Street Food
20 Dec 2007

Bún Gạo

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The Astronomer, his sister and I returned to the especially delicious block of Ly Chinh Thang Street in District 3 for lunch the other afternoon.

While most street vendors usually sell only one or two dishes, this vendor sells at least five different ones. Without a kitchen at her disposal, I’m not quite sure how she’s able to offer so much variety. Her mise en place always seems to be well stocked too! Incredible.

Last time we ate here, she suggested that I try bún gạo the next time I visited. My family eats a lot of Vietnamese food, but bún gạo is not in the rotation. In fact, this was my very first bowl!

Bún gạo is a close-relative of bun thit nuong, bun cha gio, bun thit xao, etc. The major difference between them lies in the noodles. Whereas the aforementioned dishes employ fresh rice noodles, according to the vendor, bún gạo uses old rice noodles that are reconstituted in boiling water and sauteed in oil. The result is a thinner and coarser product.

Strips of scrambled eggs, fried tofu, sauteed chives and spinach, thit xao (beef with lemongrass and onions), greens, herbs, peanuts, shallots, and cha gio were piled on top of the noodles. The entire concoction was splashed with nuoc cham.

The verdict? Bún gạo is really good. The dish was fresh, cool and full of variety. The fried egg and sauteed greens were my favorite components. Sometimes with big bowls of noodles, I experience a bit of palate fatigue. However, with the wide range of flavors and textures present in this dish, I effortlessly killed it.

Street Food
19 Dec 2007

Hủ Tiếu Bò Kho

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While the world is nuts about phở, my Vietnamese noodle/broth combination of choice is bò kho.

Bò kho is a beef stew deeply infused with star anise and lemongrass. The hunks of meat and carrots in bò kho are tender as can be due to hours of simmering.

Back in California, my family ate bò kho with a wide(ish) rice noodle that sometimes veered toward tender. In Saigon, bò kho is served with a thinner and more al dente rice noodle.

The fabulous bowl of bò kho featured up top is from a hidden stall on Ton That Thuyet Street in District 4. The Astronomer and I, along with his sister Rosalind and gas•tron•o•my reader Shay from LA (!), shared two bowls (10,000 VND each) on our early morning food tour today.

Street Food
18 Dec 2007

Xôi Lá Dứa

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Even though I haven’t dedicated any postings to xoi lately, I’m still very fond of the sticky staple. In fact, I’ve recently started carrying money with me on my morning runs in order to grab some xoi for breakfast. I love multi-tasking.

I’ve encountered many different varietals of xoi while running down Ton That Thuyet Street in District 4, and will try every last one before long. First up, xôi lá dứa.

Sweaty, out of breath, and shirtless, I ordered 4,000 VND of xôi lá dứa from the dealer. I was expecting her to hand over a nice hunk of green sticky rice, but instead she surprised me with a little layering action.

First, she grabbed a banh trang (rice cracker) and placed it on a newspaper/plastic sheet. Then she scooped some pandan-flavored and colored xoi on top of the cracker. Next, she spread on some dau xanh (mung bean paste) on top of the xoi. Lastly, she sprinkled on some mui me (salt and sesame seed mixture) and dried coconut on top of the mung bean paste. She bundled up the xoi using the newspaper/plastic wrapper and included a gelato spoon and a packet of granulated sugar.

When I got back to my apartment, I skipped out on stretching and abs and dug right in. The heat from the xoi softened up the rice cracker to the point where the two textures were barely discernible. The bulk of the xoi’s flavors came from the mui me mixture because the unsweetened shredded coconut and mung bean paste were fairly neutral. I didn’t sprinkle on any extra sugar, but in retrospect, I probably should have because salty plus sweet equals wow.

A good xoi, but the flavors just didn’t POP.