BUN DAU MAM TOM

– AN IDEAL HANOIAN STREET SNACK

If you like your noodle dishes to come with a smell, then look no further than
bun dau mam tom. Get your nose around it, and it tastes amazing.
Mention bun dau mam tom and this dish will elicit a strong response. Diners-
Vietnamese and expats – either love it or hate it. There is no middle ground. It’s
not so much the bun (rice vermicelli noodles) or the dau (deep-fried tofu) or the
rau thom (herbs) but the mam tom which people either recoil from or regale.
Mam tom is a dipping sauce of fermented shrimp paste – thick and purplish-
grey in colour – and it has an ultra-strong, fishy flavour that puts the humble
anchovy to shame. It’s so strong that those with well-developed umami (savoury)
taste receptors dip their tofu, herbs and rice noodles into the mam tom with glee.
Made from moi (tiny shrimp) and salt, the fermentation process takes six months.
Haling from the province of Thanh Hoa – around 150 kilometers south of
Hanoi – bun dau mam tom was traditionally a lunch dish served to the working
poor because of its simple, cheap ingredients. It’s still a lunch dish, and even now
it can be as cheap as VND 25000, including tra da (iced tea). Hanoi has now
claimed it as its own, and it is considered one of the capital’s signature dishes.
A chance find
 When i was still an undergraduate, I just had a meager income and couldn’t
have much chance to go by the fancy-looking places, let alone the expensive
restaurants. Many moons ago, I went by a vendor cooking on a tiny stove on the
footpath by chance. I was fascinated by the perfectly sliced, white vermicelli
noodles, the basket of salad greens and the golden squares of fried tofu. I’m always
up for trying new vegetarian dishes and my curiosity got the better of me. I was
handed a plate of steaming hot, fried tofu, cold noodles and greens – and a small
dish of purple-greyish sauce topped with a thin layer of oil which I found out later
was oil used to fry the tofu. I squeezed lime into the sauce, added chilli and stirred
it with my chopsticks until it foamed. I tentatively dipped my tofu into the sauce
and popped into my mouth. I was hit with a flavour so strong and salty that I nearly
fell off my stool. I didn’t know if I liked it or not.
I tried it with the noodles, then the herbs. Then again with tofu. The more I
had, the more I liked it.  I was sold. I was officially a fan of mam tom served with
bun dau.
Although opinions vary as to the best place to eat bun dau mam tom, I favour
a vendor off 26 Ly Thuong Kiet (Hoan Kiem district, Ha Noi city), still, it is
available in Hanoi as pho or lau or bun cha. The owner doesn’t even need any
placard points diners in the right direction. But it’s easy for anyone to find several
tiny plastic stools, and a small outdoor stove where the magic happens.
I’m a vegetarianish so choose the khong thit (no meat) option, but meat lovers
could have theirs served with fried spring rolls or meat. Indeed, I’ve told that mam
tom is delicious with cho (dog) – not something I’d be keen to try even if I were a
meat eater. In the day and age, the world of street snack is variety with a large
range of price. But there isn’t almost a gourmet meal coming in from 25000 VND
up to 50000VND and having a racy flavour like bun dau mam tom. As perfect
combination of a little bit of everything, it is my priority choice for slap-up lunch.
How about you? Don’t hesitate to share me your favourite casual restaurants
coming with bun dau mam tom through my inbox nsbmim@gmail.com. It’s my
pleasure!./.
Vũ Kiều Thư – AV35