Vietnamese restaurants, part 10

[petardier]

Back to Ahn Hong last Thursday with John. This time it was the long-threatened congee with pig-parts*. Congee, of course, is rice porridge and can have just about anything added to it. I think John would class this as Vietnamese comfort food. Spare parts added this time included blood pudding, heart, tripe, liver, and some more standard meaty bits. Oh yes, there were the ubiquitous bean sprouts to add as well. John likes to have a small bowl of dipping sauce on the side so one can flavor the various parts as desired without dumping sauce in the soup. John considers that a faux pas; for him, the congee is meant to be enjoyed for its natural flavor I gave John's method a try. It's helpful especially if you're not wild about some of the add-ins (liver, blood pudding). The heart and tripe were fine but were, as expected a bit chewy.

*not the actual name of the dish on the menu.