- Font Size:
- Default font size
- Larger font size
BY BARBARA ROLEK
Times Features Writer | Wednesday, October 06, 2004 | (No comments posted.)
Nga Thu Lam feeds the business god in the entryway of Lucky Dragon every day.
Offerings of tea, raw rice, salt, fortune cookies and a steady plume of incense keep the chubby Buddha happy.
It's insurance, if you will, for continued prosperity of the Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese restaurant she owns with her husband, Anthony Phuc Lam.
The Lams left Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) for Thailand in 1980 and arrived in the United States a year later. After intensive cooking training with a friend in Chicago, they opened their Schererville restaurant in 1990.
Bamboo hats elbow for room among the mother-of-pearl wall art depicting daily life in rural Vietnam -- teams of water buffalo work rice fields, fishermen troll on sampans.
But the food is the real star here. The Lams have had to accommodate Americans' palates by diluting the nuoc mam (fish sauce), holding back on the chilies unless requested and adding more meat. Despite the adjustments, it retains the fresh, light hallmarks of Vietnamese cuisine.
Anthony says North Vietnamese food is different than that of his South Vietnamese heritage.
"I hear it's not so good," Nga says, shaking her head disapprovingly and laughing.
The truth is, the food is a culinary mélange of the many countries, including China, France and Cambodia, that have occupied the land of over 70 million people.
"Geographically, it consists of the Red River Delta to the north and the Mekong Delta to the south separated by a belt of mountains. Vietnamese describe their country as two great rice baskets hung on either end of a carrying pole," says Nancy Freeman, a San Francisco-based freelance writer for www.sallysplace.com and other publications.
North Vietnam has a colder climate and the cuisine lends itself to Chinese-like soups and stews, and Mongolian hot pots, in which food is cooked in broth or oil at the table.
Soy sauce and stir frying rarely appear in Vietnamese dishes except in the north. Cooks rely on black pepper rather than chilies and residents exhibit a fondness for beef, a vestige of the 13th century Mongolian invasions.
In the South, where it's always hot, the food is more tropical and rich with spices and sugar. Indian influences are revealed in curries and French baguettes show up in sandwiches.
Servings are larger and fewer, Freeman says, and hot chilies replace black pepper for heat. The abundant fruit occasionally works its way into meat and vegetable dishes, and the cooking style often resembles that of neighboring Cambodia.
"In South Vietnam, we lean toward vegetarianism and did most of our cooking outdoors on small grills or hibachis," Arthur says.
Jasmine rice is the daily bread and it comes in various guises -- as a grain, in rice noodles as thin as vermicelli and as wide as fettuccine, in rice papers, and more.
Garlic, ginger, carrots, cucumber, mushrooms, leeks, lettuce, dried seaweed, mint, coriander, cardamom, basil, cinnamon, cloves, curry powder, star anise, turmeric and star fruit also figure prominently in the cuisine.
Presentation always is a top priority as in goi cuon (fresh spring rolls) made with translucent rice paper, which affords a peek at the goodies within. The beautiful pink of cooked seafood offsets the green of lettuce and Chinese chives in a shrimp spring roll.
The Vietnamese favor marrying hot with cold, soft with crunchy, dry with wet and bright flavors with bland. While chopsticks are used to eat many dishes, a surprising number are eaten with the hands, using lettuce, herb leaves, rice papers and crêpes to enfold small portions of cooked food. And fresh greens and herbs accompany every meal.
Rick Tramonto, of Tru Restaurant in Chicago, describes the cuisine as clean and light and a delight for vegetarians or anyone else wanting to eat more healthily.
In "Vietnamese Home Cooking" (Periplus Edition, 2003), authors Robert Carmack, Didier Dorlou and Nguyen Thanh Van write "It is said that the Vietnamese won ‘the American War' with fish sauce and bicycles: in other words, with protein and mobility."
There is some truth to that, they say, as a Vietnamese meal can be as simple as rice, a generous platter of lettuce and herbs, and the ever-present nuoc mam. The main dinner is usually fleshed out with fried fish or braised meat, and soup.
