The contemporary story of Vietnamese cuisine

Contemporary cuisine

Since its planning, Thao Dien area has risen to prominence thanks to high-end real estate projects, naturally competing for the title of "wealthy neighborhood" with Phu My Hung (District 7).

According to statistics from the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association (HoREA) in 2019, Thao Dien is home to nearly 6,000 foreigners from 102 nationalities, with more than half being from Europe and America. Therefore, it's not surprising that most restaurants and eateries here primarily serve Western-style dishes.

But Thao Dien isn't just home to foreign visitors; it also has Vietnamese families living there. This makes me wonder how chefs serving Vietnamese food in Thao Dien would manage to please such a diverse clientele.

It was by chance that I met Chef Nguyen Nhu Cuong. Before owning and managing his own Vietnamese restaurant, Chef Cuong had nearly 15 years of experience in the culinary field and had won many notable awards.

Chef Cuong's restaurant is conveniently located, attracting diners. With its modern Indochinese architectural style and dominant emerald green color scheme, it's easy to see that this is a rare Vietnamese restaurant in Thao Dien.

However, the restaurant's menu wasn't filled with purely Vietnamese dishes like "sour soup" or "braised fish in clay pot," but rather dishes that "sound very Vietnamese but aren't actually Vietnamese," such as "soft-shell crab spring rolls," "duck salad with wild herbs," "stir-fried sturgeon," and "grilled sea bass wrapped in betel leaves"... I was very confused by the "fusion cuisine" style, but if it's fusion cuisine, where are the remaining elements of Vietnamese culinary culture in these dishes that sound very Vietnamese but aren't authentically Vietnamese?

While I was still struggling with the menu pages, unsure of the restaurant's culinary style at the time, Chef Cuong suggested a few dishes and became my "tour guide," taking me on a culinary "exploration."

But before embarking on the "tour," Chef Cuong explained that the dishes on the menu I was holding were designed in the style of "contemporary cuisine."

Unlike "fusion cuisine," which is a style that harmonizes and combines the distinctive culinary styles of different countries, especially in terms of flavor and cooking methods, "contemporary cuisine," as explained by Travellive (article "Contemporary Cuisine" published on August 3, 2013), is a style that distills the best aspects of the cuisine of the host country, combining them with international cooking techniques and presentation styles.

Extracting the essence

The inherent diversity of Vietnamese cuisine is the ideal condition for chefs to unleash their creativity. Surely, at least once, we've all heard of a strange, unusual, or even strange-tasting variation of Pho. And the Vietnamese people, with their open minds, warmly welcome these creative innovations based on respect for their culture.

However, not many innovations leave a truly lasting impression. This is because every Vietnamese person already possesses a talented Vietnamese chef. They are perfectly capable of preparing a delicious meal for themselves or their family. Therefore, the biggest headache for Vietnamese restaurants is sometimes not pleasing foreign customers, but rather Vietnamese diners.

Chef Cuong took me on a "tour" of four dishes: "duck salad," "soft-shell crab spring rolls," "stir-fried sturgeon," and "grilled sea bass wrapped in betel leaves." At first glance, the Vietnamese character of these dishes might be evident in the words "salad," "spring rolls," "stir-fried sturgeon," or "betel leaves," but these are not famous dishes or representative of any particular region in Vietnam.

"I want diners, both foreigners and Vietnamese, to be able to enjoy Vietnamese food without feeling overwhelmed by cultural differences," Chef Cuong shared when talking about his target customers. The key to these dishes lies in balancing cultures and highlighting the essence of Vietnamese culinary traditions. So, where does that essence come from?

For example, salad (gỏi) is considered an appetizer in a Vietnamese meal because of its "easygoing" nature and ease of combination with many ingredients. Whether at banquets, on important occasions, or in casual meals, salad holds an irreplaceable place. Salads are found throughout the country, from North to South. In each region, Vietnamese people have their own way of preparing salad, depending on the ingredients available there. Unlike Western salads, which are characterized by vegetables, fruits, and dressing, salads perfectly harmonize vegetables with meat and dipping sauce.

The "duck salad" I had the pleasure of trying has a very simple name, and it's easy to imagine that it's made from duck meat. However, the combination with wild herbs from Tay Ninh, a rare ingredient in Vietnamese meals, is what makes this dish unique. Compared to the sweet and refreshing wild herbs from Gia Lai, the Tay Ninh wild herbs have a slightly bitter taste mixed with sweetness and a cool, fragrant aroma. Combined with the tender duck meat and a sweet and sour dipping sauce, this is a very suitable appetizer in the sweltering Saigon weather.

Another dish that I found very interesting was "grilled sea bass wrapped in betel leaves." For Vietnamese people, betel leaves are not an unusual ingredient, but using them in a dish is rare. In this dish, betel leaves are stuffed inside the sea bass before grilling, allowing the aroma of the leaves to permeate every fiber of the fish. Betel leaves have a pungent, aromatic smell, making them ideal for removing the fishy odor. This dish is especially delicious when served with mashed cassava marinated in coconut milk.

In appearance, this dish is quite similar to Western steaks, with grilled meat served with salad and mashed potatoes. However, upon closer inspection, all the ingredients are authentically Vietnamese. Interestingly, Western diners who try this dish are very fond of and curious about the grilled cassava, to the point that some even ask if they can order the cassava separately.

The following dishes are also products of Chef Cuong's "exploration" with purely Vietnamese ingredients. Therefore, ingredients can be considered the soul of dishes that embody the culture of a country or region.

Mr. Minh (District 8), a customer at the restaurant, expressed his opinion: "I've tried Vietnamese food in many countries. Even if they cook it correctly, the taste can't be the same as when I eat it in Vietnam. I believe foreigners feel the same way when they eat their food in other countries."

When asked whether simply using Vietnamese ingredients in any dish and giving it a Vietnamese name constitutes contemporary cuisine, Chef Cuong smiled and shared: "Today's diners are very discerning, so those of us in this profession can't be that 'cunning.' Everything we present to our customers is a dish that has been tested many times and refined through years of experience."

I myself am Vietnamese and grew up eating authentic Vietnamese meals. More than anyone else, I, and you, the reader of this article, understand that the story of Vietnamese cuisine is a timeless one. It is an integral part of Vietnamese culture. With the development of society, we embrace new things, and changes in lifestyle, people, and cuisine are consequently influenced to some extent.

New culinary trends like fusion cuisine and contemporary cuisine have emerged as a strong statement to the world about the development of culinary culture in general and Vietnamese cuisine in particular. I believe this is a positive sign for the development of our national culinary culture, and to best embrace this development, we ourselves need to equip ourselves with a certain level of understanding and an open mind.

Le Ho Uy Di - Photo: Tu Ngoc Minh