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30th March, 2001
December, 1996
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The people in the Vietnamese towns and villages probably enjoy a better community spirit, than in the larger cities, as is the case in most countries of the world. The families who left Vietnam in 1979 and following years, left behind relatives and many friends. Trung's family and Long's family were very close to each other, so while we were in Langson, we went to visit Long's parents in Na San, which is a small country town to the north-east, and very close to the Chinese border. We were taken there by another old friend Huan, in his mini bus. It was quite an exciting journey, for at the time, most of the country roads were not in good repair, but we did go through short dusty sections where workmen were renewing the surface, or filling up deep potholes.
Shortly after our unexpected arrival, members of the family began preparation of lunch. If you have ever tasted home made Chinese Spring Rolls, then you will appreciate my delight, when I wandered into the cooking area, to see the Vietnamese version being made; a small crispy roll filled with finely chopped pork, noodles, vegetables and herbs. When I have watched them being made in Chinese homes in the UK, it seemed to me that almost as much pleasure was experienced in making them, as eating them ! 
Having made the rolls, they all have to be fried, a few at a time. At Na San, there were no electric or gas cookers, nor micro wave ovens, but simply wood fires upon which all the cooking was done. The white ash piled up from previous cooking sessions soon sparked into life when a few pieces of dry wood were added, and thus the heat for cooking was controlled, with no dials to turn nor switches to flick. I was amazed by the wonder of it all.
The dishes brought to the table for our lunch, included freshly washed watercress, which set off alarm bells ringing in my mind, but then Grandma said that Grandpa always insisted that any water used in the preparation of food, must first be boiled. So much work had gone into preparing our lunch, and the food looked so attractive when laid out on the table, that it seemed almost a shame to eat it, but of course we did, and enjoyed all the different flavours and textures. 
Before we left Na San, we paid a visit to the home of Long's brother, which was near the local market, and even in the late afternoon, two meat stalls were still trading selling pork, much of which had a lot of white fat. This is rendered down and used as cooking oil, so perhaps that is why all the food tastes so delicious. The following day, back in Langson, we would enjoy another familiar dish, steamed rice flour pancakes !| Have you enjoyed your visit to the China Pages ? Why not pass them on to your friends ? Make the author very happy ! |
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