Breakfast might be pho, a rice noodle soup with chicken, beef or seafood, and a side of greens. Standard lunches include steamed rice with a bit of meat, or fried rice and pickles, or grilled meat or fish with fried glass (soybean) noodles.
Plain and hot water are standard beverage options with a meal and, for extra nutrition, the rinse water from vegetables also is drunk. Sometimes, a glass of local wine similar to sweet vermouth, or beer or rice wine also may be sipped. After the meal, a semi-fermented tea, often infused with jasmine or lotus blossom, is the norm.
As in other Asian countries, desserts in the true sense of the word don't exist and rarely are served at the end of a meal. Instead, watermelon, mango, green oranges and other fruits are served. Sugarcane is an all-day treat and sweets like sugary beans mixed with crushed ice are served with afternoon tea.
While Arthur Lam makes the trip to Chicago's Chinatown for his ingredients, local cooks can avail themselves of shops like Tess Oriental Mart in Merrillville owned by Marc and Tess Castor.
The Castors, who have operated the market since 1996, are Filipino Americans, but they carry Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese and Korean groceries in addition to the foods of their homeland.
"Just as in the Philippines, each region in Vietnam has its own variation on the cuisine," Marc Castor says. "But I think Vietnamese food is spicier than Filipino food."
Many local residents who have developed a fondness for the cuisine bemoan the scarcity of restaurants in the region.
That's one of the reasons Jesse Cohn, a Valparaiso resident for five years, misses his native St. Louis, where Vietnamese restaurants abound.
The 31-year-old instructor of English for Purdue University North Central characterizes the food as lighter, greener and rife with lemon grass and rice vermicelli noodles.
He cultivated a palate for the food while rooming with a Vietnamese friend at graduate school in New York.
"My friend would smash a bulb of ginger in dark beer and let it heat in a wok.
Then we threw in shrimp, squid, slices of pork and beef, let it simmer, and plucked out what we wanted and wrapped it in rice paper like a burrito.
"Delicious," Cohn says.
Nancy Freeman says that a cluster of noodle shops in a neighborhood is a good indication of a large Vietnamese population. If the restaurants are principally soup places, the population probably is largely North Vietnamese.
"When cruising the phone book, keep in mind the fact that a huge number of Vietnamese restaurants start with one of the following five words: ‘Little,' ‘Mekong,' ‘Pho,' ‘Saigon' and ‘Vietnam.'"
Over the past 15 years or so, a thriving Vietnamese-American neighborhood has sprung up on West Argyle Street on Chicago's North Side. Restaurants like Thai Binh and Pho Hung have helped revitalize a flagging business district with offerings like spicy-tart beef salad, catfish baked in a clay pot, lightly-breaded shrimp with garlicky satay sauce and bo cuon la lot (sliced beef rolled around minced chicken and shrimp, then wrapped in grape leaves and grilled on little skewers).
Taking it a step further, Roland Liccioni (of Les Nomades and formerly owner of Le Francais) and Arun Sampanthavivat (of Arun's) opened Le Lan ("the orchid"), a casual fine-dining French-Vietnamese restaurant on Chicago's North Clark Street in July.
Liccioni, a native South Vietnamese, studied cooking in France and England and has worked in America for the past 25 years.
"My partner and I have taken the spicy traditions of South Vietnamese food and combined it with the delicate, rich flavors of France in items such as glazed rib eye, smoked squab, crispy-skinned duck, roast bass with lemon grass, and others," Liccioni says.
See the accompanying restaurant list to try wrapping your palate around authentic Vietnamese cuisine.
Spring Rolls with Shrimp
12 medium shrimp, cooked, peeled and deveined (see variations)
1 (3-1/2-ounce) package dried rice vermicelli noodles
12 leaves butter (or Boston) lettuce
12 fresh mint leaves, preferably peppermint
12 Chinese (or regular) chives
12 sheets 9-inch-diameter rice paper
* Remove tails from shrimp and cut in half lengthwise. Set aside.
* Prepare dried noodles (see notes). Using scissors, cut noodles into manageable lengths.
* Remove core from lettuce leaves and cut them into 2-inch widths. Remove stems from mint and cut chives crosswise into thirds.
