Rice noodle with Fried Tofu and Shrimp Paste – A Culinary Delight

It isn’t an exaggeration to say that Vietnam is the land of vermicelli and noodles. From the widely-recognized Pho bo (noodles with beef) to the scrumptious, people’s all-time favorite Bun cha (fermented rice noodles with grilled pork), noodles are indispensable.

But have you ever heard about a dish called Bun dau mam tom (fermented rice noodles with fried tofu and shrimp paste)? Different from the aforementioned dishes in which the rice noodles are long and quite thin, the kind used for Bun dau mam tom is shaped like a patty and usually cut into bite-sized triangular pieces.

The dipping sauce – mam tom or shrimp paste - is the most special part about this dish. It has a signature pungent scent that might scare away the chicken-hearted diners. To make this sauce, finely crushed shrimp is mixed with salt and then fermented in a wooden vat for a while.

After it’s done fermenting, the paste should have a thick consistency with a deep purple color. Since it’s very salty if eaten directly, it’s usually added with a bit of lime and sugar.

Sprinkling on top of the dipping sauce a bit of black pepper and chilies would enhance the taste even more as well! Shop vendors tend to add a small scoop of oil (the one that they use to fry the tofu) to give the dipping sauce some extra greasy flavor.

As the name indicates, this dish consists of deep-fried tofu, too! The outside should be fried to perfection with a golden, crispy crust, while the inside stays soft, moist, and hot. Traditionally, this dish only involves noodles, fermented shrimp paste, and deep-fried tofu.

But nowadays, you’ll find many toppings such as boiled pig leg or pork belly slices, pig intestine, green rice pork nuggets, and fried spring rolls, all of which pair awfully well with the dipping sauce.

The dish is also accompanied with fresh herbs and vegetables such as fish mint, perilla leaf, and cucumber. They add some freshness and aroma to help cut down the greasiness of the fried food.

Back in the day, bun dau mam tom is considered a street food dish and isn’t often served in a restaurant. The set-up is quite simple – a large pan filled with oil, a gas stove, a bag of veggies, a container of shrimp paste, and a plastic box with small square pieces of tofu.

So, if you happen to find someone frying tofu on a sidewalk with that kind of set-up, you’ve hit the jackpot!