1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die: A Food Lover's Life List (215 page)

Where:
In New York
, Nam Pang at multiple locations,
nampangnyc.com
;
in Washington, DC
, BonMi, tel 202-285-0012,
eatbonmi.com
;
in Atlanta
, Lee’s Bakery, tel 404-728-1008;
in Houston
, Café TH, tel 713-225-4766,
cafeth.com
;
in Manhattan Beach, CA
, Little Sister, tel 310-545-2096,
littlesistermb.com
;
in Culver City and Costa Mesa, CA
, East Borough,
east-borough.com
.
Further information and recipes:
Momofuku
by David Chang (2009);
The Banh Mi Handbook
by Andrea Nguyen (2014);
bonappetit.com
(search pork meatball banh mi);
epicurious.com
(search chicken sandwich banh mi);
battleofthebanhmi.com
.

A dish representative of Vietnam’s street food.

The street food of Vietnam need not always be a grab-and-go affair. Like the elaborate
pho bo
(see
listing
),
bun cha gio
is a nourishing meal-in-a-bowl that is eaten at open-front shops or stalls where customers sit at low counters on small stools or what look like overturned plastic mop buckets.

Communal serving bowls hold
bun
, the slim rice vermicelli, bright green herbs such as sawtooth coriander, cress, scallions, and cilantro, and varieties of fresh hot chiles. Individual bowls contain raw, crisp vegetables such as slivered cucumbers and grated carrots, as well as pork, typically in grilled slices or tiny, compact, and juicy meatballs. The bowl may also include chunks of golden, crisply fried spring rolls filled with pork and wrapped in flaky leaves of rice paper. (Served without the spring rolls, the dish is known simply as
bun cha.
) Diners add noodles and herbs to taste, and a light broth is spooned over all. For even more flavor, condiments are at hand, including soy sauce,
nuoc mam
(fermented fish sauce), hot sauce, rice vinegar, lime wedges, and for extra crunch and richness, crushed roasted peanuts. The idea is to add bits of this and dabs of that as you go to keep your palate interested, until you can eat no more. The result is delicious, light, and utterly satisfying.

Vietnamese cuisine includes a vast assortment of
bun
-based dishes, ranging from brothy soups to cool salads, topped with seafood, grilled beef, or tofu. A particularly restorative hot-weather variation on bun cha gio is
bun thit nuong
, a specialty of southern Vietnam, which consists of silky rice vermicelli served chilled and topped with a grilled pork chop, a leafy pile of fresh herbs, and filaments of grated carrots and the gently bitter Asian white radish, daikon. Like so many Vietnamese dishes, bun cha gio and its ilk feature intriguing contrasts of tastes and temperatures—sweet, sour, bitter, salty, cool and hot—and textures that range from silky soft to crackling crisp. Complete with meat or fish, noodles, and a variety of herbs and vegetables, they make for nutritious, balanced, and satisfying all-in-one meals, in Hanoi or right at home.

Where:
In Hanoi
, Dac Kim, tel 84/438-287-060,
bunchahangmanh.vn
;
in New York
, Le Colonial, tel 212-252-0808,
lecolonialnyc.com
;
in New Orleans
, Lilly’s Café, tel 504-599-9999;
in Los Angeles
, Brodard Chateau, tel 714-899-8273,
brodard.net/chateau
;
in San Gabriel, CA
, Phong Dinh Restaurant, tel 626-307-8868,
phongdinh.com
.
Further information and recipes:
Into the Vietnamese Kitchen
by Andrea Nguyen (2006);
Authentic Vietnamese Cooking
by Corinne Trang (1999);
vietnamesefood.com.vn
(search bun cha gio);
aspicyperspective.com
(search bun cha gio).

Cha Ca La Vong features turmeric and catfish.

A specialty of Hanoi,
cha ca la vong
is a pungently glazed fish dish so beloved that it has a street named after it (Cha Ca Street, or Grilled Fish Street), along which you can find the restaurant, Cha Ca La Vong, that is credited with its invention. In the widely copied preparation, fillets of catfish (farmed in the Chau Doc river and thus sweeter and less “muddy” tasting than wild catfish) are marinated for up to twelve hours in a heady mixture of ground fresh galangal (the sharp-tasting ginger relative native to Southeast Asia), shrimp paste, golden turmeric, lemon juice,
nuoc mam
(fermented fish sauce), a hefty dose of crushed black peppercorns, and finely chopped hot green chiles. First grilled over charcoal along with sprigs of scallions, the charred fish is then quickly fried in hot peanut oil with more sliced scallions and, often, a generous handful of fresh dill. The fragrant fish, a cheery bright yellow from the turmeric, is served with roasted peanuts and a light sauce made from nuoc mam or shrimp paste blended with more black pepper and lime juice. For a mellow flavor contrast, it is accompanied by
bun
(thin rice vermicelli), flaky rice crackers, or warm jasmine rice.

