Vietnam: It's absolutely pho'nomenal
Hello friends of Kryddhyllan and happy Hump Day! We can all probably agree that Wednesdays are arguably one of the most anxiety inducing days of the week (after Sunday, because well, Sunday scaries #nuffsaid). But in Sweden, Wednesday is sometimes referred to as “lilllördag” or “little Saturday”, and celebrates that we survived the most difficult part of the week (usually by getting as schwasted as socially acceptable for a work/school night). At least these days it does – in the past, it was referred to as “the maid’s Saturday”, as they usually didn’t get actual Saturdays off. How’s that for a fun history fact?!
But mid-week drinking aside, there are of course, other ways to celebrate that we’ve made it past what can usually feel like the toughest part of the week. And by other ways, we mean avoiding crowded bars where your many layers of outerwear only add to feeling of being slowly suffocated, trading that in for a pants-optional evening of vino, a new recipe, and of course, some Southeast Asian pop music.
Speaking of new recipes, it’s time to take our taste buds for a spin with our latest Kryddhyllan guest! She hails from the nation that is the leading exporter of cashews and black pepper and the second largest exporter of coffee. This beautiful S-shaped nation is home to many rivers, tropical fruits, and even snake wine (yes, whole snakes are put into rice wine to enhance the flavor, and also to cure back pain and rheumatism – who’s up for a cup?). It is a nation where Nguyen is a common last name, and where gift-giving is a serious business – for example, giving bananas as a gift would mean that you think the person has “failed”, or presenting gifts in fours would symbolize death (oops). Have you guessed yet? Yes, that’s right! We’re talking about Vietnam. Hailing from the beautiful capital city of Hanoi, Melanie found her way to Stockholm via international stints in Singapore and Boston (just to name a few). This lovely globetrotter found the exotic (read: dark, somber winters) Scandinavian capital exciting, and arrived just a few short months ago. Between exploring her new hometown and planning her upcoming adventures to far flung places via her exciting job at Swedish giant H&M, she made time to sit down with us and brighten the chilly days with a delicious taste of Vietnam, right from her ultra cozy apartment in Southern Stockholm. Read on to find out more about our delicious feast, and why you’ll soon be heading to the Asian store to stock up on ingredients for this delicious, perfect for winter meal!
Nem - Vietnamese spring rolls (northern style)
(serves 4, about 2 hours for full process)
Listen to: for a more chill atmosphere, go for the Lana Del Rey-like Bui Lan Huong. Son Tung M-TP is what all the cool kids are listening to. Our personal favourite was the Taylor Swift-like bubbly tunes of Bich Phuong (especially Bao Gio Lay Chong - When will I get married?)
Enjoy with: A local beer or any type of soft drink (Coke was on the menu)
Ingredients
Dried fungus, one handful
Dried small shitake mushrooms (small), one handful
Thin glass noodles, small handful
150 g bean sprouts
2 spring onions
1 large carrot
2 small yellow onions
500g ground pork
2 eggs
Salt
Rice vinegar
Fish sauce (preferrably Vietnamese style)
Rice paper sheets (one package - the type made for frying)
Canola oil (a few cups, for frying)
For the sauce:
1 clove garlic
2 tbsp Fish sauce (preferably Vietnamese style)
3 tbsp Rice vinegar
4 tsp Sugar
Instructions
Soak one handful each of the mushrooms in warm water and set aside so they soften
Cook the rice noodles according to instructions and set aside
Very finely chop the carrot, onions, spring onions and bean sprouts and mix in a large bowl
Squeeze the water from the mushrooms (you don’t want any water in the spring roll mix) and also chop very finely
Add the pork and eggs into the bowl and mix together. Add in 1 tsp of salt and vinegar (?)
Ready to roll! Take a sheet of rice paper, and soak it with water until it gets relatively soft. Put about 3-5 tbsp of the mix on one end of the roll, and start rolling. Before reaching the end of the roll, fold in the edges to make sure the roll is closed
In a large pan, heat a few cups of oil until it’s ready for frying. Fry the spring rolls until browned
For the sauce, mix the finely chopped garlic, fish sauce, rice vinegar, sugar and water together. Ready to serve!
Interview Time!
Kryddhyllan: So Melanie, what’s your favorite food from home?
Melanie: This! *points to what we’re fervently devouring now
Kryddhyllan: Understandable! But why would you say it’s your favorite food?
Melanie: I think it’s partly because it’s so time-consuming, and every time I asked my mom to make it, she’d only make it like once a week, and I’d had to wait until Sunday to get my spring roll fix.
Kryddhyllan: Patience is truly a virtue, especially when it comes to spring rolls! And what brought you to Sweden?
