi (Grilled Pork noodle)
The dish suddenly became famous when Obama went to a small restaurant in Hanoi to have it during his visit in Vietnam. The pork is seasoned with sugar, fish sauce, lemon, salt & pepper for 1 hour before being grilled on charcoal. What is special about the dish is the sauce which is a perfect combination of special fish sauce, water, vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, garlic & pepper. The whole thing will not be perfect without the fresh vegetable such as lettuce, coriander, and some other Vietnamese leaves. You can also order this with thumbs (that's what Ben calls Vietnamese spring rolls).
Cha Ca Thang Long (Curry Fried Fish with Dills)
Another dish that makes every Vietnamese feel homesick is Cha Ca (Fried Fish). The fish is seasoned with curry, salt, pepper, sugar in a few hours before it is cooked with a lot of dills and spring onions in front of you on the table. The cooked fish will then go with round rice noodles, and dipped in a prawn sauce. Oh so yummy!
The list is long but maybe I should let you discover yourself in your next trip to Vietnam. And do not forget to give me a shout if you want me to give you a list of Where and What to eat in Vietnam. And I'm sure Stephen could give you some tips from his experience.
9 October 2016
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