Sambal udang, or sambal prawns, is a characteristically Malay dish of prawns cooked with sambal belacan and chilli rempah. It tastes quite similar to Ayam Masak Merah, a dish of chicken that is cooked in a similar sambal sauce, except that there isn’t any tomato sauce in this prawn recipe.
Teochew bak kut teh is a common dish sold in many local hawker centers as well as dedicated bak kut teh eateries, such as the locally renowned Song Fa Bak Kut Teh at New Bridge Road and the Old Tiong Bahru Bak Kut Teh located right opposite my block along Seng Poh Road. Teochew bak kut teh has a clear and very peppery broth, in contrast to the darker and more herbal version of the Hokkien style pork rib soup which is a typically more Malaysian way of preparing this dish too.
Jjigae (찌개) refers to any Korean stew-like dish. Kimchi jjigae (김치 찌개) is hence a stew comprising mainly kimchi as well as other ingredients like beancurd, meat and mushrooms. Given that kimchi is a type of pickled vegetable that opens up one’s appetite, this stew is therefore easy to digest, what with its accompanying ingredients and soup base that are mostly mild and light tasting as well.
My original intention was to make sauna hard-boiled eggs – those that often appear in Korean shows. The typical drama plot would feature homeless husbands (or wives) staying overnight at a sauna with a towel tied over their hair to form two cutie side buns. They would be seen sipping off a cup of beverage with a straw and munching on hard-boiled sauna eggs. We have always wanted to find out how these eggs taste like.
So much for my adventures in Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi. Now it is time to turn the attention to my culinary experiences in Vietnam!
This has got to be one of my favourite dishes that I got to taste in Vietnam. All thanks to that fateful night in Hanoi when both of us went back late to the hotel after a day trip out. We were searching tiredly for food along the roadside stalls. A nearby hawker who was preparing this food caught my attention. I decided that was going to be my dinner – whatever that was.
