banh canh hap

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this post was originally released on october 4th, 2021. i managed to recover it from a flash drive and thought it'd be cool to re-release it

this post is dedicated to my favorite main course. i discovered it in 2016 when i started exploring vegan restaurants in my city, which eventually led to me discovering a modern form of the vietnamese cusine where meat is replaced with tofu and/or seitan, the latter quickly becoming a fan favorite. it doesn't matter which vegan vietnamese place you go to or order from, the dish that features prominently on most if not all of them is banh canh hap.

now, i'm not sure what banh canh hap means. should probably have looked that up before opening vim, but the vegan version basically consists of thick udon noodles, steamed vegetables (sometimes including pumpkin, love that shit), well-seasoned tofu and/or seitan and some viscous soy sauce concoction that you drizzle over the whole shebang. it's typically served on some type of leaf which somehow enhances the eating experience.

not only is it extremely delicious but also healthy, at least i would assume so. if you ever get the chance to eat at a vegan vietnamese restaurant, feel free to try out my signature order and let me know what you think about it:

1. summer rolls (comes with peanut-y dipping sauce, one of the most amazing things you'll eat)
2. banh canh hap
3. steamed banana wrapped in sticky rice, served with creamy coconut sauce (forgot the vietnamese name for this, contains chuoi)

I’m a negative of a person. All I want is blackness, blackness and silence - Sylvia Plath