30-Minute Asian Meals by Marie Wilson

Author:Marie Wilson
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-8048-3692-0
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing

In the seventeenth century, two rivaling aristocratic ruling families squabbled to dominate the monarchy, and European adventurers with commercial and missionary designs on Southeast Asia exacerbated this internal strife. Finally, in the nineteenth century, the Nguyen dynasty prevailed with the help of the French, establishing a capital at Hue. For their help, the French expected commercial and economic privileges. When these were not granted, the French emperor Napoleon III ordered an attack on Vietnam in 1857. This resulted in a Vietnamese defeat and the concession of several provinces in the south, which the French transformed into the new colony, Cochin China. Twenty years later, the French completed the conquest of Vietnam and, by 1893, all of Vietnam was conquered. Along with Cambodia and Laos, Vietnam was absorbed into what became known as French Indochina, which the French ruled from 1883 to 1954.

As food often reflects the history of a nation, China and France have had a strong influence on Vietnamese cuisine. The most obvious is in the manner of eating. The Vietnamese are the only people in Southeast Asia who eat with chopsticks. Like the Chinese, they tend to eat their rice plain or after other dishes, unlike the people of Thailand and Indonesia who mix rice with other foods. The Chinese also brought the use of the wok, stir-frying, deep-frying, tofu, noodles and soy sauce. Europeans brought vegetables not previously grown in Vietnam, such as corn, tomatoes, potatoes and peanuts. Peas from the Dutch are called Holland peas, and asparagus from France is known as Western bamboo. Also from the French, the Vietnamese learned to love café au lait, French bread, milk, butter and pastries. But it is actually surprising that the French, who ruled French Indochina for 71 years, have had practically no influence on the cooking of Vietnam.

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