Vietnamese Two Ways

Before I got here I assumed that there would be more crossover foods in Korean. There's so many countries nearby I figured there would naturally be give and take between them. Kimchi pad thai, why not? Sadly no, Korean food is pretty steadfastly Korean and I've yet to even see a Thai restaurant. That doesn't mean it's impossible though, it just requires a bit of looking.

In the import aisle of Dong-A department store I found all of the fixings for Vietnamese rice bowls. I think they're actually imported from North America becuase there's English writing on them which kind of blows my mind and makes them a little more expensive but nevertheless, they're there.



I marinated a couple of chicken breasts in soy sauce, ginger and garlic and then grilled them while I chopped up the cucumber, carrots and lettuce and softned the noodles. Vermicelli is great food for small kitchens because it doesn't need a burner. Just pour boiling water in a bowl and let them soak. Then strain, throw everything in a bowl and douse with fish sauce. The bottle I found had chilies and onions in it already so it had a nice kick.

The next night I took the leftovers, added some grilled shrimp and made spring rolls. Just dip the rice paper in hot water until it's softened and then fill, roll and dunk in peanut sauce. I'm pretty bad at rolling them so they looked ugly but tasted good, which is really all that matters.