Nem chua snack report

I'm in a mild quandary with this one. I've long contested that Vietnamese food in Vietnam is a lot better than Vietnamese food not in Vietnam - possibly unless you're in California or Little Saigon in New Jersey. However... I've been snacking on these things from the Chinese ethnic oriental Asian supermarket in Toulouse for a few months now and I've got to say - deep intake of breath - they're better than the Vietnamese in Vietnam version. This is nem chua. It's pounded, fermented pork, prodded with enough garlic and chilli to lose you at least one close friend and it comes decorated with a leaf. In Vietnam, they come tightly wrapped in a banana leaf in long sticks. It's a Hanoi dish and is commonly found on tables in bia hoi.

It's less common in the south of Vietnam. A bag of nem chua in Toulouse come wrapped in foil and cost €4.70. In Vietnam one stick is around 2,000 Vietnam dong or €0.09. Putting price to one side for a minute, these hot savoury, almost juicy snacks make for great apéritif food. The leaf you can see, which I think is called la tam ruot, is edible and adds an earthy zap - whatever that is :) - to the whole snack experience. Ideal with a tot of pastis or a wee beaker of muscat. I like lots. But 'tis pricey. Sticky Rice must have blogged it, but a quick search comes up with zilcho. Vietnamnet Bridge has the legend behind the snack.

Comments

[Francois]

I agree with you for this "Nem Chua La Tam Ruot" sold in France was better than those that I'd ever tasted in Vietnam, almost asian food in France are prepared with less of MSG (Monosodium Glutamate), this Nem Chua goes well with the french drink, Marseillais Pastis as you said ;-)

[Binh]

LOL. I did the same thing when I arrived in France. Those things are tasty. However, the "la tam ruot" and the nem chua as well need to be lightly charred to reveal a unique fragrance that will yield a better taste.

[Graham]

Ooh... never done that. Nice idea. Just over the cooker flame? Or under a grill? Very quick though I imagine.

[Pham Loi]

The original Vietnamese "nem chua" and its imitation in the Western world (France, USA, ect., ...) are two different things. The "nem chua" in Vietnam are made out of pickled raw pork, while most of the one made in Europe and the US are made of fully cooked ham.

[Buddhist with an attitude]

Again with your dissing of South Vietnam! "It's less common in the south of Vietnam"? Nonsense! My youth spent in Saigon was filled with endless snacking of "nem chua" and "com dep". I grew up thinking only the South has nem chua, since what the North called nem was something completely different.

[Graham]

Ha... i think any cursory glance through this blog will find me somewhat biased to what the south has to offer over the north :)

However, I have yet to visit a bia hoi in Saigon where nem chua arrive on the table as a matter of course. Quite the opposite in Hanoi.

Nem chua is more common in Hanoi. It's no bloody good. But it is more common.

And yes, nem in Hanoi is cha gio in the south. Spring rolls incase you don't know and are interrested. Something, as you say, completely different. And better :)

[JC]

These are common in Colorado, not in restaurants, but the bakery/banh mi places and markets all have them to take home--around $4 to $5 for a dozen.
Cooked ham, really? They seem pretty raw-ish to me, but maybe not. The labels simply say 'pork'.
I'll be in both HCMC and Hanoi next month, I'll make sure to compare/contrast.
Pastis and muscat do seem like interesting choices to drink with them.

Re: the charring--I've seen on restaurant menus, but never ordered "Nem Nuong", which are served with rice papers, bun and greens, etc.
Same thing maybe?

[eastingfeasting]

haha great topic, i "pig out" on this stuff for a whole month from different merchants.

what inspire me to to do such thing? after tasting italian sopresata.
i also think its very manly to eat fresh raw garlic wit these and strong hot chili and down it with a good heineken.

edible raw pork has no boundaries vietnam or italy.

[eastingfeasting]

haha great topic, i "pig out" on this stuff for a whole month from different merchants.

what inspire me to to do such thing? after tasting italian sopresata.
i also think its very manly to eat fresh raw garlic wit these and strong hot chili and down it with a good heineken.

edible raw pork has no boundaries vietnam or italy.

