Noodle houses, cucumbers, the power of the chili pepper
Vietnamese Beef Pho
Noodle houses
Welcome to the January 2004 edition of the Vietnam Art Gallery newsletter.
Early January is the time to wish our western readers a Happy and Prosperous New Year — and is the month that here in Vietnam we prepare for the celebration of our own New Year — the Tet festival. This year, Tet falls on 26 January and being the most enthusiastically celebrated event of the Vietnamese ceremonial calendar, celebrations last between three days and a week.
We'll explain more about the happy rituals of Tet's welcoming of Spring next newsletter — but for now, the January edition of Vietnam Art Gallery focuses on the healthful and fresh richness that is Vietnamese cuisine — a central and vital aspect of Tet ceremonies. Many families in Vietnam spend much time in January preparing food that will be offered to our sacred ancestors, family and friends. So, from the team at Vietnam Art Gallery, Happy New Year and enjoy!
=============== CONTENTS ===============
- Noodle houses, cucumbers, and the power of the chili pepper... — Vietnamese people believe wholeheartedly that they have the best food on the planet. Go >>
- January's Feature Artist — January's feature artist: Minh Phuong. Phuong's dreamscapes of pastel figures incognito under the minature roofs of their bamboo hats (non) are a Vietnamese fantasia. Go >>
- Citrus in Vietnamese folklore — by Huu Ngoc. The most popular citrus fruits in Viet Nam are limes, grapefruits, oranges, clementines and kumquats. A lime tree (cay chanh) is planted in nearly every garden and yard of peasant houses. Go >>
- Vietnamese Beef Pho — This soup is served with a plate full of fresh garnishes as well as various sauces. Go >>
- Featured Spotlight — Duy Nhi, Ha, Hoang Minh. Go >>
=== Noodle houses, cucumbers, and the power of the chili pepper ===
Vietnamese people believe wholeheartedly that they have the best food on the planet. If you ask a local about their thoughts on food, more often than not they will speak reverently about food's nourishment of social groups and its place as an important aspect of Vietnam's cultural expression, as much as for their own enjoyment of the fabulous sights, smells and tastes of this flavoursome cuisine.
Vietnam has three basic regional cuisines. North Vietnamese food is not quite as rich or spicy as that of the country's south. Some would call it "subtle." It may be warm; but it is the warmth of black pepper, not red chilies. And North Vietnamese food looks much more like Chinese food than do the cuisines in other parts of the country.
The hottest food in the country is from Central Vietnam. Chili peppers are everywhere, in everything. And the cooks and chefs of the region like to be creative, try new things with their dishes.
In Vietnam's southern region chefs are preoccupied with vegetables. And while vegetables are as likely as not to be pickled in Hanoi, in Saigon they will be fresh. The cuisine of Vietnam's southern region is also more influenced by the French colonial era. You will awaken in Saigon to the smell of baguettes baking. And the people of the south prefer to serve several small dishes at mealtime instead of two or three large helpings (as is common in Hanoi). Whatever region you are in, the people consider food to be more than just a necessity. It is an art...
There are a few staples that you should be ready for throughout the country. One is pho -- or beef noodle soup. Pho is the fast food of Saigon, Hanoi, Danang, Hue', and Haiphong. Come lunch time, it's the noodle house. Almost anywhere you go you will also find gio lua (pork sausages), nem ran (spring rolls), and cha ca (fish balls). And seafood is abundant -- crabs, shrimp, squids, mussels, an untold variety of fish and even lobster are drawn from the waters off Vietnam's coast or from the country's rivers. You will also find nouc mam (fish sauce) on almost any table where the Chinese would place soy sauce. It may be added to almost anything.
Finally, no meal is complete without a tray of herbs and fresh vegetables. Almost anywhere in the country you will find sliced cucumbers, hot peppers, coriander, bean threads, a little basil or mint, and a few other herbs on the table to complement the meal.
The cuisine of Vietnam will offer you a huge number of novel experiences. You will be confronted with some of them if you are in the country for any length of time. You don't have to be afraid of them. The Vietnamese have been eating frog legs for centuries and are no worse off for it. Most of the meats you will be offered will be familiar: beef, chicken, pork, shrimp, and fish. But a little snake or dog meat never hurt anyone (or at least it didn't hurt me). And tasting your host's turtle soup out of sheer politeness certainly won't kill you!
At the end of the day, most Western visitors leave Vietnam with a new appreciation for the power of the chili pepper, an awe at what Vietnamese cooks can do with vegetables, a love for noodles, and a desire to find out if they can get fruits like lychees or soursop in their home town.
=== Our artist of the month: Minh Phuong ===
Phuong's dreamscapes of pastel figures incognito under the minature roofs of their bamboo hats (non) are a Vietnamese fantasia, measuring 1 meter by 1 meter
Minh Phuong - Bamboo frame 10 - $1000
Click to see more paintings by this artist.
== Citrus in Vietnamese folklore, by Huu Ngoc ==
The most popular citrus fruits in Viet Nam are limes, grapefruits, oranges, clementines and kumquats. A lime tree (cay chanh) is planted in nearly every garden and yard of peasant houses. A Vietnamese lime diffuses a pleasant aroma which is not found in species of other countries. Its juice is used in meals to flavour the fish sauce (nuoc mam) and salt in which one dips bits of boiled meat. Thinly sliced lime leaves are also wrapped around pieces of boiled chicken to give the meat a special flavour; hence the saying con ga cuc tac la chanh, the hen cackles calling for the leaves of the lime tree. Lemon leaves are also used in the concoction of snail dishes.
