We are 4 youngsters living in a 4-floors house for over 2 years. We normally throw parties or have meals together on the weekend. As we all are not good at cooking, we always prefer something basic, does not require many ingredients, and is easy to prepare and cook. One of our go-to dishes is “Bún đậu mắm tôm” (Fried tofu with vermicelli and shrimp paste), which, in spite of containing quite a few components, does not require good cooking skills.
This dish is very unique and not for everyone, even Vietnamese people. For foreigners, you’ve probably never heard of this dish before. Even if you have, you may not want to try it. For some people, its smell is not appetizing at all. The smell comes from the shrimp paste. You can have another type of dipping sauce, for example, fish sauce in replacement for shrimp paste. However, the dish would lose its uniqueness. Shrimp paste has controversial flavors, like blue cheese, or durian. You know, there are people who can't stand it, but also people who love it.
The main ingredients of the dish, as you can see from its name, are fried tofu, vermicelli and shrimp paste. This is also the original as well as the most basic version of Bún đậu mắm tôm. However, it is quite plain and people gradually upgrade it by adding more protein into the dish such as boiled pork belly, Vietnamese sausages, spring rolls, etc. As meat lovers, we of course did an upgraded version.
There are no high cooking skills required for this dish. Trust me, it is so basic that anyone can make it.
Nothing of the above requires high cooking skills. You just can't go wrong with this dish.
“Bún đậu mắm tôm” (Fried tofu with vermicelli and shrimp paste) is quick and easy to make at home. I and my housemates indeed had a good time preparing this dish together.
▶️ 3Speak
