Ingredients: what goes into the kitchen and where from
Live snakehead, clean straw for grilling, fermented fish, river greens, fresh coconut water. Which dish each goes into, how we buy it, and what we do not use.
Updated 5 Oct 2026
What goes into the kitchen, and which dish it is for
| Ingredient | Used for | How our kitchen handles it |
|---|---|---|
| Snakehead (cá lóc) | Cá lóc nướng trui, cá lóc kho tộ, sour soup with snakehead, lẩu mắm | Taken live, kept in a tank and cooked the same day. For the straw-grilled fish we pick one of about 800 g |
| Straw | Grilling the snakehead in straw | Dry straw, never damp, used only for grilling the fish. Chicken, prawns and mushrooms are grilled over wood and coals |
| Fermented gourami (mắm cá sặc) | Lẩu mắm; dried gourami for the green mango salad | Simmered for the liquid, then strained before it goes in the pot |
| Mắm nêm | Dip for the straw-grilled fish and the beef in betel leaf | A dip fermented from anchovies, pounded with pineapple and chilli |
| River greens and wild greens | Lẩu mắm, bánh xèo, the herbs for wrapping grilled fish | Washed the same day, served on a separate plate so you dip or wrap them yourself |
| Coconut | Fresh coconut water for the braised pork and the caramel for the braised fish; coconut cream for bánh xèo, bánh khọt, sweet corn pudding and grilled banana | A fresh coconut to drink is VND 55,000 |
| Rice | Plain rice cooked in a cast-iron pot; turmeric rice flour for bánh xèo and bánh khọt | A bowl of rice is VND 15,000 |
| Free-range chicken, tiger prawn, straw mushroom | Grilled chicken with chilli salt, grilled prawns, grilled mushrooms | Half a chicken, four prawns, whole mushrooms, per dish |
What we do not list yet
This page does not yet name a farming region, a supplier or a certification for each item, because we have no paperwork to show. When we do, we will list it here with the date we checked. The cooking and buying habits above are how our kitchen works, not a claim about the trade in general.
What we do not use
- Vegetarian dishes contain no meat, fish or seafood, no fish sauce, fermented fish or lard. Vegan (thuần chay) also means no egg, milk or honey.
- The grilled free-range chicken has no fish sauce in it.
- We do not allow outside drinks, so every drink on your table is ours.
Allergens
The kitchen tracks nine groups: crustaceans, fish (including fish sauce), molluscs (including oyster sauce), peanut, soy, egg, wheat, sesame and milk. Tree nuts, celery and other substances are not tracked. The kitchen is shared, so we cannot promise there are no traces. Filter each dish with the allergen filter; if your allergy is severe, ask your doctor, then call us.
Read on
Why the kitchen chose straw and clay pots: the Bếp Rơm story. One snakehead’s six stations from pond to table are on the cá lóc nướng trui page, and the broth is on the lẩu mắm page.
