Colonized by different countries like China and France, Vietnam has a culture of both East and West. Vietnam has definitely a hidden charm waiting to be discovered. With breathtaking oceans, mountains, and a charismatic city, not to mention a cuisine that could beat other cuisines anytime, Vietnam is a tiger country waiting to be unleashed.
It was a joy for us, being the executive chef and the sous chef for this particular lab session and even though it took a lot of effort for us to put up and prepare everything, it was worth it when we saw how successful it was. We prepared 10 dishes that day and they were:
Goi Cuon (Summer roll)- A Vietnamese staple consisting of pork, shrimp, rice vermicelli, and herbs wrapped in rice paper. They are served cold and usually dipped in hoisin or a peanut based sauce.
Cha Gio (Deep fried spring rolls)- Cha Gio or “minced pork rolls” is a roll of ground pork, shrimp, crab meat, with shredded carrots, mung bean noodles (cellophane noodles/glass noodles), that is deep fried, giving it a flaky and crispy texture.
Pho Bo (Beef noodle soup)- A traditional Vietnamese soup with star anise as one of the main ingredients, giving it an intense and pungent flavor.
Vietnamese fried rice- Fried rice consisting of Chinese sausages, prawns, and green peas with coriander, fish sauce, and red chili as garnish.
Lemongrass grilled chicken- Ginger, lemongrass and soy sauce as the main ingredients.
Stuffed squid with ginger lime dipping sauce- Squid stuffed with pork and shrimp filling served with a dipping sauce of fresh ginger, fresh lime juice, sugar and fish sauce.
Bo Kho (Vietnamese beef stew)- A traditional Vietnamese beef stew and is considered a comfort food with Viet flavors of bay leaf, ginger, and star anise. Served with a French baguette for the Vietnamese or rice.
BanhMi (Baguette sandwich)- A fusion of Asian and European food traditions, BanhMi is a baguette sandwich of liver pate, cucumber strips, mayonnaise, cilantro, and a daikon.
Coconut sticky rice with roasted bananas- A coconut sticky rice dessert and in this case, served with sugar-coated bananas that were roasted.
Lemongrass ice cream- This delightful ice cream has a citrus flavor because of the lemongrass which acts as the main ingredient.
For the drink, we served Vietnamese iced coffee, which is basically a mixture of dark-roast ground coffee pressed into a glass and sweetened with condensed milk.
As for the servers, they were asked to wear the traditional attire of the Vietnamese, complete with their traditional hat known as nónlá.
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