With its long history of rice cultivation, Việt Nam cuisine features an endless variety of rice-noodle dishes. Apart from phở, which is made with flat rice noodles, there is the bún which are fresh thin and round. Bún dishes, mostly soups, can be found all over the country.
But
each region has distinct versions of bún, giving food lovers a variety of
mouth-watering options.
Pungent: Bún mắm is popular in many western provinces of Việt Nam and the taste varies in different areas as people use different varieties of fish that are available in their surroundings. The basic bowl of bún mắm comprises rice noodles, broth, shrimp and herbs. – Photo thethaovanhoa.vn
In
the north, for instance, one of the most popular dishes is the bún ốc, a rice
noodle soup with fresh water snails.
It
is said that residents of Hà Nội’s Quảng An Village would pick up snails from
nearby West Lake to serve with bún. The season for snails was the arrival of
spring rains, so bún ốc was only available at this time of the year.
The
beginning of the year was also the time when devotees thronged the Tây Hồ
shrine and the worshippers would drop in to have a bowl of Bún ốc after saying
their prayers. Bún ốc thus became a specialty of this area.
“When
I was small, I often helped my grandmother cook bún ốc, a specialty of West
Lake people”, said Masterchef Việt Nam judge Phạm Tuấn Hải.
“I
still remember that in the old days, my grandmother would add dấm bỗng, rice
wine residue, to create a pleasantly sour taste for the broth. This is an
indispensable ingredient for bún ốc for the West Lake people”, Hải said.
The
broth of bún ốc decides the quality of the dish, as it does for all other bún
dishes. For bún ốc, tomatoes and rice wine residue are added to the boiling
snail broth. The meat of the snail is removed from its shell only when the dish
is ready to be served.
After
learning the skills from her mother, Thanh Nga has been offering bún ốc in the
West Lake area for more than 50 years now.
“Things
have changed significantly around me, but the way this dish is cooked remains
the same.
“To
make a proper bowl of bún ốc with the right flavours, the cook must choose the
right snails and seasoning for the broth, as well as fresh rice noodles.
Choosing the right ingredients will make up 50 per cent of the success of the
dish”, Nga said.
No longer seasonal: Bún ốc now is served all year round and can be found in restaurants, food stalls as well as the wicker baskets of local vendors. – Photo Hồng Vân
There
is also a cold version of bún ốc, in which ingredients are set out separately:
a plate of rice noodles, a dipping bowl of broth with some boiled snails. The
highlight of this dish is the light sour taste of the dipping broth and the
crunchiness of the snails. The broth for the cold bún ốc is just the water in
which snails are boiled, with rice wine residue and other seasonings added.
Bún
ốc is no longer a seasonal dish. It is offered all year round and can be found
in restaurants, food stalls as well as the wicker baskets of local vendors.
There
are those who add fried tofu, green banana, pork ribs, crab meat or fried pork
fat to the dish, depending on customers’ choice.
No longer seasonal: Bún ốc now is served all year round and can be found in restaurants, food stalls as well as the wicker baskets of local vendors. – Photo Hồng Vân
Minced secret
Central
Việt Nam is a region for gourmets to enjoy a large variety of seafood dishes.
One of these, one not to be missed, is the bún chả cá .
Bún
with fish is not rare in Việt Nam. Hải Phòng, Thái Bình and Hà Nội have their
own bún cá specialities, but bún chả cá
in Đà Nẵng is more special for the fish used.
In
the central city, unlike in the other places, the dish is served either with
steamed fish or fried minced fish with dill and pepper. Đà Nẵng cooks have
their own “secret” for ways to get their crunchy and tasty fish.
To
make a good broth, the cook simmers fish bones and pork bones for hours. The
big pan of broth is put on the burning fire to keep it hot. When the dish is
ordered, the cook takes some bún in a bowl, pour boiling broth on it, and tops
it with slices of minced fish and chopped scallion.
Pleasant, pungent
The
south of Việt Nam, with its abundance of rivers and streams, is known as the
kingdom of fish and shrimp. In the days when seafood was abundant and there was
no refrigeration, residents converted fish and shrimp into an alternative
product called mắm. The sauce made with the salted fermented fish is now a
national staple, added to just about every dish, either while cooking or as a
dipping sauce.
Bún
mắm is said to have been brought to Việt Nam by ethnic Khmer people living in
Sóc Trăng Province, according to Lê Thị Ngọc Diệp, a culinary expert who
teaches at the HCM City University of Social Sciences and Humanities.
“From
1990s, locals started adding different kinds of seasoning to original bún mắm
to reduce the strong smell of fermented fish used”, said Diệp.
Extra special: Rice noodles with fish is not rare in Việt Nam, but bún chả cá in Đà Nẵng stands out from the rest. – Photo danangz.vn
Bún
mắm is popular in many western provinces and the taste varies in different
areas as people use the fish available in their area. The basic bowl of bún mắm
comprises fresh rice noodle, broth, shrimps and herbs.
“About
20 kinds of herbs and vegetables are used in this dish. Depending on the
availability, locals use different herbs during different periods of year”,
said Diệp.
Bún
mắm’s broth is famous for its strong taste. By itself, mắm does not have a
pleasant taste, but it considerably boosts the dish’s taste when combined with
other flavours and added to the broth.
First
introduced in Sóc Trăng a long time ago, bún mắm is now popular in HCM City, Cần
Thơ and even Hà Nội.
Bún ốc is served
at:
Hà
Nội
70
Mai Hắc Đế Street
1
Hòe Nhai Street
202
Đội Cấn Street
6
Hàng Chai Street
12
Nguyễn Cao Street
57D
Hai Bà Trưng Street
Bún
chả cá is served at:
Đà
Nẵng
109
Nguyễn Chí Thanh Street
113/3
Nguyễn Chí Thanh Street
63
Lê Hồng Phong Street
87
Lê Hồng Phong Street
152
Quang Trung Street
242
Hoàng Diệu Street
Bún
mắm is served at:
HCM
City
465
Điện Biên Phủ Street
109
Nguyễn Văn Lương Street
131
Xô Viết Nghệ Tĩnh Street
100
Tô Ngọc Vân Street
By Hồng Vân/Viet Nam News