Tofu Soup

It has been more than a week since my last Best Vietnamese Food was published here on this site. I have been preoccupied with blogging about politics with the General Election looming and over the last couple of days; we experienced water supply disruption at our place. Hence, we ate out instead or bought some take away. Incidentally, I went to Palace restaurant for lunch this afternoon and the bowl of miso soup which I had reminded me of the one I cooked about 2 weeks ago which I have yet to post here.

Tofu Soup is a popular and common soup served in Vietnamese restaurants and I believe, probably in Vietnamese pagoda and home as well. Prior to mustering enough courage to cooking this Best Vietnamese Food at home, I have always thought that it would be a difficult soup to cook. Not anymore take a deep breath and listen to me. If you can cook instant noodles, I guarantee 100% that you can able to cook this soup. All you need to do is just to buy soya sauce, dehydrated seaweed and silken tofu and you can whip up this tasty soup in a jiffy.

There are hundreds of different types of miso due to miso being made with different combinations of grains and beans, or soybeans only, and different lengths of fermentation time. However, the taste and delicious of this dish depends mostly on soya sauce. So I think the best way to cook this Best Vietnamese Food is searching and finding the soya sauce in some popular restaurant that is well known in making soya sauce. In my opinion, the taste of tofu soup of Palace restaurant is really wonderful due to I may fall in love with the soya sauce there.

So come and enjoy this Best Vietnamese Food for one day visiting Vietnam. Hope you have a happy trip with your beloved family and friends in my beautiful country.

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Chicken Rice cooked using Rice Cooker

The rice cooker is very useful kitchen equipment and is present in many Asian households. There are many Best Vietnamese Food are made by it. Whilst it is primarily designed to cook rice, newer versions of the rice cooker have enable cooks to use it for steaming and even boiling soup. It is called Chicken Rice cooked using Rice Cooker (Cơm Gà).

Recently, my mum cooked Chicken Rice using the rice cooker. This Best Vietnamese Food is actually another version of the popular Clay pot Chicken Rice. The beauty of using the rice cooker is that the rice does not get burnt at the bottom unlike the clay pot. However, for those who are fond of burnt bits of rice, you may have to try this using the clay pot instead.

Soak rice in water for about 1 1/2 hours. Marinade chicken for the same length of time.

Heat oil in wok and then fry shallots till golden brown. Remove fried shallots.

With remaining oil in wok and at high heat, add pre-soaked Chinese dried mushrooms and ginger and stir fry for about 1 minute. Add marinated chicken and stir fry for another minute.

Add pre-soaked rice and seasoning and continue frying for about 2 minutes. Sprinkle a little bit of warm water to keep the rice from drying out.

Remove rice with ingredients into the rice cooker. Place the Lap Cheongs over the rice. Pour watergently over the rice to cover the rice just like how you would usually cook white rice in a rice cooker. Add plain water if the water used to soak dried Chinese mushrooms is insufficient. Turn on your rice cooker and let it cook. Now you can serve this hot Best Vietnamese Food and sprinkle fried shallots over the rice prior to serving.

To sum up, if you have time, try to cook this Best Vietnamese Food at home. And i bet you will not regret about this decision. Have a great trip with your family and friends in my beautiful country.

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Vietnamese Steamed Rice Cakes with Shrimp and Pork Rinds – Banh Beo

his is a super simple recipe and very delicious however, it is very time consuming so I would definitely make this a weekend dish so you can take the time to do it right. Banh beo is a dish that comes from Hue the region of my decent and so it makes sense that it was something that I ate a lot as a child. Everything I make this recipe it takes me back to when I would eat with my mother and sister (before she because a vegetarian of course). I bet she would love to give the vegetarian version a try the next time she comes to visit.

Ingredients for Batter:
1 lb of banh beo rice flour
2 Tbsp tapioca flour
1 Tbsp salt

Ingredients for Topping:
½ lb raw medium shrimp (peeled and deveined) – You can also use dried shrimp if you can find it
Pork rinds (crushed) – you can also use pork fat and chop and fry yourself
2-3 scallions (green onions)
Cooking oil

Ingredients for Dipping Sauce:
¼ cup nuoc mam (Vietnamese fish sauce)
¼ cup sugar
Lime juice (to taste)
Hot sauce or hot peppers (finely chopped, to taste – optional)

Vegetarian Suggestion:
You can use egg yolk in this recipe as well as mock shrimp for the topping.

