Just back from my 6th…🤔 or 7th… trip to Vietnam. But this one was different – made all the more special, as I was visiting family🤗 Which meant I got to eat and enjoy things, I myself, despite being there so often, was never previously game to try mostly due to the ‘what exactly is that’ factor! Apart from being simply DELISH real-deal Vietnamese cuisine reminds me of some core health eating principles that I like to aspire to at home.
There’s always room for more Greens
We could — and should — always add more. Into the hot pot or the pho. Wrapped inside or around that crackling savoury pancake. Or simply piled high on the table for everyone to help themselves. I mean, my usual ratio of Added Greens : Actual Dish is already pretty ambitious. At home, whatever I’m eating is typically buried under rocket, baby spinach, and whatever fresh herbs I can get my hands on. The “main meal” often functions more like structural support. But the ratio in Vietnamese cuisine defies both maths and physics. A platter of greens arrives that dwarfs the original dish. Mountains of mint, Thai basil, perilla, lettuce, water spinach. You add a handful. Then another. Then another. And somehow… it all fits. Greens as far as the eye can see! Not as a garnish or an afterthought but a ‘do not pass go do not collect $200’ directive!
And growing your own is essential to feed this level of ingestion addiction
Whether it’s a small plot on an abandoned lot, a couple of polystyrene boxes on the footpath, a window box in an apartment up high – everyone tries to grow their own Greens.
Dine out on Diversity
That’s right – that’s Greens –plural. It’s a tumbling twirling ever-changing and inclusive mix! So inclusive that even non-greens, like beansprouts and long curls of finely cut banana blossom are welcomed into the fray. The mushrooms incorporated into dishes are multiple varieties rarely ‘mono’ and noodles ain’t noodles, though they may look similar, made from regular or red rice, tapioca, wheat etc. And while pork is a firm favourite amongst many, there’s all kinds including snake, eels and snails.
And if we’re going to eat the Animal – Eat every bit of it
No muscle-meat madness like most of us silly whities in the West! Prawn heads are a delicacy and of course, offal is everyday fodder, with cubes of blood common, entrails as well. Nutritionally superior, environmentally sensible. While I do a bit better each time I visit I still have a long way to go on this one!
Plant proteins accompany the animal ones
Other dishes feature tofu, peanuts, mung beans and other legumes – not as an alternative but for everyone as an add-on to any meal.
Small bowls allow endless sampling from these smorgasbords!
Yet another aspect that seems to defy physics. You eat and eat and eat your fill…but you don’t overeat! Thanks, in part, to the tiny bowls and chopsticks no doubt!
There’s a lot to love and learn from other cultures and their cuisines ❤️
Image c/o Stephy Nguyen❤️ – thanks for making me eat eel!🪱
