Flower salad is one of many rustic traditional dishes and normally it is adapted according to the seasons. Depending on the season the salad will contain different colors because different flowers bloom at different times. Common flowers are banana flowers, lotus, melon and pumpkin. It has been said that Poet Tan Da used to create a salad called “Bách hoa”, meaning a hundred kinds of flower. This used “hoa tầm xuân” (scientific name Rosa canina L), jasmine, “hoa ngâu” (scientific name Aglaia duperreana), “hoa trang” (scientific name Ixora) and “phượng tây” (scientific name Delonix regia) this is a new taste for many people. However some food experts in Vietnam have used fish sauce paste to accompany these flowers which acted as a foil to the beauty of the flowers. Fish sauce paste may be added to a little lemon, sugar, garlic and chili. It is surprising, but this creates a delicious dish that so many people from over the world enjoy.
However, each person has their own particular style of cuisine which will always has be their favorite. This is considered as an inspiration for chefs.
For instance, the daisy squid rolled with sturgeon. This is actually made from artichokes there are no daisies used, but only beautiful white squid (delivered from Nha Trang City) carved into the shape of daisies. These rolls are then filled with a mixture of sturgeon, shrimp mashed with artichokes, then cut into small round pieces. The final step is seasoning and cooking in a steamer.
Interestingly artichokes are actually a relative of the daisy. Artichokes not only help bring a crunchy texture to counter the smooth mixture of fish and the squid, but also help to eliminate the fishy smell and bring a fresh taste. They are considered good at releasing stress and aiding sleep.
The sauce is made with egg white, fish sauce, salt, pepper and sugar to get the combination of salt, sweetness and spicy flavors.
The dessert that of flan cake and artichokes is also very creative and delicious. Team number 5 reduced the water used to boil the artichokes until it takes on a brown color and tastes a little bitter and sweet, whilst developing the distinctive aroma. By doing that it will balance the fat, sugar, milk and egg in the flan to give the diners a great experience.
This is a difficult competition for dedicated and passionate chefs. They represent strong teams from the highlands area, coming to discover talented high class chefs keen to progress to the next round and on to the first prize of the Golden Spoon Contest, valued at VND 1 billion. “Nobody knows what can happen. Even planes can sometimes land in a wrong location”, joked professional judge Mr Long Thanh Chiem.
The sea daisy cake is also very delicious and attractive
Please forget me not
Finally after nervously waiting for the result, team number 5 was very sad as the two MCs Tran Nguyen and Ha Tri Quang, didn’t call out their name in the award ceremony. This was held at the Saigon Hotel in Dalat, Lam Dong on the night of July 23rd 2014.
The reason that they didn’t win the competition was that bitterer the water used to boil the artichokes, retained bitterness. Whilst they failed, they invested a lot of time and energy, and produced a menu that very was colorful. Mrs Ly Ngoc Dung, vice president of the Minh Long I Company and one of the judges, commented, “The sauce for the salad is a little bit too sweet. The soup accompanying the pigeon is a little bit oily, which is not good for health. Additionally there was no main dish.”
“Nobody knows what could happen” predicted Mr Long Thanh Chiem
The head chef Minh Van Phan who supervised and supported three chef assistants during the morning competition put on a brave face as he said, “The pigeon stewed with artichokes should have been the main dish, but because all three chef assistants were so nervous, as they presented the dish, they forgot to serve egg noodles, thus making it appear as a side dish. Also because of time constraints they forgot to check the sauce that was served with the salad. These are common mistakes among young, inexperienced chefs, whilst attending big events.
Mr Minh’s team has wanted to win the Golden Spoon contest since last year. In 2013 when the contest was organized in Daklak, the organizers invited Ngoc Lan restaurant, but because it was announced at short notice, Chef Minh decided to postpone for one year so the team would be better prepared. Since then he has prepared and worked hard to get here.. The first thing he did was to access the website chiecthiavang.com and update information to gain knowledge about other competitors. This year his team tried to make interesting dishes for their menu, and spent time preparing carefully before the contest started on July 22nd 2014. What a pity. Lady Luck hasn’t smiled on them.
However it is extremely admirable that the head chef from Quang Ngai refuses to give up and said that his team will attend other season in next year. “We will continue until we win the prize”, he said.
Some people also said that Chef Minh’s flower salad didn’t get a good score because it was missing one vital flower; the ‘Forget me not’ is considered as the guardian of the flowers.
Followed by Tan Toi- Phi Nguyen
The Gioi Tiep Thi Magazine