Banh Hoi
11 Jun 2008

Tết Đoan Ngọ

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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!

 

Restaurant Review
10 Jun 2008

Döner Kebab – Bánh Mì Gà Nướng

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Meet Van Do Luong. After living and and working in Berlin for ten years, he returned to Saigon and opened a Döner Kebab shop in District 3 (18 Nguyen Thuong Hien).

Döner kebab (Turkish döner kebap, literally “turning roast”), is a Turkish dish made of meat cooked on a vertical spit and sliced off to order. The meat may be lamb, mutton, beef, goat, or chicken. Alternative names include kebap, donair, döner, doner or donner. Döner Kebab is the origin of other similar Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dishes such as shawarma and gyros. A version developed to suit German tastes by Turkish immigrants in Berlin has become one of Germany’s most popular fast food dishes, and Turkish emigrants export German döners back into their home country.

The Astronomer, Nina, The Boyfriend and I are big fans of Luong’s Döner Kebab. According to Luong, the Döner Kebabs are made with chicken because the Vietnamese don’t dig lamb, plus it’s much pricier than the white meat. A Döner Kebab costs 14,000 VND and comes stuffed with shredded lettuce and red cabbage, cucumbers, tomatoes and slices of chicken warm off the spit. A zesty garlic taziki sauce keeps the Döner Kebab nice and moist. The bread ain’t nothing like banh mi. It’s hearty, toasted and reminds me of an Italian variety from Philly. According to German expats, Luong’s Döner Kebabs are the real deal. I find it endlessly cool that I can get authentic Döner Kebab made by a Vietnamese guy in Saigon. Now, this is Asian fusion.

Restaurant Review
09 Jun 2008

Goat Breath

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Once you go goat, you can’t ever go back. I swear.

My gig at AsiaLIFE has given me the opportunity to sample a lot of foods that I wouldn’t normally seek out. Our latest issue features a great piece about the joys of eating goat at 304 Le Van Sy Street in Tan Binh District. Even though I wasn’t assigned the article, I tagged along with the writer and the photographer during their visit to see what goat was all about. Plus, it’s not everyday one has the chance to sample a brand new meat!

Before I delve into the food, it must be stated that THE shortest stools in Saigon are at the goat palace. Although I didn’t whip out a tape measure, I’m pretty sure the distance between the floor and my bum was six inches max. My legs were so sore by the end of the meal.

Our first course of the evening was grilled goat with okra. The meat was sliced into thin slivers and marinated lightly. After dredging the meat with some vegetable oil, we placed the raw goat onto the grill. The first few pieces were a bit leathery because we cooked ’em for way too long. When it comes to goat, rare is best. Just 45 seconds on the grill yields tender morsels of meat. The texture of goat is very pork-like, which was deliciously familiar. A salty fermented tofu (chao) sauce pairs extremely well with this preparation.

Next, we tucked into an awesome goat curry served inside a clay pot, which turned out to be the best dish of the night. Hunks of potatoes, okra, eggplant and goat arrived submerged in a sweet, creamy, thick and slightly spicy curry broth. We sopped up the broth with many warm baguettes. The curry was so unbelievably good that the photog, writer and I made plans to return for more before finishing up the portion before us. What can I say? We’re a greedy group.

The final course of Goat Fest 2008 was rare goat salad accented with lemon leaves. I kind of over did it with the curry, so I was toast by the time this course arrived. The salad was really raw onion intensive, which doesn’t float my goat boat, but my dining companions scarfed it up with baguettes.

I had such a pleasant experience at 304 Le Van Sy that I returned a few weeks later with Hawk, Nina, The Astronomer and two visitors from New York.