At every meal, not only Vietnamese people or any particular country, there are appetizers, main courses, and desserts, these are the three basic parts of a traditional meal. For Vietnamese people, appetizers are usually soups, such as chicken soup, seafood soup or some other soup. In addition, there may be some salad such as dried beef salad, vegetable salad, etc.
Speaking of dried beef salad, if you are from Hanoi so the image of the old man selling salad will be familiar to you, every night hear the familiar tone from the street. It is not only familiar to the people here because it has been sold for a long time, but because of its attractive flavor.It is not difficult to have a delicious and attractive salad because the ingredients are easy to collect and not difficult on the process.
The main ingredients needed for papaya salad are
Green papaya fruit, carrot, herbs (basil, dill, mint, etc), dried beef and normal beef, peanut, fish sauce and some other spices depending on your taste. Each ingredient should be carefully selected and must be fresh,
because with this dish we eat fresh and unprocessed, so the more ingredients must be selected more carefully. In addition, the flavor of the dish depends much on the spices you choose you can add a variety of spices as well as different doses to suit your taste.
Best time to eat
Dried beef salad is not a royal or rare dish so in the past Vietnamese people still eat this dish often, until today, in Hanoi there are many small shops on the street still selling this type of salad. However salad is a cold dish, so it would be more appropriate if we had a salad on the table on a summer day. In addition, the salad when you finish processing should eat it right that time, because if the salad is kept for a long time, the herbs and papaya will wither, then the nutrients will be altered and the taste is not as delicious as when it is fresh.The salad can be eaten at lunch or dinner, as the taste of this dish is very harmonious, so depending on your time or taste you can make a plate of dried beef salad for your meals that will be more attractive!
Hanoi is the capital of thousand years of culture, not only that but also the cradle of Vietnamese cuisine, and it certainly does not disappoint you. When you come to Vietnam and want to enjoy the salad, you can join Hanoi local food tours, or food walking tour to have the best time with Hanoi cooking class including dried beef salad!