In deciding where to go this week to get food, I compiled a list of various ethnic places in town. And when I couldn’t decide where to go to eat, I decided to just start at the bottom of the list: Vietnamese.
Vietnamese food is characterized by one main ingredient: rice. Rice is even worshipped in Vietnam and is in most major food dishes (including Pho which I had). Rice is the center of all Vietnamese food. Another staple of Vietnamese food is fish sauce. Interestingly enough the fish sauce bowl is shared by all members of the family, thus showing the Vietnamese solidarity (others consider it to lead to embezzlement and jealousy). However, this way of sharing food can also bring people together.
One thing I found interesting when looking up Vietnamese food culture was the idea that they had gendered food. There are certain foods that are seen are more acceptable for men to eat such as dog or snake. Here in America I don’t think either gender would really be interested in eating either foods. There are also foods that are deemed sacred to certain minority groups.
So for my personal venture into Vietnamese food I went to Lemongrass (fun fact lemongrass may be supplying some food to Findlay Commons next semester). When I got there I asked the guy working there what the most popular dish was, and he said Pho. Having no idea what that was, but deciding I should actually try new things I agreed to get that.
Pho is a noodle soup, containing Vietnamese staple rice, with beef broth, scallions, bean sprouts, lime wedge, thin basil and onions. I was a little scared to try it since I don’t even usually eat soup but I ordered it anyway (with much pressure from my friend).
The Pho came in a VERY large bowl, and after eating it it looked like I had not in fact eaten anything. I liked it surprisingly, the broth wasn’t that strong and the noodles added a nice texture to it. I strayed away from the brisket in it but really enjoyed the vegetables. Overall I’d recommend it to anyone wanting to try something new. But if I do back I definitely plan on getting tofu instead of the brisket.
This is a really creative blog! I like how you said facts about the food and eating customs in Vietnam. I’m excited to see what you will write about next week!
This seems like a really fun idea for a passion blog! My friend worked as a waitress at House of Pho for years, but I never tried the dish. I also like how you explore the cultural aspects as well.
As with food identifying with gender, I think there’s this stigma about salads going to girls, and with diet soda. I think it was Dr. Pepper that made an ad tailoring its diet soda as “Just for Men”, so they recognize the stigma that diet soda can be seen as ‘girly’.
I have never really been familiar with Vietnamese foods, so this blog post was really informative. I like how you don’t just limit yourself to describing what the food is and how it tastes, but that you also go through and do through research as to the cultural aspects of the cuisine. I really liked this post!