Viet World Kitchen

Guide to Vietnamese Restaurant Menus

Have problems navigating a Vietnamese restaurant menu? You’re not alone. They are their own animals but are generally organized the same. There are more or less the same menu items – think of a Chinese restaurant menu. Instead of a "Pasta" section, there's a "Noodles" section. "Banh" are usually savory dumplings, crepes, and little morsels made with flours and starches.

Nevertheless, Vietnamese restaurant menus can confuse with English translations. As a Vietnamese speaker, I sometimes ask for clarification too!

Last year the folks over at Pho411.ca approached me to collaborate to help Vietnamese food lovers and Vietnamese restaurant owners. Sometimes there are typos and miscommunication that get in the way of good food. Pho411.ca and I put the following content together for those who may be unfamiliar with Vietnamese food terms. (Your Vietnamese language skills may be rusty!)

Also, for Vietnamese chefs and restaurant owners may benefit from having some kind of common vocabulary to use when describing Vietnamese dishes. The content in the pages below is not meant to be exhaustive, but rather a starting point. I hope the information broadens your understanding of Vietnamese food and allows you to explore it more deeply.

• Sections of a Menu: How a Vietnamese restaurant menu is organizes. What types of food do you usually see? What are they?
  
• Common Vietnamese Restaurant Dishes: English - Vietnamese names of common foods you'd find on a menu. Restaurants, delis, bakeries and pho shops offer mostly the same things. Use this as a guide.
• Cooking Methods, Seasonings, and Ingredients: If you don't recognize a dish, this page will  help you translate the menu descriptions.  How is something cooked? What kinds of seasonings or dipping sauce is served with it? What are the featured vegetables and fruits? From there you can imagine the flavors. Or, ask informed questions!

Have content to add or corrections? Add them here or better yet, go to Pho411.ca and use their convenient feedback form (scroll to bottom of page).

35 Years Later: Vietnamese Cajun Crayfish Craze

We are two days away from the 35th anniversary of the Fall of Saigon, a major marker in modern history. Not only was it the date when South Vietnam succumbed to North Vietnam, but it also signaled American defeat in the Vietnam War. Vietnam was a tiny tropical country whose communist insurgency could not be contained and reigned in. The whole situation was a mess and resulted in tens of thousands of people fleeing on April 30, 1975.

I was six years old at that time and remember being extremely scared. That’s just from the perspective of a child. My parents, both in their 40s, were under far more stress. We were fortunate to have been able to leave by plane a week before Saigon totally collapsed. Many others had to escape by boat or were forced into reeducation camps and then found other routes to leave the country.

The Vietnamese refugees and immigrants who rebuilt their lives abroad have moved on. They’ve given birth to second (and maybe third) generations of hyphenated Vietnamese people. They’ve taken to eating banh mi filled with meatballs, slurping pho seasoned by Sriracha. 

From: Wikipedia.com

Then there’s the Vietnamese-cajun crayfish craze. What’s up with that? John T. Edge, one of my favorite food writers investigated the phenomenon. We chatted a few weeks ago and today, John T’s article appeared in the New York Times. He surveys the Vietnamese crayfish scene across the United States and yes – it’s a hyphenated American thing. Read:

• Vietnamese Immigrants Carry on a Cajun Food Tradition (John T. Edge, NYT, 4/28/10)
• Vietnamese crayfish restaurant slideshow

Also, check out “A Bit Crazy for Crustaceans” (LAT, 9/23/2008) by journalist My-Thuan Tran, a staff writer for the Los Angeles Times. It’s about the Vietnamese crayfish craze and copycat restaurants in Orange County’s Little Saigon. 

Do you like Vietnamese crayfish boils? Why? What are your favorite spots?

Anyone know if the Vietnamese-cajun crayfish craze has hit Vietnam itself? How about in Australia where the lobster-size giant red claw crayfish?

Goodness, what a difference 35 years makes.

