Cao lầu, a noodle soup hailing from Vietnam's coastal city of Hội An, is a culinary gem that is seldom found outside its native region. Topped with braised pork, pickled vegetables, and a rich broth, it shares some similarities with other Vietnamese soups. However, it is the unique noodles that truly set this dish apart. The well water used to make these noodles contains trace amounts of vegetable ash from the cây tràm trà, a tree exclusive to this part of Vietnam. Without this essential ingredient, the noodles would lose their golden color, earthy flavor, and that signature bouncy texture.

Experience the True Flavors of Vietnam at Our Pop-ups

Origin and Uniqueness of Cao Lầu

Cao lầu's origin in Hội An gives it a distinct character. The alkali-rich well water and the special tree ash contribute to its one-of-a-kind taste. It stands out among Vietnamese soups, offering a flavor and texture that is truly unforgettable. For one night only last July, New Yorkers had the rare opportunity to taste cao lầu in its pure form, thanks to chef Thư Phạm Buser and her team. This event was a testament to the importance of preserving and sharing Vietnam's culinary heritage.

The noodles themselves are a work of art. Their golden color and earthy flavor are a result of the unique ingredients used. When cooked just right, they have a bouncy chew that is both satisfying and delightful. This is a dish that showcases the skill and creativity of Vietnamese cuisine.

Vietnamese Cuisine in New York City

New York City's Vietnamese food scene has evolved over the years. In the early 70s, the first major influx of Vietnamese immigrants arrived, bringing with them classic staples like phở and bánh mì. However, it wasn't until later that more diverse and innovative Vietnamese restaurants started to emerge.

Restaurants like Indochine and Le Colonial brought pricier joints to the city, serving dishes like "Vietnamese ravioli" and coconut Napoleon. These establishments focused on haute cuisine rather than homestyle cooking. But in recent years, a new wave of Vietnamese chefs has embraced creativity and started pop-ups that are revolutionizing the way we experience Vietnamese cuisine.

Pop-ups: A Trailblazing Medium

Pop-up chefs in New York City have more freedom compared to those working in traditional restaurants. Each limited-seat event allows them to celebrate and explore regional foods that rely on hard-to-find ingredients.

For example, Thư Phạm Buser's second Ăn Cỗ focused on Vietnam's highlands. The main course was quartered chicken spiced and grilled over charcoal, accompanied by bamboo stuffed with turmeric-stained sticky rice. This dish showcased the diverse culinary traditions of Vietnam's central highlands and mountainous north.

Regional Variations in Vietnamese Cuisine

Vietnam is a country with rich regional diversity, and this is reflected in its cuisine. Different regions have their own unique dishes and ingredients.

Chef Phoebe Tran's Bé Bếp pop-ups explore Vietnamese cooking through the lens of seasonality and local availability. She travels extensively in Vietnam, studying native crops and cultivation techniques. This allows her to incorporate local ingredients into her dishes and celebrate the diversity of Vietnamese cuisine.

Pop-ups and Cultural Connection

Pop-ups like Xin Mời and Hồng Dao are not just about serving food; they are about creating a cultural connection.

Trisha Đỗ and Gùi Trang's Xin Mời pop-up celebrates Lunar New Year with traditional Vietnamese dishes. The pop-up concept is inspired by her mother's cooking and her grandmother's handwriting, which is used to create a custom font for the menus. This shows how food can be a powerful tool for connecting with one's heritage.

Ca Da Duong's Hồng Dao dinners also focus on creating an intimate space for meaningful conversations about Vietnamese cuisine and culture. These dinners encourage guests to reflect on their connection to Vietnamese cuisine and its evolution.

At these pop-ups, diners can experience the rich cultural heritage of Vietnam in a way that is both delicious and meaningful. Whether it's through the hand-carved centerpieces or the carefully crafted dishes, each pop-up offers a unique glimpse into Vietnam's culinary world.

Over the past few years, agriculture has emerged prominently on the climate agenda. This is a significant development as policymakers, donors, and investors are realizing the importance of investing in various regenerative actions such as soil restoration, agroecology, and agroforestry. However, our African colleagues have taught us that without concurrent investment in healthy local markets, these sustainable production efforts may fall short.

