15 August 2014

The whole appeal of Vietnam lies not only in the sandy beaches or the vibrant culture, but also in the delicious and varied cuisine.

When I hear ‘Vietnamese food’ I immediately think of beef noodle soup (Pho Bo), spicy sauce and fresh vegetables wrapped in rice paper.  This is not far off the mark, but this is only the beginning of the Vietnamese food experience in what can be an invigorating journey of tingling tastes and wonderful aromas.

Fresh and minty, spicy and sour, sweet and tender; the food scene in Vietnam has an abundance of dishes on offer.  There are also vastly different menus in North, Central and South of Vietnam; where cultural differences influence both the methods of cooking and the combination of ingredients.

These three sections make for a wide selection and in the bigger cities like Hanoi, one can find restaurants that also offer a combination of Northern, Central and Southern dishes; or a fusion of these tastes.

Vietnam is also infamous for its dishes bordering on weird and disgusting (to the unaccustomed palette only, of course) like Balut (19-21day old whole birds still in eggs, including quails), all kinds of animal blood, entire pigs (including ALL parts), snake-scorpion rice wine, dog and snake.

But there is so much choice on offer that you can easily avoid these strange things if it sounds less than appealing.

Rice, rice and more rice

As you travel through the countryside, whether in the northern mountains or the lush Mekong Delta, the rice paddies are the main agricultural crop on show.  It is to be expected then, that rice is featured in every meal and every special occasion from peasants to kings; be it one of the seven rice varieties, rice powder, rice flour, rice noodles, rice wraps, rice candy, rice juice, rice wine, rice porridge or rice cakes.

According to Wikipedia and VietnamFood.Org, the following food facts are true of Vietnam:

• Vietnam is the second-largest exporter of rice in the world, with at least 7 different varieties grown country-wide. The Mekong Delta is the main area for year-round rice farming; thanks to its climate, rainfall and water-catchments. It is aptly nicknamed ‘The Rice Bowl’ because of its major role in Vietnam’s rice production.

• Vietnam is the seventh-largest consumer of rice in the world.

• There are almost 70 different herbs and over 30 sauces used in Vietnamese cooking.  One of the differentiating flavours is the thai basil, mint and other fresh herbs that are used in most dishes.

• There is a large variety of Vietnamese noodles here (like Pho, Bun, Mien etc) and it is also said that Vietnam consumes more instant noodles than Japan, the original creators of this cheap and easy meal.

Coconut Heaven

While on our day tour to the Mekong Delta, we were privileged to watch the preparation, cooking and wrapping of special coconut candy (like soft toffees wrapped in rice paper), which was specific to that region in Ben Tre.  It was made very much like fudge (or toffee) by first grinding the coconut (flesh and outer coating) to a fine powder, then boiling the mixture of malt, sugar and coconut powder in a large skillet over the fire.

Once it cools, it is moulded into long strips and cut into uniform blocks. The workers then wrap each block in rice paper and then cover it with the paper wrapper. The coconut candy came in five different flavours; original, coffee, chocolate, peanut and pandan (pandan was my favourite one!).

One more small detail

Well, Vietnam offers such an adventure for the taste buds that its difficult to imagine there could possibly be any more. It gets better, however, because the beer is cheap, widely available  and it isn’t half bad either.  Our favourite beers for the trip were Lao Cai (from the northern province of Lao Cai, where Sapa is located), Tiger and Viet (from Hoi An).  At an average of only 10,000 VND a bottle (about R5.00 or $0.50) it’s that much easier to make it part of your meal.