{"id":2342,"date":"2024-03-04T02:30:52","date_gmt":"2024-03-04T02:30:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/tourism\/vi-dang-cua-goi-sau-dau"},"modified":"2026-01-19T07:08:44","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T07:08:44","slug":"vi-dang-cua-goi-sau-dau","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/cuisine\/vi-dang-cua-goi-sau-dau","title":{"rendered":"The bitterness of the durian salad"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cM\u1ea5y c\u00e2y S\u1ea7u \u0110\u00e2u<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ngo\u1ea1i th\u01b0\u1eddng ra h\u00e1i l\u00e1,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tr\u1ed9n g\u1ecfi \u0111\u1eafng m\u00e0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nghe ng\u1ecdt l\u1ea1 b\u1edd m\u00f4i<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gi\u1edd ngo\u1ea1i c\u1ee7a t\u00f4i<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ch\u00e2n run run t\u00f3c b\u1ea1c l\u01b0ng c\u00f2ng,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

M\u1ea5y c\u00e2y S\u1ea7u \u0110\u00e2u \u0111\u00e3 gi\u00e0 x\u01a1 x\u00e1c l\u00e1,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ngo\u1ea1i v\u1eabn ki\u1ebfm t\u00ecm<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Xin cho \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3c S\u1ea7u \u0110\u00e2u.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The image of neem leaves has become deeply familiar to people of the Southern region, especially those who cherish folk songs. Neem leaves not only linger in the hearts of listeners through traditional melodies, but their distinctive bitterness also leaves a lasting impression on food lovers in An Giang.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Neem leaves<\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

In Southern Vietnam, the neem tree is also known as the xoan tree, but it differs from the xoan trees found in Northern and Central regions. While those varieties have purple flowers and toxic leaves that are inedible, the Southern xoan has white flowers and bitter-tasting leaves that are considered medicinal, known for cooling the body, promoting better sleep, and relieving joint pain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The xoan tree grows abundantly in Tri T\u00f4n, Ch\u00e2u \u0110\u1ed1c, and T\u1ecbnh Bi\u00ean districts of An Giang. If you ever visit this part of the Mekong Delta, be sure to try neem leaf salad\u2014its signature bitterness will surely leave a lingering impression on your palate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to prepare neem leaf salad<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This salad is quite simple to prepare. Young neem leaves and flowers are washed thoroughly, then briefly blanched in boiling water to reduce bitterness and drained well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cucumbers, pineapple, and green mango are thinly sliced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dried snakehead fish or dried gourami fish is grilled and shredded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pork belly is boiled and thinly sliced, with a few peeled shrimp added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All ingredients are mixed together, then evenly tossed with sweet-and-sour fish sauce mixed with garlic and chili, continuing to mix until well combined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Add a handful of herbs, coriander, and roasted peanuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Considered a creative and refined combination by home cooks, this salad of cucumber, pineapple, young neem leaves, and grilled snakehead fish allows diners to experience the gentle bitterness and subtle sweetness of the leaves, the tanginess of pineapple, the refreshing crunch of cucumber, and the savory aroma of dried fish. The salad can be enjoyed with fried shrimp crackers or simply with a bowl of hot rice. It is also a favorite drinking snack among men during leisurely gatherings. In some places, those who dislike raw shoots blanch them briefly and replace dried fish with grilled snakehead fish, adding tiny freshwater shrimp for a novel taste.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Neem leaf salad \u2013 a dish that is not easy to love, but once you do, it is unforgettable<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

How to make the dipping sauce<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The dipping sauce for this dish is a sweet-and-sour tamarind fish sauce, prepared with care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Boil tamarind with a little water, strain to extract the sour liquid, then mix with fish sauce, a bit of sugar, and finely chopped garlic and chili. A good sauce should have a harmonious balance of sour, spicy, salty, and sweet flavors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For first-time diners, the bitterness of the leaves may seem intimidating, but once all the flavors\u2014bitter, spicy, salty, sour, and sweet\u2014come together, the experience becomes truly intriguing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The salad or young leaves can be enjoyed with hot rice or served alongside snakehead fish noodle soup, mixed fermented fish paste, or linh fish dishes. The experience becomes even more enjoyable with a small glass of rice wine beside the plate of neem leaf salad, completing the bold \u201cbitter and spicy\u201d flavor profile.<\/p>\n\n\n

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According to culinary connoisseurs, neem leaves from the Ch\u00e2u Giang area have a deeper, more balanced bitter-sweet flavor than those from other regions.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cM\u1ea5y c\u00e2y S\u1ea7u \u0110\u00e2u Ngo\u1ea1i th\u01b0\u1eddng ra h\u00e1i l\u00e1, Tr\u1ed9n g\u1ecfi \u0111\u1eafng m\u00e0 Nghe ng\u1ecdt l\u1ea1 b\u1edd m\u00f4i Gi\u1edd ngo\u1ea1i c\u1ee7a t\u00f4i Ch\u00e2n run run t\u00f3c b\u1ea1c l\u01b0ng c\u00f2ng, M\u1ea5y c\u00e2y S\u1ea7u \u0110\u00e2u \u0111\u00e3 gi\u00e0 x\u01a1 x\u00e1c l\u00e1, Ngo\u1ea1i v\u1eabn ki\u1ebfm t\u00ecm Xin cho \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3c S\u1ea7u \u0110\u00e2u.\u201d The image of neem leaves has become deeply…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1000,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[643,642],"tags":[795,796,797],"location":[],"class_list":["post-2342","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cooking-tips-secrets","category-cuisine","tag-goi","tag-la-sau-dau","tag-vi-dang-cua-goi-sau-dau"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2342"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2342"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2342\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2352,"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2342\/revisions\/2352"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2342"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=2342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}