We left the ship on which we sailed the Mekong River on a smaller boat to travel on a tributary of the Mekong River to visit the town of Cai Be. It is known for two things: The house made famous by the novel (and movie) “The Lover” and its regional market.
This market included many fruits and vegetables that are known to me, plus some that I had not seen before.
If course, things like chilis were familiar.
Onions, too, were familiar, but these had been pickled in some way.
At first I didn’t recognize shallots because of the way they were bundled together.
And there were lots of different greens, including these morning glory vines (apparently very good in soup).
Our leader pointed out a regional delicacy: Mekong Rabbit aka RAT. Apparently, the most tasty are pineapple rats, followed by rice rats. You guessed it, the type of rat is based on what the animal eats…. You’ve heard the old saying, “A good Chinese chef can make a gourmet meal out of anything edible…..and many things inedible as well.” I suspect this applies to any chef in this part of the world!
Bamboo shoots are available sliced or whole.
This picture gives you an idea of the many vendors working in the wholesale part of the market, which is just a small part of the whole.
I had never seen this vegetable before: It’s dragon bean (perhaps because it seems to have spikes like a dragon?) and our leader says he likes to eat it raw, dipped in sauce.
Squash blossoms, chives, and watercress were familiar.
There was, of course, lots of seafood, including crabs and clams:
And dried fish, as well:
As we were leaving the market, I stopped to talk to one vendor who was selling vegetables, while tending her daughter…
One can only wonder with the rise in large businesses, whether the daughter will be able to have a market stall in the future.
Written on the flight from Saigon to Bangkok, posted from Luang Prabang, Laos 1/31/18
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