Dinner & a Movie Day
It’s the big day! The one I chose for cooking a Vietnamese dinner and watching The Scent of Green Papaya. I began preparations at about 4:00 in the afternoon, starting with the easy stuff like setting the table, getting out all my ingredients, making soup stock and marinating the pork. But I waited to begin cooking until Rene arrived at 7:00 with his digital camera, since I wanted him to get some shots of the process.

This being the first ThingsAsian Dinner & a Movie, the timing was a little different from what I’m used to when I cook a regular dinner. Since I wanted photos, I postponed a lot of my prep work, so it was a little longer between courses. I’d estimated three hours from start to finish, but it ended up being more like five. So it was rather late when we finished eating and started the movie.

Nevertheless, dinner was delicious, and the film was absolutely delightful. Afterwards I still had some tidying up to do, but had I washed a few dishes throughout the evening, so the kitchen wasn’t a total disaster. The rest I will leave for tomorrow. It’s late, so I’m going to save the dinner review for tomorrow too.
12:02 AM PDT Permalink |

Preparing the kitchen, assembling cooking utensils, and prepping dishes ahead.
I spent most of the day getting my house ready for an all-day cooking, dining, movie-watching extravaganza. I wanted the kitchen sink and dish rack completely empty and the stove and countertops nice and clean when I begin cooking. I also hope to keep the dishes done on a continual basis throughout the evening tomorrow, so that I don’t have a giant mess to clean up the next day.

Tonight, I also prepared a couple of things ahead. I made a sweet and sour dipping sauce called nuoc cham. I made a papaya sorbet flavored with with pineapple, mint, ginger, lime and coconut milk. I also took all my frozen ingredients out of the freezer and stored them in the fridge to thaw overnight. But since so much of the dinner relies on the freshest ingredients, most of it will have to wait until tomorrow. I’ve devoted the whole day to cooking, so there’s plenty of time for marinating the pork and preparing the filling for the spring rolls.
12:02 AM PDT Permalink |

Shopping for fresh ingredients
I’m getting so excited about my Scent of Green Papaya dinner that I couldn’t wait until tomorrow to go shopping for my fresh ingredients. So I went today instead. Besides, I wanted to have all my ingredients available so that I could take a photograph of everything before I opened the packages and started chopping things up. I also wanted to prepare a few things ahead of time tomorrow, things like broths and marinades, and most importantly, my papaya-ginger-mint sorbet, so that it has plenty of time to freeze. When you add sugar to a liquid mixture, it takes a little longer than plain water to reach a semi-solid state in the freezer.

Yesterday, I made a call to Vallergas, a local grocery store that has the most extensive produce department, to inquire whether they carry lemongrass, as that is the ingredient that I anticipated being the hardest one to find. Fortunately, they keep it in stock all the time, and so that’s where I chose to shop for all my other fresh ingredients as well.

The produce department at Vallergas was fabulous as always, abundant and dazzling with vibrant color. The red and green bell peppers caught my eye from the front door, the mint and cilantro were both popping fresh, and the lemongrass had just been delivered this morning. I was definitely in the right place…except for the papayas. Although luscious and lovely, alas they were all far too ripe for my purposes. So, after I bought all my other fruits and vegetables, I headed for my favorite Mexican market, where I was told I might find the elusive green papaya. However, the ones they had in stock were unripe, but they were enormous and looked nothing like any papaya I’d ever seen, so I was hesitant to buy one there. The third stop at my neighborhood grocer proved the charm, as they had both ripe and green papayas in stock, and at the best price in town too. So after shopping at three different stores, I had finally gathered all the pieces of the puzzle.

