1 no ingredients
Directions
2 cups soft lettuce leaves (Boston or similar; not iceberg} 1 cup
fresh mint leaves 1 cup fresh coriander (Chinese parsley) 1 cup
cucumber *
* peeled in lengthwise strips and with green strips in between, then
cut in half lengthwise and into thin horizontal slices, forming
semi-circles.
A salad or vegetable platter is a very important part of a Vietnamese
meal; indeed, it is served at practically every one. The vegetables,
which are eaten along with many dishe, are arranged on a platter, and
diner helps himself to whatever he desires. In Vietnam we used many
more vegetables and herbs than we can find in the West. But, in
spite of that, the following platter makes a satisfactory
accompaniment to the dishes we have prepared for this book. All
vegetables and herbs are those served in Vietnam, except that the
variety is smaller.
Arrange a mound of lettuce in the center of a platter. Around the
lettuce, and touching it, arrange separate mounds of mint and
coriander.
Arrange the cucumbers in overlapping slices around the complete outer
rim of the platter.
This is the basic arrangement of the vegetable platter. On those
occasions when a recipe calls for another vegetable, it can be added
to this platter.
Makes 8 servings.
From "The Classic Cuisine of Vietnam", Bach Ngo and Gloria Zimmerman,
Barron's, 1979.
Posted by Stephen Ceideberg; May 24 1993.
Servings: 1 servings
Basic Vegetable Platter Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Vegetable
The History of Recipes
It is quite feasible to follow the history of transcribed cooking instructions far back into the far past, in truth as far back into recorded history as the ancient Egyptians, and maybe further still. Having said that, generally, these early recipes were just very simple hieroglyphic recipes for food preparation.
In an interesting twist, the oldest recipe discovered so far, according to food historians are some stone tablets in Sumerian which recount the preparation of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making anyone who drank it feel wonderful. During the time of the Romans a man called Apicius compiled a collection of scripts describing recipes cooked by wealthy Romans. In his works, Apicius tells us how the roman meals were divided into hors d`oeuvre, main course and afters, something we still use today. Additionally, he informs us how the early Romans made use of a wide range of spices and herbs, including many that are still in use today such as bay, rue and parsley. Moving our culinary historical trip onwards, there are two interesting books from the 14th Century - a book titled `Forme of Cury`, and another titled `Curye on Inglish`. Although the titles sound familiar, these are unconnected to the spicy food that is familiar to us all today, but rather accounts of the types of food on the menues of the nobility of that time. Later on, in the 15th century, the Crusaders brought back many foods, spices and herbs from Arab cuisine, including coriander, parsley, and basil. The introduction of these new herbs and spices prompted a torrent in cookery books, many of which are now in private cookery archives. Over the next few hundred years, the wealthy families of the West competed with each other to serve the best banquets, and because of this the best cooks and their recipes could command a high salary. Even so, it wasn`t until the nineteenth century the formal cooking and recipe collections rose to prominence. Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally well-known Fannie Merritt Farmer in the USA, dedicated years of their lives to assembling, testing, and recording recipes for their fellow cooks to enjoy. When we get to the 20th century, cooking books were in high demand, due to higher levels of literacy, people having more spare time and having more money to spend. The arrival of TV brought us cooking programs and the spin-off recipe books. Which pretty much brings us up to date and the invention of the internet, permitting everybody to search through thousands of recipes just like those on this site. |
We hope you enjoy this Basic Vegetable Platter recipe.
