{"id":120,"date":"2015-11-18T16:23:47","date_gmt":"2015-11-18T09:23:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/saigonfoodtour.com\/blog\/?p=120"},"modified":"2015-11-18T16:27:34","modified_gmt":"2015-11-18T09:27:34","slug":"savory-vietnamese-dishes-a-look-into-the-bun-family-part-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saigonfoodtour.com\/blog\/savory-vietnamese-dishes-a-look-into-the-bun-family-part-one\/","title":{"rendered":"Savory Vietnamese Dishes – A Look Into The “Bun” Family (Part One)"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was sitting by the vendor that late Tuesday night, enjoying every single drop of the broth from my favorite “Bun Rieu” and thinking why do foreigners only\u00a0know about “Pho”, “Banh Mi”, etc. when it comes to Vietnamese cuisine? Because there are more to what Viets eat, there are more to what tourists attractions in Vietnam are showing the world. Thinking of that\u00a0makes me feel sorry\u00a0for the “Bun” family, which has been around forever and still haven’t got the attention they deserve. That is why I am writing this article with a view to offer you a brief introduction to the “Bun” family.<\/p>\n

“Bun” (B\u00fan) is basically vermicelli. Yes you can use “noodle” for it but it is not accurate, at least for us Vietnamese. Our noodle is made with egg, which means it has a light yellow color to it. But “Bun” is fresh, white and fermented. “Bun” is the main ingredient of all the dishes that have “Bun” in their names (Bun Bo Hue, Bun Rieu, Bun Moc, Bun Thit Nuong, etc.).<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Bun Rieu (Crab Ball And Snail Vermicelli Soup).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The Vietnamese are among the most meticulous and creative\u00a0people. Do you know why? Because we have Bun Rieu. Bun Rieu\u00a0is a member of the remarkable \u201cBun\u201d family in Vietnam but it\u00a0stands out for its fine soup, accompanied by raw veggies and our\u00a0exclusive shrimp paste. In order to make the soup, the cook must\u00a0simmer dried shrimp or pork bones for hours to make the broth,\u00a0then cook with tomato, crab ball, tofu, snails, blood pudding, pork sausage , seasonings and other\u00a0ingredients.\u00a0Raw vegetable for this dish consists of split water\u00a0spinach, perilla, bean sprouts, sliced banana blossoms. The shrimp\u00a0paste is a whole story. Shrimp paste is made of the best shrimps,\u00a0fermented for 9 months to 1 year. The noodle used for Bun Rieu is\u00a0a very thin type of vermicelli, which feels so subtle in your mouth.\u00a0Therefore, eating a bowl of Bun Rieu certainly provides you\u00a0everything you need in the food pyramid. Bun Rieu is jaw-droppingly delicious with the natural flavor of broth, slightly sour\u00a0tomato and more. Not only taste good, Bun Rieu also looks great\u00a0with the yellow color of turmeric, red tomato, golden tofu, white\u00a0vermicelli, black snail and green veggies. One more great thing\u00a0about Bun Rieu is you can have it as breakfast, lunch, dinner or\u00a0anytime you want. So, how can you resist a healthy and delicious\u00a0dish that will surely be the highlight of your Intagram page?<\/p>\n

    \"vnm_2013_4075046\"<\/a><\/p>\n

    The “Bun” used for Bun Rieu is the type that has very thin haulms.<\/em><\/p>\n

    \"cach-nau-bun-rieu-cua-ngon-520x245\"<\/a><\/p>\n

    What a typical bowl of Bun Rieu looks like \ud83d\ude1b Now you cannot look me in the eye and say this does not make your mouth water \ud83d\ude00<\/em><\/p>\n

    \"13<\/a><\/p>\n

    Veggies served with this dish are : split water spinach stems (morning glory), split banana blossoms, basil, bean sprouts.<\/em><\/p>\n

    \"bun-dau-8-163813329\"<\/a><\/p>\n

    Yummy! Shrimp paste!\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

    2. Bun Bo Hue (Hue Spicy Beef Noodles\/Vermicelli Soup)<\/p>\n

    First thing first, every Bun Bo Hue eater must be acknowledged that “Hue” is a city in the middle of Vietnam where the dish comes from. The “Bun” in\u00a0Bun Bo Hue is different from the “Bun” in Bun Rieu as its haulm is thicker, which makes it easier for people that are not fans of chopsticks. However, Bun Bo Hue has a good stronger smell thanks to lemongrass, fish sauce, all the ingredients combined. And what makes it look good, apart from the variation of ingredients, is also because of the color from achiote paste.<\/p>\n

    \"BunBoHue\"<\/a>
    photo by foodedited.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    \u00a0If you think “Bun Rieu” is already difficult to make, try not to be surprised as “Bun Bo” ranks so much higher on the difficulty scale. The broth for Bun Bo is a whole story to tell. It is simmered with pork bones, lemongrass and other kinds of herbs that can intensify the aroma, lemongrass, fish sauce. Every ingredients must be fresh, well-prepared and cooked in very long hours. In a bowl of Bun Bo, \u00a0you will find pork, beef, pork and beef bones, fish sausage, pork sausage, shrimp sausage or even crab sausage! In this article, I will not go into how these types of sausages are made, because it would make this article 5 times longer. But overall, I can describe it as a long and complicated process that involes many steps from preparing to cooking and wrapping.<\/p>\n

    \"cha<\/a>
    Ch\u1ea3 cua (crab sausage)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
    \"cha-lua-kho-tieu\"<\/a>
    ch\u1ea3 l\u1ee5a (pork sausage)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
    \"IMG_8865\"<\/a>
    Ch\u1ea3 b\u00f2 (beef sausage)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
    \"bun-bo-hue<\/a>
    The vegetable we eat with Bun Bo : lettuce, split water spinach, split banana flower, bean sprouts, basil.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    So, the taste is too good for words to describe. But in brief, it would be spicy, savory, flavorful, very rich and strong. Accompanied with many types of veggies and lemon juice, the dish should taste, well, heavenly.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    These are the two most famous types of Bun. In the next entry, us Saigon Food Tour will show you more types of Bun that are not well-known. Be sure to prepare a tissue with you, cause we are going to make you drool so hard ! Stay tuned \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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