I think the best thing you can do in life is travel and take in the world – whether it be exploring a new continent or making a 45-minute drive up the coast. I recently traveled to Asia for the first time and openly took in the culture shock. We chose to visit Vietnam as its tourism is growing but it’s still “off-the-beaten-path” and, well, we really like cheap Vietnamese food. It’s a country with a rich, complex history and its cuisine tells a story of similarity and separation. We started in Hanoi, spent a night in Halong Bay, explored Hoi An, and wrapped up the tour in Ho Chi Minh City. Each location offered a different style of flavor and dishes ranged from light broths to hearty, meaty sandwiches. I’m posting some of my favorite dishes here with the intention that one day I’m going to try to recreate them in my teeny American kitchen. Good luck to me….

Hanoi

My mom commented that when she was my age the thought of ever visiting Hanoi was ludicrous. Perhaps similar to how we conceive Baghdad today? We’ll see. Anyway, it’s hard to describe Hanoi. It’s like old world French colonialism meets cold, rigid Communism. I was expecting big, bold flavors but instead we sampled a number of very mild yet fresh dishes. The pho we ate there was incredibly light and refreshing and actually made the perfect breakfast. There’s something great about starting the day with a warm bowl of soup. We ate a really yummy turmeric fish dish (Cha Ca) which I stupidly forgot to take a picture of. It’s essentially a white fish cooked with turmeric, and tons of herbs (specifically dill) in very hot oil table side and served on top of a bowl of rice noodles. My personal favorite thing we tried in Hanoi was actually a type of coffee… Egg Coffee.  A family friend recommended we seek it out and wow am I so happy we did! It’s essentially egg yolks whipped with sweetened condensed milk so it takes on a texture somewhere between a custard and marshmallow. It’s flavored with a splash of strong coffee and layered on top of a cup of brew and topped with powdered chocolate. Absolutely divine.

Hoi An

This was where the magic food experience happened. Hoi An is a coastal town in Central Vietnam that is known for it’s textiles (cheapest tailored clothes you’ll find) and it’s FOOD. There’s plenty of street food both on the streets and in restaurants (I know… Is it really street food if it’s served in a restaurant?). We did our research and came across Ms. Vy’s restaurants and cooking school. We visited her famous restaurant Morning Glory and sampled a number of local dishes that were full of such a beautiful, simplistic flavor we couldn’t help but sign up for the cooking class to learn (and taste) more. Cao Lau was easily one of the best dishes we sampled… It’s a thicker style of rice noodle flavored with turmeric so they’re yellow. The noodles are mixed with a bit of broth (not a soup) and topped with pork, fresh herbs, peanuts, and crispy rice crackers. We also tried white rose dumplings and a variety of
spring rolls. At the cooking class we learned to make something called “Mother-in-law Soup” which was essentially a light
vegetable broth with a shrimp paste parcel and minced shrimp and veggies. It gets it’s name from the local tradition of newlywed wives satisfying their mother-in-laws by making this soup. We also made something call Banh Xeo which is a staple of Central Vietnamese cuisine and is essentially a rice flour pancake fried in oil until crispy. Delicious but ohhhh the oil! Lastly we made some barbecued chicken skewers and served them on top of a green mango salad (basically the same as papaya salad). Overall a wonderful and filling meal from start to finish and a fantastic thing to have experienced. Looking back on our stay in Hoi An I would have to say that the tastiest food we had by far was the barbecued pork we got on a street corner. We sat on little plastic chairs and a tray of various herbs, spicy peanut sauce, and rice paper was set in front of us. We were then served freshly grilled pork skewers (literally open flame in front of us on this street corner) which you then assembled into a wrap. So delicious, cheap, and memorable!

Ho Chi Minh City

Our final stop… This city is very westernized yet it still has it’s charm. It was HOT yet I finally felt like I found some of the spice and flavor I was waiting for the whole trip. We visited the legendary Lunch Lady (made famous by Anthony Bourdain and for good reason). At little joints like hers you basically go sit down and they serve you whatever they felt like making that day… No need to order and don’t even try to guess what ingredients are in your food. We got Bun Bo Hue which was just epic to say the least. We had been searching for this noodle soup dish for the last week, expecting to find it in Hoi An since Hue is not too far
from that city. Let’s just say it was worth the wait. The broth is rich, sour, and spicy and served with chewy rice noodles and various meats (again, not sure what I ate exactly). I have looked up recipes since enjoying this dish and it looks pretty intense but I promise I will try to tackle it at some point! For now, here is a beautiful picture to remind me of that mouth-watering goodness…