In his essay collection Miếng ngon Hà Nội (Hanoi Delicacies), Vũ Bằng raves about one of his favorite snacks: “Though they’re all inside the pig, each organ is tasty in a completely different way: the liver is both savory and bitter, even aromatic when enjoyed with basil; the heart is soft and supply in the mouth; the stomach is clamorously crunchy; the uterus has an incredible bite; while the intestine is just fantastic, chewy at first bite, but then turns tender.”
Vietnam’s eclectic appreciation for lòng (organ meat) means that ever since animal husbandry became a thing, butchers have never let any part go to waste. From the common lean meat to the entire inside anatomy of the pig, any portion can transform into a prized meal thanks to the expertise of local cooks. Organ meat is naturally nutrient-dense, but can decay quickly, so our ancestors have devised numerous ways to disinfect and deodorize organ harvests, using vinegar, mẻ (fermented rice), lime juice, salt, pickling liquid, and a plethora of aromatics. The practice gave rise to a wide variety of organ-based dishes in every region: poached lòng dipped in shrimp paste, lòng porridge, phá lấu using pork or beef offals, etc.
Ancient Vietnamesee use of animal organs to create many dishes.
Phá lấu, a southern street treat
Phá lấu was originally a Teochew (Tiều) dish that followed Chinese immigrants to southern Vietnam and, over time, was embraced by Saigon’s foodies wholeheartedly. Before 1975, one corner of Lê Lợi Boulevard used to be a snack food mecca, featuring dishes like Viễn Đông sugarcane juice, gỏi khô bò, and phá lấu Tiều sold on bamboo skewers. Vendors carried around gray aluminum trays containing heaps of golden pig offals, like ear, stomach, tongue, wafting the aroma of five-spice in the air.
When they felt peckish, Saigoneers at the time would seek out the distinctive street calls “phá lấu ơ” of cycling vendors with trays perched atop their heads. The seller would slice off bits of each organ into a plate and poke a toothpick through for ease of dipping.
Bamboo stick Teochew-style phá lấu was a famous snack of Saigon-Chợ Lớn back then. Photo via Dân Trí.
Today, the term “phá lấu” might refer to three different styles of cooked organ meats: coconut-braised phá lấu, beef phá lấu, or Teochew-style braised phá lấu with pickled cabbage.
The first style is known for deep brown pieces of lòng that taste slightly sweet thanks to the coconut water, and smell of five-spice powder. A variety of pig organs are simmered in coconut water until the meat is tender and the sauce caramelizes. Then, the protein is cut into thin strips to be eaten with rice or bánh mì, garnished with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and cilantro.
Beef phá lấu. Photo via Tạp chí Du lịch TP. HCM.
Beef phá lấu is a street specialty that can be found all over the city, but most famously in District 4’s Xóm Chiếu neighborhood. It is served in a small bowl comprising two components: morsels of beef tripe and a savory, sweet, rich broth made of coconut milk. The use of coconut milk reflects the presence of Khmer influence on southern Vietnamese cooking. There is also a “dry” version in which the organ meat is stir-fried with morning glory and instant noodles and enjoyed with a tamarind or kumquat dipping sauce.
Phá lấu stew with pickled cabbage is a mainstay of Teochew eateries. Photo via AFamily.
In Chợ Lớn, there’s another rendition of phá lấu eaten as a tangy braised dish, most commonly seen in Teochew-style rice-congee eateries. Proudly presented in the glass display in front of the shop are dangling strings of pork intestine cooked to perfection, as well as plump heads of pickled cabbage. The braising liquid smells faintly of cinnamon, clove, star anise, and goji berry. The taste is not too salty or sour. The organ meat is braised until soft, not too tender. Each serving features thinly sliced lòng submerged in a ladle of broth and garnished with pickled cabbage. Diners can dip the meat in a simple soy sauce while enjoying it with rice or congee.
Offal porridge across Vietnam’s three regions
If you happen to be in Bình Định or Phú Yên, there’s a good chance you would begin your day with bánh hỏi cháo lòng, a surprisingly delightful combination of two familiar dishes: porridge and the thin lattices of bánh hỏi. A portion comes with blanched pig offal, hot porridge, a plate of bánh hỏi topped with chives oil, in additional to local greens. Other accoutrements include crispy sesame crackers and pure fish sauce with fresh slices of chili.
Bánh hỏi cháo lòng Quy Nhơn. Photo by Alberto Prieto.
This hearty breakfast is both filling and open to any manner of enjoyment. One can go the rolling route by using bánh hỏi sheets to wrap the meat and veggies into a roll, which can be dipped into the spicy fish sauce. Another person can opt for a less labor-intensive way: mix everything into the hot bowl of porridge for a no-frills quick slurp.
In the south, however, cháo lòng is perhaps the most common dish featuring lòng. Saigon’s porridge is almost always cooked with toasted rice and can be spotted across town in mobile carts hauling giant vats of steaming cháo alongside plastic stools and glass displays chock-full of cooked lòng.
