Sunday, April 01, 2007

Bao Cap (1975-86)

Once Upon A Time, Amazing Hanoi (Part 1)

"Bao Cap, a period that Hanoi experienced State subsidies between 1975 and 1986. Every family had a food registration book and coupons used to buy subsided goods. My family of six got enough coupons to buy 60kg of rice, 3kg of pork, 1kg of fish, liquefied fat (used as cooking oil,) fish sauce... a month. Other commodities such as soap, handkerchiefs, fabric, singlet, bicycle spare parts… annually. Everything was always in short."

Once Upon A Time, Amazing Hanoi (Part 2)

"During Bao Cap, having Tem Phieu (food coupon) means you have food to eat. But loosing them means you starve. We improved our protein nutrition with eggs from home raised chickens. A meal with a boiled egg was a real fancy one. MSG (Monosodium Glutamate) was a precious and rare additive to dull tasted dish."

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