Vietnam - Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Northern Thailand - page 341

Meals
Pho is the noodle soup that built a nation and is eaten at all hours of the day, but espe-
cially for breakfast. Com are rice dishes. You'll see signs saying pho and com everywhere.
Other noodle soups to try are bun bo Hue and hu tieu .
Spring rolls ( nem in the north, cha gio in the south) are a speciality. These are normally
dipped in nuoc mam (fish sauce), though many foreigners prefer soy sauce ( xi dau in the
north, nuoc tuong in the south).
Because Buddhist monks of the Mahayana tradition are strict vegetarians, an chay (ve-
getarian cooking) is an integral part of Vietnamese cuisine.
THERE'S SOMETHING FISHY AROUND HERE…
Nuoc mam (fish sauce) is the one ingredient that is quintessentially Vietnamese and it lends a distinct-
ive character to Vietnamese cooking. The sauce is made by fermenting highly salted fish in large
ceramic vats for four to 12 months. Connoisseurs insist high-grade sauce has a much milder aroma
than the cheaper variety. Dissenters insist it is a chemical weapon. It's very often used as a dipping
sauce, and takes the place of salt on a Western table.
Snacks
Street stalls or roaming vendors are everywhere, selling steamed sweet potatoes, rice por-
ridge and ice-cream bars even in the wee hours.
There are also many other Vietnamese nibbles to try:
Bap xao Made from fresh, stir-fried corn, chillies and tiny shrimp.
Bo bia Nearly microscopic shrimp, fresh lettuce and thin slices of Vietnamese sausage rolled up in rice pa-
per and dipped in a spicy-sweet peanut sauce.
Sinh to Shakes made with milk and sugar or yoghurt, and fresh tropical fruit.
Sweets
Many sticky confections are made from sticky rice, like banh it nhan dau, made with sug-
ar and bean paste and sold wrapped in banana leaf.