Nem is fast becoming an international delicacy
Any Vietnamese person is pleasantly surprised to find the word nem in the French dictionary Grand Larousse, which gives it the following definition: “pâté imperial de petite taille” (small-sized imperial patty), with this additional information: “specialité vietnamiene” (a Vietnamese specialty).
This indication is, however, contradicted by another item in the same
book: the word “paté imperial” goes together with the mention “cuisine
chinoise” (Chinese cuisine).
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At any rate, nem is Vietnamese
and is fast becoming internationally known and appreciated. Throughout the
world, one now finds about two million Vietnamese immigrants – “boat people”
and others. From
I have been told that in
When I was child, my parents used the term “nem Sài Gòn” (Saigonese nem)
to distinguish it from nem chua (sour
nem), and item less known to
foreigners. Nem chua is made in the
following way: raw pork is finely minced, kneaded with roast-rice flour, and
tightly wrapped in green leaves, then left to undergo fermentation. It may be
served in “spring rolls” (cuốn) made
of a piece of rice wafer softened with lukewarm water and stuffed with chopped nem, soya sprouts, lettuce, mint and
coriander.
The commonly enjoyed nem (pâté
imperial, nem Sài Gòn, or chả giò, its southern name) is prepared
in the following way. One begins by making the stuffing by mixing chopped pork,
crab meat, soya sprouts, mushrooms, vermicelli, shallots and egg yolk.
