The Sandpoint Eater: Good morning, Vietnam

By Marcia Pilgeram
Reader Columnist

Good morning, Vietnam! Good morning, Sandpoint, from Southeast Asia’s faraway and exotic setting, where I’m aboard a river boat cruising on the Mekong Delta from Vietnam to Cambodia. I have been to Vietnam before (touring by land), not too long after our esteemed Publisher Ben Olson and his partner Cadie visited this region, and I have been looking forward to returning ever since.  

Like Ben, my travel companion Jennifer Leedy and I also had the privilege of dining with good friends and former Sandpoint residents Greg (it turns out Jennifer was his preschool teacher) and Tuyen Vanderford. I am drawn to these people, their culture and their sublime food, which I can never get enough of before departing.

Lucky for Jennifer and me, Tuyen was born and raised in Ho Chi Minh City (a.k.a. Saigon), so she was not only able to order our magnificent dinner in her melodic native language, but also answered our endless string of questions and shared fascinating insights into her family life. She gave us lifesaving tips for navigating as a pedestrian, maneuvering among thousands of morning scooter commuters (keep moving!). And, of course, we talked politics at length — theirs and ours. 

Too soon, our dinner and endless chatter about everything Sandpoint and Saigon were over. We passed along a package from Greg’s parents and a few treats Jennifer and I brought along (including huckleberry jam). We bid farewell to Greg and Tuyen, promising to one day reunite, here or there.

The next day, we joined our fellow river cruise passengers and our Saigon guide, Thomas, to tour the city. We weaved through lively and noisy markets with hawkers offering delicacies from smoked duck embryos to roasted cashews in the husk (another major export commodity). We sampled moonshine made from rice and fermented in an oversized vessel alongside a long-dead cobra snake. 

After an obligatory sip, I searched for a trusty iced coffee — my favorite Vietnamese beverage.

Coffee drinks are very popular in Vietnam and coffee stands are on nearly every corner. Specialty beverages include caramel, egg and Vietnamese iced coffee. I was surprised when Thomas told us Vietnam is the world’s second-largest coffee producer. I had no idea and wasn’t even sure I believed him. But, sure enough, with a bit of research I learned that, indeed, Vietnam is behind only Brazil in coffee production.  

The coffee beans grown in Vietnam are primarily robusta, an important bean exported and used worldwide in instant coffee manufacturing. Robusta coffee also plays a vital role in the Vietnamese economy and culture. Vietnamese people are very proud of their coffee and are big drinkers of this product rather than drinking imported coffee.

When I was in Vietnam last time, I sampled a myriad of coffee drinks, including egg coffee. It was delicious but a little too rich for my taste. During my current visit, we stayed at the Sofitel Saigon Plaza, and I learned the legend of Vietnamese egg coffee. Ironically, it was created at our luxury hotel in 1946 during the Anti-French Resistance War. The city was rapidly running out of milk and, even back then, the Sofitel catered to a discerning clientele, and the demand for milk was high. 

An ingenious bartender at the hotel, Nguyen Giang, experimented to find a way to create a creamy coffee drink similar to café au lait that someone could prepare without any lait. He discovered that a whipped egg yolk made a light and delicate foam, and his popular new drink — Vietnamese egg coffee — was born. With the success of his original beverage, Giang opened his coffee shop, Café Giang. Today, the business is operated by his son, Tri Hoa Nguyen. Most Vietnamese coffee drinks, like egg coffee and my favorite iced coffee (cà phê sữa đá), also contain sweet condensed milk.  

Tomorrow, we will embark on a new adventure in Siem Reap, Cambodia. We will meet up with another friend, Da Kriel. Da is a handsome and bright young lad I befriended on a different trip years ago. He’s finally recovering from the economic crisis caused by COVID-19 and will be our guide.

We’re looking forward to a sunrise visit to Angor Wat and sharing a meal in the countryside with his family. I don’t know what beverages we’ll discover in Siem Reap, but hopefully, I’ll find an iced coffee. 

Keep this recipe handy for your refreshing beverage when summertime comes to Sandpoint.

Vietnamese coffee

There are many versions and variations of Vietnamese coffee. This one pleases most all palates. Yields 4 glasses of sweet and delicious iced coffee.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups freshly brewed coffee 

• ⅔ cup sweetened condensed milk

• Cubed ice

Directions:

Make your favorite strong coffee, preferably with a French press. Pour the coffee into a heat-proof pitcher. Fill four tall glasses with ice cubes. 

Pour hot coffee over ice cubes and stir briskly with the long-handled spoon to chill the coffee.

Add the sweet condensed milk. Stir again until well blended and serve.