When I got home, I unpacked all my groceries and set up a still life with all the fresh, canned and packaged ingredients that I’ve been assembling over the past couple of weeks. But when I got out my digital camera to photograph them, I discovered that the batteries were kaput, and my teenaged son Will had absconded with all my extra rechargeables for his gameboy and walkman. Fortunately for me, at that very moment, René, my sweetheart showed up unexpectedly, and just happened to have his digital camera with him. He took a fantastic photo of all my goodies and also agreed to arrive early on the day of our dinner to take more photos of the preparation and cooking process. What a guy!
12:02 AM PDT Permalink |

Shopping for Dishes and Cookware
Today I went shopping in Napa for a clay pot to cook my pork loin, and maybe some other assorted serving dishes. I tried at Napa’s one kitchen shop, but the only clay cookware they carry are European rather than Asian, and really quite large, so I didn’t buy anything there. But since I often find good buys on unusual dishes and kitchenware at our local thrift shops, I decided to give them a try. I couldn’t believe my luck. The very first place I looked had one perfect little clay pot, Asian style, never used. I didn’t find any attractive serving dishes, but I already have plenty of those. So I’m officially declaring my kitchen equipped to prepare and serve a Vietnamese dinner.
02:22 AM PDT Permalink |

The Photo Essay
Throughout the course of the evening, I’ll also be taking photos while preparing the ingredients, setting the table, cooking the meal and enjoying it during the movie. But I may need to put my dinner guest to work taking pictures during those times when I need both hands for cooking. Afterward, I’ll be creating a photo essay of my Scent of Green Papaya dinner and uploading it to ThingsAsian, with a link to it from my weblog. I’ll also be writing a film review, and a list of all the recipes I used to create the meal.
12:17 AM PDT Permalink |

What to Wear
I love Asian ethnic garments and would love to dress for my Vietnamese dinner in a traditional ao dai, but I don’t own one. I may be able to find one at a little ethnic clothing store in downtown Napa called Inti. But if they don’t have anything like that, I have lots of colorful sarongs and comfortable halter tops to go with, which would probably be much more practical and comfortable for working in the kitchen. And since I will be preparing and serving several courses, I won’t have time to change between cooking and sitting down to eat. Looks like I’ll definitely be needing an apron.
02:09 AM PDT Permalink |

Special Cookware
For the menu I’ve created, I think the only special cookware I will need is a clay pot for the pork loin. There’s a kitchenware shop in downtown Napa called Shackford’s that stocks an amazing inventory of restaurant-quality utensils and cookware, gadgets and gizmos, and lots of decorative and novelty items as well.

I already have lots of bowls for preparing mixed items for the salad and spring roll filling. I have a large saucepan for the soup. I have a rice cooker for the jasmine rice and a wok to stir fry the fresh vegetables. The sorbet requires only a small saucepan for heating the water, sugar and papaya nectar. So it looks like the only missing item is the clay pot. And even if I don’t find one, the recipe books tell me that I can substitute any oven-proof dish with a snug fitting lid.
01:18 AM PDT Permalink |

Beverages to go with My Vietnamese Dinner
Tea and coffee are Vietnam’s most popular beverages. A special coffee is grown locally in the Vietnamese highlands in the South/Central part of Vietnam. The beans are roasted French style, and a dark coffee is made by dripping, and usually served with condensed milk. There is no specific brand, but is rather known as "café sua" or "coffee with milk" - served hot or over ice cubes.

Another popular beverage is bubble or pearl tea, a new fad from Taiwan. Tea is mixed with various fruit juices and large pearls of tapioca are suspended in the beverage.

Vietnam has no domestic spirits per se, such as brandy or whiskey, therefore most alcoholic spirits are imported. However, Vietnam has three domestic beers, Hue, 33, and Saigon Export.

But this is going to be an elegant affair, so I don’t want to serve beer with dinner, and I don’t want to serve coffee or tea until after the main course. Since I live here in the Napa Valley, wine seems the obvious choice. I'm thinking of serving a Chenin Blanc, a dry Riesling or a Gewürztraminer, maybe a dry white Zin (although I don't care much for Zinfandel of any kind). Some wine experts on the web recommend a Sauvignon Blanc, but I don’t think the dry, flinty characteristics of the Sauvignon Blanc would compliment the spicy, fruity flavors of the Vietnamese dishes I have chosen for my menu. Perhaps a trip upvalley for a little wine tasting is in order. :>)
12:05 AM PDT Permalink |

Setting the Table
When I cook an elaborate meal, I also like to set a beautiful table on which to serve it. I like to dress the table with a colorful cloth, my favorite being a floral sarong topped with a smaller scarf or a simple white cloth. I cut flowers and foliage from the garden, whatever’s in season, and I always try to be creative with the garnishes for each plate. For my Vietnamese dinner, I want to focus on a simple, elegant presentation, using components of my fresh ingredients for the garnishes.

