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Regional foods in Vietnam are many and varied.
The south has been influenced by the culinary
arts of India, China and France and can be
rather spicy. In the south, the food is
always fresh, containing little or no fats and
very little is fried. Perhaps the best-known
Vietnamese seasoning agent is a fermented fish
sauce called Nuoc Man (pronounced nook mon). The
concentrated form of this sauce (it needs to be
diluted and spiced up before it is served)
provides a base for nuoc cham, which is what
finally appears in a small dish on your table.
It is prepared by adding sugar, limejuice,
vinegar, chopped shallots, garlic and carrots. Sliced chili peppers
are a staple condiment at most meals.
Spices such as coriander, lemon grass, mint,
black pepper and a local basil-like herb called
rau ram add a light and subtle flavor.
Fresh vegetables and fruits are characteristic
of southern Vietnamese cooking. The
cuisine of the North relies more on thickening
agents, with a strong emphasis on sauces and
spices.
One of the legacies of French colonization is the bread. Baguettes
are made with rice flour and are always fresh
and delicious with fruit preserves and patès.
Cooking is done over a flame, ovens are rare. The Vietnamese use
chopsticks and meals often consist of many
dishes - soup, fish, fowl and possibly beef.
Vietnam generally does not have fresh milk or
dairy products. Coffee is served with
sweetened condensed milk if ordered 'sua' (with
milk). Coffee is rich, strong and comes
from an African bean grown in the highlands of
Vietnam. Tea is essential and part of Vietnamese
life. No business meeting can proceed,
regardless how small without the ritual serving
of hot tea (nuoc che). The tea is often
mixed with dried flowers such as jasmine.
Soup is essential to all Vietnamese meals. It is hard to move more than 20
feet on any street in Saigon or Hanoi without
coming upon a Pho stand. Pho (pronounced fur) is
a hearty vermicelli noodle soup, which has
either chicken or beef with fresh greens. It is
truly the national dish of Vietnam and served
and eaten all times of day and night.
Cha Gio (spring rolls), are lightly fried rice-paper rolls, smaller and
crispier and more flavorful than Chinese egg
rolls. They are filled with highly
seasoned morsels of crab, shrimp, chopped
vegetables, sprouts and cellophane noodles.
In Vietnam they are eaten with the fingers and
are wrapped in fresh green mint leaves or other
greens.
Southern Vietnam
is a paradise for those who love fish - all
kinds of fish and seafood; crab, giant shrimp,
mussels, oysters, squid are plentiful. A
favorite is a large flat fish called elephant
ear fish, cooked whole with a delicious crispy
coating. It is brought ceremoniously to
the table standing between stalks of decorative
celery.
Rice 'com' (pronounced come) is eaten in vast quantities; the quality of
the rice is very important as the Vietnamese are
very particular about their rice and they cook
it in a variety of innovative and delicious
ways. Sticky rice is slightly sweet and
very tasty. On special occasions a mixture
of rice and spices is carefully wrapped and tied
in grape leaf "parcels" then cooked. To
eat, you must untie the parcels and scoop out
the rice. It is fascinating to watch
Vietnamese women prepare this dish with amazing
speed and skill.
Che is a sweet snack made of green beans. It comes in solid and
liquid form. The solid comes in blocks,
cut into "sugar cube" size pieces and the liquid
is poured into a glass and often served with
crushed ice.
Fruit is plentiful especially in the south - wonderful exotic fruits like
jackfruit, rambutans, dragon fruit, papayas,
mangoes, green grapefruit, delicious miniature
bananas etc. the list is endless and all are
wonderful. The only fruit that the
Vietnamese love and westerners find hard to eat
because of its strong smell is durian - the
taste is hard to describe, it is the gorgonzola
of Vietnamese fruits!
Mealtime is a very social time for the Vietnamese and often several
families will eat together. In the
evening, especially in the south, when it is
very warm families will gather together and eat
outside. Most of their cooking is done
outside and the still night air comes alive with
the most wonderful smell of cooking. The
Vietnamese eat many times a day and they eat
large quantities of food but it is hard to find
an "over-weight" Vietnamese in Vietnam!
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