quote:

bún bò Huế.

Really?!
It's like a bowl of entrails!

Start off slow Hoss...spring rolls with vermicelli noodles and fish sauce (dipping) on the side, with fresh mint sprigs usually mung bean sprouts, fresh julienne carrots, are standard additions. Delightful!

The use of fresh vegetables really makes Vietnamese food not only healthy, but tasty. Initially, just try to savor the different flavors of the food... the sauces, the fresh veggies, as they compliment the meat or other ingredients, it can be overwhelming so I for one don't want you turned off to this new avenue due to a couple of bad experiences.

Just following our resident jeweler's FB page makes me realize I should really branch out into this area in my cooking!

Delicious..

Mix the fish sauce with soy as it's a bit ummm, different, for first timers.
My wife says it tastes like belly buttons.
I make a fish sauce/soy/chili paste dipping sauce for mine.

quote:

Originally posted by ScreamingCockatoo:
Mix the fish sauce with soy as it's a bit ummm, different, for first timers.
My wife says it tastes like belly buttons.
I make a fish sauce/soy/chili paste dipping sauce for mine.

When I have the Pho Ga, I add the fish sauce and Siriachi sauce and I like the flavor.

quote:

Originally posted by Aeteocles:
From that menu, order the number 3. Phở tái chín. That will give you both variants of beef (brisket and sliced filet or eye round) without the beef tendon and tripe, which isn't for everyone.

On another visit, try the 23, bún bò Huế. It's a rice vermicelli dish from the central region of Vietnam. If you are unadventurous, order it "không giờ héo" which means "no pork trotter". The pork trotter is good, but the thought of it can turn some people off.

You can order the 37 next, which is the cơm thịt nướng chả giò (rice BBQ pork and egg/imperial/summer roll), or you can impress them and order off menu: cơm bì thịt nướng chả trứng which is the rice with a shredded pork, BBQ pork, and a pork and egg cake/quiche. You can then order the chả giò (egg roll appetizer #1) to share.

The egg rolls, often called imperial rolls or fried imperial rolls, when served as an appetizer is usually served with a plate of dark green lettuce, mint, pickled carrots and radish, and a citrus fish sauce. Pluck the mint leaves and pile them onto the lettuce leaf with the pickles. Use the veggies to wrap the egg roll like a taco or a burrito, dipping it into the sauce with each bite.

Now, you'll look like a pro

Awesome. Thanks for all the info. I am going to try everything you suggested and from what others suggested I will also try 42b, 27, and 36. I am definitely going there for lunch tomorrow and probably will eat lunch there everyday this week trying a new thing each day. Looking forward to it. Next I need to learn to cook it.

quote:

Originally posted by StorminNormin:

quote:

Originally posted by HK Ag:
I always order the V2 at my place!

You will love it



HK Ag

What is V2?

Bun - Vermicelli

Bun Thit Nuong - Vermicelli + Grilled pork + homemade fish sauce (smells like the feet of an angel), had it for lunch today.

HK Ag

quote:

Originally posted by ScreamingCockatoo:

quote:

bún bò Huế.

Really?!
It's like a bowl of entrails!

Delicious entrails. =)

I'm sure all cultures eat offal in various forms. Sausage casing is pork intestine, chicken liver, etc.

Bun bo hue isn't particularly offensive as far as offal goes, anyway. It's typically served with sliced beef, a pork trotter, sliced pork loaf (discussed further below), and cubes of pork blood (also discussed below). If you are really lucky, you'll get beef tendon and sliced blood sausage.

Sliced pork loaf sounds more nefarious than it is. It's just finely ground pork lean pork, with seasoning and tapioca flour that's been wrapped in banana leaf and steamed.

Pork blood cubes are probably the most "scary" thing on the menu, but it's nearly flavorless, and has the texture of firm tofu, with a slightly chalky mouthfeel. If you don't like the texture or taste, you can simply eat around it--it's not integral to the broth.

The pork blood sausage is similar to other blood sausages you might find in European culture, but heavily flavored with basil and garlic. It's my favorite part, but not everyplace will serve their bun bo hue with the pork sausage. If you encounter it, your reaction will likely be "Yum, this chocolate colored sausage is really good--lots of basil and garlic."

I vote that you give it another shot, with careful consideration of what you are eating rather than dismissing it as a bowl of entrails--I think you are really missing out on one of the stars of Vietnamese food. If Pho is as Vietnamese as a Hamburger is American, then Bun Bo Hue is like the Fried Chicken of America's south. It distinctly reflects the flavors and culture of the middle part of Vietnam, where the food can be spicier and more flavorful as compared to the rest of Vietnam.

If we want to discuss a bowl of entrails though, that can be done. If we were local and I wanted you to come over to have a few beers and play some cards, I might serve us a platter of chopped steamed pork uterus and sliced blood sausage. We would eat it dipped with a dark fish sauce spiced with ginger. The salty and chewy goes great with a bitter beer like Heineken.

On another occasion, we might have a plate of congealed (uncooked) duck blood. It'll be topped with chopped peanuts and duck liver, then flavored with fish sauce and citrus and eaten over toasted sesame and rice crackers. It's a delicacy that you can hardly find here anymore due to fear of food borne illnesses. We might serve balut in the same way--a delicacy to be enjoyed among friends while drinking.

