Thursday, July 10, 2008
Visit Vietnam but Sleep in your Own Bed.
So far this summer I have taken a mother/ daughter trip to Mexico and visited Vietnam with my family. The trip to Mexico was 5 days of having fun with school friends on the beach. The trip to Vietnam was just a day out.
The Eden Center near Falls Church, Virginia used to be a regular shopping center. In the early 1970s, during the fall of Saigon, many of the South Vietnamese who had worked with the American forces there were evacuated to the US. Families with links to the military and living close to the Pentagon opened their homes to the refugees and soon a thriving Vietnamese community existed in that locality. The Eden Center now has mainly Vietnamese stores and I highly recommend a visit as a quick and inexpensive way of dipping one’s toe into a different culture. One can wander around the souvenir, music and jewelry stores but for me, the restaurants, cafes and supermarkets hold more allure: I am a culinary tourist.
Vietnamese food has been influenced by not only the prevailing Asian ingredients and culture but also the French who had established a colonial power base there. This has resulted in a café society that favors coffee and pastries and there are many Vietnamese dishes that feature spicy grilled meats or vegetables filling bread that looks very French to me, as well as dishes that are Chinese in appearance. We always visit the same pho shop because it is the children’s favorite. Pho is the national dish, a flavorful broth made from either chicken or beef, served in a huge bowl with rice noodles, herbs and slices of the chosen meat. Bean sprouts, chilies, basil and other herbs are served alongside to add in to the soup, together with an assortment of spicy relishes. The pho shop we visit always has the TV blaring and a group of older men at the back playing board games, often mah jong, but others too that I don’t recognize.
The supermarket stocks all manner of interesting ingredients, often with no English on the label. I pick up spices and grocery items such as mushroom soy sauce, rice wine and jars of kim che the Korean picked vegetable assortment which makes a good side dish to barbecued meats. Pork is sold with the skin on and I either roast it plain in the English style or braise it with red spices, Chinese style. There is a good selection of fresh vegetables too, some totally unfamiliar and sometimes I ask other shoppers what things are and how they are used. Last week I bought some rambutans which were my absolute favorite fruit when I lived in Malaya as a child. In the supermarket they appear under plastic wrap looking like small red hedgehogs, when I lived in Malaya we bought them from road side vendors by the branch. Think lychee but larger, they are best served chilled. Saving the best for last I stop by the friendly roast meat vendor at the front of the supermarket, roast ducks and part of a large pig usually hang in the window. I buy a roast duck for my recipe below and also a chunk of the roast pork which makes the car smell divine all the way home and can either be reheated in the oven or served cold for dinner that night.
I like to visit Vietnam, but it’s great to sleep in my own bed at night!
Roast Duck Salad -serves 6
1 Asian style roast duck
10 cups of assorted vegetables, such as carrots peeled and sliced on the diagonal, bean sprouts, sugar snap peas cut length ways, green beans, batons of cucumber, wedges of iceberg lettuce or florets of broccoli.
Sesame oil
A small bunch of cilantro, chopped
Dressing
Juice of 2 limes
1 large clove garlic crushed
1 teaspoon sugar
¼ cup Asian fish sauce (nam pla)
1 chili chopped small if you like spicy food
The vendor in the supermarket will be keen to chop the duck up for you. Don’t let him do this. You can let him split the duck in half if he looks too disappointed.
Heat the oven to 375 degrees.
Bone the duck leaving only the leg and wing bones in. Roast it, skin side up for 45minutes. This will crisp up the skin and render a lot of the fat. Pour off the fat and leave the duck to cool a little. Slice into bite size pieces, discarding the rest of the bones.
Blanch the hard vegetables in boiling water, cool and dry. Rinse and dry the salad items.
Mix all the dressing ingredients and toss with all the vegetables. Pile them on a platter and arrange the duck on top.
Drizzle a little sesame oil over the platter just before serving and scatter with chopped cilantro.
