Vol. 23 + 24 12/2004 4th year edition

Editor-in-chief: Ñoã Hoaøng Nghóa phutavanthu@yahoo.com

Food for Tet

As Tet (Lunar new year holidays) is the biggest holidays in the year, the Vietnamese people prepare for by decorating their homes and preparing traditional dishes to enjoy themselves and entertain their guests. the Vietnameses' expression of "An Tet" which covers all activities they do in Tet, literally means "Eating the Tet".

On the last day of the old year, the Vietnamse people attach great significance to offering to their ancestor traditional dishes.

The traditional menu for Tet normally includes chan gio ninh mang (pig trotters stewed with bamboo shoot), canh nau bong (dried pig skin soup), xoi gac (steamed sticky rice with monordica), thit ga luoc (boiled chicken), xao hanh nhan (stir-fried almond), nom du du (papaya salad), and che kho (green bean pudding). Some other traditional dishes, also included in the menu, are now available on the market. They include gio thu (pork head pie) and gio lua (lean pork paste), cha que (roasted cinnamon pork paste), lon quay (roast pork), and especially banh chung (square sticky-rice cake).

Beside traditional dishes, no one can forget to make a tray of Mut tet, a cup of tea and betel and areca ready to entertain their visitors.

However, there are some differences in the Northern, Central and Southern parts of the country because of different weather conditions and local agricultural products.

In the North, the menu includes ch©n gio ninh mang, thÞt gµ luéc, carp cooked in salted sauce, thÞt dong (jellied meat), and kohlrabi, cauliflower or onion fried with pig skin or lean pork. In addition, there are two other items that cannot be missed: "Banh chung" (square cake made of glutinous rice, pork and green beans wrapped in the dong leaves and boiled) and pickled scallion which facilitate digesiton.

Hue, the ancient imperial city in the central part of the country, is famous for its royal culinary art in feudal times with hundreds of dishes created for the occasion of Tet for the kings and the royal family. Now at Tet, every family in Hue has "Banh tet" (round shaped glutinous cake), sugarcoated coconut, roasted melon seeds, different pork dishes. The menu may also include beef cooked with garlic and garligale, various kinds of meat pies such as gio thu (pig's head meat pies), gio lua (Lean meat pie), grilled shrimp pies, boned pig's trotter stuffed with meat, nem chua (fermented pork hash), pickled scallion, unripe banana cooked in sweet and sour sauce. Women in Hue make all kinds of preserved fruit such as ginger, waxy pumpkin, apple, orange, lemon and carrot in various shapes and colours. The traditional spring holidays here are rather cold, so you can warm up with a cup of hot tea and a slice of Hue's special ginger.

In the South, with Ho Chi Minh city as the centre, every family has a pot of pork cooked in coconut milk with salt as the coconut tree is very popular in his region. The Southerners are accustomed to making use of its milk or its oil when they prepare food, which gives cooked food a special flavour. Pork cooked in coconut milk should have all the skin, fat and lean sections. When the pork is done, the fat section looks transparent and the lean one turns reddish with the flavour of coconut milk. Also, there are pickled green bean sprouts with leeks, sliced carrot and turnip. When you eat pickled bean sprouts with pork cooked in coconut milk, you will enjoy it and never get sick of it. As it is warmer in the South than in the North and the Central region, cooked meat is more popular in the North as it stays unspoiled for a longer time. Another favourite for many people is bitter melon stuffed with meat. It is believed by many older people that bitter melon is antipyretic, nutritious and may treat many diseases. "Banh tet" and "Banh trang" (rice waffle) are a must on the Tet menu. Vegetables, boiled or cooked meat and pickled bean sprouts (with leeks, sliced carrot and turnip) wrapped in a thin "banh trang" make a good dish in hot weather. "Banh tet" usually goes well with dried turnips soaked in fish sauce.

The foods that the Vietnamese eat at Tet are varied and diverse. What they have in common is that the people throughout the country all want to have the best and the most beautiful looking food on this occasion to offer their ancestors and to treat their friends and guests.

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