Saigon was the capital of South Vietnam, but was renamed Ho Chi Minh City after reunification in 1975. In the two days we were there, we visited the Ho Chi Minh museum, Notre Dame cathedral, the war remnants museum and the revolutionary museum. We also took a an afternoon trip to the Chi Cu tunnels, which was a main area of fighting during the war as the Americans tried to stop being he Ho Chi Minh trail, which was the flow of arms from North Vietnam through Laos and Cambodia into South Vietnam to support the Viet Con. 200,000 dong (£4 approx) will get you a ticket to Chi Cu and if you want you can be one of the visitors that ducks and dives through the underground tunnels, I personally only made it 20 metres before I headed to the exit! You can also pay $1 a bullet to shoot a gun at the gun range, I did not do this, but walking around the area and hearing the AK47's in the distance of tourists in groups further ahead, gave some indication of what it may have been like living with the constant threat of guns and bombs in your own town or village.
The second day in southern Vietnam we decided to head to the Mekong delta. It used to be wasteland until many Chinese requested permission to live there and then 20,000 Thai also settled in the region. 200,000 dong will get you a full day in the Mekong delta with lunch included of fried rice, barbecued pork and a soup. We spent the day in fishing boats weaving in and out of the delta, stopping off in the coconut candy factory, here they make sweets from coconut milk added to caramel and chopped nuts, they were amazing.
All in all, Ho Chi Minh was a good place to spend our last day in Vietnam. Before I finish my last Vietnamese blog, I thought it was only fair to share my favourite food discovery in Vietnam.
Vietnamese Crispy pancakes (Banh Xeo)
The best food that I discovered in Vietnam, and this is one dish I am sure I will make time and time again, it is the street food crispy pancakes.
Pancake dough
2 cups of rice flour
2 1/2 cups of water
Pinch tumeric
Tablespoon coconut cream
Teaspoon fish sauce
Mix the ingredients together.
Filling
Bean sprouts
Chicken (uncooked but finely sliced) or prawns (peeled and deveined). I used small prawns.
Put frying pan on low to medium heat and add a tablespoon of oil. When oil is hot, ladle in the pancake mixture until there is a thin layer on the bottom of the frying pan ( like a crepe). Evenly place three prawns on one half of the pancake and the a handful of bean sprouts across the same half. Cover and Leave the pancake for three minutes, making sure the heat is low enough not to burn he bottom.
After three minutes add some oil around the edge of the pancake (we are trying to make the bottom go crispy and light brown in colour). After another 3 minutes it should be ready to fold the half of the pancake with nothing on it over the side with the filling. Leave for a further two minutes and then flip for another two minutes. Both sides should now be crispy and golden brown, if not place back into the frying pan.
To serve, cut the pancake into three so a prawn is in each section. Take a rice paper roll and place some greens (lettuce, cucumber, spring onion, pea shoots, coriander, thai basil, mint etc) in the rice paper, add the section of the crispy pancake and roll. Dip into a dipping sauce and eat.
Dipping sauces
You can use he Nuoc Cham sauce or even a sweet chilli one, but there is also a quick peanut sauce (like a satay) that is nice with this. I confess that I could not understand the exact ingredients from the lady selling them, but I have googled peanut dipping sauces, and the below link takes you to a good one. Try with both and see which you prefer.
On the whole Vietnam is a fantastic country that is rich in history, from the ancient Chinese rule, the Vietnamese royal dynasty , the French colonisation and more recently the revolutionary civil war and lastly the Vietnam war. The people are friendly, the food delicious and the scenery beautiful, it is truly worth a visit.
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