Saigon Food Souvenirs

Whenever I visit Vietnam, I start out light with just one slightly full suitcase and invariably, come home with an extra bag crammed with items that I figure are  hard to find abroad. (Or maybe I was just impulse buying?!)  On this last trip, I was able to ask my sister Tasha to fill one of her extra suitcases (she's a well schooled, prepared traveler) with my junk. She flew home after Saigon whereas I went on to other Asian countries.

Though I've been home for weeks, it wasn't till last week that my sister handed over my Saigon souvenir stash. Along with a bunch of the latest cookbooks, there were items like these:

From top left to right:

• Black peppercorns from Phu Quoc island are a little sweet compared to the Tellicherry peppercorns. The Phu Quoc island peppercorns are slightly reddish in color and quite lovely. Keep them in your freezer. White ones are available too. Buy ones that are legit, not merely bleached black peppercorns, which are cheaper but not as good as the real thing. Ask to taste one when you buy.
• Banh trang re are lacy, net-like wrappers that you can use for deep-fried cha gio rolls. They soak up a ton of oil but are very crisp. There's no need to soak them first. I got a 6-pack and refrigerate them for up to 6 months.
• Giant chopsticks used for fluffing up rice. These were found at the Phu Nhuan wet market and you'd mistaken them for spatulas. They're about 1 1/4 inches wide at the top. The handmade pair cost 7,000 VN dong, or about 55 cents! I splurged and got a pair for my mom, who is a hard woman to shop for but she was delighted by the gift.
• Banh trang bo bia dau xanh are a new item to me. I believe they're like Chinese spring roll wrappers or lumpia wrappers. They're made with wheat flour and tapioca flour and according to the packaging do not require water to get them rolling. They're for "rolling the fried meat roll" per the packaging. In Vietnamese it says that they're for cha gio xop (fried imperial rolls); xop means porous, so that doesn't quite make sense to me. Anyone familiar with these wrappers?
• Dried bamboo shoot is what those funky brown things are. The vendor at Cho Lon market told me to buy the premium kind (about $8 USD a kilo) because they're not stinky and don't require days of soaking. Now I have 2 kilos (4.4 pounds) in my pantry. That's lots of bamboo.
  

A few bottles of Cholimex hot sauce got broken in the luggage and Tasha had to throw them out. Too bad you can't bring fish sauce back. If they sold high quality nuoc mam in the duty free shops at the airport, I'd snap them up!

When you're traveling, what kinds of food souvenirs do you look for?

To securely package things up, I always bring a supply of plastic zip-top bags and bubble wrap. Any tips from you?

Comments

[Lydia (The Perfect Pantry)]

A friend who recently returned from Vietnam brought me some lovely cinnamon in a cinnamon bark box, from the Ben Thanh market in Saigon, and some lovely sliced crystallized ginger, from a street vendor somewhere.

Andrea, yes, I love Banh Trang Re!

Yes they do allow the rolls to soak up that oil but they have the best texture! They are a major guilty pleasure.

[Robyn]

Andrea - I believe Graham Holliday posted on a Banh Trang place -- what goes in the wrappers is sliced pork and all kinds of greens. When we had them at some place about an hr south of Saigon I didn't recognize any of the greens at all ... the lady who owned the shop that we ate at said she picked them down by the river that morning (I ate them all and hoped for the best).

[edamame]

I am interested in the food culture of your country. And I support your site. If there is time, please come in my site. From Japan
http://food-soybean.blogspot.com/

[steamykitchen]

re: banh trang re wrappers
do they feel/look like paper? I just bought a pack and they are super thin. I put shrimp, coriander stems, egg white and other spices in food processor, made into a paste. Then wrapped just a scant tbl of filling into roll. You can't use water to seal, the wrapper is so delicate that it would disintegrate. Dab your finger in the shrimp puree and use just a bit of that to seal the wrapper. Lay them seam side down on tapioca floured baking sheet (so it doesn't stick) and fry. I'm still experimenting with the wrapper.

[Andrea Nguyen]

Robyn, I think Graham posted about banh trang suong which is left out overnight to wilt a tad. That's nice stuff.

Jaden, you got super thin rice papers -- like tissue you'd use for gift wrapping right? Banh tranh re looks more like cheesecloth -- as if it's woven. A guilty pleasure, indeed.

[Dani]

Bringing food souvenirs into Australia is too difficult. So I never bother. Looks like you got some fun goodies.

[Lili]

I usually bypass all the cheesy magnets, mugs, and t-shirts and head straight for the local supermarket. Last trip to Vienna/Budapest/Prague, I picked up tons of Hungarian Paprika and pepper sauce, some sort of dried pasta dumplings, some German chocolate wafer sandwich cookies (so good), and of course chocolates and candy.

My best (2 years ago, honeymoon in Tuscany)was 500g of dried porcini (yes, that is a lot and yes, I still have a lot of it), $35 for the lot. Lord knows what it would have cost in the States. I try to get whatever I cannot get back in US.

I never leave home without packing a roll of bubble wrap and lots of Ziploc bags. I also find that a bath towel will safely cushion 2 bottles of Chianti in my suitcase.

Now if I could only figure out how to bring back eggs and yogurt.

[neg]

yup .. i got practically a box of banh trang re cuz they're delicious. i also got a box of banh phong tom which you can't find it here in the states. whenever, i go back home, i always shop for food whilst my foreign friends shop for clothes and souvenirs .. how weird ...lol

[Andrea Nguyen]

Egg and yoghurt -- that's pretty good Lili. I never thought of that.

Neg, do you end up with an extra cardboard box of stuff? I always wonder what all the other Viet travelers bring back as I stand at the baggage claim area.

[FJK]

Food and cooking souvenirs are my favorite -- just some examples

-- from Vietnam I brought crepe mix, coffee, cinnamon, tea and a charcoal grill (among other things)
-- from Budapest I brought copious amounts of paprika and gouloush "cream"
-- from Spain on various trips I've brought back a paella pan, a mortar and pestel, smoked paprika, a can of baby eels, rice, beans, tapas dishes, a wall holder for fresh parsely and more. Once I brought back a fold-up shopping cart with wheels.
-- from Paris -- lots and lots of seasonings, flavored sugars, chocolates, salts and spices plus a few kitchen tools
-- from New York City, I often bring back Puerto Rican ingredients and some black and white cookies.
-- from Vienna, a delicious fruit tea and some 1930s' era liquor glasses
-- from Prague some poppy seeds. I almost bought a poppy seed grinder but decided against it at the last minute.
-- from Bulgaria - a Turkish coffee pot

Interestingly enough I didn't bring back much food (although I did bring back a lot of tea) from China since much is available here in the San FRancisco Bay Area

In addition to zip lock bags in an assortment of sizes, I usually travel with tape, bubble wrap and an extra duffel bag I can use for either carry one or check through.

I also like to take lots of food and food market pictures to enjoy back home