Hanoï, Didier Corlou, the daring cook
He is Breton, like me, we’ve known each other for a long time and we share the call of the sea. Didier Corlou left more than 30 years ago to discover the world and its people. He took the risk of settling abroad and became a fascinating and unusual cook. For the past 15 years he has lived and cooked in Hanoi, where his restaurant, Verticale, is a must for food lovers.
His spontaneous, direct and pared-down cooking highlights the product with simplicity. His research on the spices of minorities has made him prefer curry without cumin or coriander so as not to overwhelm the product, while ginger brings out its qualities. His coffee is enriched with cinnamon, which brings it a hazelnut scent and captivates the imagination. Unlike in India or Thailand, the Vietnamese have a preference for fresh herbs and spices such as ginger, turmeric, chilli pepper and pepper, shrimp paste and other sea essences. They have used spices as medicine for a very long time, such as talauma and high-altitude pepper.
But his passion is nuoc mam, the nectar and caviar of Vietnam, which is made in every region of the country and thus has many variations. This natural seasoning made of fish and salt – the best is made exclusively with anchovies – becomes a noble product thanks to him, with connoisseurs speaking of climate, terroir and first pressing. Covered in salt, the fish marinate for 6 months to 1 year in wooden vats covered in rush and are pressed by a bamboo rack. The protein content can vary from 5 to 50 per cent but Didier Corlou likes 40 per cent fish sauce, which he believes has the purest taste. He uses it to drizzle over a dish at the last moment or in vinaigrettes and uncooked sauces. Besides the product it’s the Vietnamese culture that fascinates him, its ancestral habits and customs which hold answers to nutritional questions that are being asked around the world.
|     
Didier Corlou explains this cooking and this diet by the suffering of the wars and the embargos that lasted more than 50 years. The population learned not to throw anything away, to eat the buds of pumpkin – which can compare to the best green beans – banana flower (which elsewhere in the world is discarded), fish bladders and chicken tripe, duck tongues, and the cheeks and tongues of big fish (which are very delicate). Everything is saved, and that which is not eaten is given to the animals.
Nothing is left on the plate, not even a grain of rice, at the risk of being very impolite. In Vietnam people eat often and in small quantities, dishes containing herbs (it’s better for the digestion and to prevent illness), small pieces of meat or fish, vegetables that cook quickly and well. And, because supermarkets are rare, food isn’t stored and people go to the market every day.
Didier Corlou has also developed his own techniques for expressing the products, particularly a steamer that works miracles and allows him to prepare clear bouillons. It’s a rich mix of cultures that has allowed him so much creativity, which reflects his shared life with Mai, who makes Breton shortbread biscuits better than him or me (!), and their two sons.
His restaurant, Verticale, and its superb terrace, is divided into three floors with, on the main floor, a spice shop! You can understand that we share the same passions, that we take pleasure in sailing together between the Bay of Cancale and the Along Bay!
Restaurant VERTICALE
19, Ngo Van So Street
Hanoi
Tel: (04) 944 63 17 |
