Vietnam Food
Vietnam impressions - as with Thailand, Vietnamese food is
prepared with fresh vegetables and ingredients; these can easily be found in the
markets in each city. A plate of fresh shrimp, hot rice, spring rolls, and a cold
beer was a welcomed greeting after a long day.
Vietnam is the number two producer of rice in the world (behind
Thailand) and this
is obvious in its cuisine. Almost every dish is accompanied by steamed
rice. Rice plays a key role in many of the lives of the Vietnamese: as we
traveled from the Mekong Delta to Hanoi, the country side is dominated by people
tending the rice patties; the traditional dance we saw in Hoi An focused
on the rice harvest; and the water puppets in Hanoi depicted rice preparation.
Listed below are several of the dishes that we particularly
enjoyed:
Cao Lau - this is an interesting dish we discovered in Hoi
An; it consists of flat noodles (linguini size) cooked in a beef broth with
bean sprouts and coriander. The mixture is topped with croutons and thin
pork slices. Immediately before eating, crispy rice paper is crumbled into
the bowl. One version we tried had some hot red peppers included.
This is an outstanding appetizer or an afternoon snack and goes well with a cold
beer . . . lots of things seem to go well with a cold beer.
Sticky rice in banana leaves - on our return trip from My
Son our guide had these tasty treats for the boat ride. Again very simple,
but it tasted great. It seemed that a mixture of crushed peanuts, sugar,
and sticky rice was placed inside of a folded banana leaf and steamed; the
steaming forms the mixture into a compact cake. I think sesame seeds could
easily be added (they are included in many Vietnamese sauces and dishes), as
well as, nutmeg.