Summer Gift

Red jellyfish - a summer specialty of the North. Photo: Collected

Northern gift

That was Hanoi on a hot, humid afternoon. Lost in the old quarter, then wandering aimlessly, suddenly realized that I had accidentally lost my foot in an alley with a very long address with many numbers.

Suddenly feeling cool because of the shade of the trees, the sun also suddenly stopped. Then stopped at a street stall, ordered a bowl of noodles called cold snail noodles. That's right, Hanoi's summer snack, besides the delicious and cool bowl of water spinach soup with green star fruit, there is also this bowl of cold snail noodles.

The plump snails with clear tails are ready to be served in a bowl. The most special feature is the clear snail broth, with a refreshing vinegar smell. Sandwiched with a handful of white rice noodles and dipped in the snails and herbs, the feeling of all the heat suddenly disappears with that sip of sour broth.

Along the shady streets of Quang Trung Street, Nguyen Du Street, up to Hang Chieu or Thanh Ha, stop by a stall selling red jellyfish - a snack only available at the beginning of summer.

The transparent jellyfish are soaked in wild betel leaves, mangrove leaves, and guava leaves. They turn bright red like a young girl's lipstick and are cut into small pieces like jelly.

A piece of red jellyfish sandwiched with grilled tofu, then a piece of old coconut meat, cool green perilla leaves, dipped in a bowl of shrimp paste mixed with bubbling lime. Put it in your mouth, all the complaints about the sun, the increased electricity, the overtime... will be extinguished, giving way to exclamations about the cool jellyfish.

Central region gifts

If the North has red jellyfish, Hue is bustling all summer with nuoc. The rise of food review videos on Tiktok or Facebook platforms has turned Hue nuoc into a trend - surprising even Hue people.

Hue's Nuoc - a summer specialty of the Central region. Photo: Collected

Because the Hue dish of nuoc is very familiar, every early summer, when you go to Dong Ba or Ben Ngu market, there is always a transparent bowl of nuoc that has just been scooped up. Believe me, eating nuoc properly is not eating it from a bag transported in a freezer, then sitting in front of the camera and dipping it to make a clip.

Eating Hue soup is in the afternoon when the heat is still sweltering, go to a riverside restaurant with a cute name like Cay Sung or Co Cu, and order a plate for about twenty thousand dong.

The snails are caught during the day, soaked in ice to make them really crispy, then placed on a plate with some thinly sliced figs and dipped in Hue shrimp paste. Enjoy the crispness and coolness, mixed with the refreshing river breeze.

Along the central coast, sitting under the shade of coconut trees and listening to the sea breeze, enjoying a cup of xu xoa with sugar water - is also a pleasure of summer.

Xu xoa, rau xoa, rau cau is a jelly made from seaweed collected from the rocky reefs of Cu Lao Cham, or reefs in Tam Hai, Tam Quang, Ly Son. It is also a summer jelly, but sương sâm is a gift from the forest. The gentle vine leaves wrap around ancient trees, and people who come back from the forest conveniently pick a bag.

Then knead. Knead until your hands are tired to get the dark green liquid. Nowadays people use blenders to avoid kneading, but I still have the obsession that the grass jelly kneaded by hand will be more delicious and fragrant.

And the sugar water, if it's authentic, it must be made from a bowl of brown sugar. Mom sits and chops the sugar into small pieces, while the children sit around waiting to... steal it.

Now that bowl of brown sugar is not as readily available as before, we can only soothe the summer heat with a piece of caramelized sugar water, with a few fragrant ginger strands, then pour it over a piece of grass jelly that melts softly in our mouths, tasting as cool as the first rain of the season.

Go south for summer rain

Summer in Saigon under the shade of ancient trees around the park. Anyone far from Saigon will remember the cups of coffee on the sidewalk under this green shade. It is almost a "specialty" of Saigon.

That means just order a cold drink, then sit on the green grass, under the shade of the trees, watching the brown apples spin in the wind.

Down the river, the West welcomes summer with rains. In the South, there is no summer, May is usually the beginning of the rainy season. Rain in the South is very strange, it comes and goes suddenly, capricious like a girl but also clear like a woman's laughter.

The rainy season comes to wait for the water to rise, for the sesbania flowers to bloom, for the water mimosa to flourish. More shrimp and fish also come. After summer, there is the sound of the lapwing calling for the rising and falling water next to the pot of sour soup with all the flavors of summer for family gatherings.

I welcomed the first rain of the season while wandering around the mountain town. People say Pleiku this season has two specialties: afternoon rain and sun-dried beef with ant egg salt.

Savoring the sweet beef with the spicy and sour ant eggs, I glanced at the green hills sprouting new buds when the rain fell, hearing giggling in the rain.

As a reminder, as long as there are mountains, forests, rivers, and seas, summer will always be lovely with gifts...

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