Cultural Vietnamese Food

Michael Sterling Jr mes0061@utarlg.uta.edu

Often many Americans believe the Vietnames food is always some type of distasteful food that consist of ingredients that are unheard of. The truth is that Vietnamese food is actually no different than American food. They have the basic essentals that we have, they have a main dish of meat or fish, a vegatable and a soup, as side dish normally when we have some type of beans or bread. Vietnamese dishes tend to rely on the use of sauces to enhance the taste more than Americans. Often they combine two tastes that are oppisites like the sweet and sour chicken that most Americans crave. Vietnamese use a lot more vegatables than Americans. Another common misconception is that Vietnamese food or any other Asian dish is something with rice. Rice is a major part of their diet but rice is mostly a supplement that goes with their meals to enhance the taste.

There are a few Vietnamese dishes that I would like to explore so possibly I can skim the surface and give you a new appreation of Vietnamese dishes. First of all there is a famous soup, by the name of Pho¹ soup, it is a common soup that is often used as a remedy for the sick. Pho soup that is consumed as breakfast in Vietnam. Pho soup is no longer ³just a dish². Many Vietnamese are simply addicted to it, like a child is to candy . "From a distance one is already strongly attracted by the smell of "Pho". Pho is sold in shops that all have the same particular lay-out, a hint of poetry, a small bundle of onions with leaves as green as golden delicious apples. Along with the unions are pieces of fresh and soft beef, some of them medium rare and some overcooked, some cartilage, and some chunks of lard. The standing vendor continuously slices the rice sheets and meats, and sometimes opening the pot in order to pour the soup into the noodle's bowls. As he opens the lid of the soup the steam quickly escaspes. While the steam disappears due to the law of diffusion it surrounds the customers in a thin and vague trail of misty aroma. The thought alone picture appeals to your appetite. This is particularly so in the winter with the cold northern breeze and chilling ice, one literally can not go past a "Pho" shop and resist the temptation of grabbing a bowl wthout proceeding with their day. Truthfully, "Pho" fans do not easily step into any shop found on the way. To them, enjoying "Pho" is indeed a process of inquiry and experiments, which in the end would make each of them or many of them regular, loyal customers of certain shop. Each person in a sense has their own favourite "Pho" shop. "It is quite pleasureable looking at a "Pho" bowl. Think about a handful of rice sheets sliced, some pieces of onion sliced thin, some green mint vegetables along with some slices of yellow ginger and fresh pimento. Over in Amereica this soup is always consumed as dinner or supper. Pho soup has been around for hundreds of years. It can be made with beef, fish, cartalage, lard or just about anything. It is made from a rich beef broth is which beef and noodles are in. This common Vietnamese street food and comes with a variety of accompaning garnishes, such as chiles, fish sauce, hot sauce and lime wedges. If this soup sounds good the chances are that you could find in your local grocery store. Of coarse you would have to settle for the instant versian. There are even many famous sayings by philosiphers that state that life is like a bowl Pho soup, you never know what you are going to get. Does that saying sound a bit familiar to you? It probably does, it was part of a theme of a recent hollywood movie, Forest Gump to be exact. The only difference is the the hollywood versian has been Americanized by exchanging the bowl of soup for a ³box of chocalates². We often borrow so many concepts and food from other countries and ad our own ³english² to it without realizing what we have done.

Well now that we have started the day off with Pho soup for breakfast lets explore another one of Veitnam¹s cultural dishes that we would possibly have for a dessert. There are some rice cakes that were traditionally made for wedding cakes that were designed to replace the wedding cards announcing the wedding. The unique thing about these cakes are that they are green. The cakes are made from green (unripe) glutinous rice which is fried with fat and sugar. Its core is made of pounded green beans (peas), a few slices of coconut white lining and a bit of sugar. It is constructed into a square cake which is wrapped in green banana leaves and tied with red-colored bamboo strings. These strings are the same color of threads used to unite the bride and the groom on thier marriage day. In ancient times, grilled green rice and persimmon fruit were used as presents to the future parents-in- law. The two items are the exact same color. The grilled green rice is about the same color of an emerald, while the red color of the persimmon trees resemble red diamonds. In terms of taste, the grilled green rice is moderatly sweet, while the persimmons are very sweet, and the mixture of the two produces a wonderfully sweet taste. The grilled green rice can also be tasty when eaten with bananas. It can also produce a tasty sweet soup if cooked with water and a moderate dose of sugar.

Now that we have covered some of the most commom dishes for breakfast and and lunch it is now time for a full coarse meal. Bhan Trang Cuon Tom (Shrimp Rolls) is a famous dish that Vietnam is also known for. These wonderfully refreshing delights are made by wrapping rice-paper around shrimp that has been "cooked" (like ceviche) in a lime-juice-based marinade and tossed with fresh herbs, such as mint, basil, and cilantro. The rolls are served uncooked. So if you enjoy your seefood with some type of grain then you would probably love the shrimp rolls. These rolls are often served with fresh egg rolls. These delicious rolls are not served by themselves, they are often served with a large portion of shrimp fried rice that is usually spicy. Hopefully your appetite driven engines are ready to go. If you like to go out and eat then what are you waiting for, go out and grab a bowl of Pho soup. If you like to cook then the chances are good that you can go out to the nearest grocery store and pick up all the ingredients you need.

works Cited

³Vietnamese Dishes²

http://www.cuisinenet.com/glossary/vndish.html

³Vietnamese Dishes²

Some special dishes Hanio

http://www.batin.com.vn/dbotweb/uir/vd.htm

³Vietnamese Dishes²

http://www.prismnet.com/~ssor/cook1/vietnam/

Harvard students.. ³VN recipes²

http://hcs.harvard.edu/~vn_mag/recipe.html