If I ever end up on one of those game shows where they make the contestants eat weird shit, I would definitely have an advantage. Vietnamese people will try to turn anything into a delicacy.

I cannot offer better suggestion than have already been given. I'm just here to remind people that Pho is pronounced like FUH since the last time I mentioned it some people who didn't know were super amused by it.

quote:

Originally posted by brecaidra:
I cannot offer better suggestion than have already been given. I'm just here to remind people that Pho is pronounced like FUH since the last time I mentioned it some people who didn't know were super amused by it.

Yay, language lesson time!

It's pronounced like "Fuh?"

The question sound is actually integral to the pronunciation. The tones of the vowel sounds changes the meaning of words the same way changing letters would affect English.

The noodle soup is Phở. The ơ has a whisker on it, which makes it an "uh" sound. The question mark hanging over it means you raise your voice the same way you would raise the vowel at the end of a question. If you pronounce it "Foe" instead of "Fuh", you literally change the alphabet letter from ơ to ô. Phở is beef noodle soup, phố means "city".

quote:

Originally posted by Aeteocles:

quote:

Originally posted by brecaidra:
I cannot offer better suggestion than have already been given. I'm just here to remind people that Pho is pronounced like FUH since the last time I mentioned it some people who didn't know were super amused by it.

Yay, language lesson time!

It's pronounced like "Fuh?"

The question sound is actually integral to the pronunciation. The tones of the vowel sounds changes the meaning of words the same way changing letters would affect English.

The noodle soup is Phở. The ơ has a whisker on it, which makes it an "uh" sound. The question mark hanging over it means you raise your voice the same way you would raise the vowel at the end of a question. If you pronounce it "Foe" instead of "Fuh", you literally change the alphabet letter from ơ to ô. Phở is beef noodle soup, phố means "city".

We ate at "What the Pho" a couple of weeks ago. The small local chain Saigon Cafe is where we like to go for brunch most Sundays

quote:

Originally posted by Aeteocles:

quote:

Originally posted by brecaidra:
I cannot offer better suggestion than have already been given. I'm just here to remind people that Pho is pronounced like FUH since the last time I mentioned it some people who didn't know were super amused by it.

Yay, language lesson time!

It's pronounced like "Fuh?"

The question sound is actually integral to the pronunciation. The tones of the vowel sounds changes the meaning of words the same way changing letters would affect English.

The noodle soup is Phở. The ơ has a whisker on it, which makes it an "uh" sound. The question mark hanging over it means you raise your voice the same way you would raise the vowel at the end of a question. If you pronounce it "Foe" instead of "Fuh", you literally change the alphabet letter from ơ to ô. Phở is beef noodle soup, phố means "city".

Awesome primer! Aeteocles if you've ever a mind to I'd read with great interest your thoughts on Viet cuisine for those of us who have been bumbling along.

I really like the Bún thịt nướng. Its my go to now. Pork.

quote:

Originally posted by Aeteocles:


Yay, language lesson time!

It's pronounced like "Fuh?"

The question sound is actually integral to the pronunciation. The tones of the vowel sounds changes the meaning of words the same way changing letters would affect English.

The noodle soup is Phở. The ơ has a whisker on it, which makes it an "uh" sound. The question mark hanging over it means you raise your voice the same way you would raise the vowel at the end of a question. If you pronounce it "Foe" instead of "Fuh", you literally change the alphabet letter from ơ to ô. Phở is beef noodle soup, phố means "city".

That's probably the best explanation I've heard. Thank you!

If you can find an authentic Chinatown or Little Saigon, get you some crispy pork.

I am lucky enough to have a really good friend (that wants to marry me) who has been culturally enriching me for 10 years now.

I like bunh, and usually order bunh cha gio thit nuong because a Vietnames waiter taught me to pronounce it (more or less) and I like to get a laugh out of the waiter at the next Viet restaurant. Actually my favorite is bunh with a combination of barbecued pork, spring rolls, and barbecued shrimp.

Here's a recipe:

Bunh cha gio thit nuong recipe

quote:

Originally posted by Mars_Attacks:
I am lucky enough to have a really good friend (that wants to marry me) who has been culturally enriching me for 10 years now.

Well if he can cook, whats the problem?

quote:

Originally posted by rsbolo:

Awesome primer! Aeteocles if you've ever a mind to I'd read with great interest your thoughts on Viet cuisine for those of us who have been bumbling along.

I'm happy to answer any questions you might have about Vietnamese food or Vietnamese culture. I was born here in the states, but grew up in Orange County, CA--which has the largest Vietnamese diaspora anywhere in the world. It makes for an interesting perspective as we have better Vietnamese food here in Orange County than they do in Vietnam and the Vietnamese people here have a unique blend of northerners and southerners fleeing the communist after the war.

Anyway, open invitation for Vietnamese food anytime any Sigforum members are in Orange County.

I jump at the opportunity if Bun Cha is on the menu. It's more of a northern dish, it's simply pork, noodles and veg with a variety of sauces. Everything is separated and you eat by combining whatever combo together. We don't see it too often in the states since most of our Vietnamese communities originated from the South and Central areas.