Royal food: welcome you to central of Vietnam

City of Hue is located in the centre of the long, narrow country, between the Perfume River and the east sea; it served as the country’s capital until 1945, and is still known as the Imperial City. With such a rich history, the city claims several distinctive dishes — from small and delicate creations originally created to please the appetites of Nguyen feudal lords, emperors and their hundreds of wives. When you come to visit hue, there are several foods you should try to explore the hidden charm of this city.

Com Hen (rice with mussel) is a very unique cuisine of Hue. Com Hen contains rice, boiled mussel, star fruit, fish sauce, cabbage, onion, pepper, peanut, chili, and a variety of herbs. The specialty is all of these elements are cold. When people eat Com Hen, they add all the above ingredients to a bowl, and slowly add boiled mussel broth with chili sauce into the bowl (the broth is the only hot thing in Com Hen). Com Hen has an extremely spicy flavor as such, so gastronomes remember it just after one time enjoying.

Bun bo Hue (Hue style beef vermicelli) or more detail, Bun bo gio heo (beef and pig's knuckle vermicelli) is a popular Vietnamese soup vermicelli dish, and one of the most typical foods of Hue, Vietnam. Fine combination of ingredients make the food famous; the broth is prepared by simmering beef and bones for a long period of time, after that a large range of different spices containing lemon grass and chili are added in. Shrimp paste holds no less importance. Hue people usually add thin slices of beef shank, chunks of boiled oxtail, and pig's knuckles or pork into the bowl. It can also contain cubes of maroon brown congealed pig blood, which are good for those suffering from high blood pressure. The specialty is commonly served with a plenty of herbs like sprouts, lime wedges, cilantro sprigs, onions, and sliced banana blossom. Thinly sliced purple cabbage or iceberg lettuces are used in case of lacking in banana blossom. It is highly recommended for tourists to add a few of shrimp paste directly into the soup.

Banh beo (water fern cake) is a kind of small steamed rice pancake. The name is to refer from the shape of the cake (like a water fern-Beo in Vietnamese). It is white in color, sometimes nearly transparent and usually has a dimple in the center, which is covered with savory recipes including chopped dried or fresh shrimp, scallions, mung bean paste, crispy fried shallots, fish sauce, rice vinegar, and oil.

The central of Vietnam is reputable for its Mam tom chua (sour shrimp sauce) and Hue is the best place for this unique sauce. Unlike normal shrimp sauce (has brown color and smooth surface), Sour shrimp sauce has orange color while shrimps still keep its original shape. It is quite simple to make this sauce. First, shrimps are clean by salt water (do not use normal water to avoid bad smells) and “cook” by strong rice wine. The shrimps will turn red. After that, carefully mix the shrimps with sticky rice, sliced lesser galangal, garlic and chili. Slowly put all the mixture into a jar covered by guava leaves. Just need to wait for 5-7 days and we have the mouthwatering sour shrimp sauce of our own making. This is the best sauce for boiled pork with vermicelli.

Top 5 Vietnamese dishes

1. “Bun Bo Hue”

The spicy beef noodle soup that come from the central city of Vietnam – Hue. Not similar to Pho, The dish is greatly admired for its balance of spicy, sour, salty and sweet flavors and the predominant flavor is that of lemon grass. “Bun bo hue” usually includes thin slices beef shank, oxtail, and pig's knuckles. It can also include cubes of congealed pig blood. It is commonly served with lime, cilantro, green onions, white onions and red or white cabbage. 

2. “banh cuon”

“banh cuon” in Vietnamese mean steamed rice cake. “banh cuon” is soft and delicate, the favorite way to enjoy this is straight from the steamer, deep it in the sweet and sour fish source when it still hot. The traditional steps to make “banh cuon” are ladled each scoop of the rice flour-based batter onto the steamer, covering it with a lid for a matter of seconds, then carefully transferred the gossamer-thin sheets with a bamboo stick onto a tray to be filled with minced mushrooms and pork.

3. “goi cuon”

“goi cuon” literally means "salad rolls" and should be distinguished from the fried rolls, which are also sometimes called summer rolls. The rolls are packed with greens, sometimes shrimp and/or pork, and herbs. They need a dunk in sweet and sour fish source or hoisin peanut butter source. Almost every region in Vietnam has its own distinct spring roll but no matter where you are, the wrapping and rolling process is more or less the same.

4. “banh xeo”

“xeo” mean “sizzling” which is the sound when you make “banh xeo”! The savory, crisp-edged, crepe-like pancake is best enjoyed straight from the pan. The batter is made with rice flour, coconut milk, and turmeric (hence the nice golden-yellow hue and not eggs) and is pan-fried altogether with pork, shrimp, and a heap of bean sprouts. Wrap up the pancake with lettuce, herbs and then deep in the fish source. 

5. “che”

Time for some desert. “Che” refers to any sweet pudding or dessert soup, which usually gets covered in jellied or dried fruit toppings. Taste the rainbow of longans, rambutan, mangoes, jackfruit chips, mung beans, black beans, and more sticky sweetness. You can mix all of them or choose 2 to 3 topping you like put together with some shaved ice to create you unique and delicious desert! 

You can have all the delicious and authentic dishes in Toronto at: Pho Linh

location 1: 1156 College St

Toronto, ON (416) 516-3891

location 2: 2100 Steeles Ave W

Concord, ON (905) 660-4478

The Story Behind Vietnamese Cuisine

"Pho" & "Banh Mi" 

Nowadays, Vietnamese food became popular in all over the world. When everyone talks about Vietnamese food, most of them mention about Pho - Vietnamese noodle soup and Banh Mi - Vietnamese sandwich. However, that not all about Vietnamese food, there are tons of different dishes in Vietnam that you never eat in your life. Also, the things you guys call "Pho" and "Banh Mi" actually not like the original because they try to make our food adapt to American taste. 

Not like Indian food, which is created by a lot of spice, Vietnamese food is about the balance between all the flavors. When cooking, we usually just use 1 to 3 spices to rise up the flavor. Some people are thinking Vietnamese food and Chinese food is the same but they are totally wrong. Base on history, our country have really long time dominated by China so it affect our food and culture. Not as Chinese food, which is cook with a lot of oil and salty, Vietnamese food kind of more green and healthier than Chinese food. Mostly we use steam, boil, or stir-fry technique to cook to avoid add more fat on our food; also we’re not adding too much salt and sugar to keep the food have a light taste and balance.

Vietnam's Geography 

Nevertheless, Vietnamese foods are dividing to 3 main different part bases on Vietnam’s geography: north, central and south of Vietnam. In the north, foods are about the stability between salty and sweet, sour and spicy. Go to the south, the foods over there are sweeter and little spicier than in the north. If you like really spicy food, central of Vietnam food is perfect for you. Also central of Vietnam food is well known is Vietnamese royal food. 

In my blog, week-by-week I will introduce to you guys the different food from the 3 main part of Vietnam so you can have more knowledge about our country, our food and culture. 

If you like it, please share it or if you guy have any question, just leave a comment bellow. I hope you guy enjoy it!