A Mixture of Cultures (Major Post 3)

So I interviewed my friend, Evonne Ttran. She says that the most favorite thing that she likes to cook is boiled ramen noodles with hot links and eggs. “It’s quick and easy, and tastes really good,” she states. This dish is really convenient for her schedule because it can me finished within minutes, without having to sacrifice the taste factor of the meal. This dish is also able to be eaten at any  time of day- seeing how in Vietnam, it is not uncommon for a person to be eating savory noodles for breakfast.  She also added her own touch of hot links and a boiled egg, which are not Vietnamese factors.

The idea of a boiled egg on top of noodles originated from Japan. The boiled egg is supposed to add contrast to the noodles because of the texture of the two ingredients- being that noodles are more soft and the boiled egg is more hard. Boiled eggs are very popular with the Shoyu-styled soup, versus the Miso, Shio, and Tonkotsu soups, which have no boiled egg in them. Boiled eggs in ramen are very popular in the Tokyo and Yokohama regions of Japan. Sausages, on the other hand, have a more mysterious origin, since it is one of the most oldest known prepared foods.

The main part of this dish is the noodle itself. In Vietnamese, it is called “Mi”. In the Vietnamese culture, there are different types of noodles such as egg noodles, rice noodles, and wheat noodles. All of which can also differ in thickness and shape. Noodles are served in many different ways. They are served as soups, dry with sauce, dry and fried, and in other different methods of cooking. Noodles and rice play the biggest role in the Vietnamese diet.

Being a person of Vietnamese descent, it is very typical for Evonne’s favorite dish to consist of noodles, but having an appetite for a food that is rather plain in flavor, the sauce or the soup of the dish plays an important role on the taste of the overall dish. Vietnamese cuisine is usually composed of many herbs such as Thai basil leaves, bean sprout, mint leaves, coriander, and lemongrass, which enhance the flavor of the food without needing to use much oils. Fish sauce and soy sauce are also popular flavor enhancers for the Vietnamese diet. With these ingredients, Evonne is able to make the soup for her noodles with sausage links and a boiled egg become harmonized with one another in flavor and texture.

Her philosophy on food is that she lives to eat. She feels that taste should never be sacrificed in a meal because certain ingredients should be used to enhance the flavor of another ingredient versus just eating to ‘fill the stomach’. Although she is a person of Vietnamese descent, she feels that ingredients in a dish should not be restricted to only one culture. She feels that many different cultures cultivate flavors from their own cuisine, but combining certain flavors allows for a new taste that accommodates to what she is used to tasting based on her background and the taste that she enjoys eating as an individual.

2011

12/06

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