Japanese-style Lau (Hot Pot) - Saturday, April 12

After work, I was invited to dinner by an employer of mine! We went to a Japanese-Taiwan-Vietnamese fusion restaurant near my house.  Patrick didn’t finish work until 10pm, so unfortunately he couldn’t come, but I wish he was there because it was so delicious! We had hot pot (lau), Japanese-style, which is when you have a burner in the middle of the table and you put in ingredients and extra broth throughout the dinner to cook, right in front of you.  Everybody takes a small helping at a time from the pot in the middle, so it’s a very interactive experience (much like many meals in the Asian countries I’ve visited).  Hot Pot is definitely one of my favourite types of meals!

This particular dish was an assorted/mixed hot pot and had the following ingredients:

-          Meat broth

-          Jumbo Shrimp

-          Beef slices

-          Cabbage

-          Onion

-          Potato

-          Tofu

-          Mini clams

-          Dumplings

-          Corn (on the cob)

-          Mushrooms

-          Pumpkin

-          Sliced tomato

-          Clams

-          Fish cakes

- 

Ingredients for the hot pot, before being cooked

Ingredients for the hot pot, before being cooked

My individual bowl

Friday, April 11, 2014 - Chè

After work, I was craving a sweet snack, something to fill me up for a couple hours before dinnertime... so I stopped for my first streetside Chè, a traditional Vietnamese snack.  It’s “part-drink, part-snack, part-dessert pudding” and definitely fills that hole when you’re feeling a bit hungry!

It is often traditionally called or described as the tri-colour dessert/drink by locals. Chè can have a variety of ingredients and you can custom-make it to your tastes by simply pointing at the ingredients you want when you order! Here are some of the *common (and less common) ingredients inside:

-          *Beans (i.e. sweet red beans, mung beans, kidney beans, black-eyed peas)

-          Tapioca

-          *Jelly (grass jelly or clear jelly)

-          *Fruits (mango, aloe vera, sugar palm, durian, lychee, jackfruit, etc.)

-          *Coconut milk or cream

-          Taro

-          *Sticky (glutinous) rice mixtures (often with various fruits, beans, sweet ingredients…)

-          Sesame seeds or lotus seeds

-          Seaweed

-          Small dumplings

Nothing like some chè in the park to relax you after a busy afternoon of teaching 3 kindergarten classes with 30 children in each class with no air conditioner!

Thursday, April 10, 2014 - Sủi cảo

Although my day and afternoon were pretty blah (I was stuffed up and had a sore throat, was stressed, didn’t eat enough, was dehydrated and was over-heated), my awesome colleagues at my language school made me feel much better – I felt so supported! What a great groupJ

After work, a few of my good Vietnamese friends/colleagues and I (aka The Hot Pot Team) went to a night market together! I bought a new white shirt and a black skirt – a new teaching outfit.  And for only 190,000vnd ($10), bargained down from twice that amount, I’d say it was a pretty sweet deal!

After our trip to the night market, our Hot Pot Team became a Street Food Team, determined to eat the best street food in HCMC! We were close to Chinatown in District 5, so we stopped for some Chinese Sủi cảo,

which is essentially big dumplings (with pork and shrimp inside) in a bowl of delicious broth and veggies, such as spinach or Chinese cabbage and green onions.  It was a perfect way to end a day that started off pretty miserably. Food solves all problems, doesn’t it?

Sủi cảo - Photo Creds to Charice!

Wednesday, April 9, 2014 - Com Suon

For today’s national holiday, we visited Go Cap Van, otherwise known as Golden Scorpion Lake.  We rode our motorbike there, even taking it across the river on a big ferry.  The further we drove, the more isolated and rural the landscape became, eventually resembling shanty towns. The roads became dirt and we saw lots of Vietnamese selling their local produce, straight from their farms.   

At the Lake, we got a picnic spot for lunch, suntanned, caught up on our reading and relaxed while watching the Vietnamese around us drink and eat in the small huts, celebrate the holiday, sleep in the hammocks and even do obstacle courses and walk on stilts. And what would a trip to a lake be without swimming? We had to wear dorky orange life vests, but the water was perfect and there was lots to do – water slides, boats, water polo, high jumps (from wooden platforms) into the lake and even slip and slides (on the surface of the water).

So, my dish of the day comes from our picnic lunch at Go Cap Van – Com (Tam) Suon.  We got a generous helping of sticky rice, a huge pork chop with a sweet-bbq flavour, coleslaw and side soy-chili sauce.  We washed it down with a big pitcher of cold Vietnamese-style iced tea. 