To get to Vietnam, take Rt. 50 to Washington DC, then 395 South to 66 West. Leave Rt.66 at exit 69 and turn left. This road will turn into Roosevelt Blvd and you will see the Eden Center on your right.
The Eden Center near Falls Church, Virginia used to be a regular shopping center. In the early 1970s, during the fall of Saigon, many of the South Vietnamese who had worked with the American forces there were evacuated to the US. Families with links to the military and living close to the Pentagon opened their homes to the refugees and soon a thriving Vietnamese community existed in that locality. The Eden Center now has mainly Vietnamese stores and I highly recommend a visit as a quick and inexpensive way of dipping one’s toe into a different culture. One can wander around the souvenir, music and jewelry stores but for me, the restaurants, cafes and supermarkets hold more allure: I am a culinary tourist.
Vietnamese food has been influenced by not only the prevailing Asian ingredients and culture but also the French who had established a colonial power base there. This has resulted in a café society that favors coffee and pastries and there are many Vietnamese dishes that feature spicy grilled meats or vegetables filling bread that looks very French to me, as well as dishes that are Chinese in appearance. We always visit the same pho shop because it is the children’s favorite. Pho is the national dish, a flavorful broth made from either chicken or beef, served in a huge bowl with rice noodles, herbs and slices of the chosen meat. Bean sprouts, chilies, basil and other herbs are served alongside to add in to the soup, together with an assortment of spicy relishes. The pho shop we visit always has the TV blaring and a group of older men at the back playing board games, often mah jong, but others too that I don’t recognize.
The supermarket stocks all manner of interesting ingredients, often with no English on the label. I pick up spices and grocery items such as mushroom soy sauce, rice wine and jars of kim che the Korean picked vegetable assortment which makes a good side dish to barbecued meats. Pork is sold with the skin on and I either roast it plain in the English style or braise it with red spices, Chinese style. There is a good selection of fresh vegetables too, some totally unfamiliar and sometimes I ask other shoppers what things are and how they are used. Last week I bought some rambutans which were my absolute favorite fruit when I lived in Malaya as a child. In the supermarket they appear under plastic wrap looking like small red hedgehogs, when I lived in Malaya we bought them from road side vendors by the branch. Think lychee but larger, they are best served chilled. Saving the best for last I stop by the friendly roast meat vendor at the front of the supermarket, roast ducks and part of a large pig usually hang in the window. I buy a roast duck for my recipe below and also a chunk of the roast pork which makes the car smell divine all the way home and can either be reheated in the oven or served cold for dinner that night.
I like to visit Vietnam, but it’s great to sleep in my own bed at night!
Roast Duck Salad -serves 6
1 Asian style roast duck
10 cups of assorted vegetables, such as carrots peeled and sliced on the diagonal, bean sprouts, sugar snap peas cut length ways, green beans, batons of cucumber, wedges of iceberg lettuce or florets of broccoli.
Sesame oil
A small bunch of cilantro, chopped
Dressing
Juice of 2 limes
1 large clove garlic crushed
1 teaspoon sugar
¼ cup Asian fish sauce (nam pla)
1 chili chopped small if you like spicy food
The vendor in the supermarket will be keen to chop the duck up for you. Don’t let him do this. You can let him split the duck in half if he looks too disappointed.
Heat the oven to 375 degrees.
Bone the duck leaving only the leg and wing bones in. Roast it, skin side up for 45minutes. This will crisp up the skin and render a lot of the fat. Pour off the fat and leave the duck to cool a little. Slice into bite size pieces, discarding the rest of the bones.
Blanch the hard vegetables in boiling water, cool and dry. Rinse and dry the salad items.
Mix all the dressing ingredients and toss with all the vegetables. Pile them on a platter and arrange the duck on top.
Drizzle a little sesame oil over the platter just before serving and scatter with chopped cilantro.
To get to Vietnam, take Rt. 50 to Washington DC, then 395 South to 66 West. Leave Rt.66 at exit 69 and turn left. This road will turn into Roosevelt Blvd and you will see the Eden Center on your right.
