Mam Chung

Being someone who's Vietnamese, I guess I could say I'm used to the "acquired tastes and smells" of Vietnamese cuisine. Let's face it. Fish sauce stinks. You know what else? The equally wonderful tastes of the various "mam" popular in Vietnam. Ca Loc (as I know it), which I think is Snakehead Fish, is the main ingredient in this dish that I love. Usually, it's sold in a jar form whole (or at least what my mom buys) and then chopped into bits and mixed with ground pork, wood ear mushrooms, chopped bits of thai chili peppers (CRAZY spicy if you get the right kind) and eggs. I think the original recipe, (seen here) called for duck egg, extra egg yolk (also duck) and salted duck egg yolks and some seasonings, like white pepper, salt (yes, as if it isn't salty enough), ample sugar, and a good mixing. After that, it's steamed until it's cooke dall the way through. In the video, she did say that she doesn't put the egg yolk on top 'cause she feels that it adds nothing to the flavor, just a decoration. I like the yolk on top 'cause it makes me happy just by looking at it. Contrary to what she might tell you, I really like the texture of the steamed egg yolk. I mean...it's kinda spongy, but it doesn't seem to absorb the super salty flavors, and instead seems to always be just right. Needless to say, I like eggs. This dish's completed form is best seen here, where it was mistakenly labled a "quiche". I don't think so; what a misnomer. <.<

It is usually eaten with cucumbers, lettuce, and/or sliced lotus root. I, however, do not like any of those, so choose to weirdly eat it with pickled leeks which looks slightly different from the version I buy in the asian store, but it's close enough. It has a tart and sweet taste, and lends a crunchy counterpart to the dense, meaty, and salty mem chung. I don't recommend this combination, really to anyone else, unelss you've tried the other options and hate it, too. This is a personal preference. However, it always seems to excite me, but for now, I'll get back to the unexciting world of my ancient cities test.


HT