do you like rice???

Broken rice dishes are the best.... in america there are tons of restaurants that serve only these dishes. the key to the best of these dishes are the rice, the meat and the sauces. sometimes the sauces are to fishey as they are consisted of fish sauces. but sometimes when you have things just right it is a happy meal. well vietnamese happy meal that is. i thoroughly enjoyed every rice dish i've had since ive been back in vietnam.

oh yes.. i'm currently in vietnam. my motherland. eating tons of amazing exotic fruits, and dishes i have only heard of. hopefully i'll keep a good record of everything with pictures and stories for my blog.

usually you get a plate of broken rice, some pork chop or strips of beef in it depending on what you order. but when its all seasoned correctly you get a good bite and heaven is in your mouth. seriously. and i like the egg on top too, the fresh veggies on the plate are a nice change in temperature and texture when you're eating.

I'm a big fan of eating quick and delicious. today was just rice for you.. lots of noodles and more yummy good stuff. i've been taking pictures everyday so sit tight for more foodie pix i'm considering a nice blog of just pictures.

PHO?? what?

wow.. 

never in my life did i ever think that the wonders of my childhood foods would come full circle.. these days all types of people are asking me about the foods of my family. they ask because they know i am part Vietnamese. its so odd to hear that, considering while i was growing up i wanted to try something different, anything that wasn't what was for dinner in my home. Italian, fusion, french, Mexican, Japanese were all so unique and different. and i just thought home food was just ordinary, because everyone else was having something else for dinner instead of me. i always had something odd in regards to everyone pasta/pizza/burger night. i remember at one point in school my Asian teacher asked me to share what i eat for dinner and i cringed at the idea of revealing what i was eating... beef/tripe carrot stew with rice noodles.. or mustard greens with shrimp.. 

how do i explain that i like tripe? it dawned upon me that Asian foods isn't that bad in regards wit all the other foods out there, its actually pretty damn good. historically its up there with them frenchies... (i love the customs of french gastronomy) As i started to eat more foods from other cultures and read about the foods i have yet to eat, I've learned that all cultural foods use the whole animal and so tripe isn't that bad after all.. and thank god morrow is making a big come back into good light, cause I'm pretty sure my parents have a picture of me eating bones and sucking out morrow at the fun age of five.. but I'm glad that the public is starting to be curious about the foods of Vietnam. for me curiosity opens doors for people to try something new.. perhaps fall in love.. I'm excited. 

anyhow... now that the world is somewhat ready for Asian and i mean REAL Asian food i guess its time for me to review my childhood flavors. this summer i will be jotting down all the family recipes and perhaps share them with the world. for some odd reason the flavors of my childhood are so dear to me that I'm a bit afraid to share them with people, but i guess is kind of  like art, made to share to the world to reflect upon a time/culture/people/lives. maybe i could ask the food network to have me teach some Asian foods.. well i better get to getting those recipes down... real vietnamese food.. the broths the simple flavors the lightness.. its gonna be amazing.. get some pho if you don't already know what it is.. 

eat extraordinary everyday!