Location: Southeast Asia
Population: 102.3 million
Capital: Hanoi
Geography: A hilly and forested tropical coastal nation criss-crossed by rivers
Language: Vietnamese
Signature flavours: Rice, seafood, egg, pork, chicken, fish sauce, basil, mint, cilantro, lemongrass, chili

The Menu

When I was sixteen, I left North America for the first time. I flew by myself to Paris, then on to Bangkok, and finally to Ho Chi Minh City, where my uncle waited for me. I spent most of the trip in a wide-eyed state that I later recognized as culture shock, drinking in the sights, sounds, and flavours of Vietnam. After two weeks there (and a few days in Cambodia), I returned to Canada, utterly changed by my first travel experience.

I’ve spend the two decades since immersed in international foods and have travelled all over the world (though not, yet, back to Asia) thanks to Eric’s shared enthusiasm, but Vietnam was the spark that woke up this part of me, and it will always be special. In getting this assignment, I was transported back to the rushing streets of Saigon, the tang of unfamiliar fruit, the twisting tributaries of the Mekong, and I crafted a menu that is both steeped in nostalgia and the fresher understanding of Vietnamese cuisine that I gained in adulthood.

Shrimp Phở: A versatile aromatic soup central to the Vietnamese culinary experience. This version of phở had shrimp, rice noodles, carrot, beansprouts, basil, peanuts, sriracha, and hoisin sauce.

Prep and cooking time: 15 min
Difficulty: 2/5

Đậu hũ chiên sả (Lemongrass Tofu): Crispy cubes of fried tofu tossed with salt, lemongrass, and plenty of garlic.

Prep and cooking time: 25 min
Difficulty: 1/5

Bánh bèo mặn (Rice Pancakes): Thin rice pancakes served with green onion oil and chili sauce. I remember eating these in a rooftop cafe in Ho Chi Minh, and when I got this assignment I went looking for the recipe.

Prep and cooking time: 30 min
Difficulty: 2/5

Gỏi xoài xanh mực (Green Mango and Calamari Salad): Tender chunks of squid and juicy slices of green mango in a fish sauce dressing.

Prep and cooking time: 30 min
Difficulty: 2/5

Bánh bò (Cow Cake): Named for its textural resemblance to cow stomach, this chewy pandan-flavoured cake cooked in a Bundt pan is a Vietnamese favourite.

Prep and cooking time: 75 min
Difficulty: 4/5

Soda Chanh: A refreshing citrusy drink made with lime juice, simple syrup, and soda water.

Prep and cooking time: 10 min
Difficulty: 1/5

The Shopping List

I was able to find quite a few of my menu items at a new grocery store nearby with an impressive international selection. Anything I couldn’t get there, I got at T&T during a day trip to London, Ontario.

The Meal

The menu item I was most excited about were the rice pancakes bánh bèo mặn, and it was the first thing I bit into when the table was set with steaming dishes. They were just as I remembered them: thin, floppy rice disks with a slightly slimy texture, plain on their own but delicious and elegant with a little topping. I loved them.

We are no strangers to phở — it’s a meal we enjoy semi-regularly in both restaurants and at home — and we slurped up our mini-servings (phở is sometimes served in dishes as big as a salad bowl) with gusto.

I really liked the flavours of the tofu, but something had happened to the lemongrass upon cooking it that turned each little curl stone-hard. I expect the stalks I found at the supermarket (in this area lemongrass is a slow seller) were not very fresh, and the result was woody bits in the tofu that we had to sweep away before biting in. That said, I’d definitely attempt this dish again with fresher lemongrass because the flavours were wonderful.

The squid salad was incredibly flavourful, with the semi-sweetness of the green mango tempering the umami of the fish sauce dressing. It was supposed to be served with shrimp chips, but I forgot them in the cupboard! I think it would have been further improved by the crunch of the chips, and it will remain one of my life’s great regrets that they never made it to the table.

The soda chanh was so good — a surprising standout despite its simplicity. I can imagine how refreshing it must be in the heat of a Saigon summer.

We ended our meal with cow cake, a notoriously tricky dessert with a vibrant green colour from the pandan extract. It’s prone to falling because of how airy it is, and mine did. Still, the cow stomach texture was there somewhat, and the abundance of tapioca starch in the recipe gave it its signature bounce. Eric, a huge fan of pandan and chewy cakes, loved it, and I found it to be quite good and unlike anything I’ve tasted before.

I finished this assignment with a longing to return to Vietnam, this time with Eric, to see how true my recollections of that place are after so long. I’d love to sit down at a table in Ho Chi Minh city and enjoy a plate of bánh bèo mặn while the traffic rushes by and make some new memories.

Links
Đặc Biệt by Nini Nguyen
Into the Vietnamese Kitchen by Andrea Nguyen
Secrets from My Vietnamese Kitchen by Kim Thủy
https://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/2007/11/fresh-limeade-s.html

Disclaimer: I’m not a professional chef. I’m just a passionate cook with a curiosity for flavours I’ve never tried. For great recipes from gifted local cooks, follow the links above.