Gastronomy Blog by Cathy Chaplin

Street Food

10 Oct 2007

Chè Đậu Hũ – Sweet Tofu

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October 7, 2007
Cuisine: Vietnamese, Dessert

Tu Xuong Street
District 3, Ho Chi Minh City

Phone: none
Website: none

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Che Dau Hu – sweet tofu in a ginger syrup with coconut milk (2,000 VND)

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Everyday from noon to 1:30 PM, the woman pictured above (wearing a flannel shirt and conical hat) sells sweet tofu outside my office on Tu Xuong Street. Every so often on my way back from lunch, I’ll take a seat on one of her especially stumpy stools and order a bowl.

Being a street vendor is backbreaking work, especially when the food has to be lugged around over one’s shoulders. The sweet tofu dealer carries a large pot of tofu on one side of her “pole” and the ginger syrup and coconut milk on the other.

When I place my order, she uses a wide and shallow metal spoon to scoop up a few chunks of the fresh tofu into a bowl and proceeds to douse it with syrup and coconut milk. I’ve previously blogged about my love for this treat, but what’s notable about her rendition is the employment of coconut milk. After trying sweet tofu with coconut milk on several occasions, I’ve concluded that I like mine better without. The creaminess of the milk is pleasant, but unnecessary because what I really dig is the spicy ginger.

You’d think in Saigon’s heat that a warm dessert would probably be the least desirable thing, but sometimes it just works.

Restaurant Review

09 Oct 2007

Bè Bạn – Ho Chi Minh City

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September 14, 2007
Cuisine: Vietnamese

51 Tu Xuong Street
District 3, Ho Chi Minh City

Phone: 089325028
Website: none

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Com Dap – crispy rice prepared in a smashed clay pot (10,000 VND)

Com Nieu – rice cooked in clay pot (6,000 VND)

Ca Loc Kho To – braised Snakehead fish (55,000 VND)

Canh Chua Nghieu – sweet and sour soup with clams (55,000 VND)

Rau Muong Xao Toi – water spinach sauteed with garlic (25,000 VND)

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Com nieu restaurants serve traditional Vietnamese dishes in a polished setting and specialize in rice prepared in clay pots. Prices are generally significantly higher than their street food counterparts, but the quality is much better, portions are generous, and the service is very good. These joints are fairly common around town, especially on Tu Xuong Street in District 3.

Com Nieu Saigon is probably the most well-known eatery for this genre of food, but the offerings at Be Ban could give them a run for their money.

My Aunt Phuong from California came to Saigon a couple of weeks ago on vacation and we met at Be Ban for lunch. Even though my aunt is originally from Vietnam, she has never tried com nieu or com dap, so we ordered one of each.

Com nieu is nothing special and tastes exactly like plain ‘ol steamed rice. Com dap, on the other hand, is really something special. The rice is made in a clay pot on extra-high heat (or something), which forms a crispy crust on the bottom. The rice is served by smashing the clay pot its cooked in and inverting the rice onto a plate. Com dap is commonly dressed with crushed black sesame seeds, nouc mam, and an oil and scallion mixture. The com dap I had at Com Nieu Saigon was adorned with all the fixings, while the com dap at Be Ban had the condiments served on the side.

All of the dishes we ordered were seriously good and sorta made me want to abandon com binh dan forever. The ca loc kho to was caramelized perfectly and extremely flavorful. I poured the fish’s syrupy sauce with bits of pork belly over some rice, which brought back fond childhood memories.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I love canh chua. This version featured clams and the usual suspects as far as vegetables go. The clams didn’t add much additional flavor to the already stellar soup, but were texturally interesting.

The sauteed water spinach was also quite good. I’m not sure what the restaurant did with the spinach leaves, but they only served up the hollowed stalks. The greens were intensely garlicky and an excellent complement to our meal.

Although I prefer to scrounge the streets for my eats, Be Ban is a great place to take guests from out of town or unadventurous friends.

Street Food

08 Oct 2007

Friday Night Bites

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October 5, 2007
Cuisine: Vietnamese

Corner of Ho Xuan Huong Street and Nguyen Thong Street
District 3, Ho Chi Minh City

Phone: none
Website: none

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Bo Vien, Ca Vien, Cha Gio Chien – fried meatballs, fish-balls, and eggrolls (12,000 VND)

Xoi Man – sticky rice topped with various meats (5,000 VND)

Xoi Dau Xanh – sticky rice with mung beans (3,000 VND)

Bap Xao Tom Bo – corn sauteed with shrimp, scallions, and butter (5,000 VND)

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Before meeting up with friends at the Diamond Plaza for bowling last Friday night, The Astronomer and I headed to the corner of Ho Xuan Huong and Nguyen Thong Street in District 3 for some grub. We’ve driven by this street on several occasions, but never got a chance to sample the goods because we were always on the back of a xe om (hired motorbike).

On this evening, there were several corn dealers (steamed and sauteed), a lone sticky rice hawker, and a man frying up meaty treats on a stick. Feeling especially hungry, The Astronomer went for a three-course feast and purchased from each of the vendors on the street. He has eaten xoi man and bap xao tom bo previously, but this was his first foray into fried-up meat and eggrolls on a stick.

The Astronomer commented that the sauteed corn tasted exactly like the version he ate in District 4. It’s really amazing how standardized street food recipes are in Vietnam! The xoi man was generously topped with cha lua, cha bong, pate, soy sauce, and an oil and scallion mixture. We’ve been on a xoi binge as of late, and this version did not disappoint. The fried meat fest was a let down. The eggrolls, meatballs, and fish-balls turned soggy from the oil rather than crisp and the hoisin sauce was too strong at times. Two out of three isn’t terrible.

For my dinner, I went for a small box of sweet xoi dau xanh sprinkled with salt and toasted sesame seeds (mui me). The xoi was moist and sticky in all the right places and the combination of sweet and salty flavors were delicious. The xoi was so tasty that I went back and bought 2,000 VND more.