Vietnam - Japan street food program to take place next month

According to the Japanese Embassy in Hanoi, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-Japan diplomatic relations, Japan will carry out a street food initiative to promote the culinary culture of both sides.

Under the project, two Vietnamese and one Japanese chefs will create new dishes which combine traditional Vietnamese and Japanese processing methods and ingredients to show culinary solidarity.

Recipes of those six original dishes will be introduced on the organizing board’s website at https://jp-culinaryfes.vn, along with an online vote.

Accordingly, chef Shinobu Ito, a researcher of Vietnamese cuisine in Japan, will bring in two dishes made from simple ingredients but typical of both cuisines, including Okonomiyaki-flavored grilled rice paper and grilled rice balls flavored with fish sauce.

Two Vietnamese chefs Huynh Thanh Lam and Nguyen Ba Phuoc will present dishes that are variations of popular Vietnamese street food combined with Japanese flavors, including sweet potato cakes with cod in spicy sauce, sea bass fillet sandwiches, lotus root tempura and grilled chicken skewers with spicy miso sauce.

Among the six dishes created by three chefs, the three dishes with the most votes will be served at the Japanese Cultural Festival held in Hanoi next month.

In addition, the organizers will also give out free e-books with recipes for these six dishes along with instructions from the chefs on how to cook them.

Through the culinary sharing event and introduction of the recipes, the organizers hope that people in both countries will be able to taste these dishes, and at the same time hope that these dishes will become household food in both countries in the coming years.

The Japanese Cultural Festival is scheduled to open in Hanoi on Nov. 12 with several unique cultural, culinary and music exchanges.