As I've observed before, Vietnamese cuisine may be some of the friendliest food out there for people looking to eat light and healthy. Especially when it comes to soups. A big bowl of pho, for instance, with all the veggie mix-ins and the right-size portions of meat and noodles, can keep me satisfied for hours. And when you get tired of all the variations on pho, there's a whole galaxy of other soups to try.
Pictured is one such star of the Vietnamese soup galaxy, bun rieu oc, which contains round rice noodles (bun) and the meat of little bitty snails (oc), plus tomatoes, cilantro, onions, fried shallots, and assorted other goodies in a crab (rieu) broth; usually the meat left from making the crab broth is formed into crumbly little patties and added to the soup.
This bowlful is the dac biet (special) version at one of my favorite local Vietnamese joints, Mien Trung. In addition to being an extra-large portion, it contains some extra garnishes of cooked pork blood and fried tofu puffs. The broth has a great chile kick that does not blot out the rich crab flavor; and unlike other versions of this soup I've had, the snails are super-tender, with just the slightest bit of chewiness (in other places the snails can be tough as rubber erasers). Mien Trung also supplies an especially generous side-plate of veggie mix-ins, plus a little saucer of deliciously savory dipping sauce.
Another thing I really dig about Vietnamese soups is that the garnishes are not just there for looks, but make functional contributions to the dish. The fried shallot garnish, for instance--their savory taste spreads out to flavor the whole bowlful of soup. And I love the veggie mix-ins--stir them all in while the soup is still steaming hot, and not only does the broth cook them, but they also cool the broth down to a more mouth-friendly temperature.
The only downside to Vietnamese soups is that, with all those ingredients and garnishes, they're a little labor-intensive for the home cook (especially the single home cook). But when a huge bowl like the one pictured goes for less than six bucks, I'm totally content to let the experts pound the crabs and shell the snails for me.
P.S. For those who are wondering, my weight is still plateaued at 192 pounds. I've decided that from now on I'll only make a separate post on my weight if it does something other than plateauing.
Comments