22 AMERICANWAY
JANUARY 1 2009
PHOTOGRAPHSBYSHERIGIBLIN
F O O D
It’s bRAsh. FREsh.
Invigorating. Artful.
Vietnamese cuisine mesmerizes with its
kaleidoscopic whorl of abundance: fresh
herbs and greens, delicate soups, hearty
sandwiches, and robust curries. Its cooks
are almost obsessive in their lust for lucid
contrast—cookedand raw, hot andchilled,
sweet and sour, spicy andmild, crispy and
smooth.Andyou reap thedividends earned
from thoseobsessions.
ThedistinctivenessofVietnamesecuisine
is derived from a place andpeoplewhisked
with subtle influences from Chinese and
French colonial rule. Its soulful tease is un-
like any other in the culinary canon. And
virtuallyeveryAmerican city isblessedwith
at least oneVietnamese restaurant.
While rice plays a central role in the cui-
sine’suniquevernacular,whatsetsVietnam-
ese food apart is the fact that noodles are
the dominant force. Vietnam is essentially
a noodle-crazed nation, with people regu-
larly devouring strands from restaurants,
roadside stands, and their dining tables
at home from dawn to dusk and beyond.
Made in a variety of thicknesses, Vietnam-
ese noodles are rendered from rice, wheat,
egg, and mung beans. They are eaten wet
in broth but are strained in main dishes;
they canbe served crispy (such as inmi xao
don,which isdeep-friedeggnoodles topped
with seafoodand vegetables) aswell as cold
in salads (such as in bun bo, a mix of rice
vermicelli, grilledbeef, lemongrass, lettuce,
andmint).Theyalsoworkwell insouporas
a soupaccompaniment.
But while rice and noodles largely form
the nucleus of Vietnamese sustenance,
lemongrass, chilies, and Kaffir lime leaves
generate the spark. And the cuisine’s soul
resides in theghostlypresenceof fish sauce,
a formula of fish, water, and salt that’s fer-
mented into a heady condiment that’s not
unlikea strongcheese.Theunfurlingof this
tempting culinary pastiche across America
is as fascinatingas it is tragic.
VIEtNAMIsA
slendernationofmore than
86million thatfishhooks aroundSoutheast
Asia.Within itsnarrowness liesasurprising
regional distinctiveness among the cuisines
of the north, south, andmidsection, home
to the ancient royal city of Hue, where the
food — like canh ngheu (sour clam soup)
and cuon diep (mustard leaves swaddling
Littlesaigons
AmericanWay
takes you on afive-city tour of the best
Vietnamese cuisine inAmerica.
ByMarkStuertz
