Vietnamese traditonal women's dress: Ao Dai

 This week I will introduce to you the Vietnamese women's traditional dress called "ao dai", which means "long dress".  Even though it is called a long dress it includes 2 pieces: a dress and a long pants.  To me it is the most beautiful dress in the world, and not just because it is part of my culture;  it also shows off the beautiful curves of women as it is discreet but sexy.  High school girl students wear them in white color as their school uniform. Beside that, we wear it at important events such as: in New Year holidays, go to church, temple, and especially every woman wears it in their wedding. This dress will be worn differently when it goes along with each event.  In a wedding dress it usually has to be formal and in red color because we believe a red color will bring luck as well as happiness. For other events, the dress form and colors will depend on the host's interested, as in the last picture is of me in my wedding "ao dai" dress.

Ha Long Bay

Vietnam is a country which looks like an S-shape, with many scenic places of nature with many domestic and foreign tourists.  One of those landscapes that is the most popular among the top 7 natural wonders of the world, and its Ha Long Bay in the Quang Ninh Province.  As a girl who grew up in the southern part of Vietnam, I was very lucky to be able to visit Ha Long as a tourist, and it was once in a life-time experience that marked my life.  I would say that Ha long is a place that each of us should see at least once to admire the sculptures of nature that the Creator has bestowed upon earth.  Looking down from above, Ha long Bay is completed by a picture drawn by all the beauty one could imagine of nature, a world wonder.  Legend has it that Ha Long’s image has countless islands surrounding it like the dragon pearl spray, and this mysterious beauty makes people admire it more and want to visit and explore the roof Drum Hon, Hon frog, Hang Sung Sot, Hang Dau etc.  These tourist attractions are not only about the still hidden Ha long, but interesting things such as the forest ecosystem and the sea.  To me, the sea is always whispering and gentle.  When arriving here, you would be captivated by loving blue: blue color of the sea of Blue Mountains, the sky green, and green future full of youthful vitality.  In short, any visitor arriving to Ha Long will feel like they are at an endless blue ribbon, captivated in a first world country.  Indeed, it would be a great opportunity to envelop yourself into the gorgeous scenes of nature where you can take pictures during the tour of Ha long and share them with all your friends and relatives.

Making rice paper

Before machine-made rice paper became popular, my family produced rice paper for living in Viet Nam by hands and sold it locally market is the north of Saigon. Cu Chi, my hometown is very famous of rice paper. We prepared a special batch from stone-ground to grind rice into liquid. Rice bran, stored in that big metal drum, drops down to fuel an earthen stove. Gently steaming water rises through tightly stretched cloth and cooks the very thin, smooth rice batter in seconds. Even though I didn't do this for for years, I still remember the rhythmic choreography of stirring, ladling, spreading, rolling and unrolling.

Each mat, as it’s covered by still warm and wet rice paper, is arranged in the sun so that the rice paper can dry completely into the delicate, translucent rounds that we love so much. Look closely and you might notice that the roller is covered with the leg fabric from an old pair of jeans.
We eat rice paper with everything, just like the way American add cheeses in everything they like to add to.

Spring rolls, a Vietnamese soul

As you notice, a food that is commonly prepared in Vietnam and called in some restaurants “summer rolls” while others call them “spring rolls”.  No matter what the name, it is a delicious food for any season.  I call it “goi cuon” or spring rolls, it have always been somewhat understated and often overshadow by her famous sister, the embodiment-of-Vietnamese-cuisine or Pho.  While appearing on many restaurant menus and touted as a healthy dish, spring roll never got the rapid fan following that it deserves.  The origin of this dish has been the subject of many debates.  Some believe spring rolls came from China – in the form of egg rolls.  However, some believe that since spring rolls are served fresh and made with different ingredients than egg roll and has a unique dipping sauce; the dish is very much Vietnamese.  Vietnam mainly grows agriculture such as rice fields, fisheries and vegetables.  You can find all of the ingredients that are in spring rolls reflected in the Vietnam culture, except the hoisin sauce which I believe is mixed with Chinese.  Despite being split on its origin, most agree on one thing: spring rolls are delicious.  Not to mention, it is also one of the simpler Vietnamese dishes to make.  The link below here will take you to the “practical” portion of this article.  I’ve scoured the deep recesses of the Internet to bring you one of the most popular recipes for spring rolls (courtesy of Allrecipes.com).  If you’ve never tried to make Vietnamese food before, this will be an easy recipe to test the waters and impress your friends and family.  If you’re an expert at making spring roll, please take a look at the recipe and let us know if you have your own version or creative spins.
Enjoy and an ngon!

Here is the link for the recipes.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/vietnamese-fresh-spring-rolls/Detail.aspx

Pho and its history

Pho was born in Northern Vietnam during the mid-1880s. As influenced by the history,  The dish was heavily mixed by both Chinese and French cooking. Rice noodle and spices ( cinnamon sticks, cloves, coriander pods, star anise and cardamom) were imported from China; the French popularized the eating of red meat . In fact, it is believed that "phở" is derived from "pot au feu" a French soup. Vietnamese cooks blended the Chinese, French and native influences to make a dish that is uniquely Vietnamese.