Street Food

LOAN DOAN

ESL100

Feb 27 2019

Lost in Translation Essay

 

Street food 

Street food, ready-to-eat food or drink sold by a hawker or a vendor in a street is a significant part of culture in some regions, especially in Asia. Vietnam street foods have been well-known across the world in recent years due to popular TV food critics. Pho, Vietnamese beef or chicken broth with rice noodle, and Banh Mi, Vietnamese baguette sandwich, have been admitted into Oxford English Dictionary since February 2011. Banh Mi was also added to the American Heritage Dictionary in 2014 (Britt Peterson – Globe Correspondent). People eat street food like Pho or Banh Mi for a number of reasons, such as its convenience, price, and ethnic cuisine curiosity or for nostalgia. Having lived in Chicago for more than two years, I can still find this city’s typical street-food, such as hot dogs and tacos from food trucks parking around some corners in the loop as a novelty and exciting, yet compared to my hometown, I cannot find the feeling of authentic or adventurous, by sitting on a low plastic stool at small kiosk lost in crowded noisy street to enjoy hot and freshly cooked snack served by vendors. I miss Vietnam cuisine so much and I am beginning to think that I will never truly find authentic Vietnamese cuisine in any of the fifty states.

Xien Que Nuong - BBQ on sidewalk 

Although street food varies somewhat across Vietnam’s regions and cities, in general, it is considered as an authentic local way to have meals. The people who run these street food stalls put hard work into their food, and spend hours creating the different components of the dishes, from sauces to toppings. They are proud of their food because the recipes they have accumulated over the years are solely their creations. Moreover, their recipes were only passed from generation to generation within their family. Pho is the most popular dish that can be found in every corner across the entire country of Vietnam. Pho in the North may have a different taste compared to recipes from the South, but in general, people will be able to describe Pho as a rice noodle bowl filled up with hot beef or chicken stock cooked for few hours with traditional spices. In my own experience, this is a typical breakfast meal that can be found easily in very early morning like 5:00 AM. Some people believe that Pho has a better taste found in local street food stalls compared to five-star restaurants, because of the precious family recipes. In Chicago near the Argyle Redline Station, there are a whole bunch of Vietnamese food stores and restaurants. However, among the Pho shops I have been tried, I cannot find a hot bowl of beef rice noodle soup having exactly genuine taste like Vietnam. In the US, I believe that finding an authentic bowl of Pho is like trying to look for a needle in a haystack.

Pho
Com Tam
Banh Mi

Street food in Vietnam offers various selection of ready-to-eat meals, snacks, fruits and drinks. But most importantly, it is absolutely delicious and a great value. First, Vietnamese street food is fresh. Vendors can get fresh ingredients every day from local market with affordable prices, and they only cook a sufficient portion for a single day’s sale. Thus, food always tastes enjoyable fresh. Second, street food in Vietnam is incredibly cheap. According to Vespa Adventure blog, Vietnamese street food as a must-try thing which exemplifies the phrase ‘bang for your buck’. Buyers only have to pay the range from $1 to $3 for a singular dish, and each dish is usually a decent portion size. Com Tam, $1.5 for each plate of grilled pork chop rice with two fried eggs and few slides of cucumber and tomatoes served with signature fish sauce, can be a filling meal for either breakfast, lunch or dinner. Of course, it tastes much better than a $5 meal from the most famous fast food chain in the world - McDonalds. Besides, Vietnamese street food vendors rarely accept tips, even when they have done a customized favor. They consider tips as an annoyance because of small change, which is odd to American culture.

Bui Vien Street - Saigon

In conclusion, Vietnamese street food is a good way for food adventures to spend on a great experience and save money in the process. According to most Vietnamese people, most of the best dining in the country is still done on the streets. Dining in Vietnam is communal, hands-on and can take place over a couple hours with a cold beer in hand. People call this type of party is as ‘nhau’ which could be seen easily on open-air sidewalk where food stalls exist. There are many shared dishes that have become national treasures, be able to bring even the most hardened northerners and southerners to the same table. And enjoying fresh cooked together, people feel free to cheer up, even bottom up a beer as having a good time.