Dish of the day: Bo Bia
Where it’s found: Various street food vendors along An Duong Vuong
Street, District 5, HCMC (especially by the University of Science and Saigon
University and near NowZone).
Breaking it down: Circular thin rice paper wrapped around chinese sausage,
julienned jicama and carrot, herbs (such as thai basil), thin strips of egg and
dried shrimp. It is served with a hoisin-based sauce, often with peanuts
inside.
My on-the-go dish of the day is Bo Bia, which is a type of roll, not to be confused with a spring
roll and not to be assumed that they contain bo (beef, in Vietnamese)! Inside
the circular thin rice paper is Chinese sausage (a dry, cooked sausage), julienned
jicama, carrot, herbs (such as thai basil), thin strips of egg and dried shrimp.
It is served with a hoisin-based sauce, often with peanuts for dipping, too! Some
versions use bean sprouts, shrimp or other vegetables, but I don’t usually see
them around here. Bo Bia is said to come from a Chinese dish called “Popiah”,
hence the similarly pronounced name. They are very cheap (often 3,000-6,000VND
each, around $0.25), so ordering a couple for a snack and a plate full for a
meal isn’t a bad idea.
I bought my bo bia “to go” near Saigon University, which is
an area full of students who crave cheap, tasty and quick foods – and hence, bo
bia, noodle and rice dishes, banh trang chon, banh mi and other street food
crowd the sidewalks! There’ll always be something to munch on there.
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