Garnish Suggestion:
Fresh chopped green onions (scallions)
Fried shallots

Cookware Needed:
Banh Beo chambered steamer (if you can find it, if you can’t then you can use the below)
Steamer
Small shallow saucers (similar to the dishes that are used for soy sauce when eating sushi)
Large mixing bowl
Frying pan
Chef’s Knife
Paring Knife
Medium Pot

Directions:
Prepare the banh beo mixture first, following the directions on the package. This will give the mixture time to rest for say 20-30 minutes before cooking.

Poach the shrimp briefly in boiling water until just done. Drain and pat dry the shrimp. If you use a knife crush the shrimp with the side of the knife. Take the crushed shrimp and fry in a non-stick pan (no oil needed). Take the shrimp and finely chop them with your knife. If you have a mortar and pestle you can crush the shrimp that way. Set aside in a covered bowl or in a plastic container.

Chop the scallions into 1/8 inch pieces on a diagonal. Set aside in a bowl. If you are make the pork fat part of the topping from scratch, chop finely fry and then chop again if needed (should be the consistency of light bread crumbs.

Once the topping is prepared, you can focus back on the rice cakes. Coat your steaming dish lightly with oil. Pour about 2 Tbps into each section/container and place into your steamer. Allow to steam for 2-4 minutes until the cake becomes completely clear and firm. Remove from the heat quickly.

Remove the rice cake from the dish and place on a plate and top with the shrimp, pork, and scallions. Pour the nuon cham on the banh beo and enjoy!

Freeing Hint:
This is a recipe that I would not recommend freezing or really refrigerating. I would just make whenever you would like to eat them. You can always freeze the shrimp and keep a few bags of pork rinds around if you want to make it on the fly. If you do refrigerate the banh beo, just heat up in the microwave in 10-15 second intervals until they are soft and warm. Like the banh bot loc and other recipes made with tapioca flour, they tend to harden when cooled in the fridge.

Restaurant Tips:
This is not the easiest dish to find in Vietnamese Restaurants, which is why I’m glad that I have a recipe to make it whenever I want. However, when I’m feeling lazy I can always go to the local Vietnamese deli or market and find it pretty easily.

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Hoi An Cuisine Culture Space

Located on a quiet alley on Cach Mang Thang Tam Road, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, Hoi An or Hoai Pho Restaurant with its space and décor reminds people of the peaceful scenery of old streets and the Hoai River running through the ancient town of Hoi An.  

Hoi An is well-known for its pure beauty of an ancient and pensive town with the peaceful Hoai River. For this reason, when visiting the restaurant people will feel close and familiar with its space and architecture.

The gate at Hoi An Restaurant is similar to Ngo Mon (Moon Gate) in the Imperial Capital of Hue. The restaurant was designed in the architectural style of Hoi An. The restaurant is decorated with lanterns. Lamps in the ancient style are hung on the wall. Photos of the ancient town of Hoi An and the daily life of Hue people are displayed in the restaurant. Wooden stairs.

The restaurant was designed in the architectural style of the ancestor-worshipping house of the Tran Family, a popular destination in Hoi An. The restaurant impresses people by its tiled gate imbued with ancient features, Yin and Yang tiled roof, stairs hundreds of years old, colourful lanterns, photos depicting the locals’ daily life and decorative ceramics. The colours seen in the restaurant are brown and yellow which are combined harmoniously under the light. All help form a typical cultural space of Hoi An for the restaurant. Here, people can enjoy romantic melodies of Trinh Cong Son’s songs or songs of the Quang area and traditional delicious dishes, namely Quang’s Noodle Soup, Chicken Rice, Cao Lau…and others in the Central region.

The restaurant’s menu consists of many traditional dishes of Hoi An. The decor of the restaurant reminds people of the cultural space of the ancient town. Hoi An restaurant is a popular destination for enjoying delicious food of Hoi An.

Tran The Cuong, a native of Quang Nam and the owner of Hoi An Restaurant, said that even though he lives in Ho Chi Minh City, he wishes to preserve his native food’s flavours. Therefore, his restaurant is a popular place for Quang Nam people who are living far from their hometown, helping relieve their nostalgia. Coming people, people learn more about the culinary art and cultural space of Hoi An, a World Heritage Culture.