[eastingfeasting]

Pham Loi:
"most of the one made in Europe and the US are made of fully cooked ham."

that's not true Pham
proscutto, sopresata, are raw pork cured in salt and sun to my knowledge this is ancient rome technique, not neccessary cooked, even the colonial americans wanted to prevent bacteria so they have to boiled this but it's been known to be edible. after a good salt n sun proccess.

[Binh]

Re: Charring

The "nem chua" discussed here is made out of raw pork. The charring mentioned is done quickly to release the oil in the leaf and introduce a different flavor to the food. Over any open flame will work, such as a gas cooker.

"Nem nuong" in restaurants are likely the SVN version of "cha?" in Hanoi (as in "bu'n cha?"). They are fully cooked and are not the same thing.

[Binh]

The SVN version of "nem chua" is called "tre'"

[Binh]

Sorry, correction - tre' is the Central VN version. SVN call them "nem chua" as well.

[Sticky]

They fry them in Hanoi, too. There's a lane off Hang Bong famous for the dish. A bit fatty for my liking!
http://stickyrice.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/07/on_the_patch_da.html

[Graham]

Nem nuong is another kettle of nem. Isn't the Central Vietnam version called trai, not tre??? I'm not sure, but I think that's what I heard.

I just uploaded a couple of pics of some nem nuong at a street stall outside the market in Danang, Central Vietnam. The pics are crap - which is the only reason I never blogged this dish.... - but they serve to illustrate the difference

http://www.flickr.com/photos/noodlepie/381766005/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/noodlepie/381766010/

And thanks Sticky, never had them fried. Can't say it really appeals :)

[Binh]

Yeah, nem nuong is entirely different. It is closer to the porky thing in "bun cha", but the pork is pounded instead of finely chopped. It is also flavored with grilled rice powder.

I'm pretty sure the Central version is called tre' (note the accent - not the same as tre/bamboo). It comes with pork skin in it as well.

One thing I am not sure is how the pork fermented/cured. According to the older generation in the family, there is the chemical reactions of the ingredient used, and there is also the leaves they used to wrap the piece. Guava leaves, as well as the "tam ruot" leaves are said to help ferment the pork as well as giving it a different flavor.

Anyway, tasty tasty snacks. You can't find those things here in Canada -- most of them are made with ham or cooked pork and artificial flavoring. Ugh.

[meemalee]

heh - it never ever occurred to me to eat these things hot. i buy this exact same brand but i've always eaten them the burmese way - cold, diced and mixed in a salad of sliced raw onions, chilli, lemon juice, fish sauce and coriander. yum.

[Bỉnh]

Bình ba que là thằng con bò. Đã không biết phân biệt tré với nem thì nên câm cái mõm lợn lại đi.

[anh]

"nem chua" is not common in South Vietnam is wrong, wrong, wrong. You have them there, a lot, as snack to eat alone, sometimes come in dish such as "banh cuon", they don't come as popular side dish in beer drinking but that doesn't mean they're not common. I think i had tre´in Hue restaurant in Saigon as well, also fermented raw meat but diffrent from "nem chua". BTW, the best "nem chua" i 've ever had is from Hue, more like Saigon "square" version with less sweet (the North one is long and thin, tastes less strong). It is very hard for me to think that "nem chua" is a North thing because i see them all in 3 regions.

[Aaron]

Long stick is the Northern version, in the South they just serve like that, with banana leaves wrap of course.

[Francois]

About the Central Vietnam "Tré", a review of Binh Dinh Tré on a vietnamese web site:

http://www.dantri.com.vn/giaitri/anchoi/2006/9/143450.vip

[Don]

I was in the Delta in Can Tho in 1967-68 and use to buy nem chua wrapped in banana leaves and tied with aa long strand of the leaf from venders. They had bunches of the nem chua little green packages tied to the outside of their push carts. I remember them as sweet and tangy. I'm looking for a good recipe if one could be suggested. Thanks.

[Phuc-Lee]

Do you know ? I love this food very much.
NemChua is s speciality from Ninh Hoa - my home country..If you want to enjoy the better nemchua , pleise to visit Ninh Hoa and call " Nem Chua" .Immediately , the boss will bring a best of Nemchua for you enjoy..Very delicious..Wow..
Price : Only 0,1 USD / piece- Very cheap. With 1 USD , you can eat up to 10 pieces..^^