|
Vietnamese
cooking is like - and yet unlike - the cooking of China, with some
influence from its other neighbours, Laos and Cambodia and also
traits which are reminiscent of Thai food. Not the complex spicing of
curries nor the richness of coconut milk, but the use of fresh herbs and
salad-like ingredients.
Vietnam's national dish, pho, is basically a rice noodle soup, the beef
stock strong and flavoursome, simmered for at least 6 hours. In the bowl
are fresh bean sprouts, sliced onions and tomatoes and handfuls of fresh
mint, bringing to mind Thailand's tom yum. Unlike tom yum, pho is not
fiery with chilli but headily redolent of star anise, surprising at first
encounter.
The single most important ingredient in Vietnamese food is nuoc mam, fish
sauce. It is used to season food the way salt is used in a Western
kitchen. When mixed with
garlic, chilli, sugar and some lime or lemon juice, it is called nuoc cham
and is put on the table to be added to almost everything, starting with
the breakfast bowl of noodle soup and continuing through lunch to dinner.
|
or visit our
Weblog
