American tourists unfamiliar with vermicelli with dried shrimp in Saigon

Max McFarlin, a Youtuber who specializes in reviewing Vietnamese cuisine, felt strange when he first enjoyed vermicelli with dried shrimp in Saigon.

Max McFarlin, whose channel has nearly 700,000 followers, has lived in Vietnam for more than 3 years. Most of the videos Max posts feature Vietnamese culinary experiences across the three regions.

Responding to VnExpress , Max said he had enjoyed many delicious dishes in Vietnam but had never heard of vermicelli with dried shrimp in Saigon. The first time Max enjoyed this dish was 8 months ago, when he visited a popular vermicelli with dried shrimp shop in a small alley on Nguyen Kim Street, District 10, Ho Chi Minh City. Max recorded a video of his experience with the new dish, attracting hundreds of likes and comments.

Max McFarlin enjoys vermicelli with dried shrimp in an alley. Photo: Max McFarlin/Youtube

In the posted video, the seller introduced that he had opened the shop selling this dish since the 1970s. The age of the popular restaurant made the American male tourist exclaim "unbelievable". Max said that he had been in Vietnam for more than 3 years but had never heard of bun rieu with dried shrimp, only bun rieu with snails. "I thought I knew a lot about the food here, but sometimes I feel like I know nothing when trying new dishes", Max said.

The American male blogger ordered a portion of vermicelli with lots of dried shrimp and sour soup, served with a plate of herbs and a few pieces of cinnamon sausage, with additional seasonings of shrimp paste and chili satay. A portion with sausage costs 51,000 VND.

Southern Vietnamese vermicelli soup with crab. Photo: Bui Thuy

When tasting the broth, Max commented that the bowl of noodles had a clear, light taste, different from the broth of bun rieu he tried when he came to Hanoi. The bowl of noodles had a fragrant smell of dried shrimp. The seller showed him how to eat it by adding a spoonful of shrimp paste, chili paste, lemon juice and mixing well to blend the spices to make the broth more flavorful. While many foreigners cannot eat Vietnamese shrimp paste, Max said that this type of sauce is easy to eat and makes the dish more harmonious. The American tourist shared that he had enjoyed many noodle dishes in Vietnam and liked the thin noodles in this bun rieu tom kho dish. In addition to the dried shrimp ingredient, the cinnamon sausage served with it also made Max feel strange. This was also the first time he had eaten bun rieu tom kho with sausage.

Thanks to his time in Vietnam, where he often explored local cuisine, Max learned how to eat like a Vietnamese. He never forgets to add raw vegetables and herbs to his noodles. Shredded water spinach is Max's favorite, and he also has a habit of asking the seller to blanch it before eating.

Max commented that a portion of vermicelli with dried shrimp has simple toppings, suitable for breakfast or an afternoon snack. However, he felt "regretful" that the shop is only open in the morning. "If the owner opened in the afternoon, I would come here every day to have a bowl," Max said.

The American male tourist said that the restaurant is small and is a popular restaurant in an alley, with limited parking space and few tables for customers to sit on. The tables are placed against the wall to make room for vehicles to move around in the alley. Max said he would come back to enjoy the restaurant next time because of the unique flavors of the food and the enthusiasm and friendliness of the owner.

Crab vermicelli soup is a popular dish in the three regions of Vietnam, each locality has a different variation of this dish. The main ingredients of the crab vermicelli soup cooked according to the Northern taste are field crab, apple snail, tomato, pork rind, and fatty broth. Some places add baby ribs, cartilage ribs, and lolot leaf sausage. The South also has crab vermicelli soup with a variety of toppings such as crab sausage, pig's blood, trotters, pork sausage, and fried tofu. Some shops do not use crab rieu but use shrimp rieu instead. Dried shrimp or red shrimp minced with lean meat and egg yolks create a brick-red, fragrant rieu dish with a clear, fatty, sweet broth.

Bich Phuong - Vnexpress.net

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