Vietnam Part Two. Hoi An

Hoi An Is an atmospheric and delightful town on the east coast of central Vietnam and is of the country's main tourist centres.

Hoi An



Whilst there we visited a restaurant called "Bale Well". It was a small basic cafe selling street food and it was manic to say the least.

The Menu.

The Host.

The Chef.

The Food.

Satay style barbecue pork served with salad greens, herbs and vegetables with a spicy sauce, rice paper rolls and rice pancakes washed down with a cold beer. The place was buzzing the food was great and the host a bit of a character! what a great night.

Whilst in Hoi An we visited The Red Bridge Cooking School. This involved a gudied tour around Hoi An market before moving on to the school itself.

Grissom was our guide.

It had been a long day.



Fish anyone?

And so after a bit of a dodgy boat ride it was off to the school to do some cooking.

The Teacher complete with mirror.

Whilst at the school we learned how to make Hoi An Pancakes(Bánh Xèo) which are rice batter pancakes wrapped in rice paper rolls and filled with Pork, Shrimps(Prawns), Spring Onions, Bean Sprouts, Lettuce and the usual lashings of herbs (Vietnamese Basil, Coriander, Mint, Bitter Herb).

The rice paper rolls are made by soaking white rice in water for at least seven hours. Then washing it well. Then its blended with water and salt and left for an hour. The next step is stretching some muslin over a pot of boiling water and spooning some of the mixture onto the muslin and spreading it thinly. It then sets and you are left with a rice paper roll.


Masterchef Vietnam at Work.



The Pancake mixture was Rice Flour, Water, Salt and Turmeric Powder which was left to sit for an hour. The Pork and Shrimp are then lightly fried and the Pancake batter is added along with a few Bean Sprouts and Spring Onion. The Pancake is then fried until crisp. To serve wrap the Pancake and Herbs in the Rice Paper Roll and serve with a Peanut Butter Sauce for dipping.

They tasted good too.

So you can see that the one item menu that we enjoyed in Bale Well was very similar to the one that we made in the Red Bridge School both are Banh Xeo, which is the generic name for the type of Pancake, however the fillings may be different.
I suspect that the ingredients and the methods of making Banh Xeo differ from region to region.

So thats just a very brief glimpse of Hoi An and its food.

Vietnam Part One. The North Hanoi

Back in March and April Anne and I visited Vietnam.

We spent three nights in Hanoi, seven in Hoi An and three in Ho Chi Minh City(Saigon).

 

The "North South Divide" that exists in our country is also apparent in Vietnam.

Hanoi is in the north and is old style Vietnam as exemplified by its "Old Town "area. It's all hustle and bustle with scores of street vendors and even more motorbikes. If you ever go be careful crossing the road or perhaps you could say don't be careful because the best thing to do is just cross and the traffic will go around you! 

The Old Town From Quan Mi Binh

Who's done that?

A Riverside Herb Garden

Hanoi Outdoor Charcuterie

One thing that you must try in Vietnam, especially Hanoi, is Bia Hoi. This is Vietnam's very own draft beer or microbrew. It's a very light Pilsner style beer introduced by the Czechs during in a display of Communist solidarity. It is brewed without preservatives and is meant to be enjoyed immediately. The best thing being that it costs around 4000 Dong (12 pence) a pint.

Bia Hoi

 

Rice Paper Rolls from Quan Mi Binh

The problem that I have with this BLOG is that I decided to write it  a few months after returning from Vietnam so I wasn't taking notes about the food at the time. However you can take it from me that these Rolls were filled with Pork , Shrimp, Mushrooms, Chilli and plenty of Herbs such as Vietnamese Mint, Coriander or Asian Basil.

The greater use of herbs in Vietnam is different from other Asian styles and is I think due to the French influences of the past. Anyway they were light and very tasty especially with the Fish Sauce, Rice Vinegar and Chilli Dip. Incidentally Vietnamese Fish Sauce is different than Thai fish sauce and actually smells a bit "Marmitey".


The Vietnamese equivalent to McDonalds is Pho 24

These are modern style fast food cafes serving a Vietnamese classic which is usually eaten for breakfast but can be eaten anytime.

It is a spiced beef broth whose make up varies across the different regions of the country. In the North it is simpler with fewer ingredients. In the South it is more elaborate and perhaps more sophisticated.

I suspect the Pho in Pho 24 is standardised across the country.Unlike my Pho which I made using Venison.

So instead of it being Pho Bo, Bo referring to Beef, you could call my attempt "Pho Nai". A big thank you to Google translate for that one!

The recipe is mainly taken from the excellent book the "Songs Of  Sapa" by Luke Nguyen

So lets start with the broth

The Bones Soaking in Salted Water

Venison bones were soaked in salted water for an hour to help remove impurities.

The Spices

Cassia Bark, Star Anise, Cloves, Szechuan Peppercorns

The Aromatics

To bring out the flavour scorch some Ginger, Onions,and Garlic

The Broth

Fresh Water was added to the Aromatics and the Spices as well as Fish Sauce, Rock Sugar and Salt. It was then simmered for three hours skimming any impurities off to help produce a clear broth.

The solid ingredients were removed leaves a clear broth smelling of the streets of Hanoi.

The Accompaniments

Rice Noodles, Bean Sprouts, Coriander, Parsley, Thai Basil, Spring Onions, Chillies, and Raw Venison sliced very thinly as well Limes for extra seasoning are prepared for the bowl.

The Broth is added to Accompaniments

The Raw Venison is cooked

The Finished Dish

So this is the finished dish packed full of different flavours and well worth making. Serve it with a nice cool "Bia Hoi" or a Vietnamese Cold Coffee.