Brett Davis - AsiaLIFE Magazine

Bong Bi
Pumpkin flower
Bong He
Chive flowers
Floral Flavours
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Bong Sung
Water Lily
Floral arrangements that pair perfectly with Vietnamese cuisine. By
Beth Young. Researched by Stephy Thai. Image by Johnny Murphy.
Bap Chuoi
Banana flower
Bong So Dua
Pair chopsticks flowers
Bong Dien Dien
Sesbania sesban flowers
Bong Thien Ly
Fragrant cynanthe flowers
Few Westerners scope out their
local marketplace in search of
edible flowers to bulk up their
meals. Vietnamese, however,
view the following flowers as
delicacies. As such, these blossoms
make appearances on special
occasions like Tet, birthdays
or the anniversary of a loved
one’s death. Lack of celebration
shouldn’t be a deterrent though.
While some are seasonal, most
are available year round and it’s
definitely worth tempting your
palate with these petals.
Bong Bi
Pumpkin flowers
Bong bi is the male part of
the pumpkin and as such the
delicate yellow-hued flowers
don’t bear fruit. The blossoms,
however, can be boiled or fried
and added to any number
of Vietnamese dishes. Boiled
bong bi is sweet with a slightly
bitter aftertaste. To balance the
flavour top it with braised fish
or meat sauce or a spicy chilli
and soy mixture. Otherwise, the
blossoms are a great accompaniment
to soups and garlic stirfries.
Fried bong bi stuffed with
finely ground shrimp, squid or
lean meat and seasoned with
green onion, salt, pepper and
fish sauce, is purportedly the
best way to down pumpkin
flowers. The dish named bong
bi nhoi thit chien is common in
Southern Vietnam and Hue and
is often prepared on special
occasions like Tet or to commemorate
a death. Bong bi are
seasonal so be sure to grab a
bundle if you see them.
Bong Thien Ly
Fragrant cynanthe flowers
Bong thien ly come in two varieties:
lemon-yellow and ivorywhite.
Both are known for their
tendency to share their sweet
and fragrant scent when night
falls and regardless of colour,
are shaped like miniature wind
chimes. The plant’s roots have
medicinal properties and are
said to heal bites and clear up
urinary problems. The petals,
however, are sweet and mild in
flavour. Bong thien ly soup—
the flower’s most common
guise—is extremely simple
to make. Soak bunches of the
flowers in water to ensure all
dirt and insects are removed
then separate them. Cook the
blossoms with minced meat,
pounded field crab and ginger
and soy sauce-marinated stirfried
beef. The result is a fresh
and light summer soup. Raw
bong thien ly is also added to
steaming hotpots.
Bong He
Chive flowers
Bong he may be tiny but their
healing properties are renowned.
Cooked together with
tofu it makes an antfebrile soup
to relieve fevers and when stirfried
with a chicken’s internal
organs (heart, liver and gizzards)
and saffron the miniscule
buds help to soothe a persistent
cough.
Bong So Dua
Pair chopsticks flowers
Bong so dua are crescent-shaped
white or purple flowers, whose
petals sometimes curl downwards
to resemble a pair of
chopsticks—hence the name.
These blooms are an acquired
taste and one that fans can’t
get enough of. Bong so dua
blooms in October at the same
time that linh fish is in season,
giving rise to a soup that mixes
both ingredients: canh chua ca
linh bong so dua. To cook, rinse
the flowers, then submerge in
tamarind-flavoured boiling water
together with the fish. Add
spices to taste and lashings of
crispy Vietnamese greens like
ngo gai and rau om. Be careful
not to overcook the flowers.
They should be a little on the
crunchy side. Ca loc boc bong
so dua hap (steamed ca loc fish
with pair chopstick flowers) is
another popular dish.
Bong Dien Dien
Sesbania sesban flowers
Mekong Delta residents eat
bong dien dien raw or in sour
linh fish soup. Otherwise, they
eat the bright yellow flowers
with bun mam (vermicelli
noodle soup) or banh xeo (rice
pancakes) and make dua chua
(pickled vegetables) or goi
(fresh spring rolls) with them.
Bap Chuoi
Banana flowers
Known in the south as bap
chuoi and in the north as bong
chuoi, this purple flower is
multi-purpose. It is used as a
key ingredient in sour soup
with shrimp, fish or eel and can
be fried for a tasty treat. Most
commonly though bap chuoi
can be found in goi bap chuoi
(banana blossom and squid
salad) To make, cut the flowers
into thin slices and soak them
in water with a little lemon or
vinegar. This will prevent the
petals from discolouring and
releasing any sap. After drying,
mix with shrimp, boiled meat
(either chicken or duck), rau
ram (fragrant khotweed), onion
and peanuts. Dress with fish
sauce combined with sugar,
lemon, garlic and chilli. Banana
flowers also go nicely with bun
rieu (crab meat noodle soup),
bun bo (beef with vermicelli)
and lau (hotpot).
Bong Sung
Water Lily
Bong sung grows in any body
of water, be it a pond, lake or
canal, swamps or ditches (the
latter, decidedly less appetizing).
There are two varieties of
bong sung: the large red-purple
lotus and its smaller cousin the
wild water lily, which is white.
Bong sung is an exception to
the other flowers mentioned
here: its petals aren’t edible,
just the stalk. Chunks of water
lily stem (peeled and soaked
first) are used as an ingredient
in sour soup; eaten raw with
braised fish and pickled in
vinegar.
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