How to Cook Dried Bamboo Shoot (Mang Kho)

Several people have emailed asking about how to cook dried bamboo shoot. I looked up the familiar Asian ingredient in all my books but for some reason, dried bamboo shoot is seldom mentioned in Asian cookbooks. It is a terrific and standard ingredient sold at Chinese and Vietnamese markets. Dried bamboo shoot is shelved at Asian grocery stores alongside other dried foodstuffs, such as dried mushroom, seaweed, turnip, squid, beans, etc. In Vietnam, the shoots are simmered along with pork, duck, or chicken for a classic rice noodle soup called bun mang. Such preparations are traditionally saved for special occasions, such as the Lunar New Year – Tet Nguyen Dan. Since Tet is coming up (in 2010, it falls on Valentine's Day!), I cooked up a bunch of dried bamboo shoot today in preparation for the holiday cooking ahead.

What is the difference between fresh and dried bamboo shoot? Fresh has a crispness whereas dried has a meaty quality. Both have that musty bamboo funk but since bamboo shoot has to be cooked for a long time, the funk disappears. Bamboo shoot is called mang (“mahng”) in Vietnamese and dried bamboo shoot is mang kho (“mahng koh”). Dried bamboo shoots are not hard, but rather leathery. Once reconstituted and boiled until chewy-tender, dried bamboo shoots have a chewy-tenderness and pleasant sweetness that’s not found in fresh or canned bamboo. Whenever I cook dried bamboo shoot, I marvel at how it transforms its cooking broth into a perfumy brew. If you’ve had Japanese ramen noodle soup, chances are that you’ve had dried bamboo shoot (called menma) as a topping. 

Travel Tips to Vietnam: How to Feed Finicky Kids in Saigon (and still eat well)

There were great tips that people shared in response to the recent piece on travel tips to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). I also received some questions via email but one message this morning got me thinking about traveling to a foreign country with children, particularly those with special needs. Most people I know of have gone overseas when their children are either babies or in their late teens and older. The rationale being that it is easier to cater to their needs or they can take care of themselves.

Ellen posed this question:

We are going to Vietnam for the first time over the holidays and have been reading your website, which is marvelous. Sadly we will only be in Vietnam for just for a few days on the way back from Thailand -and only to Saigon/Mekong area. We are already planning a return visit dedicated just to Vietnam, we are that sure that we will like it.
 
We have two sons, 13 and 11. To say that they have white-bread palates is an understatement. The 11 year old also has autism, so that adds a layer of complexity to travel. I want them to eat local and as native as two Irish/German New Englanders can. Any suggestions? They are not seafood eaters. I want to keep them out of fast food! I have some ideas from your Saigon article, but any place you can think of that might satisfy culinarily-challenged kids would be great...  restaurants, grocery/food market items, types of foods,  etc would be welcome.

Hmmm… as adults, traveling to a foreign country presents both opportunities and challenges. Where to go and what to eat? How to eat safely? When you are traveling with children, particularly those who are finicky or are special needs children, special handling is required. Here are some suggestions and strategies for authentic eating in Vietnam:

Many thanks to Suzanne for sending this photo in!

Prep the kids in advance and start young! If possible, introduce them to Vietnamese classics, such a pho noodle soup before you leave your home country.  That way, they will not suffer culture shock upon arrival. (Ellen and her family will be in Thailand first so that is part of the advance preparation!) To illustrate, the photo above is of a 22-month-old toddler eating a bowl of homemade pho; it was sent in my his Vietnamese American mom, Suzanne (remember the post, Generation Gap: Why some Asian elders bug me?). Here's a tip from when I was a kid: If the bowl of pho is too hot for your child, add an ice cube to the bowl to cool it down. That's how I got trained!

Vietnamese Restaurants in D.C. and Virginia

Yesterday morning, I had the privilege of being a guest on a the Kojo Nnamdi radio show, which airs on NPR affiliate station WAMU 88.5FM in Washington, D.C. Kojo has been doing a great series called “The Local Restaurant World Tour” to explore the international food scene. For the segment on Vietnamese cuisine, he invited me, executive chef Hoa Lai of Four Sisters Restaurant and restaurant reviewer Todd Kliman of Washingtonian magazine. We spent the hour discuss Vietnamese food culture, the Vietnamese community in Washington, D.C. and northern Virginia, as well as ingredients and where to eat Viet food there. I contributed my knowledge of Vietnamese food ways and history and in turn, I learned lots from the show hosts and other guests. Highlights included:

East Coast Vietnamese Central
With 17 Vietnamese bakeries and 30 restaurants, Eden Center (Falls Church, Virginia) is the culinary hub of the Vietnamese community in the D.C., northern Virginia area. Many Viet refugees ended up there after 1975, a reflection of the many personal and professional connections that people had with the U.S. government. The D.C. and surrounding area is home to about 45,000 Vietnamese-Americans, the largest concentration in the eastern part of the United States.

