Chef Peter Cường Franklin shared a powerful narrative to introduce the dish he prepared for Saigoneer. Rice symbolizes the nation’s most important carbohydrate and its agrarian culture; cá chốt represents the ubiquity of local seafood and vital waterways; and lotus provides a metaphor for Vietnamese resilience because it grows in the mud and produces a beautiful, useful flower.
Peter’s dish was made with these ingredients from the Mekong Delta, which allowed him to reflect on the value and condition of the region. “We have flooding and we have different kinds of weather conditions that are affecting the farming and thus the livelihoods of the people in that region … We have 100 million people, we have to feed these people. So, the Mekong Delta is very important.”
The WWF's nature-based solutions projects include providing farmers with fish fingerlings and guidance on how to grow them without industrial feed and chemicals. The fish which, include cá chốt, can be dried, seasoned, and sold to people like Peter to enjoy throughout the country. Moreover, farmers receive support to plant floating rice, an ancient variety native to the region that grows naturally during the flood season and thus requires no blocking of floodwaters. By allowing water to flow naturally from upstream, sediments can collect and improve soil fertility while combating erosion. Groundwater reserves are also able to be replenished.
This rice provided Peter with an enjoyable challenge. He explained: “For home cooking, it is actually a very healthy grain of rice ... it still has all the flavor and texture outside. It requires more work, more effort, but I think it could be something to add to the arsenal of home cooking. People can create something that's new, that's different for the family. Because we eat rice, it's the same rice all the time. So, it's nice to have something that has a different flavor, and different texture, and requires a bit more work and effort. To some extent, it's a bit of fun, too.”
Peter seemed to have fun while frying the cooked floating rice with some vegetables and spices and added the dried cá chốt that had been lightly fried along with some boiled lotus seed for subtle sweetness. While bringing silverware for us to try he summed up the value of the meal nicely: “When we make a dish like this, we're actually showing people what and how the Vietnamese eat, and what we eat, and the resources available ingredients that are available to us to make a meal for our family.”