Melanie: Ooh, that’s so hard… Um, I dunno, I mean I just graduated in May, and I had the choice of going back home or going to Singapore or taking on a completely different challenge. And I really like getting to know how people live in completely different places and I think that if you just travel there you don’t see the whole picture. In my past experience living in different countries, I only become truly happy and feel like I belong after two years. Which is pretty long, I guess.
Kryddhyllan: No, but that’s usually how long it takes to build a network and sort of get settled.
Melanie: Yeah, and I’ve been living in places with very different political and social systems, so this is like the next place I want to try out, because if I really like it maybe I’ll end up staying forever!
Kryddhyllan: Oooh, fingers crossed! But just wait till the winter to decide.
Melanie: Gotta get my Vitamin D pills!
Kryddhyllan: It’s starting to get darker, but it’s also really cozy. Plus, you’ve lived in Boston, and if you survived Boston winters then Swedish winters are much milder. And soon it’s Christmas! It’s in January that things start to suck.
Melanie: But I won’t be here!
Kryddhyllan: Good move. Do you have any favorite new dishes since moving here?
Melanie: I do! I actually really like your crisp bread with pickled herring, and everyone’s like “what young person would like eating this?” but it’s actually kinda nice!
Kryddhyllan: What about you Shaodian? What are your favorite dishes?
Shaodian: I really like the fish soup.
Kryddhyllan: Mmm, nice! What did you know about Swedish food before moving here?
Melanie: Just the meatballs from IKEA.
Shaodian: Same.
Kryddhyllan: IKEA truly is the best marketer for Swedish food… But what would you say is the best and worst thing about Swedish food?
Melanie: Oooh… I think the best and worst thing is actually the same, and that would be the amount of cream that you use in your food.
Kryddhyllan: Not the first time someone’s said that. That’s like our most popular answer.
Melanie: Yeah?! *laughs.
Kryddhyllan: Yeah, it’s what everybody says about Swedish food.
Melanie: I mean, at least it keeps you warm!
Kryddhyllan: Keeps you warm, keeps your pants tight… So if you had to choose one thing to eat for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?
Melanie: So hard…
Shaodian: Can I choose my mother’s dish?
Kryddhyllan: Yesss, definitely! What is it?
Shaodian: It’s this fried chicken.
Melanie: Fried the Chinese way?
Shaodian: Just my mother’s way.
Kryddhyllan: Why is it your favorite?
Shaodian: I think it’s just memory of the fried chicken taste, it’s such a strong memory ever since I was young, and when you’re really hungry it’s the best way to fill you up – and make you homesick *laughs.
Melanie: I really miss fried chicken.
Kryddhyllan: What about you Melanie?
Melanie: Hmmm, I would say…. Hainanese chicken rice.
Kryddhyllan: Here we thought it’d be Vietnamese! Why Hainan chicken?
Melanie: ‘Cause I feel like the flavor is super balanced, you get sour, sweet, spicy. And it’s so healthy because it also comes boiled.
Kryddhyllan: Fair! And same question for spices, if you could only use one mineral or spice or herb for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?
Melanie: My Instagram handle is fish sauce xoxo so… *laughs. That’s my answer right there!
Kryddhyllan: That’s such a good one, ‘cause then you don’t even need salt or anything. Good answer! And what’s the best meal you’ve ever had? EVER.
Melanie: It’s kind of hard to think of the best one, but one of the memorable ones would be when I met my boyfriend’s parents for the first time, and they took us to this super fancy place that I would never be able to afford on my own, and it was like fine dining with these super tiny courses. So I got to try blue cheese ice-cream, which wasn’t good but it was very memorable, and truffle ice-cream which was great!
Kryddhyllan: Where was this? In Boston?
Melanie: It was in Singapore. Definitely very memorable.
Kryddhyllan: What about you Shaodian?
Shaodian: Mine is also fine-dining, it was a 2-star Michelin restaurant in Paris. I can’t remember all the dishes, but one was this lavender ice-cream.
Kryddhyllan: Lavender ice-cream, so delicious. Okay, last question. What is your favorite restaurant at the moment?
Melanie: Oh… you know what, because we’ve been talking about it so much today, I’d say it would be Din Tai Fung! Because our boss is in China now, abandoned us with a huge workload, but messaged to say that he’s eating lunch at Din Tai Fung! *laughs. Now I can’t show him this interview!
Kryddhyllan: It’s okay, we’re not that famous. He probably won’t find us, and if he does, then it’s just good that he found the blog!
Melanie: More fans! Also Din Tai Fung is the place where I celebrated getting my job! So, it has some sentimental value.
Kryddhyllan: Din Tai Fung is just the best. We’ve considered booking a trip to London just to eat there.
Melanie: I considered that too today.
Kryddhyllan: Let’s do it! But first, let’s eat more of these spring rolls! Thank you guys!