To the south, Saigon has its own delectable way with catfish in the dish
ca chien
(fried fish). Unlike the rather delicate treatment of cha ca la vong, here the floured fish fillets are seasoned simply with garlic and black pepper and deep-fried in peanut oil. The crispy, golden fillets are then served with a zesty sauce of rice vinegar, nuoc mam, garlic, palm sugar, green chiles, and lemon or lime juice. Thin slices of cucumber, scallions, and cilantro provide color and crisp freshness, and it wouldn’t be complete without a bowl of steamed white rice. Less elaborately spiced than its northern sibling, ca chien is a particularly delicious take on the globally adored concept of fried fish, with the characteristic touches of heat, crunch, and cool herbs that make it uniquely Vietnamese.

Where:
In Hanoi
, Cha Ca La Vong, tel 84/4-3825-3929; La Verticale, tel 84/4-3944-6316,
verticale-hanoi.com
;
in New York
, Le Colonial, tel 212-252-0808,
lecolonialnyc.com
; Wong, tel 212-989-3399,
wongnewyork.com
;
in Boston
, Pho Pasteur, tel 617-482-7467,
phopasteurboston.net
;
in Las Vegas
, Lotus of Siam, tel 702-735-3033,
saipinchutima.com
; in San Gabriel, CA.
Phong Dinh Restaurant, tel 626-307-8868,
phongdinh.com
.
Mail order:
Grocery Thai, tel 818-469-9407,
grocerythai.com
(search fish sauce; jasmine rice; shrimp paste).
Further information and recipes:
Into the Vietnamese Kitchen
by Andrea Nguyen (2006);
nytimes.com
(search cha ca la vong; ca chien sot ca);
cookstr.com
(search cha ca fish).

Sugarcane and shrimp come together at street markets.

Few dishes are more astonishing or pleasing to first-timers than
chao tom
, a charcoal-grilled kebab of pounded shrimp packed around a stick of fresh sugarcane, a concept as improbable as it is delectable. Although technically an appetizer, it’s so hard to say “when” to this delicious dish that it often winds up as a main course.

In this sweet-and-savory treat, tender shrimp—widely farmed in Vietnam—is ground and pounded with rich pork fat into a smooth pâté. Swirled with toasted rice powder, shallots, garlic, fish sauce (
nuoc mam
), golden rock sugar, and black pepper, the mixture is packed firmly around freshly peeled, juicy sugarcane and then grilled, preferably over wood charcoal for a smoky patina.

The rather elaborate serving presentation for chao tom includes sheer, round sheets of tender, chewy rice paper, soft lettuce leaves, lacy shreds of scallions, carrots, and cucumber, and aromatic sprays of cilantro and basil. There might also be
bun
(slim rice vermicelli), a lusciously thick, chile-fired peanut sauce, and more fish sauce brightened into a lively dip with lime juice, rice vinegar, and hot green chiles. Coarsely crushed roasted peanuts are the final topping, sprinkled over all. Lucky diners build the dish by layering a sheet of rice paper, a lettuce leaf, vegetables and sauces, and finally the grilled shrimp, which is slid off the sugarcane. The pile is rolled up as compactly as possible (and then eaten, without utensils, as deftly as possible). Chewing the sugarcane adds a sweet finishing touch, albeit one a dentist might disapprove of.

Where:
In New York
, Nha Trang, tel 212-233-5948,
nhatrangone.com
;
in Boston
, Pho Pasteur, tel 617-482-7467,
phopasteurboston.net
;
in Manhattan Beach, CA
, Little Sister, tel 310-545-2096,
littlesistermb.com
.
Further information and recipes:
The Best of Nicole Routhier
by Nicole Routhier (1996);
foodnetwork.ca
(search chao tom);
vietworldkitchen.com
(search grilled shrimp on sugarcane);
rasamalaysia.com
(search shrimp chao tom).

The glowing golden-orange of the skin of the ripe papaya (
Carica papaya
), a pear-shaped fruit native to Central America and cultivated in tropical countries around the globe, reveals an opulent and juicy, honey-sweet flesh that eases across the palate and down the throat with an almost lascivious appeal. To be enjoyed at its luscious fullest, the papaya must be fresh and fully ripe, so tender and full-flavored that it needs no enhancement, save perhaps for the classic accompaniment of a squirt of fresh lime juice that nicely spikes the low-acid fruit.