biking with angie

12.13.2011

Last week, because of my awesome case of strep, I went to an ear, nose, and throat specialist. Before the doctor came in, I struck up a conversation with the nurse who does all the prelim tests. Through the natural course of our conversation, the subject of food came up. She was very much into trying new foods, and Angie and I are very much into talking about food. Eventually we got around to my favorite food, pho. I find the blend of savory, sweet, and spicy to be possibly unbeatable. The nurse was ready to go try out my favorite restaurant, when she hit me with the big question. “Will my husband be able to read the menu and know what he’s getting, because he doesn’t like to try things if he doesn’t know what they are?” Probably not. If you’ve never been to a Vietnamese restaurant, the menu can be quite daunting. So, I’m creating this primer, a little Vietnamese resto 101, to help alleviate this problem, and to help more people to experience the wonders of pho.

Whenever we go to a new city, Angie and I try to scout out and find the best Vietnamese resto in town. We’ve tried several here in Nashville, a couple in Indianapolis, one in New Orleans, we tried the critic’s choice best in New York, and the people’s choice best in New York, and we even tried acclaimed food critic, David Lebovitz’s, best in Paris. What we found was quite amazing. None of the ones in France, New York, New Orleans, or Indianapolis could hold a candle to one that is here in good ole Nashville. Seems we’ve been blessed with the best Vietnamese food in the USA. What sets ours apart? Proper balance of fresh ingredients, great combinations of salty, sweet, and hot, and also, a very low amount, if any, MSG. Also, the Vietnamese iced coffee at our favorite resto is untouchable. I’m not sure why no one else can seem to make coffee as good, but I’m glad our resto got it right! The restaurant I’m speaking of is the much respected Kien Giang (CASH ONLY).

Now, off my Kien Giang soap box, and on to the handy primer. Vietnamese food is as varied as any other food, from any other country. Because this is just a primer, and not a dissertation, I’m only going to go into the very basics, just enough to get you started. Generally, when I think of Vietnamese food, 5 basic foods come to mind. Sure there are many more, but as a basic process, 5 come to mind.

1. Pho, pronounced fuh. A rice noodle soup, served in a bath of hot beef broth with hints of anise flavor. A safe bet is to get the Pho Tai. Pho with thin slices of steak.

2. Bun, pronounced boon. A bowl of room temperature rice noodles served with a stir fried meat on top. Usually served with a bowl of sauce on the side that is mixed in with the bowl, then everything is mixed together. I always get the Spicy Beef Bun, if I don’t want to get the pho that day.

3. Bahn Mi, pronounced bahn mee. Vietnamese sandwich made on crusty french bread, usually with some kind of pork, and topped with pickled vegetables and cilantro.

4. Bahn Xeo, pronounced…uh…Vietnamese pancake. A super thin, slightly coconut flavored crepe, stuffed with fried pork, shrimp, and mung beans. To eat it, pull a part off the pancake, wrap it in lettuce, and dunk it in the sauce. Amazing!

5. Vietnamese Iced Coffee. Coffee is brewed on a per cup basis, over a cup of sweetened condensed milk, then the coffee and milk are stirred together, and poured over ice.

If you’ve never been to a Vietnamese resto, you probably don’t know what to expect when the food is served. Here is a quick lesson. Follow these steps, and soon, you’ll be a pho eating pro!

First, the iced coffee.

The coffee comes out in a small brewing vessel that is on top of a coffee mug that is part-way filled with sweetened, condensed milk. The coffee drips out of the silver vessel, and in to the mug. After the coffee has finished dripping into the mug, you need to stir the contents of the mug. The milk and coffee will mix, and you’ll get a delicious coffee drink. Next, you must pour the contents of the mug into the glass of ice. If you pour too slowly, beware, the coffee will want to run down the side of the mug, instead of pouring in to the glass. You have to be quick and pour with confidence. If there are any ice cubes that are cup shaped, beware, because you might just hit that cube with the quick flowing coffee, and it could spill out all over the table. So, turn any cup shaped ice cubes upside down! Next, stir and enjoy

Behold, a finished cup of the iced gold.

And now, the pho

Generally, with pho, two dishes arrive, and there are some condiments on the table. First, there is the bowl of pho. Rice noodles in a slightly anise flavored beef broth, with some thinly sliced onions and green onions, and some slices of beef. Next is the plate of ingredients that you add to your pho, as you see fit. Usually it’s Thai basil, jalapeños, lime wedges, and mung bean sprouts. The condiments are hoisin sauce, and that prince of condiments, sriracha. There is not, nor ought there be a condiment whose greatness surpasses that of sriracha, yes I’m talking to you ketchup and A1.

Here’s a closer photo of the fresh ingredients. When the pho arrives, the first thing I like to do is to take my chopsticks, and break up the rice noodles. They are usually in a bit of a clump in the bottom of the bowl, and just a few seconds of stirring them up, breaks them apart from each other. Then, I like to take about 3 basil leaves and tear them into small bits and add them to the soup. Then, I add 2 jalapeño slices. I don’t ever eat the jalapeños, but I like what they do to the broth. Then, I add the juice of one of the lime wedges. Next, I add as many of the bean sprouts as I can, and I stir it all up. Next, I add a good amount of sriracha. Angie, and most people for that matter, likes to add some hoisin sauce to sweeten the broth. Stir well, and enjoy.

Ahh, a bowl of pho, ready to eat.

Let me know if I made any glaring omissions, but this little primer should help anyone become a pho pro in no time.

Cheers!

Behold, for I give unto you, the Shure bullet mic shock mount. With this, I am now an “Audio Inventor.” George Massenburg, you may have invented the parametric EQ, Les Paul, you may have invented multitrack recording, and Muddy Waters, you may have invented electricity, but now all of you must step aside and witness, in all of its glory, the bullet mic shock mount.

In 25 years, when the students of Full Sail 9000x, on the planet Mars 2 are debating which invention saved audio, I suspect that the bullet mic shock mount will be listed somewhere between balanced audio, and analog tape bias. Musicians will sob with vim and vigor when they ask themselves, “why couldn’t this have been around for the Beatles?”