The Eden Center got its Vietnamese push beginning in 1984. This photo, taken from the center's site, includes the iconic  Saigon clock tower at Ben Thanh Market, which they've replicated in Falls Church. "The Eden Center is now like is like the catacombs,"  Kliman says.  “There are so many Vietnamese businesses. You can buy phone cards, go to nail shops, and see people drinking and playing cards. I’ve spent whole days wandering through the Eden Center and eating 4 or 5 small meals there.” My kind of day.

Democratization of Dining at World of Flavors 2009

Foie gras and fine dining are in retreat and casual enjoyment of bold flavors from around the globe are on the rise. That was the mega trend that wove together the innumerable sessions at this year’s World of Flavors conference held at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in Napa. Given the popularity of tapas menus, you may think that that’s no major pronouncement, but there has been a shift. Greg Drescher, creator of the CIA conference, noted that there’s been an acceleration of the trend in recent times due to America’s economic slow-down. The engine has been reved up as American diners remain enthralled with eating out but they want to pay less and experience foods that represent all the nooks and crannies of the world’s casual kitchens – whether that’s a hawker stall in Asia or the home kitchen in Tunisia.  People are interested in a head-to-tail rigor when it comes to ingredients like fish and pork. (Finally!)

There were 700 people at the sold-out conference, an annual gathering of renowned chefs, researchers, authors and food industry leaders from all over the globe, and we were there to taste, talk and think about America’s changing culinary landscape. Our Saturday lunch, pictured above, was comprised of street food nibbles from throughout Asia. The colors and textures reflect America’s willingness to expand its palate.

Charles Phan vs. Cat Cora on Iron Chef America: Nov. 8

I've been wondering when Charles Phan would do battle on the Food Network's "Iron Chef America."Turns out that he did last year and now the episode will air -- this Sunday, November 8, at 10 p.m (ET/PT).  Phan battles Cat Cora so we'll see who prevails? (I'm getting tired of: "Whose cuisine will reign supreme?")  I recall a battle where Mario Batali shamelessly rolls a fat, humongous rice paper roll that practically bursted because Batali over stuff (no-no number 1). If Charles and his crew employ rice paper (banh trang), I'm sure they'll do it right and with more grace. Cora grew up in Mississipi so I wonder if catfish will be involved? Hmm....

For details visit:

• Carolyn Jung over at Foodgal.com has a great interview with Phan where he kind of dishes on the show.
• Food Networks official page on the Cora vs. Phan (just has air times right now)

So get a bowl of pho or a banh mi sandwich and watch the show this weekend. Then we'll do a post-mortem discussion next week!

Xie Xie Vietnamese Sandwiches: Gimmicky or Good?

 

Right before I went to New York last week, I asked people for restaurant recommendations. Cathy of Gastronomy Blog promptly responded and suggested that I try the nouveau Vietnamese banh mi at Xie Xie -- a place that describes itself as an "Exclusive New York Asian Fast Food  Restaurant Specializing in  Tasty Sandwiches." On my first day there, I walked uptown from Chelsey and picked up a to-go order of their Cha Ca La Vong (fish with turmeric and dill) and Vietnamese beef sandwiches. It was the perfect lunch for me to share with a Viet friend, Holly, with whom I had a business lunch meeting.

New York restaurants are often like jewel boxes – tiny. Xie Xie was bustling at lunch, their two sandwich cooks working steadily and rapidly to make each sandwich to order. They were a bit slow as they’re meticulous with reheating the bread for every sandwich, so I had lots of time to observe. Xie Xie (which means thank you in Mandarin Chinese) doesn’t call their Vietnamese sandwiches banh mi and they really are not. What we typically think of as banh mi -- a light baguette filled with pickled daikon and carrot, cucumber, cilantro, chiles, mayonnaise, soy sauce and some kind of protein  -- wasn’t what they made here. The menu also had pulled pork stuffed into steamed Chinese buns and a “thousand year-old” ice cream sandwich. Very clever and cute.