Unlock the Power of Local Markets for Climate Resilience

Local Markets: A Climate Resilient Solution

Local markets play a crucial role in building climate resilience. They are a perfect fit for smallholder farmers practicing agroecology and offer greater equity and accessibility for women and youth. Strengthening local economic markets and farmers' access to them creates a mutually beneficial cycle of food and ecological resilience, which is essential for local incomes and livelihoods. Remember, family farms continue to feed a significant portion of the world's population. Specialty crop export and global food trade are just a small part of the overall food story. 1: Local markets have two distinct advantages in accelerating climate solutions. Firstly, their proximity to consumers reduces the distance food has to travel to reach the market, resulting in net savings. Secondly, increasing agroecological production enhances soil fertility, captures carbon, and reduces the use of carbon-intensive inputs like artificial fertilizers and chemical pesticides. When considering the amount of food and land under climate resilient food production, the carbon reduction is substantial. 2: For example, in many African countries, local markets for agroecological products are booming. There is a strong demand for local, healthy produce such as green leafy vegetables, fruits, grains, small livestock, and native seeds. Local manufacturing of bio-inputs like fertilizers, bio-pesticides, and inoculants is also on the rise. These markets are not only large but also crucial for local producers. Strong markets for agroecology incentivize farmers to practice climate resilient agriculture. An unpublished study by Groundswell International on cooperatives and entrepreneurs in Senegal and Mali showed that the local demand for healthy foods is significant and growing. The My Food is African campaign launched by the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa has spread across the continent, promoting the production and consumption of healthy, local, and culturally relevant foods.

Women Farmers: The Biggest Beneficiaries of Local Markets

African women and youth stand to gain the most from investment in local markets and local entrepreneurship. There are numerous examples of successful businesses and value-added production that rely on women's agricultural knowledge and practices. Climate resilience requires the active participation of the most vulnerable farmers, who are often rural women dependent on natural resources for their well-being. 1: In Senegal, a cooperative of women called We Are the Solution has created a popular brand of bouillon mix called Sum Pak. Made from locally available ingredients without chemicals or preservatives, this mix echoes village flavors and offers consumers low and no sodium options, capitalizing on doctors' recommendations. Chefs and home cooks have praised this product. 2: Another example is in Cameroon, where Service d'Appui aux Initiatives Locales de Développement (SAILD) completed a market analysis that demonstrated the viability of replacing imported wheat flour with locally grown agroecological tuber flours. Indigenous local foods are the present and the future, but they require financing to play a critical role in food systems.

Finance: Inclusive and Accessible for Smallholders

The concept of the "missing middle" is a myth. Smallholder agroecological farmers are not receiving adequate financial support at any level. Many policymakers focus on the missing middle in agribusiness and assume that microfinance is addressing smallholders' needs while larger investors are focusing on opportunities above $100,000. However, this is not true. Less than 15% of smallholders practicing any kind of farming have access to finance below $100,000. Microfinance is often not used by smallholders due to high interest rates and repayment durations that do not match agricultural cycles. 1: Smallholder farmers engaged in agroecology need what regenerative farmers in the US are requesting - low interest, long-term patient capital to transition to agroecology and build up aggregation, processing, and marketing of their products. Financing infrastructure in the $2,000 to $20,000 range creates new opportunities. This infrastructure enables smallholders to thrive and serve local markets, increasing the circulation of local, healthy food. 2: For instance, in Uganda, the Eastern and Southern Africa Small-scale Farmer Forum, Uganda (ESAFF) purchased a grinding machine to produce high-quality peanut butter, which enabled a women's cooperative to increase the value of their peanut crop by 2.7 times. In Cameroon, SAILD's market analysis showed the potential of replacing imported wheat flour with local agroecological tuber flours.

Local Markets: Diverse and Thriving

Farmers' organizations are working together with cooperatives, associations, entrepreneurs, and local governments to develop multiple markets and channels for smallholders' produce. This includes supplying food to territorial markets, developing specialized markets, creating online digital markets through websites and apps, and exploring regional markets. 1: Innovative initiatives that connect communities through direct purchasing agreements between producers and purchasers, which started during the COVID-19 pandemic, are continuing to be successful. The Kenyan Peasants League worked to pair peri-urban communities with direct purchases from smallholder farmers in villages, enabling regular purchases of food, small livestock, and farm inputs. Shared transportation and the absence of regional market costs led to cost savings, allowing many groups to participate. 2: Government procurement programs and interregional trade among African countries are relatively underdeveloped but hold great promise.

Farmers' Organizations: An Essential Component

Incubator programs reach a small number of farmer entrepreneurs, but community-rooted farmers' organizations can build trust among a network of small enterprises by forming associations and cooperatives to strengthen their voice and action. These cooperatives and associations, supported by representative farmer organizations and networks, have traditions and practices of rotating credit funds that are fair and provide access to appropriate finance. 1: By working with existing women-led farmer cooperatives, Concertation Nationale des Organisations Paysannes au Cameroun (CNOP CAM) has introduced and funded new agroecological businesses. Ongoing relationships, savings, and credit programs, often managed by farmers' organizations, enable women and smallholders to benefit from loans and technical assistance that others may overlook. 2: This is a common experience where the potential and existing assets of women and smallholders are undervalued. As policymakers and donors consider opportunities to create climate resilience through agroecology and regenerative agriculture, it is crucial to remember that territorial markets are at the center of resilient food systems. We must not overlook the investment in public agencies that manage them, the businesses behind them, and the farmer organizations that advocate for them.