Archive for the 'Banh Hoi' Category

Tết Đoan Ngọ

Published
by
Gastronomer
on June 11, 2008
in Banh Hoi, Banh U, Bo Bia, Chao, Com Ruou, Family Gatherings, Saigon and Xoi
. 6 Comments

Asians are a ritualistic bunch.

This past Sunday was the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar. The “double fifth” day represents the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. The Chinese celebrate with dragon boat festivals, the Koreans have Dano and the Japanese recognize kodomo no hi.

In Vietnam, we celebrated Tết Đoan Ngọ:

Tết Đoan Ngọ (literally: Tết: festival, Đoan: the start / straight / middle / righteousness / just, Ngọ: the seventh animal of the Chinese zodiac- the horse), Tết Đoan Dương (Dương: yang), Tết Trùng Ngũ (Trùng: double, Ngũ: the fifth), Tết Đoan Ngũ, Tết Trùng Nhĩ or Tết Nửa Năm (Nửa Năm: a half of a year) is a festival celebrated at noon on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. This day is the day when the Great Bear star’s tail direct exactly to the south. At this time, the universe brings the greatest amount of yang yi in the entire year. Therefore, creatures and people must become stronger in both their health and their souls to overcome this.

Ba Sau (my grandma’s sister) invited us over to her home to celebrate the holiday with a midday feast. We indulged in sticky rice, barbecued pork, banh hoi, chicken porridge, boiled chicken, bo bia, fried rice and goi.

The two traditional foods of the holiday are banh u and com ruou. Banh u are pyramidal sticky rice cakes wrapped in banana leaves. They are oftentimes stuffed with mung beans, but the ones we had at Ba Sau’s were plain, so we dipped them in sugar. The banana leaf essence is the dominant flavor.

Com ruou, which literally translates as “rice wine,” are little balls of fermented rice bathed in wine. My aunt told me that com ruou is eaten early in the day to fight the “worms” in one’s stomach. In addition to being ritualistic, the Vietnamese are also very superstitious! Com ruou is very strong and quite delicious. I think the worms in my stomach were properly extinguished after consuming three balls.

The Astronomer and I are thankful to have Ba Sau in Saigon to introduce us to these wonderful local foods, traditions and customs. She’s the best!

Bánh Hỏi Thịt Nướng

Published
by
Gastronomer
on April 23, 2008
in Banh Hoi, Saigon and Vietnamese
. 13 Comments

Back by popular demand—Vietnamese street food! [And the crowd goes wild...]

By the way, the reason why I’ve been eating more western food these days is because of a gradual change in mindset. When I first arrived in Saigon, I shunned at the idea of eating anything other than local cuisine. However, after eight months of living in the city, I now view Saigon as a burgeoning metropolis rather than just the motherland. Thus, the idea of eating an ethnically varied diet seems less contrived and more appealing. But no worries, Viet will always be my favorite.

Now, let’s get back to the subject at hand.

Bánh hỏi are extremely thin rice noodles woven into intricate bundles or mats. The texture of fresh bánh hỏi is light and almost fluffy, while the taste is very similar to vermicelli rice noodles. “Same same, but different,” if you will (I’ve been waiting forever to use that phrase).

Bánh hỏi is often served layered on a plate and topped with scallion oil and a complementary meat dish. Thit heo quay (barbecued pork) and chao tom (shrimp paste wrapped around sugarcane) are two very popular accompaniments. The version above is topped with beautifully charred thit nuong (grilled pork) and cost 20,000 VND (187 Co Giang Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City).

Mien & Dung’s Wedding

Published
by
Gastronomer
on October 5, 2007
in Banh Hoi, Goi, Lau, Nuptials, Restaurant Review, Saigon, Seafood, Sup, Thach, Thit Heo Quay, Video and Vietnamese
. 3 Comments

September 16, 2007
Cuisine: Vietnamese

19 Thang Long Street
Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City

Phone: 088117844
Website: none

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Appetizers: Onion Salad (goi hai san kieu Thai), Stir Fried Vegetables with Cashews (so diep xao hat dieu), Crab Dumplings (cang cua bach hoa)

Seafood Soup

Steamed Shrimps in Young Coconut

Banh Hoi

Thit Heo Quay

Seafood Hot Pot - lau Thai hai san

Tropical Fruit Gelatin

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Vietnamese weddings are so damn cool.

I attended my first one, and sadly probably my last, a couple weeks ago at the Saigon Star 2 Restaurant. Mien, my grandma’s sister’s son’s daughter, got hitched to a fellow named Dung and they were nice enough to invite me to the celebration. The couple officially tied the knot in a Catholic ceremony a day earlier, so this evening was dedicated to partying.

The two hour reception was filled with great company and plenty of cold beers—Heineken was the bia of choice.

I arrived a bit on the late side and was greeted by the bride and groom on the staircase leading up to the banquet hall. I congratulated them on their big day, we snapped a picture with the professional photographer, and then I made my way into the dining room. I’m pretty bad with estimations, but I’d say there were somewhere around 200 guests at the shindig.

The evening began with dancers performing a little number in silky, all-white ensembles. I initially thought they were Mien or Dung’s friends, but my aunt informed me that they were hired by the restaurant:

Following the dancers, the bride and groom were introduced to the enthusiastic crowd:

Next, came the in-laws—here is my Uncle Hai and Aunt Phung:

Following the introductions, the bride and groom performed a champagne ritual. Ten minutes and three bottles of champagne later, the glasses were finally filled. Unfortunately, the bride, groom, and in-laws were the only ones who got to drink the bubbly. The dry ice brought about a mystical element to the ceremony don’t you think?

IMG_4565

After the champagne came the food! The six-course feast was served family-style and was very tasty as far as wedding food goes. The last wedding I attended had a buffet dishing up seven layer dip and crudités; this was definitely a giant step up. Although palatable, the food was far less memorable than the festivities. Standouts include the crab claw dumplings on the appetizer platter and the tropical fruit Jello dessert.

As guests dined, the happy couple made their rounds and greeted each table. They must have been smashed by the end of the night because every table raised their glasses.

And somewhere between all the boozing and food, the Karaoke started up and went on for the rest of the evening. My Uncle Minh sang the first song—he was completely toasted.