When boiled, the leaves are an ingredient of an aromatic hair lotion giving a glossy effect. Women also like to wash their hair with fresh lime to give it suppleness and get rid of dandruff. In summer, fresh lime is made into a refreshment rich in vitamins; the juice is even believed to be able to cure conjunctivitis. Salted lemonade with a little added sugar is popular as a thirst quencher in hot weather, while dried salted lime is said to cure winter coughs.
Let us look into some locutions and proverbs which make analogies with limes. Chanh com, an unripe lime, designates a girl at the age of puberty; chanh chua, a sour lime, is said to describe ill-tempered women; gio giong vat chanh ra means having recourse to bitter words as if squeezing a lime fruit to suck out its acidity; chanh chua thi khe cung chua (if the lime is sour, the star fruit is no less so) describes two individuals who are equally cantankerous; chanh khe mot long, buoi bong mot da expresses the idea that a lime, a star fruit, a grapefruit and a pomelo are all one.
The word pomelo, qua buoi, comes from the Dutch word pompelmoes which means 'big lemon'. The tree (citra maxima) has thorny branches and bunches of perfumed flowers. These flowers have between four and five sepals, white petals and yellow stamen from which essence is distilled to season food, especially cakes, sugared porridges (che), tea and sugar cane for chewing.
In spring, the fragrance of the flowers of pomelo trees fill villages of northern Viet Nam. Women perfume their long hair with a concoction made of pomelo and other leaves. The pomelo flower is a romantic flower which reminds one of distant loved ones. A popular song which evokes a deceived love makes an allusion to the flowers of the pomelo tree:
"I climb on a pomelo tree to pick up its flowers,
I climb down to a field of egg-plants to pick up buds of wild roses
Wild roses turn green when they bloom, you are married, I learn!"
Pomelos have a thick mesocarp composed of several layers rich in vitamin C. It has either an acid or a sugary taste, depending on whether the pulp is white or pink. The most preferred varieties are those from Doan Hung (in the former province of Phu Tho), Nghe An (Buoi Nghe) and Bien Hoa. The mesocarp contains a lot of pectin which is used as a homeostatic agent. When pressed, the seeds give an oil that can be burnt for light. Children string these beads in a bamboo stick, dry them and then burn them as a candle.
During the Mid-Autumn Festival (eighth lunar month) a pomelo is used to make toy dogs and artificial flowers. In traditional medicine, the young fruit cut in two and dried (chi xac) is a medicine against coughing and dysentery. The Grapefruit Village on the outskirts of Ha Noi was famous for making giay ban (rice paper) on which ideograms are written and linh Buoi (black satin).
Let us cite a couple of proverbs referring to the grapefruit. "Buoi chua co muoi man" (if a grapefruit is acid, use salt) implies that one always finds someone more crafty than oneself. "Buoi cung tham, cam cung muon" (Grapefruit? He wants one. Orange? He does not say no to one) is used to speak of a gluttonous person.
==== Vietnamese Beef Pho ====
This soup is served with a plate full of fresh garnishes as well as various sauces. This allows each person to season their serving to taste. The beef is sliced very thin, almost thin enough to see through. You might want to have the butcher slice it for you, or if you're defrosting the meat, you'll be able to slice it finely when it's still partially frozen (but not fully frozen!). The boiling hot broth is poured over the noodles and raw meat. The meat is quickly cooked in the hot broth in the time it takes to garnish the soup." Yields 6 servings.
INGREDIENTS:
- 16 cups beef broth
- 1 large onion, sliced into rings
- 6 slices fresh ginger root
- 1 lemon grass
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 1 pound sirloin tip, cut into thin slices
- 1/2 pound bean sprouts
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves
- 1 cup fresh mint leaves
- 1 cup loosely packed coriander (cilantro) leaves
- 3 fresh jalapeno peppers, sliced into rings
- 2 limes, cut into wedges
- 2 (8 ounce) packages dried rice noodles
- 1/2 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 1 dash hot pepper sauce
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
DIRECTIONS:
- In a large soup pot, combine broth, onion, ginger, lemon grass, cinnamon, and peppercorns. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and cover. Simmer for 1 hour.
- Arrange bean sprouts, mint, basil, and coriander on a platter with chilies and lime.
- Soak the noodles in hot water to cover for 15 minutes or until soft. Drain. Place equal portions of noodles into 6 large soup bowls, and place raw beef on top. Ladle hot broth over noodles and beef. Pass platter with garnishes and sauces.
Enjoy!
==== Featured Pieces ====
Duy Nhi's portrait of one of his many cats is playful and deliciously iridescent - and proof that not only the Vietnamese people have a penchant for the seafood of the region!
Nguyen Duy Nhi - "New 56" - $130 - more >>
Ha's bright and burning abstracts with their foregrounded geometrics are an echo of Kandinsky, while still maintaining his own unique interpretation of reality and of art.
Ha - "Portrait 12" - $160 - more >>
Minh's arcing lines within "Fishing 5" capture the moment of movement that occasionally punctures the extended stillness of fishing. This painting is a great catch.
Hoang Minh - "Fishing 5" - $250 - more >>
Thank you for reading! We wish you peace and good fortune for the coming month!
============== Artist Roster ==============
Our database of up-and-coming artists has doubled in the last few months and we now have over 850 original art pieces in our database -- one of the largest virtual galleries on the Internet! Here's a rundown on the artists you'll find in our pages. Think you can pick the next Bui Xuan Phai?
Subscription policy: You're receiving this information because you signed up at our website - http://www.vietnamartgallery.com. To be removed, simply reply to this message and let us know.