Tuesday, April 8, 2014 - Smoky, Grilled Banana Cracker

I taught middle school, finishing up some speaking exams and giving students their results for their listening and speaking exams.  I then walked over to Diamond Plaza (a ritzy department store on the first few floors, offices above that and apartments at the top). I taught 3 Koreans who work for an engineering company there and who are on a temporary job stint in HCMC with their Vietnamese subsidiary company.  They’re a fun group and it’s fun with them to reminisce about Korea.  At night I taught at my language school for 2 hours and it was the beginning of the new term – off to a fresh start!

Now for the dish (or the snack, in this case) of the day… Banana Cracker - Dried, grilled banana sheets! Grilled and smoky, these thinly sliced and pressed bananas have been overlapped and stuck together to make one big square sheet.  After heating it on her miniature portable stove/Bunsen burner, she packaged it up and folded into 4, just like a piece of paper!

On Google, the closest Vietnamese name I could find for this snack is: Bánh tráng chuối.  However, the description of it is not quite identical to this particular snack… Any takers who can enlighten me on its name?

Monday, April 7, 2014 - Hot Vit Lon (Balut/Fertilized Duck Egg)

Have you ever seen a puppet show? How about one presented on a stage filled with water? Well, now I have! Today I got to experience a traditional Vietnamese Water Puppet Show.

My morning/early afternoon involved skyping my fam jam, tea-time with Patrick, picking up my visa extension and reserving tickets for the show – THEN I went to teach at my middle school until 5pm!

Patrick got a weird stomach bug though, so unfortunately, he had to miss the 6:30pm Water Puppet Show. But it was definitely worth it.  Despite not being able to understand much because it was Vietnamese, I think the plot is not the main attraction – it is the art of water puppets.  It was visually appealing and definitely piqued my curiosity – how do they do it?! The puppet design was beautiful and the live music played by a mini ensemble (who also did all the voices of the puppets!) was perfect for each scene, setting the mood and pace.  It even transcended language with its comical edge (i.e. silly voices, chase scenes and playful gestures).

\

Anyway, my dish of the day is equally interesting – and equally bizarre! This is called Hot Vit Lon (aka. Balut in the Philippines), which is a Fertilized Duck-Egg.  Balut is also eaten in the Philippines, Cambodia, China and some other Asian countries.

When I ordered the egg, I had NO idea, that it was a duck egg, nor that it was already fertilized (and thus, that the duck embryo had already begun to grow!) In fact, the vendor and I had a major communication barrier going on, more so than any other vendor I’ve ever bought off of in Vietnam.  Often these duck eggs are eaten while still runny, so I was lucky that it was already boiled quite well. The idea of eating a growing embryo is disturbing and I don’t think I would have ever had the courage to order this on purpose, knowing what I would be consuming.  But as I said, it was a complete accident. And to be honest, I was quite hungry (and about to start teaching a lesson)... so I had no option, but to give it a try!

I also ordered fried corn (fried in oil with herbs, onions, thai basil, sugar and a touch of tomato.  I have to admit, the flavours and textures were much better than I expected. I expected the balut to be chewy and runny, but it wasn’t at all! I challenge you to give it a try!

Sunday, April , 2014 - Chao Thit

I taught in the morning, then private student in the afternoon, then I was called in to supply-teach again in the evening for a grade 5 class.  I had to quickly work through various practice tests with them, helping them with all 4 skills: reading, writing, speaking and listening.  We played the Buzz Game and the Typhoon Game to make it more interesting, too!  They were a good group and were really into it! At the end, my employer snuck in and took a bunch of photos of us and then we got a group shot! I think I’ll be teaching them more consistently on every Saturday from now on. 

This is chao thit.  A pork-congee type of soup (congee is a rice porridge, except this one had more broth than other congees and porridges I’ve had from other countries).  The main ingredients are rice, light meat broth and ground pork (or another form of protein if they have choices).  There were plenty of green onions/scallions/herbs in it and I topped it with a touch of chili sauce, although the flavour was so good that it really didn’t need it. 

Saturday, April 5, 2014 - Glutinous Rice Fried Pancake

After my morning teaching, I decided I was in the mood to try something new.  I always see the same man selling some type of circular bread-pancake thing on weekend afternoons outside of the grocery store, so I finally bought some! It cost 15,000vnd ($0.75) and the vendor’s cart did not have a sign, so I do not know the name of it.  I also have typed in numerous search terms in Google, but with no luck! I’ll have to get a Vietnamese friend to help me put a name to this snack!