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Vietnamese Restaurants in Hanoi

Dinh Lang1-6 Ly Thai To
Tel: 828 6290 Fax: 825 5265 Cha ca La Vong
14 Cha Ca
Tel: 825 3929 Nang Tam (Com Chay)
79A Tran Hung Dao
Tel: 8266140 Nam Phuong
19 Phan Chu Trinh
Tel: 824 0926

Le Tonkin14 Ngo Van So
Tel: 943 3457 Indochine Restaurant
16 Pham Ngu Lao
Tel: 942 4097 Van Xuan
5A Hang Cot
Tel: 9272888, Fax: 9272999 Dong phuong
210 Tran Quang Khai
Tel: 9342898 - Fax: 9342089 Seafood Restaurants in Hanoi
Ngoc Suong
82 Hoa Ma, Tel: 8263664, 6110746;
29 Phu Doan - Tel: 8285236, 8243729 Pho Bien
12 Trang Thi
Tel: 8240060 San Ho Restaurant
58 Ly Thuong Kiet
Tel: 8222184, Fax: 9345289 Sam Son Sea Food Market Restaurant
77 Doc Bat Co Tel: 84 4 8.250780

Chinese and Asians Restaurants in Hanoi The First
12 Trang Thi
Tel: 824 0060 Ming Palace
Sofitel Plaza Hotel, 1 Thanh Nien
Tel: 823 8888 Lotus
44B Ly Thuong Kiet
Tel: 934 3343 Red Lantern
Fortuna Hotel, 6B Lang Ha
Tel: 831 3333 Bobby Chin
1 Ba Trieu
Tel: 934 8578 Turtle's Poem
Hilton Hanoi Opera, 1 Le Thanh Tong
Tel: 933 0500 Spices Garden
15 Ngo Quyen
Tel: 826 6919 (ext. 8828) Paradise
19 Han Thuyen
Tel: 824 7697 French Restaurants in Hanoi
President Garden
14 Tong Dan
Tel: 825 3606 Au Delice
17 Tong Dam
Tel: 934 5238 Gustave
7 Trang Tien
Tel: 825 0625 Verandah
9 Nguyen Khac Can
Tel: 825 7220 Hoa Sua
81 Tho Nhuom
Tel: 942 4448

La Salsa25 Nha Tho
Tel: 828 9052 Le Splenide
44 Ngo Quyen
Tel: 826 6919 Hanoi Gourmet
1B Ham Long
Tel: 943 1009 Cafe Des Arts
11B Bao Khanh
Tel: 852 9106 Baguette & Chocolat
11 Cha Ca
Tel: 923 1500 Brasserie Chez Manon
Hilton hotel, 1 Le Thanh Tong
Tel:933 0500 Le Beaulieu
Sofitel Metropole Hotel,15 Ngo Quyen
Tel: 826 6919 Italia Restaurants in Hanoi
A little Italian
78 Tho Nhuom, (Eden Tho nhuom hotel)
Tel: 825 8167
La Spaghelti
82 Hoa Ma
Tel: 822 6904 II Grilo
116 Ba Trieu
Tel: 822 7720 Mama Rosa
6 Le Thai To
Tel: 825 8057 Mediterraneo
23 Nha Tho
Tel: 826 6288 Boot
2F, 94 Hang Trong, Hoan Kiem District
Tel: 826 9326 International Restaurants in Hanoi
69 Restaurant and bar
69 Ma May Street
Tel: 926 0452 R & R Hanoi Tavern
47 Lo Su, Hoan Kiem District
Tel: 934 4109 The Spotted Cow
23C Hai Ba Trung
Tel: 8241028 Ho Tay Club
10 Tay Ho
Tel: 7184076, Fax: 7180931 Hoa vien
Ly Thuong Kiet, Hoan Kiem District
Tel: 825 8605Diva Cafe
57 Ly Thai To
Tel: 934 4088 Church street Bar and Grill
13 Nha Tho
Tel: 928 6697 Cafe Thyme
18 Lo Su, Hoan Kiem District
Tel: 826 7929 Japanese Restaurant in Hanoi
Saigon Sakura
17 Trang Thi
Tel: 825 7565 Cherry Blossom Inn
16 Le Thai To
Tel: 824 4368 Edo
Daewoo hotel, 360 Kim Ma
Tel: 831 5000 Chie
73 Trieu Viet Vuong
Tel: 825 8809 Fuji Janaese
13 Dinh Le
Tel: 934 7070 Ky y
29 Phu Dong Thien Vuong
Tel: 978 1386 Korea Restaurant in Hanoi Korean restaurant
36 Ngo Thi Nham
Tel: 822 8454 Han Kook Kwan
31 Nguyen Tri Thanh
Tel: 831 8641 Ngoc Suong IV
So 1 Ly Dao Thanh
Tel: 8241228 Le Hoa Korean
5 Quoc Tu Giam
Tel: 8267215 Singapore and Malaysia Restaurant in Hanoi Halai Restaurant
Heritage Hotel, 80 Giang Vo
Tel: 8344727 Regency Cafe
254D Thuy Khue
Tel: 8430030 Mother's Price
53 Ba Trieu
Tel: 822 8055 Sinh Chau Restaurant
75 Ly Thuong Kiet
Tel: 8246629 Thai Restaurant in Hanoi
Siam Corner
33 Tay Ho
Tel: 829 1200 Baan Thai
3B Cha Ca
Tel: 828 8588 Hong Thoong
12 Nguyen Du
Tel: 9431428 Bangkok-Hanoi
52A Ly Thuong Kiet
Tel: 934 5598 Vijit Thai
16A Duong Thanh
Tel: 828 9065 Tam tu
84 Ly Thuong Kiet
Tel: 942 1682 Vegetarian Restaurants in Hanoi

