Located in alley 586 on busy Ong Ich Khiem Street in Da Nang, Mrs Phuong’s ‘goi bo kho’ store has been very popular with pupils across the city over the past 2 decades.

‘Goi bo kho’ (green papaya salad with beef and liver jerky) is very popular with Vietnamese people because of its great taste and cheap prices.

The main ingredient of the salad is green papaya. After being washed, thinly-sliced unripe papaya is mixed with either vinegar or lemon juice, both of which provide a pretty sharp sourness, with a touch of bitterness. After that, it is added with thinly shredded beef jerky that provides the savory protein component.

The salad is then topped with fried shallots, crushed peanuts, chilies, and accompanied with dipping sauce.

This scrumptious dish features the savoriness of beef jerky, the crunch of the roasted peanuts, the exotic taste of green papaya, the amazing aroma of the Vietnamese coriander.

Mrs Phuong learned how to make this delicious dish from her parents. In the past, the salad was served with only shredded beef jerky. Over the past 5 years, the dish is accompanied with ‘muc rim’ (simmered squid) and ‘ca rim’ (simmered fish) apart from shredded beef jerky in order to satisfy the increasing demand of customers.

In addition to ‘goi bo kho’, some delicious nosh food are available at Mrs Phuong’ store, including 'banh trang tron' (mixed rice paper), ‘rong bien say’ (dried seaweed), ‘muc rim’ (simmered squid), ‘ca rim’ (simmered fish) and ‘gan rim’ (simmered liver).

In Da Nang, you can try ‘goi bo kho’ at Mrs Phuong’s stores in alley 586 on Ong Ich Khiem Street and 15 Tieu La, the Xuan Trang Sweet Soup stores at 31 Le Duan and 358 Kinh Duong Vuong, and in the cuisine area of the Con Market.

By KHANH QUYEN – Translated by MAI DUNG