I want you to understand that it is more than just phở and bánh mì; though delicious, it is the distinct methods, culinary traditions and fresh ingredients that make Vietnamese food so vital to the strong national identity of the country.
The food that I tried, and that is pictured in the featured image, is bún chả. I chose to highlight bún chả in this article because of its relation to the US. It is relevant not because of its popularity in our country but because of its absence. As I mentioned in the introduction, each region has its unique dishes; bún chả is distinctly northern, more specifically a dish of Hanoi – the capital of Vietnam. Many Vietnamese foods that you will find in the US are of southern Vietnamese heritage because that is the region where many people fled from as refugees at the end of the Vietnam War, bringing their culture and food with them. So, as bún chả is a northern dish, we do not see it commonly served in the US.
This picture is of me trying it for the first time. Since then, it has quickly become my favorite. While training in Hanoi, I tried six different bún chả restaurants, many of them Michelin-rated! Since I have moved to Sóc Trăng in the south of Vietnam, I have not been able to have it again. But I have heard from my students that there is a person who moved here from Hanoi who owns a bún chả restaurant! I will have to locate it ASAP.
I have found it so interesting learning the history behind the differences in culture that are isolated in Vietnam, including which parts have been able to spread internationally.