It wasn’t as sweet as I thought it would be.  It was chewy on the outside and slightly crunchy/soft on the outside (like a good pancake). It seems to have been made with a glutinous rice flour batter as well as some small soft yellow bean. Anyone care to share their expert knowledge to solve this Vietnamese wonder?

Friday, April 4, 2014 - Crispy Dried Noodle Stir-fry

Patrick and I cooked up a big pot of homemade tomato-chicken pasta sauce for lunch, but somehow we ate everything before I remembered to take a photo! I taught kindergarten in the afternoon and spent a large part of the evening lesson-planning and doing private classes!

So, today’s dish of the day features a dinner dish from Pham Ngu Lao Street, D1: Veggie and Beef Stir-fry with Crispy Dried Noodles.  Thinly sliced beef and various veggies are stir fried in a light sauce and piled high on a plate of crispy dried egg noodles.  The noodles begin slowly soaking up the juices, so you go on a texture adventure – a mix of crunchy and soft, combining with the delicious stir-fry flavours.  I tossed in a bit of chili for some extra heat, too!

Thursday, April 3, 2014 - Fried Fish Com Tam

Patrick and I went to Reunification Palace (aka. Independence Palace) in the afternoon to explore the reknowned site of the North Vietnamese army invasion.  In fact, their huge tank crashed through the South-Vietnamese-occupied palace gates in 1975, marking a monumental moment at the end of the American War (aka. the Vietnam War, as it is known outside of Vietnam).  The tank is now on display for public viewing on the palace grounds.  We learned a bit and explored the hidden recesses of the palace.

This dish of the day comes from a coffee shop that also serves a com tam (rice dish) lunch.  I ordered a fried fish com tam and was surprised – no bones!! The set meal came with side chili-oil sauce, sweet ice tea and a side vegetable soup. Garnished with cilantro and appealingly presented, too!

Wednesday, April 2, 2014 - Sugar Palm Fruit

This drink/snack for my dish of the day  is made with pieces of the sugar palm fruit, which is grown  throughout Indochina, especially Cambodia (and apparently in this region of Vietnam too!) 

On our drive to Go Cap Van (Golden Scorpion Lake), Patrick and I saw lots of streetside vendors chopping and selling some type of wood-like looking “thing”.  It turned out to be edible – in fact, it was a fruit! The inside fruit is a white (almost clear) colour and is slightly chewy. The texture reminds me of a lychee or a mangosteen.  They served it in the fruit liquid over ice with a bit of sugar and stirred it around.  Voila! It doesn’t look like much, but it was a great snack – refreshing, chewy deliciousness! 

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

I conducted speaking exams for my middle school students and also taught at my language school and a private lesson at night. The speaking exams just don’t seem to end!! I have what feels like a billion students who all need their fair amount of time to be assessed, yet the 45 minute period just seems to vanish before I can get through even a third of the 50-60 students!  I’ve been really impressed with many of the groups though.  Many of them have a very developed and natural English fluency.

Now... here is my dish of the day: A simply grilled chicken salad with golden raisins, pine nuts and balsamic vinaigrette.  We also added in some egg for a little something extra!

Monday, March 31, 2014

Monday is one of those days.  It’s like our weekend because our Sat-Sun is insanely busy with teaching! I only had to teach for a couple of hours in the afternoon, so we had some time to relax, swim and enjoy the wonders of ‘Nam! And what better way to relax and indulge than an evening of delivery pizza and watching Breaking Bad together (which by the way, I’m quite addicted to now)!?

What I don’t understand, yet also find pretty hilarious, is how they decided to top the pizza. Our four toppings were segregated, suffering from a bout of flavour isolation. We played musical pizza, moving around the olives, salami, mushroom and green pepper to even them out. Ah, only here ;)

P.s. ... As an afterthought... was it an early April Fools joke? hmm...!

Sunday, March 30, 2014

One of my wonderful employers that I work for treated Patrick and I to dinner.  We got to meet and get to know her family better, as well as enjoy some delicious new (well, traditional) Vietnamese food! There were wraps that we got to construct ourselves using a variety of ingredients as well as this “dish of the day” below – a type of Vietnamese raw fish called a “Flying Fish” (sashimi) in a salad with noodles, onion, pepper, cilantro, sesame seeds and a light dressing.  I love the artistic detail and care that went into all the garnishes, including the carrot flowers!  

So, although my day was busy with teaching, including meeting a new Japanese private student, it was nice to relax and enjoy a nice Vietnamese meal with Patrick and one of my new employers! Food and good company is always a good end to any day.