I do not consider myself as a foodie. That requires a lot of knowledge and researches when eating and writing about a certain dish. I just like to eat good food. And good food to me might not taste so great to others, except for desserts. I am very confident in my sweet tooth. And very picky with which cakes/chocolate/snacks I consume. Every calorie counts after all.
Therefore, I can rarely recommend a good Vietnamese restaurant in Singapore. It is very frustrating to eat Vietnamese cuisine in this tiny island. The country is near to Vietnam, but hardly offers some decent places. At least, what I think good enough to pay more than 6 bucks for a bowl of beef noodles (known as "pho" to some). So once in a while, I will have to cook myself.
Yep, I do cook, if gasping is what you are doing. And I believe I cook quite well myself. I am just too lazy to cook more regularly. I do not like rice much, which is very strange for an Asian. I prefer noodles (especially those made from rice). And to have a delicious bowl of rice noodle soup, it takes some effort to churn out a good pot of soup. Only when I am in the mood, I will jump into the kitchen and cook some special Vietnamese dishes. This time, it is "Bun mam".
This is a less known dish from the South of Vietnam. It is particularly popular in the west of Southern Vietnam, i.e. Soc Trang, Bac Lieu, etc. In this region, it is also called "Bun nuoc leo" with different versions for different towns. However, there is always one common point, the soup.
Ah yes, the soup. This is what makes the dish so well-known with the local and might make foreigners walk away hastily. It is cooked from a variety of "salted fish" sauce and the smell of these sauces is very strong. Many people, even Vietnamese, could not stand the overwhelming smell. Some told me these sauces stank. So yeah, if you can't stand the smell, it must be hard to enjoy the food itself.
For my version of "bun mam", I use "mam ca linh" and "mam ca sac" to cook the stock. Then I add "ngai bun", a root which I think only those who know how to cook this dish have heard about it. And you must have it for the soup. If not, the dish will turn into "mam va rau", which could only be eaten with rice. After removing all the bones from those salted fish and other undesirable and unidentified things, I throw in some stalks of lemon grass to lessen the strong smell of the soup. At the same time, I fried some finely-chopped lemon grass and garlic to give the stock another extra kick of taste. About 5 minutes before turning off the fire, I add the above fried mixture and some eggplants into the soup. And it is ready to be served.
Due to limited resources in Singapore, I could only use squid, prawn and roasted pork as the main ingredients for my "bun mam". For the "bun" part, I buy thick bee hoon, or laksa noodles which is quite sufficient. After arrange all the ingredients into a big bowl to my liking, it is time to pour the soup in. And depending on personal liking, I will add Chinese garlic chives (he) and bean sprouts to the bowl. But it will definitely taste better with all the above ingredients. So if it is your first time to try this dish, you should try all of them and adjust your next bowl according to your taste.
Even though it has been more than 10 years since I cooked this dish, I seemed to retain my skills. If what my housemates reacted was true. And if you have a chance to try this dish, don't walk away because of the smell. Give it a try and you might have a new favourite Vietnamese dish.
