First word to describe Vietnamese Food ? The world would
say ‘delicate’. And the second word should be economical. Nothing goes
to waste once it lands in a Vietnamese kitchen. From meat to bone to
guts and blood, each and every part of an animal is put to good cooking
use. Piggy odds and ends that most butchers would toss into trashcan are
turned into soothing and hearty rice porridge in the very Vietnam dish —
‘Cháo lòng’.
In Saigon,
Cháo lòng is served from morning until evening, by street vendors. They
are easy to spot by their distinctive giant metal vats and piles of
offal contained in glass display cases. Once sitting down on a plastic
stool, you will be swiftly dished up with a bowl of Chao long, which is
satisfactorily hot. The offering is rather easy on the pocket at around
half of one dollar a bowl. Some cut golden fried dough deepened into the
smoky bowl makes the perfect topping. This is not exaggerating to say
the slices of fried dough are one of the biggest stars in a bowl of chao
long. Once incorporated into the steaming porridge, they behave like
little sponge softening and soaking up the tangy porridge. You will like
them so much that you don’t think you can go on finishing the great
chao long without asking for more of that crispy dough.
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The base of chao long is well-cooked rice in flavorful broth, thrown
in cubes of congealed blood. When customers order, the porridge and tiết
(congealed blood) are ladled into a bowl, pouring down on chunks of
tubular innards, various forcemeats and slices of liver sitting in the
bottom. Fresh ground pepper and scallions are sprinkled at last. A
careful eater who wants to bring out the full taste of chao long will
add fresh bean sprouts, fish sauce, ginger and a squeeze of lime, all of
which are available tableside.
There is a majority of westerners distasting offal in spite of it
mild and surprisingly palatable taste. Some people find the consistency
quite a turn off while others think that chewiness is subtle and fun.
You are not going to see an aesthetical presentation when it comes to
chao long. But you can absolutely rely on it to bring you the warmth in
stomach on a chilling winter day.
Where to try 141 Trung Liệt – Đống Đa. One bowl of chao long here set you back about 35.000 vnd.
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