On My Plate: Vietnam

I love restaurants that make just one dish. It’s the culinary equivalent of the poker player who’s so confident they go “all-in” and commit all their chips to a single hand. Sure, you don’t always win, but my experience has been that you tend to win way more than you lose.

Where: Hanoi, Vietnam (a little restaurant in the Old Quarter that serves just this one dish)

What: Bánh cuốn: paper thin steamed rice pancakes filled with minced pork and mushrooms. Topped with sprouts, greens, pork roll and fried garlic. These slippery nuggets are sweet and delicious on their own, but dipping them in the accompanying sauce sends the flavour off the charts. If lady luck is on your side (as it was for me this day), the dipping sauce will have a drop or two of ca cuong (essence of giant water beetle). Jackpot.

Charlie Scott is looking for a Canadian importer of giant water beetle essence. Please contact us if you have any leads.