Dark Corner

(Baonghean) - This morning, taking Bim to school, as usual, the two of us stopped by a familiar pho restaurant and ordered two bowls of rare beef pho. I was about to order another plate of fried dough sticks when my niece quickly raised her hand, gesturing frantically, and whispered in my ear: "Don't you know that they just discovered a facility that produces fried dough sticks using strange chemicals?"

Authorities discovered a facility using strange chemicals.manufactureparty in Doi Cung ward (Vinh city)

I was amazed at the “knowledge” and the speed of updating information of my niece who was just in third grade. Seeing my bewildered expression, she immediately talked about the latest information related to food safety and hygiene. Rotten animal bones, dyed bamboo shoots, potato chips soaked in chemical additives, dirty bottled water labeled as clean water,... oh my, after listening to her story, my hair stood on end.

So, all this time, I have been eating toxic chemicals? I angrily banged the table (but only dared to bang softly because I was afraid of hurting my hand), and exclaimed: “You murderer!”. After saying that, I suddenly remembered that I was sitting in a pho restaurant, everyone was looking back at me like they were looking at a strange object. Feeling so embarrassed, I lowered my head and “concentrated” on eating my bowl of pho, which was sad because it was missing the fried dough sticks like usual.

But before focusing on the bowl of pho, I had time to look around the restaurant: Today no one was eating fried dough sticks! I thought to myself: surely the information about fried dough sticks made from strange chemicals had spread throughout the city, so it was natural for our people to boycott fried dough sticks. Thinking about that, I couldn’t help but feel a little sad, sad for a traditional rustic dish that seemed indispensable when enjoying the national dish of pho.

When I was abroad, I used to miss the crispy golden fried dough sticks every time I went to eat pho at the Asian market. All the spices and seasonings were there, except for fried dough sticks! It was rare for a restaurant to make a batch of fried dough sticks to serve the early customers. But for some reason, it was impossible to “recreate” the crispy, fragrant taste of Vietnamese fried dough sticks…

Thinking about this, I suddenly crave a stick of fried dough dipped in pho broth, just enough for the sweet broth of stewed bones and the light smell of garlic vinegar to stick to the surface of the stick but still retain its crispiness. At that moment, I put the stick in my mouth and bit it, hearing the cracking sound of the dough "molecules" and felt a strange sense of refreshment. But all that remains are only bitter memories and regrets, when now how dare I eat a stick of fried dough when the image of chemical barrels next to frying pans is everywhere in newspapers, TV,...

Having said that, deep down I know that in a little while, everything will calm down. Just like the time when public opinion was boiling over with information about vegetables injected with chemicals, rotten meat “washed” to look like fresh meat, pho noodles containing borax, etc. After a period of boycott, everything will gradually return to normal life. Aren’t we sitting down to eat a bowl of pho, calmly as if we had never read the news about pho noodles containing borax or rotten animal bones being smuggled into big cities?

Is it really because we have thoroughly dealt with the seeds and “boils” in the food market, or do we just accept to forget and “go with our eyes closed”? What to eat, what to buy, that is the question that has been making housewives and diners ache. Sadly, even the feeling of refreshment when enjoying a delicious dish is now just a kind of “pretend” when we know that behind the dish are dark corners…

Hai Trieu