What's Cookin?

If you know me, you know I like food. I like all kinds of food. Southern, Italian, American, Indian, Thai, Spanish, Chinese, Mexican...the list could go on. Before moving to Hanoi, I had not had the pleasure of experiencing a lot of Asian food outside of Chinese and Thai. I can happily say that Vietnamese food is excellent and I am dutifully eating my way through the list of traditional dishes. I thought I'd give you a run down of some of my favorites so far, I've mentioned two of them in a previous post, and some pictures* of the scrumptiousness.

First, there's pho. Pho is a noodle soup with a rich, clear broth made from boiling meat and spices. You can order many varieties of pho, with different meats, but typically it comes with spring onions, vegetables, and herbs. Pho can be eaten at any time of the day, but it is often enjoyed at breakfast. It is also highly recommended for those mornings when you're sporting a hangover.

Pho ga = pho with chicken

After pho, bun cha is the second most popular dish. Bun cha is again a broth-based dish. A bowl of broth with grilled pork nuggets is served with a basket of greens, herbs, and bean sprouts and a plate of vermicelli noodles to add as you please to your bowl. Sometimes, bun cha also comes with a few chopped-up eggrolls to add to the bowl. As you can imagine, the bowl gets pretty full really fast, so you have to eat in stages. Add a few noodles, a few greens, and a piece of an eggroll, then repeat once the broth is sufficiently low enough. You know bun cha places by the smoke from grilling pork billowing out on the street. Many bun cha places only serve until 5:00 to 5:30, so we only get it on the weekends. This dish is a must-have, but not recommended before going to the gym. Trust me when I say bun cha burps are not pleasant.

Bun cha

The next delectable dish is one that I have been recently introduced to, but it is already a favorite (I actually had it for lunch today!). Bun bo nam bo is a noodle dish, but this one has very little broth and lots of delicious friends in the bowl! A party in a bowl that soon turns into a party in my mouth, bun bo nam bo (yeah, I like saying it) is a mix of noodles, beef, lettuce, coriander, basil, beansprouts, and crushed peanuts, with a sweet sauce to top it off. The best place to get this dish in Hanoi is only a 10- to 15-minute walk from my office. Score! I recommend this dish any time, any where.


Bun bo nam bo

Fish is a pretty popular ingredient here, but I must admit that I don't eat it too often, probably because I live by a lake that I see people pee in. However, in the Old Quarter lies a Hanoi institution, Cha Ca La Vong, that serves a truly Hanoian dish, cha ca. Cha ca means grilled fish in Vietnamese, but I would equate it more to fried fish. Cooked tableside on a hot plate, the dish of whitefish is accompanied by fresh dill, scallions, basil, peanuts, cilantro, and chile sauce, along with vermicelli. I would not recommend this dish before any physical activity as the oil that the fish and greens are fried in with lull you into a grease comma and prevent you from doing anything productive for at least the next hour or two. Southerners will have no problem as we're used to fried goodness.


Cha Ca La Vong

I hope you enjoyed learning about some of my favorite dishes in Hanoi so far. I'm visiting the central and southern regions of the country during the next few months and am sure to discover new, tasty delights along the way that I can share with you.

* I apologize for not having original pictures of these dishes, but by the time I think about taking a picture, I've eaten the whole thing! Photo credits: pho: Tuvy.com; bun bo nam bo: TravelPod.com; cha ca: Hanoilover.com.