If you’ve ever been to Vietnam, then without a doubt you’ve seen small carts selling Nước Mía. Nước Mía is sugarcane juice, and you should drink like that. These carts are typically covered in neon colors so they’re hard to miss. You may be thinking that a cup of sugarcane juice is an unhealthy sugar overload, but it actually isn’t. This sweet juice is made by crushing sugarcane stalks in a machine, either hand-cranked or electric. In Vietnam, the most popular way to enjoy this tasty drink is with a splash of citrousy Kumquat juice and a dash of salt to bring out the flavour. The juice is then poured over ice, making this perfect for hot summer day in Vietnam.
Sugarcane’s sweetness is potent, surprisingly vegetal, but never cloying, and the flavors become even more accentuated once turned into juice. Sugar cane juice is a semi-sweet, tropical, refreshing drink. It’s perfect choice in hot summer of Ho Chi Minh city. The froth is irresistable. Local people know sugar-cane juice as a natural beverage that’s delicious and cheap with really musty and tropical flavor.
Therefore, sugar-cane juice is so popular in Vietnam and is easily obtained by grinding cane stalks alongside other popular beverages. Sugar cane vendors advertise their wares openly, with a bucket of sugar cane stalks in front of their stalls. Previously, sugar-cane juice was sold in small plastic bags filled with ice and tied at the open end with an elastic band around a straw. Buyers could then suck the drink out through the straw. The juice is served from distinctive metal carts with a machine which brings out a sweet juice. The juice is extracted from sugar cane and grinding residues which constitute a kind of fibers are thrown into a wooden crate. The juice is usually then mixed with juice from the calamansi, a tiny sour citrus fruit that smells like a mandarin.
Come to Vietnam and give it a try and you can feel free to enjoy a glass of sugar cane juice (considered the second best drink in the world after the orange juice) and you don’t have to worry whether it meets the standard of food safety or not.
