In a coastal tourism city, the number of vermicelli soup restaurants is not inferior to seafood restaurants, which is interesting, even at seafood restaurants, vermicelli soup is also sold. And that is the reason for the story of the bowl of banh rieu with the flavor of this land.
Bun rieu is a culinary highlight not to be missed when coming to Vung Tau (Ho Chi Minh City). There is even a pagoda here that is often called Bun Rieu pagoda. Why does this entire coastal land worship the riyu vermicelli dish so much, that it is necessary to build a pagoda to promote the riyu vermicelli dish, which is a typical vermicelli dish of the Northern Delta out there?
But when I arrived, I learned that the name of the Bun Rieu Pagoda was just the nickname of the Phuoc Hai Buddhist monastery. The reason for the above nickname is because there is a very delicious vegetarian vermicelli soup that pagodas often cook to treat men and women in the days of Buddhism. Then, it is unknown how long ago, the name of the Bun Rieu Pagoda appeared and became a popular name.
However, when we approached a bowl of vermicelli with crab from Vung Tau, we could not recognize it as vermicelli with crab. If the traditional vermicelli soup of the Northern countryside only includes crab meat that is crushed, filtered to get the meat and cooked into vermicelli with vermicelli, then the bowl of vermicelli soup in Vung Tau is no different from a seafood party.
Because in that bowl of crab noodle soup, there are delicious, high-class spices such as shrimp, squid, longan, mackerel, fish balls, snail sausage, quail eggs, boiled pork blood, even served with a bowl of steamed ocean tuna liver. It is completely different from the simple vermicelli with sticky rice structure in the North.
Even the rice of the Vung Tau rice noodle bowl is not made from rice from freshwater crabs in the fields but from shrimp. Therefore, even though it is called vermicelli with seafood, it must be noted that this is vermicelli with seafood shrimp to be accurate.
Obviously, this is a variation of cuisine when appearing in different circumstances and conditions. It is not traditional crab vermicelli soup, nor seafood vermicelli or elephant ear vermicelli invented by Quang Ninh people, but the perfect blend of all.
In the original version, vermicelli soup is a rustic dish of the countryside, taking advantage of available field crab in the fields to cook into a cool, refreshing and sour vermicelli soup, served with chopped raw vegetables suitable for the hot and humid weather of summer.
Later, when crabs were less and the demand for living increased, the bowl of vermicelli soup was "transformed" with strange "tops" such as beef, pig's ear, even balut. This must be emphasized as a transformation, not a variation, because it transforms vermicelli soup from a snack to a noisy, rich dish.
However, Vung Tau vermicelli soup is truly a new variation, creating a version of ocean-style vermicelli soup, not "forced with ancient gold" in a variety of ways and get it. Vung Tau vermicelli soup only has a cool and sour flavor, the vermicelli soup style is even with shrimp instead of field crab, to create a vermicelli soup with rich flavor.
Vung Tau vermicelli soup is a new combination of seafood and traditional cooking methods that has brought harmony and quality to the dish, while creating a strong visual impression on those who see it for the first time and conquer the love of diners.
When looking at the bowl of Vung Tau vermicelli soup, diners will see a diverse, brilliant but still very harmonious structure. The shrimp paste is next to the square boiled pig blood, the fresh, red-throated sea shrimp, a few white squid with light purple spots, along with pieces of mackerel, shrimp, snail...
It was a seafood party set on a soft sticky rice noodle and served with a bowl of broth cooked from fresh pork bones and sea shrimp, so the sweetness and red color of the tomatoes were gentle. All the seafood in the Vung Tau vermicelli bowl is fresh, so it is very delicious, as crispy and sweet as it is eaten, and filled with the aroma of the ocean.
The flavor of Vung Tau vermicelli soup is complicated, not as simple and sophisticated as the vermicelli soup bowl in the North. The sour taste of tomatoes, the strong flavor of shrimp paste combined smoothly with the flavor of seafood, along with the familiar rainbow taste of spinach have created a familiar but strange, stimulating and attractive piece.
The rice paper is as soft and sticky as the high-class pate liver, not as fatty or foaming as crab rice paper. Riem made from sea shrimp is carefully selected and very fresh, because only then can riem be smooth, fragrant and rich with the characteristic flavor of sea shrimp in this piece of riem.
Therefore, vermicelli with crab has also become a popular specialty in the coastal city of Vung Tau, such asamming fish hotpot, apricot stall or hot pot cake. Almost everyone who comes here has to eat a bowl of vermicelli soup, not to find the ancient flavor of the remote North but to enjoy a delicious dish.
This variation of vermicelli soup is spectacular and reasonable. It takes the spirit and flavor of the original bowl of vermicelli soup and is adjusted and changed with local ingredients. It is completely different from the "forced" style, luxuriating a simple dish with unsuitable ingredients such as the bowl of vermicelli soup in the form of a variation.
This creativity and variation has created a completely new type of vermicelli soup, worthy of its name Vung Tau vermicelli soup, similar to Buon Ma Thuot vermicelli soup on the plateau, or Saigon vermicelli soup. This is in line with the spirit of "merging without dissolving, innovating without changing colors" of Vietnamese culture.
