VIET NAM GASTRONOMY
The art of the subtle balance
"Balance" may be
the single word that is commonly used to describe Viet Nam's gastronomy. In
essence, Vietnamese cuisines usually reach the balance of ingredients and
recipe: neither putting too much salt and fat, nor using fattening cooking
methods such as frying that may lead to diseases.
Fresh ingredients are crucial
for making Vietnamese dishes. Busy as they are, housewives always manage to
have enough time to go shopping for fresh foods every day. A true Vietnamese
cook usually know how to avoid misusing spices to preserve the freshness of
meat as well as the taste of fresh seafoods. The main course and side dishes
always well complement each other, both in terms of nutrition and flavor. For example,
the spring roll - a favorite Vietnamese dish to foreigners - is often served
with fresh vegetables, pickles and garlicky peppery fish sauce which help
provide more vitamins as well as fiber to the meal and improve the digestion.
Vietnamese spices being added
to a dish are always balanced out so well, just enough to make a dish really
delicious. For example, the true northern-style Pho is often served with Lang
basils, tofu with Vietnamese balm and baluts with ginger and laksa leaves. That
is why a Vietnamese proverb says "a pot full of meat becomes tasteless
without onion".
An indispensable ingredient
in every Vietnamese kitchen is fish sauce. Fish sauce is manufactured in many
localities in Viet Nam. However, the most well-known Vietnamese fish sauce is
Phu Quoc (name of an island in Kien Giang province). Phu Quoc's inhabitants
have manufactured fish sauce for nearly 200 years. Although several varieties
of fishes can be used to make good fish sauce, only anchovies are used by the
Phu Quoc people to make the sauce. The anchovies are brined shortly after
capture so the product is very rich in nitrogen, which is often known of as a
"panacea" to keep a diver warm after plunging into cold water without
wearing professional diving gear. What about the taste? Only with a cup of Phu
Quoc fish sauce with some chopped chilies, one can eat up an entire pot of
rice.
In many Asian countries,
chopsticks are important tools for eating. Vietnamese chopsticks have their
distinctive features: they are made from natural materials such as bamboo or
wood, and especially old coconut wood. They are longer than the shiny
stainless steel Korean chopsticks, not so oblong or painted like Japanese
chopsticks. The Vietnamese chopsticks are simple and perfectly designed.
Although sharing a lot of
similarities, the dishes in different localities of the country which stretches
over 1,600 km with various type of climate have their own distinctive and
unique characteristics. In the North, with 4 clear-cut seasons, the taste is "moderate":
not too salty, too sweet or too hot. Seasonal foods which are always available
in the kitchen are meat, fish and vegetables. People in the Central and the
South prefer the taste of hot and salty food. Food in these places contains
somewhat more sugary flavor.
The charm of various
Vietnamese dishes is one of the reasons that attract Vietnamese expatriates and
foreigners to make nostalgic visits to Viet Nam.