The Best-Kept Vietnamese Secret: French-Style Baguette Sandwiches (Subs, Hoagies, Rockets)
If you read my Curry Elvis Cooks blog, you already know that I'm enamored of Vietnamese food. I've lost track of just how many posts I've written about this cuisine. You'd almost think I don't eat anything else. Well, the truth is that I am a big fan of noodles, whether Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Thai or Vietnamese. But of all of these cuisines, my observation is that Vietnamese restaurants are consistently inexpensive. Two people can each eat a satisfying bowl of pho (pronounced fuh) for the cost of one entree at most other restaurants.
Vietnamese food, plain and simple, is satisfying and affordable. I've had a very few friends say that they think Vietnamese foods are bland. I surely don't know which restaurant they went to, but I've eaten Vietnamese food in at least 7 or 8 cities without ever thinking it bland. If you try the rich broth of their (pho) soups, I doubt you'll ever think that. The plain vermicelli noodles with grilled meats do, I admit, need some hoisin, hot sauce, or dipping sauce to ad some flavour, as the noodles themselves have texture but not flavour - I'll admit. It's the accompanients that provide the flavour.
But if paying under $5 for a "small" bowl of rice noodle soup and meats is too expensive for you, try the best kept Vietnamese secret: their submarine sandwiches for between $1.50-2.50. These sandwiches use crusty, chewy mini-baguettes (the French occupied Vietnam for some years), with a couple of slices of meat, pickled radish and carrot, parsley, sometimes a liverwurst spread. These sandwiches are inexpensive, and one makes a nice snack, two a meal. But if you're buying these sandwiches prepackaged at a local Oriental grocer, watch out for the tiny serrano/bird chiles, which are sometimes accidentally inside the sub.
(c) Copyright 2005-present, Raj Kumar Dash, http://cookingforone-or-two.blogspot.com
Vietnamese food, plain and simple, is satisfying and affordable. I've had a very few friends say that they think Vietnamese foods are bland. I surely don't know which restaurant they went to, but I've eaten Vietnamese food in at least 7 or 8 cities without ever thinking it bland. If you try the rich broth of their (pho) soups, I doubt you'll ever think that. The plain vermicelli noodles with grilled meats do, I admit, need some hoisin, hot sauce, or dipping sauce to ad some flavour, as the noodles themselves have texture but not flavour - I'll admit. It's the accompanients that provide the flavour.
But if paying under $5 for a "small" bowl of rice noodle soup and meats is too expensive for you, try the best kept Vietnamese secret: their submarine sandwiches for between $1.50-2.50. These sandwiches use crusty, chewy mini-baguettes (the French occupied Vietnam for some years), with a couple of slices of meat, pickled radish and carrot, parsley, sometimes a liverwurst spread. These sandwiches are inexpensive, and one makes a nice snack, two a meal. But if you're buying these sandwiches prepackaged at a local Oriental grocer, watch out for the tiny serrano/bird chiles, which are sometimes accidentally inside the sub.
(c) Copyright 2005-present, Raj Kumar Dash, http://cookingforone-or-two.blogspot.com
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