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Typical Vietnamese Foods

Vietnamese food is quite unlike any other food in Southeast Asia. It�s even quite different from China. Overall it�s a blend of Malay, Indian, French and influences and incorporates baguettes and pate from France; and curries and chilies from India.

Recently voted by health experts as the world’s healthiest food, Vietnamese cuisine mixes grilled meats, fresh vegetables, cold noodles, and all kinds of seafood dishes spiced with tamarind and chili.

Available at all hours of the day, Vietnamese food can be eaten as snacks, in street side stalls, in budget restaurants, and in hotels. In many cases only the price is the difference because often the tastiest foods come from the most basic kitchens.

As you travel up or down the country, you will notice sharp differences in both main dishes and snacks eaten by locals. Its one of the joys of traveling in the country, and it’s a good idea to ask your guide to point out interesting things to eat.

THE NORTH

With the weather so cold for so much of the year, soups play a large part in Northern

cuisine. Pho, Vietnam’s ‘chicken soup,’ is made with white vermicelli noodles, sliced beef or chicken, bean sprouts, chopped peanuts, hot broth and mint leaves that is served piping hot and at all hours of the day. Pho stalls can be found all over Hanoi (and Hanoi style Pho can be found all over Vietnam, catering to homesick Hanoians) and a bowl can cost between 5,000 and 10,000 dong, depending on the location.

Once the bowl is put in front of you, spice it up with bean sauce and chili sauce and squeeze in a few lime wedges; then dig in with a pair of chopsticks in one hand (to lift up the noodles to cool them off) and a spoon in the other (to lift the noodles to your mouth). Other soups include Chao, a kind of rice porridge, and it’s often prescribed as a remedy for common colds.

By far the favorite food in Hanoi is ‘Bun Cha’ grilled meat eaten at makeshift restaurants serving patrons on the street. It’s a great way to fill up for just a few thousand dongs, and when walking around the city it may be impossible to resist the smell.

Bia Hoi is a Hanoi invention, and ‘Bia’ comes from the English word ‘beer.’ Its freshly brewed and served in plastic jugs; its cheap, and it’s a great way to soak up Hanoi’s ambience at night and you might even make some friends along the way.

Hanoians may be a reserved bunch, but they are downright adventurous when it comes to exotic food: fried silk worms, cobra meat, dog meat among others are eaten by people in the capital to cure sickness, increase virility or just because it’s the right season.

THE CENTER

Most of the food eaten in Central Vietnam has some link to the imperial kitchens of the Nguyen Emperors in Hue. Many of the spices, techniques and vegetables come straight from the tables of the emperors themselves.

Imperial spring rolls are commonly eaten, as is Bun Bo Hue, a spicy beef soup that is not for the faint hearted; you may need a bottle of water nearby to wash down the chili peppers.

Perhaps the most famous is Banh Khoai, a pancake like food that is eaten with nuoc leo, a rich peanut sauce. The pancake includes eggs, shrimps and bean sprouts (much like Banh Xeo, in the south, discussed later)

A popular snack is Banh Beo, tiny ceramic dishes with a boiled rice cake topped with pork bits and eaten with a spoon; Drop a small amount of fish sauce (Nuoc Mam) on top and dig in.

A lot of seafood is eaten here as well, and boiled crabs are a specialty.

Perhaps the most exotic food eaten here is Com Hen, a cold rice dish flavored with juice from clams that live in the river near Hoi An. Other ingredients include white vermicelli noodles, chili and shrimp sauce. Its quite a difficult dish to prepare and is not for those who worry about healthy shellfish.

THE SOUTH

The South of Vietnam is considered to have the best food in the country, namely because Saigon, with its increasingly wealthy inhabitants, demand the highest quality vegetables fruits meats etc, and foreign foods (even American Fast Food giants KFC are here) are increasingly common from French to Mexican to Indian.

With the lush Mekong Delta so close, the fruit is very fresh and durians, pineapple, mango and star fruit all come into play in dishes as they come into season.