* To make spring rolls, soften a rice paper sheet (see notes) and assemble by laying smooth side down on damp cloth. Lay lettuce leaf off center along bottom of sheet. Top with herbs, rice noodles and 2 shrimp halves. Roll as you would for an egg roll.
* Cover with plastic wrap to prevent drying. Rolls can be made 1 to 2 hours in advance. Serve cold or at room temperature with purchased bean sauce or nuoc mam sauce.
* Makes 12 rolls.
* Variations: Substitute 12 very thin slices roasted pork loin for shrimp. For a vegetarian roll, omit shrimp and use 8 ounces cooked bean sprouts and thinly sliced tofu.
* Notes: To prepare dried rice noodles -- Soak noodles in very hot water until just tender, 10 to 15 minutes, depending on thickness. Drain and cover until ready to serve.
To soften rice paper sheets -- Place rice paper sheets on a plate. Cover with a damp cloth that has been wrung dry, and wrap tightly with plastic film for 1 to 2 hours to soften sheets slightly. Or dip quickly in hot water and use immediately.
Noodle Soup with Beef (Pho Bo)
1-inch knob fresh ginger
1/4 cup shallots, peeled and chopped
6 cups beef stock
1 star anise
1 black or brown cardamom pod, lightly crushed but left whole
1 pound 1/8-inch-wide rice noodles, prepared as described above
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped Chinese chives
2 green onions, white and green parts, coarsely chopped
1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
6 ounces beef rump or eye of round, sliced paper thin
* Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
* Wrap ginger and shallots in aluminum foil and roast for 20 minutes. Remove from foil and chop; add to stock in a large pot. Add star anise and cardamom and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for at least 30 minutes.
* Before serving, remove star anise and cardamom from stock. Bring stock back to a boil, plunge in softened noodles for 1 minute to reheat and remove them to warmed bowls. Divide chives, green onions and onion among bowls. Toss meat into stock to quickly cook, then ladle meat and stock into bowls. Garnish with coriander, peppermint, cooked bean sprouts, chilies, fish sauce and lemon wedges.
* Makes 4 to 6 servings.
Lemon Grass Tea
3 green shoots lemon grass
1 cup boiling water
* Crush lemon grass shoots (not the white, bulbous part of the plant) and place in a mug. Pour boiling water over, cover and let step for 2 to 3 minutes. Leave lemon grass in cup while drinking.
* Makes 1 serving.
* Variation: For iced lemon grass tea, steep tea for 5 minutes; let cool and pour over ice. Sweeten with sugar syrup (see recipe) to taste.
Sugar Syrup
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
* In medium saucepan, combine water and sugar. Cook over low heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Cook for 3 minutes without stirring. Remove from heat and let cool completely. Pour into a jar, cover and refrigerate indefinitely.
* Makes 1-1/2 cups.
* Variation: For vanilla sugar syrup, add 1 vanilla bean split lengthwise or 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract to syrup after removing from heat.
* Source: "Vietnamese Home Cooking" by Robert Carmack, Didier Corlou and Nguyen Thanh Van (Periplus Editions, 2003).
Ingredients commonly used in Vietnamese cooking
* Bean sauce -- Fermented soybeans ground with water, salt and roasted rice powder. Do not confuse with Chinese fermented black beans.
* Cellophane noodles -- "Glass noodles" made from mung bean (bean sprout) starch.
* Chili -- Fresh and pickled chilies are served tableside for individual seasoning.
* Chinese chives -- Flat, dark green shoots similar in length but not width to regular chives.
* Lemon grass -- A citronella-like plant used to flavor drinks and food.
* Lotus leaves -- For wrapping foods, imbuing a slight chestnut flavor.
* Lotus seeds -- Used to flavor soups and stews or served sweetened.
* Nuoc mam sauce -- Made from fermented extract of salted fish. Used in cooking and as a condiment.
* Rice noodles -- Made from rice starch and tapioca, they are available fresh, dried and in different widths.
* Rice paper sheets -- Thin, round sheets made from rice starch and tapioca used to enwrap food.
* Star anise -- An eight-pointed pod with an aniseed (licorice) flavor.
