TuoiTreNews:
On the occasion of Lunar New Year, Professor Tran Van Khe, who is known for
having a great knowledge of Vietnamese traditional music and who has been
promoting the country’s image to the world through music, tells Tuoi Tre about
culinary traits in each region in Vietnam, a field that he is also interested
in.
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In Vietnamese cuisine, there are some rare
dishes in each region. For example, sago worms in southern dishes, cactus in
central dishes, and porridge cooked from poisonous water caltrops in the
northern province of Ha Giang. Different historic traits in each region have
contributed to a great variety in Vietnamese cuisine.
Since the north is the base of the country,
the original point, tradition is of the utmost importance. It is easy to understand
that the North has the most well-preserved traditional dishes among three
regions.
The center is an old capital with a variety of
snobbish and delicate dishes that reach a level of art. People in central
Vietnam tend to eat delicious and nutritious, yet sophisticatedly and
beautifully decorated, dishes.
The south was an isolated area that used to
attract locals of other regions to change wasted land into cultivated areas.
Humans usually have to struggle to survive and to conquer nature. Thus common
traits of southerners are to discover and experience new things. Consequently
in cuisine, southerners often try strange dishes like worms, rats,
grasshoppers, snakes and turtles. Besides, with the same ingredients, they can
create various ways to cook them. As a result, the culinary trait in the south
is wild yet creative.
In general, strange dishes in each region
represent the delicacy, flexibility, research and creativity of Vietnamese
people in the culinary field.
As for drinking, Vietnamese place more
importance on herbs than other countries. The soil and climate in Vietnam,
especially in the south, have made it favorable for plantations to grow
abundantly. In this field, doctor Hai Thuong Lan Ong was one of the pioneers
who studied herbs and their effects on human health.
When someone from a region is invited to eat
at the house of someone from another region, he or she often hesitates to
experience the differences in the other’s eating habits. However, criticizing
the dishes is unscientific. If we think what is strange is not right, we
restrict ourselves from interesting experiences in life.
Instead, if we are adventurous enough to try
the dish once and then research it, we may be able to realize its tastiness and
fall in love with it.
I myself felt scared when I first heard about
eating rats. However, when I tried the meat, it was delicious. Another time, I
was invited by a group of Mongolians to eat raw beef garnished with cow’s
blood. I ate with wasabi, salt, and pepper, and it was tasty. I also enjoyed
raw beef with egg, which I found to be an interesting dish.
Opening up your heart to welcome new
experience in culinary adventures will enrich you with generosity, erase
prejudice and limitation. Experiences in cuisines are also experiences in
culture because each dish, especially rare ones, carries images of
personalities, cultures, people and land. In culture, there are only
differences, rather than rights or wrongs. Only our perception can be either
correct or incorrect.
My point of view is to respect each person’s
taste. If you are invited to eat a strange dish, there are two ways to respond.
First, for adventurous people, just try it and think that, if other people can
eat, and so can you. It is interesting to experience something new.
Secondly, if you really cannot eat, refuse
politely by telling the host that your body is not compatible with the dish. I
believe if the host is hospitable, they will not force you to eat by any means.
In daily conversation, the most important
thing is honesty. However, we also need to keep in mind that, “When in Rome, do
as Romans do”.
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