Banh Xeo is perhaps the most famous Southern Dish, like Banh Khoai, it too is a pancake, but the dish Banh Xeo is much larger, and uses more green beans, shrimps and coconut milk. It serves more than one person, and is dipped in nuoc mam, fish sauce, after being wrapped in fresh lettuce leaves.

Freshly cooked spring rolls are famous in Saigon, but the most specialized are Goi Cuon, the fresh spring rolls combining sliced cold shrimp, mint leaves, cold vermicelli noodles, and rice paper that is dipped in nuoc mam.

Some Southern exotics include Hot Vit Lon, or fertilized duck egg, that is eaten with a spoon and is usually available in markets and street stalls.

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Vietnam’s food culture

If you’re holidaying in Vietnam, chances are you will eat in hotels and restaurants most of the time and maybe grab a street snack once in a while. Contact with the authentic Vietnamese food culture is often limited. Do they eat three meals a day like we normally do? Do they cook at home? Is their food culture also based on going out? What do they have for breakfast… coffee? As a first-time visitor to the country, immersion into this day-to-day food life of the Vietnamese will probably not happen. But if you’re interested… this website will tell you.

Mornings in Vietnam start early. Very early, in fact, at the crack of dawn. Life begins with a prerequisite morning workout, often in groups with like-minded persons and normally outside. 

Later in the morning, it is time for green tea that is either served hot in tiny teacups or over ice cubes in huge glasses. Green tea is served together with coffee – this being a legacy of the country’s colonial period when the French ruled (For the coffee aficionados – find out more about coffee). Vietnamese coffee cannot be compared to what we know in the West; in fact, most of the espressi we know are like dishwater compared to this very strong drink. It’s served in tiny portions in glasses, it’s black, it’s thick, sweetened with heavy condensed milk, served hot or iced and it is very strong indeed.



Ah and, yes, the Vietnamese drink tea and coffee at the same time.

But, as we said, it means getting up early. Should you want to participate in this early morning ritual, we advise you to show up by 6 a.m. and no later than 8 a.m.

To combat that sinking feeling before lunch, people go to hawkers who are omnipresent and sell small eats and lots of fresh fruit served with salt and chilis. At 11 a.m., the first roadside food stalls will open up serving fried and grilled foods in all variations, also salads with fish and meat, served with the ubiquitous fresh herbs.

During the afternoon smalls eats are once again on the menu, accompanied by freshly squeezed fruit shakes.

The food at dinnertime is quite similar to the food served at lunch, only more opulent.

A particular feature of the going-out scene in Hanoi are micro-breweries, called bia hoi, which serve light, freshly brewed beer from small kegs, accompanied by peanuts and light menus.

In the countryside the food culture is different, of course. Proper family-size kitchens still exist. Most Vietnamese live in extended families, and one family member tends to be in charge of the cooking for everybody. These cooks work from tiny kitchens, shredding, boiling, grilling, doing the crackling, preparing an average of four to eight dishes that are served with rice. The food is served in pots that are set on the floor. Everybody eats from their personal rice bowl and serve themselves, using with chopsticks to pick food from the communal pots. There are no chairs or stools. The Vietnamese eat sitting in the lotus position which is a rather strenuous way of enjoying your food, at least for most Europeans.

Like all over Asia, the European tradition of having a meal consisting of various courses is unknown. Instead of eating a starter, a main dish, and a dessert, like we would normally do, the food here is turned out from the kitchen, eaten straightaway and in no particular order or sequence. Everybody will eat whatever they fancy.

After the “American War“ as the Vietnam War is called in Vietnam, the food supply situation continued to be tight into the 1980s and even early 1990s. Vietnamese cuisine was very different then to what it is now. People were concerned only with getting enough food on the table. Many Vietnamese specialities could simply not be prepared under such strained circumstances, and aside from malnutrition, there was a real threat that traditional food knowledge would get lost altogether.

Things only started to improve in the mid-1990s. Now, people finally had a chance to reflect back to their old food traditions. Vietnamese cuisine experienced a boom and once again came into its own.

These days Vietnamese cuisine is under a different threat. The problem of want has been solved. The problem of Westernized food ways has not. Vietnamese cuisine is, to put it very directly, in the danger of being dumbed down and conforming to the taste of the time. On the up side… only one fast food outlet has made its way to Vietnam so far: KFC.

The Vietnamese perfected the art of living through hard times. There is no waste in the kitchen; the Vietnamese know of a usage for every single food item. Chicken is a prime example. Oftentimes, in the West, chicken seems to consist of breast and legs only. In Vietnam, chicken broth is made from the bones, chicken feet are grilled to a crispy crackling, giblets are used for braising.

And isn’t this ”waste not want not” approach a very contemporary approach to food?

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