The food
Food in Vietnam has such distinct varieties of flavors. I'm pretty certain that Vietnamese people are aware of how excellent their food is, although T____ doesn't seem to think so.
Breakfast thus far has been mainly a delicious noodle soup, with beef, tomato, cilantro, scallions, fish sauce, and a great deal of other flavors. It is difficult to imagine ever being satisfied with, well, Cheerios or Frosted Mini-Wheats ever again. I think I will have to learn how to make it myself, and begin doing it in the states.
Lunch and dinner have been different. We have not taken water with any of our meals, and T____ tells me that this is typical, although sometimes beer and wine are brought out. There are no napkins; instead, there are facial wipes that are offered at the end of the meal. Each person is given a small bowl of rice, and a variety of main dishes have been placed in the center of the table. Everything is cut small, designed to be eaten with chopsticks and a spoon. Each person serves herself with chopsticks, taking only small portions at a time - enough for two or three bites. The bowl of rice is then lifted very close to the mouth. A bite of the main meal is taken, then some rice is pushed over the edge of the bowl into the mouth with the chopsticks. Sometimes broth is ladled in with the rice, and this is eaten by pushing rice and broth into the mouth in a similar way. Needless to say, I spilled rice everywhere. On one occasion, having coated the exterior of my bowl with spilled broth and sweat (keeping in mind the humid 95 degree weather), my bowl slipped temporarily from my grasp and flew through the air. Luckily I caught it milliseconds later in mid-air, but not before I had spilled sufficient quantities of rice and broth onto the other dishes. Luckily, my hosts are very forgiving folk with open-minded senses of humor.
I think I will make a cooking movie, recording T____'s aunt as she prepares the meals, since I really can't adequately describe how incredible these meals are - this short vignette surely doesn't do justice. My favorite so far has been a sort of deep-fried tofu stuffed with spiced ground pork. Each of the many varieties of fried meats is uniquely fascinating. Alright, so now that everyone is suitably jealous, go contact your neighborhood Vietnamese person and talk to him about his food. I'm sure he'll have a lot to say about it.
Breakfast thus far has been mainly a delicious noodle soup, with beef, tomato, cilantro, scallions, fish sauce, and a great deal of other flavors. It is difficult to imagine ever being satisfied with, well, Cheerios or Frosted Mini-Wheats ever again. I think I will have to learn how to make it myself, and begin doing it in the states.
Lunch and dinner have been different. We have not taken water with any of our meals, and T____ tells me that this is typical, although sometimes beer and wine are brought out. There are no napkins; instead, there are facial wipes that are offered at the end of the meal. Each person is given a small bowl of rice, and a variety of main dishes have been placed in the center of the table. Everything is cut small, designed to be eaten with chopsticks and a spoon. Each person serves herself with chopsticks, taking only small portions at a time - enough for two or three bites. The bowl of rice is then lifted very close to the mouth. A bite of the main meal is taken, then some rice is pushed over the edge of the bowl into the mouth with the chopsticks. Sometimes broth is ladled in with the rice, and this is eaten by pushing rice and broth into the mouth in a similar way. Needless to say, I spilled rice everywhere. On one occasion, having coated the exterior of my bowl with spilled broth and sweat (keeping in mind the humid 95 degree weather), my bowl slipped temporarily from my grasp and flew through the air. Luckily I caught it milliseconds later in mid-air, but not before I had spilled sufficient quantities of rice and broth onto the other dishes. Luckily, my hosts are very forgiving folk with open-minded senses of humor.
I think I will make a cooking movie, recording T____'s aunt as she prepares the meals, since I really can't adequately describe how incredible these meals are - this short vignette surely doesn't do justice. My favorite so far has been a sort of deep-fried tofu stuffed with spiced ground pork. Each of the many varieties of fried meats is uniquely fascinating. Alright, so now that everyone is suitably jealous, go contact your neighborhood Vietnamese person and talk to him about his food. I'm sure he'll have a lot to say about it.
posted by Christopher Lovell at 9:03 AM
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