Ngu Xa, the village on an island in Hanoi’s Truc Bach Lake, has always been known for the bronze bells and statues it supplied to pagodas and temples all over northern Vietnam.
But the last three years have seen an attraction of a whole different flavour – it’s called pho cuon. At first glance, it looks like an ordinary spring roll. But as its name betrays, it’s actually a souped up – or stripped down, depending on how you look at it – version of the country’s national dish, pho. Unlike the traditional noodle soup, which requires a large pot of broth to be poured over a bowl of rice noodles and sliced chicken or beef, pho cuon is made of banh pho – a thin sheet of rice paper – some beef and a handful of fresh herbs. To cook up a delicious meal of pho cuon, thinly sliced beef is stir-fried in a hot pan. The meat is then put onto a bed of herbs and rolled up in the rice paper sheet. Like cha nem, or spring rolls, the taste of pho cuon depends on the quality of the nuoc cham sauce in which it is dipped. Nuoc cham is a mixture of fish sauce and a number of spices and concentrated flavours such as chillies and sliced papaya. It’s the spectacular way in which those ingredients are combined that makes Ngu Xa’s treat so delicious. One vendor, Chinh Thang at 7 Mac Dinh Chi Street, says she usually adds pork bone soup to the sauce. “My family has sold pho cuon for nearly three years,” she says. “Our stall is open from first thing in the morning to late at night and is always packed with customers – especially students. Thanks to pho cuon, I can now afford to send my three children to university.” Priced at 1,500 VND a pop, it’s no wonder the rolls are popular among students. “They are so cheap, and I never get sick of them. I can eat up to 10 in one sitting,” says Hue Chi, a customer at Chinh’s stall, as she dips a roll into a bowl of nuoc cham with her fingers. “It tastes better this way,” she says with a smile. Thanh Hang’s stall at 29 Ngu Xa is another popular place to chow down some pho cuon. “My friends and I usually come to this stall once every two weeks, because it’s so good,” says patron Van Thanh. “We talk about everything over a dish of pho cuon.” Like pho, pho cuon is served all year round. Delicious and cheap, it is an invaluable addition to Hanoi’s fine street kitchen dining.
An urban village famed for centuries for its bronze casting has suddenly discovered a whole new craft – dispensing delicious fast food. Story Tran Hang
