Herb king

Nhu’ Ý tantalizes the taste buds
with their DIY Vietnamese dishes

by MATHILDE RABBAT

Herbs, herbs and more herbs. If I had to choose one—okay, make that three—words to describe a visit to Nhu’ Ý those would be them. Whether you order soup or a salad, a meaty main or something from the sea, leafy herbs—as much a staple of Vietnamese cuisine as rice and noodles—will put in an appearance.

The Banh tom chien ($3.25), my sweet potato appetizer, which can also be enjoyed as a main dish, presented no exception to the rule. Pumpkin coloured and julienne cut, the fries are artfully woven together to form a circular waffle-like pattern before they are lightly battered and deep-fried with a shrimp crowning the crispy nest.

In a separate oval dish, you’ll find an assortment of herb—not the kind grown hydroponically in basements—but possessing merits of its own, nonetheless. The heap of greens (rau thom) consists of a generous amount of fresh mint, pretty purple perilla (tía tô—also known as Japanese basil) and cilantro, perched atop a curly lettuce leaf.

Accompanying the dish was another key ingredient to Vietnamese fare: dipping sauce. This one was a tasty, yellow-tinged vinaigrette with some shredded cabbage and carrot wading stagnantly in the mixture.

As a second appetizer, the Goi du du khô bo ($5.50) did not disappoint. This Vietnamese papaya salad combines crunchy shredded papaya with finely chopped beef jerky and a frayed Thai basil (rau qué) topping, spiked with a scrumptious, tangy and mildly spicy, translucent vinaigrette.

On the surface, these ingredients may seem like strange bedfellows, at least to the uninitiated, but this proved to be a winning combination. No one ingredient stood out on its own, rather the elements harmoniously collaborated to form a cohesive, well executed whole.

With two satisfactory hors-d’œuvres under my belt, it was time to see what the mains had to offer. The Chá cá ($13.95), monkfish marinated in curcuma, served piping hot on a sizzling fish griddle pan, did not disappoint. Chunks of white filet are lightly battered and laid on a bed of fresh dill (thì là). Fish morsels lie beneath a green onion blanket, topped with a roasted peanut crumble.

The dish is accompanied by a side platter made up of a veritable panoply of greens (the aforementioned bundle of herbs), whites (vermicelli noodles and a rice cake sprinkled with black sesames) and reds (a long beet ribbon that provides a dramatic splash).

You’ll also find an extra portion of roasted peanuts, a fishy dipping sauce and another sweeter sauce, composed of a few squeezes of lemon and a smidgen of garlic and hot pepper.

All of this amounts to an enjoyable do-it-yourself experience allowing you to combine these various elements to your own tastes. And like the papaya salad, when combined, all elements work superbly well together and make this main a success.

In my opinion, Thai basil, in just the right amount, harbours the potential to enhance just about any Asian dish. The Bò xáo rau quê ($9.50), a sautéed beef dish cooked with this assertive herb, provides a case in point. The tenderness of beef strips covered in a light gravy is sure to please any meat lover.

The stir-fry features the usual suspects, like onion and red and green pepper, cooked al dente. It’s done up Hue style, which means it hails from the ancient royal capital in central Vietnam.

A varied and rather extensive menu card features many other selections prepared with chicken, pork and seafood, from various regions of the country.

The southern chao tôm, a prawn paste on sugarcane, for example, is a must-have on my next visit.