Hanoi Stories Part II: Food and Food for Thought

The farm visits I mentioned in my previous post left me quite sad and angry, but I've been having a blast exploring the abundance of wonderful vegan food in Hanoi and beyond. Without exaggeration, I can say the food I've had in Vietnam has been the best overall out of all the places I've been to in terms of availability, quality, taste, and cost-performance ratio. It's easy to find fresh and relatively healthy vegan options everywhere, and for that, I am grateful.

Below are some pictures of foods I've enjoyed, on the street, at restaurants, or from roadside vendors.

*Xôi xéo,* a popular street food consisting of sticky rice cooked with turmeric for its yellow color, topped with creamy shaved salty mung bean paste and crispy fried shallots, served with cucumber salad on the side

A close-up view of the dish to show the different layers and textures

*Phở trộn*, rice noodle salad with sprouts, cilantro, jicama, carrot, peanuts, and fried shallots

Sticky mango rice topped with coconut ships and fresh shredded coconut. The green color in the rice comes from pandan.

Roadside vendors selling a variety of rice cakes, soy milk, and tofu

Vietnamese pancake *Bánh Xèo*—crispy and golden, filled with savory mushrooms, bean sprouts, and onions. I never knew it was meant to be wrapped in thin rice paper with rice noodles, fresh herbs, lettuce, and shredded veggies, then dipped in sweet and sour sauce for the perfect bite!

Braised tofu with mushrooms. This tasted just like food in my hometown!

Tofu peanut butter *bánh mì* with lots of cilantro

Green banana and tofu soup and vegan *Bánh Khúc*, a rice cake made with glutinous rice, *Lá Khúc* (a type of herb), and mung bean paste. This was one of the many meals I had at a lovely family-run vegan restaurant in Tam Coc.

The absolute best vegan *Phở* I've ever had!

Vegan version of *Bún riêu* (crab, pork, and tomato noodle soup)

My curiosity about Vietnamese cuisine was originally piqued by the fact that many vegan restaurants in Germany are Vietnamese. One reason for this phenomenon might be that the large number of Vietnamese restaurants, established by immigrants brought over as contract workers a few decades ago, has evolved with the rise of veganism in Germany. Another reason could be that Vietnamese cuisine naturally includes many vegan or easily adaptable dishes that highlight fresh vegetables, herbs, and tofu that align well with vegan practices.

In Vietnam, the vegan culture is heavily influenced by Buddhism and Vietnamese cultural traditions. Many Vietnamese observe vegan or vegetarian diets on the new moon and full moon each month. A couple of days ago, I saw a market food vendor switching to selling only vegan food, and that was my hint for knowing it was new moon.

Seeing the world through a vegan lens, however, also means being hyper-observant of what makes the world predominantly non-vegan. Despite the rich variety of vegan food available, the stark reality of meat consumption in Vietnam is hard to ignore. While on a tour in the Old Quarters of Hanoi, a shop's display of dozens of animal-based dishes in big pots caught my eye. My guide told me that locals sometimes call such foods "rich people food" because the ingredients are comparatively more expensive and because they are elaborate to make, yet available as ready-made options.

Quick Googling tells me that Vietnam is now among the world's top 10 countries for pork consumption, with a sharp increase in imports of all kinds of meat and meat products in the last few years. I witnessed with my own eyes the lives of imported cows from Australia and Belgium at a farm in a village near Hanoi. Like in many other countries, meat consumption is forecasted to continue to increase here, though I believe this will not be the end of the story.

A while ago, I came across a quote by E.B. White that well captures the juxtaposition of joy and concern, which reflects many of my experiences on the Watson: “I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve (or save) the world and a desire to enjoy (or savor) the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.”

For now, I figured that finding the balance between the two is important. Perhaps when I allow myself to enjoy the world while acknowledging its flaws, I'm more likely to do work that contributes to improving it. Maybe that's one of the key points of the Watson experience?