The beauty of balance
This
open age allows the Vietnamese to approach different culinary cultures in the
world. Especially in big cities, foreign food services have been dramatically growing
up in all amount, scale, and diversity. There are Cambodia markets, China town,
Japanese cuisine “Little Japan”, and plenty of 5 star western restaurants.
Despite the massive invasion of foreign food, local Vietnamese cuisine has
strongly maintained. We Vietnamese simply have to have rice and traditional
food for daily meals, such as fish in hot pot or sour soup. In the huge wave of
globalization and fusion, the stable and firm position of Vietnamese cuisine
lays on such simple keys: harmony and tastiness.
When
being weighed with other culinary cuisine, we that have realized the value of
the harmony and enough in Vietnamese food.
Chinese
cuisine, considered as the biggest culture that has been influenced Vietnamese
cuisine, actually always brings an oily feeling. Chinese love to use oil and
lard in cooking, not only for frying but also in grilling. Moreover, the
feudalism with lavish lifestyle had created the habit of using too many rare
and nutritious ingredients in the dish, not only causing boredom for diners but
sometimes also counteracting and having bad effects.
Vietnamese
neither abuse oil nor rare ingredients like shark fin, abalones, or newborn
voles. In the other hand, Vietnamese cuisine has conquered diverse diners by
its harmony and enough in both flavors and nutrition contains from various
ingredients.
In
such cooking process, the cooks pay much attention in marinating and seasoning
in order to balance out all the flavors: sourness, heat, saltiness, and
sweetness. There is no such dominant flavor in a dish. For examples, typical
sweet and sour soup has spicy chili, sweet pineapple, and sour tamarind or
fermented rice; all just create a great balance and harmonic dish.
When
making a comparison with western countries, where have been known as the big
father with a long history of classic etiquettes in culinary world, Vietnamese
cuisine still has its own strength. Whereas French cuisine is famous by its
principal that to preserve the whole freshness of ingredients and to base on
almost 3 basic spices: salt, pepper, and sugar, Vietnamese spices are much more
abundant and diverse. A French beefsteak might be tasty because of its sweet
and tender flesh but a Vietnamese BBQ grounded-beef in lard is definitely
delicious.
The hidden
co-ordinate philosophy
Vietnamese
daily meals are not from rare, exotic, or classy ingredients but rather from
local, seasonal, and common yet various ones. Multi-protein, fiber, and
especially spices combine to launch accordantly tasty dishes.
In
particular, we have plenty types of spices, from different herbal leaves
(onion, mint, dill, tia-to, kinh-gioi)
to fermented rice or homemade vinegar; from vegan spices as garlic, lemongrass,
or galangal to fish-sauce and seasonings. Those such diverse and flexible
combination of spices have created easy-going and enough dishes, which are not
too sweet, too fat, or too hot.
The
advantage of Vietnamese cuisine also comes from the balance of Yin and Yang.
The Yin represents dark, softness, and passiveness while the Yang symbolizes
for light, firmness, and activeness. The Yin and Yang philosophy believes that
everything on Earth has Yin side and Yang side, which are blended into each
other to create the nature of the world.
Dining
is not an exception. A Vietnamese dish or meal hides a deep philosophic value
of Yin-Yang and Wu-Xing (the 5 elements), 2 rules of cooking in order to reach
harmony.
In
particular, a dish must deliver both Yin and Yang aspects. Main ingredients -
which have cooling effect (Yin) as balut (fertilized duck eggs) or duck - must
go with spicy herbs (Yang) as Ram (Persicaria
odorata) or ginger – which have warming effects. In bigger pictures, the
Yin-Yang rule is clearly shown, such as in daily meals, hot pot/fried/or
grilled dishes with saltiness, thicken texture, and dried (Yang) need to be
balanced out by soup with leaves and clear water (Yin).
Going
a bit deeper to the improving and combining rules of ingredients and cooking
process of the Vietnamese, we would be surprised with the strict Wu-Xing law.
The Yin-Yang gave birth the Wu-Xing, which represents 5 changing states of the
cosmos as Metal – Wood – Water – Fire – Earth. If two of those 5 elements pair
up right, the result should be great because they can support each other, and
otherwise. The Vietnamese really pay attention to how to pair ingredients to
reach the best state of Wu-Xing and through the process, to bring the taste and
nutritious level to the highest.
Vietnamese
has put sourness, flour, and animal gall into Wood state; bitterness, fat, and
intestine into Fire state; sweetness, protein, and stomach into Wood state;
hot, minerals, and colon into Metal state; and finally saltiness, liquid, and
kidneys belong to Water state. The Fire and the Wood quite matches each other
so the naturally sweet ingredients as fresh water snakehead fish taste so good
with bitter leaves.
Vietnamese
cuisine, occasionally, is the harmony of those 5 elements, which delivers the
whole diverse natural flavors and balance nutrition of body health at the same
time. In a bowl of Pho – the most famous Vietnamese food – we’ve seen all 5
elements: beef flesh (Wood), lard (Fire), salty broth (Metal), spicy chili
ginger (Water), and sour fresh lime squeeze (Wood).
Even
though it does not carry flashy or luxury appearance, Vietnamese cuisine still
wins the score because of the harmony of simple yet pure items. Hidden the
whole Asian philosophy, Vietnamese food nowadays is always the best option for
us – a nation that loves and respect the peace and harmony between the nature
and human beings.
By Tsubaki /
Mask Online