The French Influences

In 1856 French explorers landed in Denang, on the central East Coast of Vietnam.  From here, France colonised Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos (Indochina) and although they left about 100 years later in 1954, it is still very easy to see the French influences in Vietnam.  Even French is the second most spoken language in Vietnam.

Hoi An, a fishing town 30 minutes outside of Denang is where Ian and I stayed, and like France it is known for its good food.  It looks like a small French coastal town and at night the old quarter resembles Bourbon street in New Orleans, albeit not as hedonistic and you don't see people wearing and playing washboards and drinking hand grenades (Kris, Laura, Charlotte!).  

In short, Hoi An is one of my favourite places I have been too.   You can spend the days cycling round the town, visiting the many markets, sampling street food, watching the local fisherman on the river or spend the day at the beach.  Take in a cookery class of the many on offer, I would highly recommend the Red Dragon cooking class (332 Cua Dai Street).  The chef was taught by his mother and recipes and techniques have been passed down through generations.  $32 will get you a three hour lesson to cook 4-5 dishes, you can cook off the menu or see what is in the market and work with the chef to create new dishes.  The pork and ginger dish was off their menu, the clam and lemongrass recipe below was inspired by the great clams at the fish market!  Any leftovers were wrapped up to take home, so Ian was happy.

At night, we spent the evenings wondering down the old cobbled streets filled with lanterns, listening to the music, watching the street entertainers in the square and of course drinking glasses of 15p fresh beer.

Whilst the surroundings of Hoi An have French influences, so does Vietnamese food.  The famous French baguette and coffee were introduced to Vietnam by our friends across the English Channel.  Having tasted the Vietnamese coffee, my advise would be unless you like thick strong coffee with caramel milk and who knows how much sugar, I would avoid completely or at the very least have it cold with lots of ice, which is how the locals seem to drink it anyway.

The Vietnamese version of the baguette is called Banh Mi, a traditional street food in central and southern Vietnam that is normally filled with slices of meat or pate, tomatoes, salad (coriander, mint, thai basil, lettuce, spring onion, cucumbers), chilli dressing.  My favourite Banh Mi filling consisted of chicken (marinated and grilled with 5 spice), coriander, salad (cucumber and lettuce), chilli mayonnaise, a sprinkling of smashed peanuts and seared mango.  Sounds disgusting, but it was amazing.

Like the French the central and southern regions also seem to embrace sweets, from the many bakeries you can purchase cakes, the Vietnamese version of cupcakes and even croissants.  At street stalls and restaurants you can find pancakes on the menu, which are very similar to the French crepe, I opted for the mango whilst Ian went for the banana.  We both decided to stay clear of the chocolate, as we thought that's not very Vietnamese, until I discovered that yes, chocolate was introduced to Vietnam by the French.  In both crepes, they caramelised the fruit at the bottom of the pan first and then pour over the crepe mixture.

After a few days here, it was time to move south, but if there is one place I would recommend people go to in Vietnam, it would be Hoi An.

Chicken in a clay pot

- 4 chicken thighs (skin and bone removed and diced)

- 5 tablespoons of pineapple juice

- 1 teaspoon of five spice

- 2 teaspoons of oyster sauce

- 1 thumb size piece of finger, finely chopped

- 2 small shallots

- 1 clove of garlic

- level tablespoon of sugar

- 1 tablespoon of fish sauce

- pinch of curry powder (I like mine spicy, so I used hot)

- water

- pepper

- chilli

- spring onions

Place chicken into a bowl and place over the pineapple juice to tenderise, leave for a few minutes.  Then add to the chicken, the five spice, oyster sauce.  

Place a frying pan on a medium heat and add a little oil.  When hot add garlic, 3/4 of the chopped ginger and shallots, let them cook for a two minutes, then move them into the centre of the pan and sprinkle around them in a circle the sugar.  Wait for the sugar to turn slightly in colour, then add in the fish sauce and then add the chicken to brown for a few minutes.  Add the curry powder and stir together. Add a few tablespoons of water and transfer to a clay pot.  Don't worry if you don't have one, I don't! Instead use a casserole pot or small saucepan.  Place the pot back on the heat, add some more water, a pinch of back pepper for seasoning, the coconut milk, and the rest of the ginger.  Place lid on and cook until the chicken is cooked through and tender about 20 minutes, you may need to add a few more drops of water during the twenty minutes so keep checking.

When cooked, garnish with slices if chilli and spring onions.  Serve with steamed rice.

You can use the same for pork, beef, fish or if you want a vegetarian version you can use aubergine.  The cooking time will vary slightly depending on the cut of meat and or the vegetable.

Clams in lemongrass and chilli broth

- 1/2 kilo clams 

- 1/2 litre of water

- 2 sticks of lemongrass

- salt

- 1 hot chilli

- 12-15 leaves of Thai basil

Place the water into a saucepan, turn on heat, you need the water to get to boil.  Whilst waiting for the water, bruise the lemongrass sticks and slice the chilli from its middle to the end (so that it is still held together by the stalk) and and add both to the water.  Add a little salt for seasoning.

When water boils add the clams, and wait about 5 minutes for them to cook.  You will know when they are cooked because they will open.  When cooked and before in a bowl add some Thai basil about half and stir, check for seasoning and heat. Place broth and clams into a bowl and garnish with the remainder basil.

To serve I a separate small dish ass a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of pepper, and squeeze over 1/4 of a lime, mix together.  You can dip the clam into this (it's amazing) and then eat the broth like a soup.