Rations and Resilience: Vietnamese Gastronomy

October 18, 2018 · 0 Comments

Written By KIRA WRONSKA DORWARD

Sampling the local cuisine is an important part of experiencing any new culture.

Vietnam, a country steeped in ancient traditions from many different cultures, is like many countries in that any given city’s local fare is dependent on the region in which it happens to be located.

An unusually long country, running the length of the South Asian peninsula between the Gulf of Thailand and the South China Sea, Vietnam’s gastronomy tends to be dominated by seafood and agriculture dependent on being water-grown, especially rice-based products. On the whole, it is known world-wide as light fare that is both extremely healthy and delicious.

A sad note in the history of this culture, the deprivation and rationing that lasted from the end of their War up until markets opened to the world in 1985, meant that recipes and techniques that had been developed for thousands of years were lost as the Vietnamese resorted to what was available in order to survive (more on this below).

An entire generation was starved, literally, of dishes enjoyed by their elders. However, in the years since Vietnam once again opened itself up to the outside world, there has been a resurgence in the preservation and pride in traditional cooking. I was lucky enough to experience some of it first-hand.

In Hoi An, I undertook a cooking course at Morning Glory, a large market-style eatery where individualized stations demonstrated the various processes and techniques that go into the sometimes-intensive preparation of Vietnamese food.

Regional variations can be described in one bowl: the North, Centre or South, each of which has its own distinctive style. Hoi An, located in Central Vietnam, has food characterized by salt and spice influences from the ancient Champa culture that once dominated the area. The harsher climate in this region necessitates the preservation of food with salt, and sea salt farms in this region are renowned.

Herbs, spices, and especially chillies are preferred ingredients, adding flavour to dishes that might otherwise be lacking in protein. There is more variation in local dishes in this poorer region as a lack of development and travel sees pockets of habitations developing their own individual styles.

We take part in making several regional dishes – a noodle dish with pork called Cao Lau, Rice-Paper Rolls, Banh Mi (pork sandwiches), a rolled pancake dish made from mung beans eaten with pork, plus shrimp and peanut sauce called Banh Xeo. All of them are delicious, but the amount of preparation and the extreme heat of the day combined with the cooking fires begins to overwhelm me.

I think back to the food in Saigon, where the French influence is most strongly present. Patisseries and bakeries are everywhere, and the traditional baguette was adopted for the Banh Mi sandwich. The South is also rich in tropical fruit, which has to be shipped to the rest of the country. This means that Southern food has a sweeter, more tropical flavour to it. Palm sugar and coconut were introduced into the cuisine by the Siam and Khmer cultures. The Mekong Delta is also rich in fruits de mer like fish and crab, and rice is plentiful. Because Saigon is also the most affluent city, being the commercial centre of Vietnam, it is also awash with foreign culinary choices and exotic meats, so meals tend to be a more open and a laid-back affair.

The North, where the capital Hanoi is located, has the Red River Delta which provides an abundance of food including the best quality rice in Vietnam. This led to the creation and popularity of its rice noodle dishes Banh Cuon and, most famously, Pho. The Delta also provides a plethora of seafood like river trout, banana fish, snake fish, cat fish, and shrimp. Sharing a border with China has influenced the cuisine immensely, and is evident in the heavier use of soy in nearly every dipping sauce. In other regions, soy is rarely used.

These abundances and variety in choice are only a recent development, however. Like England during and after WWII, Vietnam was under a strict rationing system until it opened to the free market in 1985, 10 years after the end of their War. A sign by the Banh making station illuminates the realities of life for the Vietnamese until recent history.

Government Rations

“The worst and most limiting times were towards the end and after the war, all the way to 1985. We would receive coupons for the items below, and family members would go to special “coupon offices” to receive these and sign for the rations”. These formed the basis of our nutrition:

5 kg rice/cassava/sweet potatoes or a combination

100 g pork (for special treats like holidays etc.) Short form for grams is g or gm

1 litre vegetable oil

500 g sugar

400 g MSG powder

2 litres gasoline for cooking (every second/third month)

If anything else was needed, families would typically grow it (livestock/vegetables/herbs) and then barter or sell items between families for additional services or goods. This is one of the big reasons that gardens are found so easily amongst the houses, even in the non-settled areas. People would grow what they could for extra “nutrition currency.” This trend has remained, now mostly for personal use.

The biggest treat was when Russia sent wheat flour (dried and usually mouldy from the trip), but moms would keep this for special occasions.

MSG was introduced to flavour dishes cheaply as there were very little herbs and other spices available. Only now are restaurants returning to fresh herbs and spices and MSG is becoming less prevalent.

When people seemed unhappy, someone would jokingly ask, “Did you lose your rice-book?” – referring to the very valuable coupon book.

While the above was very hard for the Vietnamese people, it also gave them willpower and determination to succeed and find other ways to improve their lives. It carries on to this day.

Sitting in Morning Glory, surrounded by the dizzying variety of food and smells from cooking, it’s hard to imagine that the Vietnamese until recently were hard pressed for food. They were subsequently deprived of cultural and traditional rights that had disastrous effects on the people socially, nutritionally and economically. However, one has to admire the resilience of a people that has not only survived war, deprivation and starvation, but has ultimately come out better and stronger for it. Vietnam’s gastronomical and cultural future is a bright one.

Recipe for Banh Mi (Hoi An Sandwiches)

4 small baguettes

4 tbsp minced pork or meatballs, cooked

16 slices pork

16 slices of pate or pork sausage, cooked, cut in slices

16 cucumber slices

½ cup spring onion curls

½ cup coriander leaves

½ cup Vietnamese mint leaves

Sea salt and coarse black pepper to taste

Hoi An chilli sauce to taste

Warm the bread in a char grill or in the oven and slice in half to fill, leaving one side closed.