A typical bowl of Saigon-style cháo lòng comprises three layers: at the bottom lies a nest of fresh beansprouts; then, hot porridge is added as the middle layer, par-cooking the beanspouts; lastly, a smorgasbord of cooked pig organ slices are arranged on top. Heart, esophagus, blood pudding, liver, skin, and slices of fragrant fried lemongrass pork sausage sit beneath ginger strips, spring onion, and a generous sprinkle of black pepper. The embellishments don’t stop there; before diving in, one is encouraged to further adjust the bowl to their taste with a giò cháo quẩy, a squeeze of lime, a spoon of dish sauce, or a dollop of freshly pulverized chili.
Hanoi-style cháo lòng. Photo via VnExpress.
Hanoians sometimes eat porridge with lòng too, albeit with some local quirks. For one, intestine sausages are stuffed with blood pudding, lard, rau răm and Thai basil and boiled or steamed instead of fried like in the south. The porridge is cooked down to a finer texture and takes on a darker hue due to the addition of pig blood. The organ meat’s gameyness pairs incredible well with ngò gai and basil.
Lòng in noodles dishes
From the sidewalk to fancy storefronts, the glass displays of hủ tiếu vendors are always particularly inviting due to their range of cooked organ meats. On days when lean meat takes too much effort to chew and pork knuckles are too much of a hassle, people tend to go for a hủ tiếu lòng.
Dry hủ tiếu with pork kidney. Photo via Báo Tuổi Trẻ.
Each slice in the bowl encompasses many tastes and textures: savory, aromatic, rich, nutty, spongy, elastic, tender, etc. With a sharp knife, cooks make diagonal cuts to produce thin slices. They are then arranged atop a bundle of white rice noodles, under a sprinkle of spring onion, black pepper, and fried garlic. You can dip the organ meat in fish sauce or soy sauce, but most people opt to mix for themselves a classic plate of soy, red vinegar, chili oil, and several slices of fresh chili.
Hủ tiếu hồ. Photo via Lao Động.
If hủ tiếu lòng usually features a simple broth with chewy strands of rehydrated dry noodles, hủ tiếu hồ is a more complex noodles hailing from Teochew communities. Noodle leaves are big and irregular while the broth falls on the herbaceous and spice-forward range. The toppings include braised pig offal, skin, blood pudding, and pickled cabbage. The most popular parts are pig stomach, heart, and ear. They are cleaned thoroughly before being simmered with five-spice powder until tender. A standard bowl of hủ tiếu hồ must have the savoriness of phá lấu, tanginess of the pickles, spice-rich broth, decadence from crispy shallot and pork fat, and salty umami from the soy sauce-chili oil dipping plate.
Sóc Trăng-style bún nước lèo. Photo via Pháp Luật.
Apart from mammal organs, Vietnamese also don’t leave behind the guts of other animals, such as fish. This crunchy, rich fish part is the star ingredient of quite a number of Mekong Delta noodle dishes, like Sóc Trăng-style bún nước lèo or Kiêng Giang-style bún cá. Fish heads are often cooked and set aside with fish guts as the most prized noodle topping. Many diners are fond of their cartilaginous texture and fishy tastes — to be dipped in sweet-and-sour tamarind dipping sauce or just a bowl of really high-quality fish sauce.
Rice dishes and lòng
In addition to dining out, Vietnamese families incorporate organ meat into daily meals in a number of ways. Pig organs tend to receive simple treatments like blanching with aromatics, slicing thinly, and then dipping in fish sauce or shrimp paste alongside fresh greens and cà pháo (pickled white eggplants). Northern cooking might also include stir-fried lòng with pickled cabbage.
Turmeric stir-fry. Photo via bepxua.vn.
In the case of chicken and duck guts, a seasonal stir-fry employing local ingredients is the way to go — whichever vegetable is available and cheap will accompany them into the pan, such as gourds, chives, beansprouts, bell peppers, onions, vines, etc. Central Vietnam is famous for its intensely yellow turmeric lòng. Organ meat from chicken or duck is cut into bite-sized pieces, marinated with fish sauce and turmeric powder, then quickly stir-fried with alliums.
Mướp hương (sponge gourd) is another frequent collaborator with chicken gizzards in stir-fries. In the mood for something else? Lòng chưng is a savory, salty, and eggy treat. Pieces of chicken or duck gizzards are mixed with eggs and spices and then steamed in small bowls. Before removing them from the steamer, cooks will brush a light layer of egg yolk to impart a shade of golden orange.
Chicken gizzard and gourd stir-fry. Photo via VnExpress.
Dishes that revolve around lòng have that special draw in the eyes of Vietnamese eaters — they’re delicious in a rustic, cozy, no-frills way. The accompanying spices could be colorful or simple, but it is of utmost importance to retain the original tastes of the star ingredient. Phá lấu, steaming, blanching, stir-fries, porridge — lòng not only fills our stomach and satiates our plates, it is a reminder of home and old-fashioned street vendors.
