Vietnam

Neighbours and invaders have all had a hand in Vietnamese food; the Chinese in the north; Thailand, Cambodia and Laos in the west; and then the world that trooped in by sea, via its vast strip of coast. Pho bo (beef soup noodle) is a good example of assimilation, as its stock spices - star anise, cinnamon, ginger, and clove - arrived from Indonesia and the Middle East, and the eating of beef was unheard of until the 20th-century, as cows and buffalo were for field work, not slaughter. The French occupation left stylish legacies: the baguette, pâté, crème caramel, and coffee - and some lingo for bicycle parts and kitchenalia. The Americans left bullet holes, sorrow, and ice-cream. Lapped by the sea and saturated by its two vast deltas, the Mekong and the Red River, Vietnam’s geography has put on its plate a rice and seafood diet to kill for. Spicing has not the wham-bam smack of Thai belief, but is gentle, popping up in marinades (especially if things are to be preserved), and the Vietnamese only add heat in dribs and drabs as they eat. Stewing or slow-braising is the common practice, as it deals with the thrift factor admirably: things slow-cooked in liquid swell and flavour others, whereas things grilled or roasted diminish and give nothing. It’s stove-top cooking, in a wok, pot or over charcoal. Ovens don’t exist. Nuoc mam (fish sauce and its offspring of fermented seafood sauces), made from fermented fish and salt, is the all-important salt seasoning and dipping sauce. Then come lime juice, lemongrass, garlic, chives, ginger, galangal, sugar and chilli, and in smaller amounts, turmeric, star anise, cinnamon and five-spice. Toasted crushed peanuts, dried shrimp and herbs such as mint, roushong (like mint), betel leaves and coriander, put on food on serving, are vital for punch and texture. There’s a logic to all the tailorings and matchings. For instance, rice paddy herb is chucked into fish soups to make them less fishy; boiled duck is eaten with gingered fish sauce for digestive reasons; shellfish are regarded as a cold food and must be eaten with hot spices such as pepper, and meat is used frugally as it’s pricy, so dishes have evolved without the need for it. Ketchups beyond fish sauce are de rigueur too; northerners love pickled aubergine and fermented soy bean; those further south plump for thinner salt-fermented sauces made from seafood.