Nowhere else in Vietnam serves up leftovers like Hue – the country’s ancient capital – where yesterday’s rice is the hottest item on the menu. In Hue’s city center, where tourists abound, bun bo Hue – a beef and vermicelli soup famous in the ancient capital – may be the most popular dish at local street stalls. But walk just a few minutes from the city’s famous and attractions and visitors will find themselves immersed in a culinary world centered around a rather peculiar ingredient: leftover rice, known in Vietnamese as com nguoi . For day laborers, the leftover rice served with bun bo Hue is integral, giving them the extra energy they need to work from dawn till noon. Arguably, Hue is a city which runs on yesterday’s rice. An unknown version of bun bo Hue Hue’s Gia Hoi Islet is a hotbed of bun bo stalls, with the area surrounding Bach Dang, Chi Lang, To Hien Thanh, Nguyen Du, and Chua Ong Streets doubling as the epicenter of the city’s traditional cooking styles. The close observer will notice that most of the bun bo stalls there have a lunchbox sitting near the service area. Inside the lunchbox is the stall owner’s leftover rice, an ingredient that many locals agree is necessary in order to enjoy bun bo in true Hue fashion. Cultural researcher Tran Dinh Son said serving leftover rice with bun bo dates back to the 1950s and 1960s when vendors, after running out of fresh vermicelli, would wander around the city selling their leftover ingredients – chopped pig's feet, cooked beef, pig blood curd, and meatballs – to those who would have them with leftover rice. A bowl of bun bo broth and rice in Hue. Photo: Thai Loc / Tuoi Tre Strange servings Com va or ‘slurping rice’ is another traditional dish in Hue which has not yet made it on tourists' radar screen. This dish consists of large strings of vermicelli, julienned pork ham, banana flowers, herbs, and a spoonful of chicken broth. Long ago, the people …
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