For Asian food, I have lots of little dishes of various sizes and patterns for condiments and small courses. I also have four shallow rectangular dishes that can be used for appetizers and composed salads. For the entrée, I like to use plain white dinner plates. And I have the perfect little parfait glasses to serve the papaya sorbet. But I may make a trip to the thrift shop just to see if they have anything interesting in the way of serving dishes.
12:04 AM PDT Permalink |

About green papayas
According to The Asian Grocery Demystified, green papayas are called muk qwa, or mu gua, and are simply the hard, unripe version of the yellow-green fruits commonly found in most grocery stores. Instead of luscious deep pink flesh and pearly black seeds inside, the flesh of the green papaya is pale green with tiny white seeds. Firm green papayas should be peeled and grated or shredded for salads and relishes. There are several varieties of papayas to be found in produce markets and grocery stores, however, true 'green' papayas are rarely available anywhere except Asian markets.
02:38 AM PDT Permalink |

A Culinary Bonanza!
My mail-order ingredients arrived today, just four days after I placed my order on AsianFoodGrocer.com. They arrived in a giant box, with several smaller boxes nestled inside, and it felt just like Christmas, as I opened each meticulously packed item. The breakable bottles were protected with a generous layer of bubble wrap, and the non-breakables were wrapped in paper and cushioned with styro nuggets. I don’t know how they do it. Twenty-nine items at bargain basement prices, free shipping, and enough packing materials to build a small fort, all for less than $60. Most impressive.
12:23 AM PDT Permalink |

About Vietnamese cuisine
Although Vietnamese cuisine is unique, it has evolved over many centuries from Chinese, Indian and French Colonial influences. Vietnam is also distinctly regional, from the cooler northern region, the rich cultural Hue region in the center, and the tropical southern region, each with its own indigenous vegetables, seafood and wildlife, each with its own style and spice. Northern cuisine is lighter and less pungent, the cuisine of the central Hue region, once the site of the ancient capital, is flavorful and elaborate, while the southern region falls under the influence of Chinese cuisine, with more pungent spices and stir-fry techniques. The southern region is also the melting pot of French and Indian influences characterized by curries and European ingredients such as bread, potatoes, asparagus, shallots, and fine herbs.

The quality of Vietnamese cuisine relies mainly on fresh ingredients lightly prepared and beautifully presented. Many classic dishes are simple variations on a couple dozen basic ingredients, including bean sauce, chicken stock, coconut milk, fish sauce known as nuoc mam, 5-spice powder, ginger, ground chili paste, hoisin sauce, jasmine rice, kafir lime leaves, lemongrass, mung bean sprouts, mushrooms, oyster sauce, rice noodles, rice paper and tamarind.

The preparation of Vietnamese cuisine requires remarkably few utensils. Most any Vietnamese meal can be made using only a mortar and pestle, a rice cooker, a wok, a small charcoal stove, a basic set of chef’s knives and a large pair of chopsticks. The most common cooking methods are braising, stir-frying, deep frying, steaming and grilling.
12:25 AM PDT Permalink |

The Scent of Green Papaya
The Scent of Green Papaya, known in French as L’odeur de la Papaye Verte, and in Vietnamese as Mui Du Du Xanh, tells the 1940’s story of a young orphan girl named Mui, who goes to work as a domestic servant in the troubled household of merchant family. The day-to-day activities are seen in minute detail through the eyes of Mui, and over time, the child becomes like a daughter. But when the family falls upon hard times, Mui is sent to work in the home of a successful and sophisticated musician who was once the childhood playmate of her former employer’s son. Now grown into a stunning young woman, it is only a matter of time before her new employer recognizes the beauty before him. The Scent of Green Papaya was directed by Anh Hung Tran, whose other films include Cyclo (Xich Lo, 1995) and Vertical Ray of the Sun (Mua He Chieu Thang Dung, 2000). The film stars Tran Nu Yen-Khe, born in 1968 in Anxiuan, Vietnam, who also starred in Cyclo (Xich Lo, 1995) and Vertical Ray of the Sun (Mua He Chieu Thang Dung, 2000).

