Kitchen Culture

It was during the late ‘60s, on a Paris side street, that I was first introduced to the joys of Vietnamese cuisine.

I still can conjure up the sensation of that first bite, taken from a densely packed, peppery cylinder the French grandly call pate imperial. Packed with crab meat, ground pork and wispy, translucent noodles, that memorable little snack, similar in appearance to a Chinese eggroll, was a revelation.

Since then, I’ve been fortunate--for more than a dozen years--to dine in the restaurants of Little Saigon, an expanding area that is one of Orange County’s most compelling cultural treasures. During that time, I’ve tasted an incredible range of delicious dishes that showcase the versatility, health consciousness and vivid flavors of the Vietnamese kitchen.

Vietnamese cuisine is a hybrid. The country’s proximity to China has strongly influenced Vietnamese cooking, and a longtime French presence there added beef, bread, coffee and fancy pastries to the national mix.

Expect to find noodles, sandwiches, filter coffee and creme caramel on virtually any street corner in Little Saigon. You’ll also encounter a core of uniquely Vietnamese dishes, from goi cuon, a precursor to today’s popular wraps, to com ga xa ot, fragrant five-spice chicken on a mound of fluffy rice.

A natural starting point for the uninitiated is pho, the prized Vietnamese beef noodle soup. Because Vietnam has a rice-based diet, it comes as no surprise that these long, wispy noodles are fashioned from rice flour. Pho restaurants abound on streets such as Bolsa Avenue in Westminster. Generally, no meal is more than $6.

A typical bowl of pho contains a rich, beefy broth, heaps of noodles and delicious beef toppings such as thinly sliced flank steak, brisket, crunchy beef balls and more exotic fare such as tendon, liver and tripe. On the side, there is always a plate of fresh, leafy herbs--basil, mint and cilantro. In addition, there will be a brace of condiments: the Vietnamese fish sauce nuoc mam, soy sauce, vinegar, chopped red chile and at least two chile sauces. Wow!

Vietnamese food can be casual. Consider banh mi, submarine-sandwich fillings piled into crusty, foot-long French rolls. Most Vietnamese bakeries will make jambon and fromage (ham and cheese) subs on request, but then you’ll be missing fillings such as cha lua, steamed ground pork, or thit nguoi, a garlicky, mortadella-style cold cut. Whichever filling you choose, look for Dijon mustard, tomatoes, sliced onion and pickled carrots, and a price under $4.

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Raw foods and salads abound in the Vietnamese kitchen. I love the salad goi chan vit rut xuong, a specialty of the elegant restaurant Le Jardin. It’s a refreshing platter of cucumbers, carrots, onions, fresh herbs, crushed peanuts and exquisitely tender pieces of duck tendon.

For the really exotic palate, how about the fondue-like mam va rau? You get a boiling kettle filled with a salty, purplish substance made from five types of anchovies. You boil chunks of eggplant, pumpkin and catfish in the purple brine and pile on the mint, basil and mint-like herb tan ot to temper the strong flavors.

Many local restaurants specialize in regional Vietnamese cooking. Thanh Vi is known for the rustic dishes of hilly central Vietnam. Thanh Vi’s specialty is bun bo Hue, a ruddy beef-noodle soup made with wheat noodles, red pepper flakes, beef tendon, beef brisket, pork blood and shrimp paste.

Ha Noi serves the food of Vietnam’s northern region. At Ha Noi you’ll dine on catfish braised in fresh dill, shrimp with lemon sauce, yam cakes and the best charbroiled pork in the county.

Don’t forget the upscale French-Vietnamese restaurants in Little Saigon, where you eat delicious foods tinged by culinary cross-fertilization. My favorite of these is the Art Deco restaurant Le Jardin, where Prince Edward Island mussels are used in a magnificent steamed dish, and there is a remarkable stir-fried chicken redolent of lemon grass.

At the bakery/cafe Tai Buu Paris--where the decor is eight or nine glass-topped tables and one framed poster of the Eiffel Tower--there is a winning mix of Vietnamese-style lunch dishes, French pastry and filter coffee. My favorite lunch from the Vietnamese side of the menu is com tam bi cha thit nuong, a plate of rice topped with barbecued pork and a slice of egg and minced pork loaf. For dessert, there is creme bru^lee, a wonderful chocolate layer cake and even a frothy cheesecake. The intense coffee, served in an individual filter pot, is generally sweetened with thick condensed milk, the way Vietnamese prefer it.

So take Tet as an opportunity to enjoy this terrific cuisine. Here’s a list of restaurants to get you started.

* For pho noodle soup, Pho 86, 14576 Brookhurst St., Westminster. (714) 839-4591.

* For banh mi sandwiches, Dzora, 7360 Westminster Ave., Westminster. (714) 899-9993.

* For catfish, Cay Dua Deli, 9856 Bolsa Ave., Westminster. (714) 839-4218.

* For northern Vietnam specialties, Ha Noi, 10528 McFadden Ave., Garden Grove. (714) 775-1108.

* For fusion dishes, Le Jardin, 17431 Brookhurst St., Fountain Valley. (714) 593-5651.

* For lunch dishes and desserts, Tai Buu Paris, 9039 Bolsa Ave., Westminster. (714) 895-6114.