--- Plat du Tour with Guillaume Brahimi airs every night during the beginning of the Tour de France on SBS main channel from July 1-31. Stream the series free on SBS On Demand and visit the for recipes, articles and more. ---
The Tour de France is a three week monumental bike race which sees elite cyclists from around the globe climb, sprint and crash their way through France. It is one of the most gruelling bike races in which only the toughest survive. As a result, the winner gets to parade a golden fleece — — along the historic Champs-Élysées, where the tour's final stage takes place.
In this year's race, Australia is well represented with 9 cyclists lining up on the start line. With the likes of Ben O'Connor, Jack Haig, Caleb Ewan and Michael Matthews riding in some of the top teams, Australian cycling has an opportunity to make a real impact on the Tour de France — an event which influences cycling culture in many parts of the world.
However, France is also known for its influences on different parts of the world for other reasons, including on Vietnam. The generational impacts of colonialism in the last century cannot be denied and we're still uncovering its effects to this day, so there's something bitter sweet about how French cultural and culinary imprints have shaped Vietnamese culture. Take for example the xích lô (cyclo), introduced during the six decades of French occupation from 1887 to 1945. Replacing the more dangerous rickshaws, xích lôs are now an iconic mode of transport in the country's cities. However, the French didn't just bring innovation and a new written language (why do you think Vietnamese words have accents?), but new ingredients and culinary techniques. These have played a role in Vietnam demarcating its culinary difference from other countries in the region and creating a truly unique cuisine.
The iconic Tour de France has influenced cycling culture, says chef and avid-cycler, Duncan Lu. Source: Duncan Lu
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Taking the 'street' out of ‘Vietnamese street food’
and banh mi have long been heralded as Vietnamese dishes with French accents, but there are many more examples. Dishes in the south of Vietnam have been influenced by French cuisine the most, because France occupied this area for longer. French baguettes are an essential accompaniment to many southern dishes such as ragu ga (Vietnamese chicken stew), bo kho (Vietnamese beef stew) and banh mi op let (omelette roll). is a sizzling Vietnamese take on the French crepe.
Coffee first landed in Vietnam by way of the famous café au lait (hot coffee and milk). Vietnam's climate was compatible for growing coffee and soon enough a local version emerged with strong robusta coffee expressed in a slow drip filter, combined with sweetened condensed milk, then poured over ice.
Try Duncan Lu's aromatic recipe for pho ga (Vietnamese chicken noodle soup). Source: Duncan Lu
Crab and asparagus soup is a surprising yet classic Vietnamese dish, born of the French colonists' love for asparagus soup. French soups are often rich, buttery and thickened with a dairy based product or with a roux (butter and flour). Without any plain flour or dairy products, Vietnamese cooks use corn flour to achieve the thick texture. A fun fact: 'mang tay' directly translates to 'western bamboo'. Asparagus got its Vietnamese name from the way it mimicked the physical appearance of bamboo shoots and its origins from the West. The Vietnamese variation of asparagus soup includes the addition of fresh handpicked crab meat.
A fun fact: 'mang tay' directly translates to 'western bamboo'. Asparagus got its Vietnamese name from the way it mimicked the physical appearance of bamboo shoots and its origins from the West.
The Tour De France is a celebration of global excellence that rewards victors for their displays of grit, courage and loyalty. The grit to finish the race and challenge adversity, the courage to pedal up the steepest mountains and the loyalty to carry a team on their shoulders to emerge triumphantly and write themselves into the history books.
Vietnam's own history sees external forces influencing much of its course, but after centuries of occupation and decades of civil unrest, the same grit, courage and loyalty has helped us to overcome these adversities, with our stories expressed in our cuisine.
This winter, as part of the couch peloton, I'll be warming up at home with an aromatic bowl of (Vietnamese chicken noodle soup) while tuning into SBS Cycling Central's coverage of the Tour De France 2022.
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