I’ve already seen The Scent of Green Papaya, but can’t wait to watch it again, especially over a fabulous Vietnamese dinner.
01:22 AM PDT Permalink |

A little background info on Vietnamese history & culture
The history of Vietnam is long and culturally varied, with colonialism playing a major role in the country’s development. Its earliest beginnings are centered around a lineage of legendary kings who inhabited the Red River Valley in a kingdom known as Au Lac. Under the rule of Kinh Duong Vuong the upper kingdom spread north to the Blue river; South to what would later become Hue, west to Sseutch'ouan, and east to the sea, while the lower kingdom under the rule of the Bang dynasty occupied Tonquin and the North-Central region. The first recorded history began in 257 BC with the reign of An Duong Vuong (257-208 BC). Chinese general Tch'ao To (Trieu Da) reigned over the Nan-yue (Nam Viet) kingdom and founded the Trieu dynasty.

In 111 BC, under the rule of the Han Dynasty, China conquered the northern part of present-day Vietnam, and later changed the name of the region to Annam. The Chinese language and alphabet, and the ideology of Confucianism were introduced, along with many elements of Chinese culture such as music, art, and architecture. The new regime was met with great resistance, the most notable of which was the revolt of 39 AD when two sisters, both widows of Vietnamese aristocrats, led an uprising. The elder sister, Trung Trac even ruled over an independent state, but was vanquished by the Chinese in 43 AD.

The Vietnamese people continued to revolt against Chinese rule, until the year 939, when Vietnamese forces under the leadership of Ngo Quyen defeated the Chinese occupation and declared itself an independent state. By the 11th century, the Ly dynasty was established, and ruled for more than 200 years. And although the Chinese influence had left its thumbprint on the country, during that time, the Vietnamese culture flourished once again, with a reaffirmation of its legendary heroes. The economy remained primarily agrarian, with the land divided among the nobility into a feudal system.

The Ly Dynasty was succeeded by the Tran Dynasty, which lasted from 1225 to 1400. However, China continued its attempts to conquer Vietnam from the north, while the kingdom of Champa was a continual menace from the south. Vietnamese forces eventually conquered Champa and took control of the Mekong Delta with an eye toward conquering the bordering nation of Cambodia.

Le Loi ascended the throne as the first emperor of the Le dynasty, which lasted for about 100 years. But its power began to decline in the 16th century, when the court was divided by two rival families, the Trinh and the Nguyen. The nation was subsequently divided, with the southern region awarded to the Nguyen family.

By the 18th century, European explorers and merchants had already begun to infiltrate Southeast Asia, and French missionaries began getting involved in local politics when French missionary Pierre Pigneau de Behaine raised a mercenary army to help Nguyen Anh seize the throne, with Pigneau's motive being to gain trade and missionary access to Vietnam. When the new government did not fulfill those hopes and began persecuting existing missionaries in Vietnam, Emperor Napoleon III launched a naval action in 1858, forcing the imperial court to accept a French colonial protectorate.

Although there was tension and resentment among the Vietnamese people, the French occupation of Vietnam was met with little resistance. Throughout the 19th century, the French brought about many economic improvements, however the working class suffered from low wages and poor living conditions. By the turn of the 20th century, reformist parties had begun to form, and in 1930, Ho Chi Minh formed the Indochinese Communist party.