* Taro stem -- "Vietnamese rhubarb" or "elephant ear" is used to add crunch to a dish.
Where to find the ingredients
* Highland Oriental Food Mart, 8203 Kennedy Ave., Highland, (219) 923-9797
* Tess Oriental Mart, 7849 Taft St., Merrillville, (219) 736-6101
* Specialty stores and the Asian aisle of many supermarkets
* Note: Call ahead to make sure the item you need is stocked or can be ordered, especially in the case of produce, such as lemon grass.
If you go
* Lucky Dragon, 1033 W. Lincoln Highway, Schererville, (219) 322-8173
* Kim Yen, 228 W. Cermak Road, Chicago, (312) 842-7818
* Le Lan, 749 N. Clark St., Chicago, (312) 280-9100
* Mekong Restaurant, 4953 N. Broadway, Chicago, (312) 271-0206
* Pho Hung, 1129 W. Argyle St., Chicago, (312) 275-1112
* Pasteur, 5525 N. Broadway St., Chicago, (773) 878-1061
* Thai Binh, 1113 W. Argyle St., Chicago, (773) 728-0283
Barbara Rolek can be reached at brolek@nwitimes.com or (219) 933-3256.
Ingredients commonly used in Vietnamese cooking
* Bean sauce -- Fermented soybeans ground with water, salt and roasted rice powder. Do not confuse with Chinese fermented black beans.
* Cellophane noodles -- "Glass noodles" made from mung bean (bean sprout) starch.
* Chili -- Fresh and pickled chilies are served tableside for individual seasoning.
* Chinese chives -- Flat, dark green shoots similar in length but not width to regular chives.
* Lemon grass -- A citronella-like plant used to flavor drinks and food.
* Lotus leaves -- For wrapping foods, imbuing a slight chestnut flavor.
* Lotus seeds -- Used to flavor soups and stews or served sweetened.
* Nuoc mam sauce -- Made from fermented extract of salted fish. Used in cooking and as a condiment.
* Rice noodles -- Made from rice starch and tapioca, they are available fresh, dried and in different widths.
* Rice paper sheets -- Thin, round sheets made from rice starch and tapioca used to enwrap food.
* Star anise -- An eight-pointed pod with an aniseed (licorice) flavor.
* Taro stem -- "Vietnamese rhubarb" or "elephant ear" is used to add crunch to a dish.
Where to find the ingredients
* Highland Oriental Food Mart, 8203 Kennedy Ave., Highland, (219) 923-9797
* Tess Oriental Mart, 7849 Taft St., Merrillville, (219) 736-6101
* Specialty stores and the Asian aisle of many supermarkets
* Note: Call ahead to make sure the item you need is stocked or can be ordered, especially in the case of produce, such as lemon grass.
If you go
* Lucky Dragon, 1033 W. Lincoln Highway, Schererville, (219) 322-8173
* Kim Yen, 228 W. Cermak Road, Chicago, (312) 842-7818
* Le Lan, 749 N. Clark St., Chicago, (312) 280-9100
* Mekong Restaurant, 4953 N. Broadway, Chicago, (312) 271-0206
* Pho Hung, 1129 W. Argyle St., Chicago, (312) 275-1112
* Pasteur, 5525 N. Broadway St., Chicago, (773) 878-1061
* Thai Binh, 1113 W. Argyle St., Chicago, (773) 728-0283
Back to story No comments posted.
- It wasn't clear, concise or focused on the topic in the story.
- It was a personal attack, vulgar, explicit or degrading, used actual or implied profanity or contained potentially libelous statements.
- It accused someone of being guilty of a crime.
- It promoted violence or illegal acts.
- It contained telephone numbers or street addresses, or e-mail addresses and links to Web sites other than nwi.com or government agencies.
In no way do these comments represent the views of The Times or Lee Enterprises.
Passionate views, pointed criticism and critical thinking are welcome. Name-calling, crude and profane language and personal abuse are not welcome.
Reader comments will not be edited - they will be approved or declined. They may be used in the print edition of the newspaper.
If you feel a posted comment has violated these guidelines, please email our New Media team the commenter's name, the comment and a link to the article.
For more information please read our Terms of Service.