TASTES LIKE HOME
EMBRACING THE FLAVORS OF VIETNAM BY ELAINE GUREGIAN
K
aren Pham didn’t grow up as a foodie: she grew into it. As a child in Philadelphia, raised mostly by her grandmother while her parents (Vietnamese immigrants) were working long hours, meals were not particularly nutritious. They consisted of what could be purchased with food stamps at a nearby store: canned spaghetti, microwaveable meals. “As I got older, I felt the toll that the processed foods were having on my body. I learned how to wield a knife and it empowered me to take charge of my health through my diet,” says Pham, now a second-year student in the College of Medicine. During a two-year gap before starting at NEOMED, Pham worked for the Vetri Community Partnership, a nonprofit started by a successful Philadelphia restaurateur, Marc Vetri. In one program, Pham taught fifth and sixth graders the very lessons that helped her escape the food desert she was living in: specifics like how to hold a knife, how spices work, and how to make nutritious meals out of the canned or frozen vegetables available within convenience stores. “People will not eat better if they do not know how. As a doctor you can’t just say, ‘Go home and drink your milk and eat your vegetables.’ It may feel impossible to eat vegetables if you don’t have access to them or are unfamiliar with how to make them taste delicious,” says Pham. Also through the Vetri Community Partnership, Pham taught a culinary medicine course to pupils ranging from fourth-year 26 C R E AT I N G
T R A N S F O R M AT I O N A L L E A D E R S
medical students at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine to the registered nurses and medical residents of Jefferson Hospital. Each week, they tailored a recipe to a specific disease state, whether it was high cholesterol or the needs of a lactating mother. Pham is hopeful that these efforts experiences will enable future patients to receive more meaningful and practical counsel.
VIETNAMESE VERMICELLI BOWL One of Pham’s go-to dishes at home in The Village at NEOMED is a Vietnamese vermicelli bowl. It’s loaded with fresh vegetables and it’s super versatile, she says, since you can make it vegan by swapping tofu for chicken, for example. The vermicelli itself is gluten-free, which is a plus for people with celiac disease. Here’s Pham’s quick overview of Vietnamese flavors: Vietnamese and Thai cuisine share a LOT of herbs, seasonings and flavors. Both cuisines rely on the following flavor profile: sweet (usually lump/rock sugar), salty (fish sauce), sour (tamarind), umami (MSG/chicken bouillon). Vietnamese recipes frequently use garlic, shallots, ginger and lemongrass (which is now available at chain groceries, not just specialty markets). One of the biggest differences between the two cuisines is that herbs or sauces are cooked into a dish in Thai cuisine but served on the side (as a topping or dipping sauce) in Vietnamese cuisine.