During World War II, Japan placed Vietnam under military occupation, which limited the power of the French colonial rulers. During this time, the Communist Party also organized the League for the Independence of Vietnam, known as The Vietminh. When Japan surrendered to Allied Forces in 1945, the Vietminh rose up and declared an independent republic in Hanoi. They were met with strong resistance from Emperor Bao Dai of the Nguyen Dynasty, in alliance with the French, who together drove the Vietminh forces north. After a year of failed negotiations, a war erupted that lasted for almost eight years. In a decisive battle at the French fortress of Dien Bien Phu in 1954, the Vietminh emerged victorious, bringing about a surrender on the part of the French and South Vietnamese forces. A treaty was drafted in Geneva, dividing Vietnam at the 17th parallel. A clause in the treaty made provisions for a national election in 1956 to reunify the country.

In the north, the Communist Party continued to grow in power, while in the Saigon, to the south, a new anti-Communist regime was led by President Ngo Dinh Diem. When Diem refused to hold elections prescribed by the treaty, and attempted to subdue Communist influences in the south, the U.S. offered diplomatic support. However, his political policies were not popular among the people of South Vietnam, and in late 1963, Diem was overthrown by members of his own army.

Fearing an opportunity for Communist North Vietnamese forces to prevail, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson sanctioned the bombing of North Vietnam and the placement of U.S. troops in South Vietnam. The Vietnam conflict continued throughout the remainder of Johnson’s administration and into the presidency of Richard Nixon. Ho Chi Minh died in 1969 and was succeeded by Le Duan. Growing futility in the Vietnam conflict, and vociferous anti-war protests on the domestic front brought about the gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops throughout the early 1970’s. By 1973, a peace treaty had been drafted, which provided for the withdrawal of all U.S. troops and an agreement for Vietnam to hold national elections.

The treaty did not last however, and in 1975, the Communists launched a renewed military offensive. The Thieu regime in the south collapsed within six weeks, and on April 30, 1975 the Communists seized power in Saigon, renaming it Ho Chi Minh City. In 1976, the South was reunited with the North in the new Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Conflict continued with the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia in 1979, in which the Khmer Rouge government was replaced by a pro-Vietnamese government. Throughout the 1980’s, Vietnam stationed troops in both Cambodia and Laos, most of which had been removed by the end of the decade. The post-war economy was unstable for several years thereafter, however economic reforms, including the removal of government price controls and trade embargos, the allowance of private enterprise and foreign investment, and the re-establishment of international diplomatic relations has led to the eventual recovery of Vietnam as a flourishing, independent Asian nation.
12:10 AM PDT Permalink |

Tracking down exotic ingredients
Today I went shopping in Napa for some of the specialty ingredients that I will need to prepare a Vietnamese dinner. I started at our local Trader Joe’s, but didn’t get nearly as lucky as I’d hoped. I was only able to find cellophane noodles, fish broth, jasmine rice, and orange roughy filets for my Hanoi Yellow Fish Nuggets. Afterwards, I went to Napa’s best gourmet grocery store looking for the remaining items, but did not find any of the other Asian ingredients I needed. I thought about trying the health food store next door, where, in a pinch, I can sometimes buy hard-to-find ingredients at hugely inflated prices, but by that time, it was closed, which in this case, wasn’t a bad thing.

When I got home, I logged onto the Internet in hopes of finding an online source for my missing Asian ingredients, and Eureka! After a few tries with the Yahoo search engine, I discovered AsianFoodGrocer.com, which has an amazing selection of all the basic items for most every Asian cuisine, all at bargain prices. And best of all, shipping is free on orders of $50 or more. Since all I needed to complete my Vietnamese ingredients list were nuoc mam, spring roll wrappers, and Chinese 5-spice powder, I did a little advance shopping for my next Japanese dinner, and added a few Chinese items to make up the difference. At those prices, and no shipping charges, it sure beats driving to Oakland, with gasoline at $2.50 a gallon. And hey, as an added bonus, a cute UPS guy will truck all the boxes up the stairs and deliver them to my door. What a fantastic deal!
12:05 AM PDT Permalink |