"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

29 April 2011

Cộng hòa Xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam

This weekend, I decided to do Vietnamese cuisine.  Because it was the Easter weekend, I  had finished all my shopping early, since I didn't want to have to face the lineups at the stores on Saturday, the day after the stores were closed all day & the day before the stores were closed all day.  People seem to go into panic mode before and after grocery stores close for the day - it's like they have to stock up/re-stock before or after a fast!  Consequently, on Saturday morning, I had spare time on my hands and decided to go to my favourite cookware store, d. a. Neils Cookware.  Yes, I know it's a store, but I kind of figured it wouldn't be that busy because it is a bit of a higher end cookware store, not one to appeal to the average person!  I was right, it wasn't too terribly busy, and it was a great idea, too!  It turns out that they had a guest chef doing a demo that day on.....you guessed it, Vietnamese cuisine!  Needless to say, I grabbed the recipes!  The sandwich that she made was absolutely delicious, but the soup, the traditional Vietnamese Pho Bo (which was on my menu for the evening) was a bit disappointing - meatballs and pasta??  Not exactly traditional, I would say.  But it certainly made me quite excited about going home and getting on with my own meal!
For my menu, I chose to make a Pho, considered by many to be the national dish of Vietnam.  It has been said that no bowl of Pho is ever the same, as it is basically a noodle-based broth served with a selection of meat and vegetables to add.  I used a more traditional sliced beef, rather than meatballs, and rice vermicelli as opposed to a wheat-based pasta, to keep an element of ethnic authenticity.  Along with this, I made another very popular Vietnamese dish, spring rolls, which I served along with my homemade Nuoc Cham (dipping sauce).  All in all, another delightful culinary and taste experience!  I really loved the spring rolls, so they will definitely show up in my kitchen again - easy and delightfully tasty!
                               chúc ngon miệng

No comments:

Post a Comment