Cuisine of Vietnam

Vietnamese cuisine

Quocle / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikipedia

English

Facts About Vietnamese cuisine

Vietnamese cuisine encompasses the foods and beverages of Vietnam, and features a combination of five fundamental tastes in overall meals. Each Vietnamese dish has a distinctive flavor which reflects one or more of these elements. Common ingredients include shrimp paste, fish sauce, bean sauce, rice, fresh herbs, fruit and vegetables. French cuisine has also had a major influence due to the French colonization of Vietnam. Vietnamese recipes use lemongrass, ginger, mint, Vietnamese mint, long coriander, Saigon cinnamon, bird's eye chili, lime, and Thai basil leaves. Traditional Vietnamese cooking is greatly admired for its fresh ingredients, minimal use of dairy and oil, complementary textures, and reliance on herbs and vegetables. It is also low in sugar and is almost always naturally gluten-free, as many of the dishes are made with rice noodles, rice papers and rice flour instead of wheat. With the balance between fresh herbs and meats and a selective use of spices to reach a fine taste, Vietnamese food is considered one of the healthiest cuisines worldwide.

Philosophical importance

Vietnamese cuisine always has five elements which are known for its balance in each of these features. Many Vietnamese dishes include five fundamental taste senses (ngũ vị): spicy (metal), sour (wood), bitter (fire), salty (water) and sweet (earth), corresponding to five organs (ngũ tạng): gall bladder, small intestine, large intestine, stomach, and urinary bladder.

Vietnamese dishes also include five types of nutrients (ngũ chất): powder, water or liquid, mineral elements, protein, and fat. Vietnamese cooks try to have five colours (ngũ sắc): white (metal), green (wood), yellow (earth), red (fire) and black (water) in their dishes.

Dishes in Vietnam appeal to gastronomes via the five senses (năm giác quan): food arrangement attracts eyes, sounds come from crisp ingredients, five spices are detected on the tongue, aromatic ingredients coming mainly from herbs stimulate the nose, and some meals, especially finger food, can be perceived by touching.

Five-element correspondence

Vietnamese cuisine is influenced by the Asian principle of five elements and Mahābhūta.

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Yin-yang balance

The principle of yin and yang (Vietnamese: Âm dương) is applied in composing a meal in a way that provides a balance that is beneficial for the body. While contrasting texture and flavors are important, the principle primarily concerns the "heating" and "cooling" properties of ingredients. Certain dishes are served in their respective seasons to provide contrasts in temperature and spiciness of the food and environment. Some examples are:

Duck meat, considered "cool", is served during the hot summer with ginger fish sauce, which is "warm". Conversely, chicken, which is "warm", and pork, which is "hot", are eaten in the winter.
Seafoods ranging from "cool" to "cold" are suitable to use with ginger ("warm").
Spicy foods ("hot") are typically balanced with sourness, which is considered "cool".
Balut (trứng vịt lộn), meaning "upside-down egg" ("cold"), must be combined with Vietnamese mint (rau răm) ("hot").

Regional variations

The mainstream culinary traditions in all three regions of Vietnam share some fundamental features:

Freshness of food: Most meats are only briefly cooked. Vegetables are eaten fresh; if they are cooked, they are boiled or only briefly stir-fried.
Presence of herbs and vegetables: Herbs and vegetables are essential to many Vietnamese dishes and are often abundantly used.
Variety and harmony of textures: Crisp with soft, watery with crunchy, delicate with rough.
Broths or soup-based dishes are common in all three regions.
Presentation: The condiments accompanying Vietnamese meals are usually colorful and arranged in eye-pleasing manners.

While sharing some key features, Vietnamese culinary tradition differs from region to region.

In northern Vietnam, a colder climate limits the production and availability of spices. As a result, the foods there are often less spicy than those in other regions. Black pepper is used in place of chilies as the most popular ingredient to produce spicy flavors. In general, northern Vietnamese cuisine is not bold in any particular taste—sweet, salty, spicy, bitter, or sour. Most northern Vietnamese foods feature light and balanced flavors that result from subtle combinations of many different flavoring ingredients. The use of meats such as pork, beef, and chicken were relatively limited in the past. Freshwater fish, crustaceans, and mollusks, such as prawns, squids, shrimps, crabs, clams, and mussels, are widely used. Many notable dishes of northern Vietnam are crab-centered (e.g. bún riêu). Fish sauce, soy sauce, prawn sauce, and limes are among the main flavoring ingredients. Being the cradle of Vietnamese civilization, northern Vietnam produces many signature dishes of Vietnam, such as bún riêu and bánh cuốn, which were carried to central and southern Vietnam through Vietnamese migration. Other famous Vietnamese dishes that originated from the north, particularly from Hanoi include "bún chả" (rice noodle with grilled marinated pork), phở gà (rice noodle with chicken), chả cá Lã Vọng (rice noodle with grilled fish).

The abundance of spices produced by Central Vietnam's mountainous terrain makes this region's cuisine notable for its spicy food, which sets it apart from the two other regions of Vietnam where foods are mostly not spicy. Once the capital of the last dynasty of Vietnam, Huế's culinary tradition features highly decorative and colorful food, reflecting the influence of ancient Vietnamese royal cuisine. The region's cuisine is also notable for its sophisticated meals consisting of many complex dishes served in small portions. Chili peppers and shrimp sauces are among the frequently used ingredients. Some Vietnamese signature dishes produced in central Vietnam are bún bò Huế and bánh khoái.

The warm weather and fertile soil of southern Vietnam create an ideal condition for growing a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and livestock. As a result, foods in southern Vietnam are often vibrant and flavorful, with liberal uses of garlic, shallots, and fresh herbs. Sugar is added to food more than in the other regions. The preference for sweetness in southern Vietnam can also be seen through the widespread use of coconut milk in southern Vietnamese cuisine. Vast shorelines make seafood a natural staple for people in this region. Some signature seafood dishes from southern Vietnam include bánh khọt and bún mắm.

Photo: tuhang / CC BY-SA 4.0 / en.wikipedia.org

Cooking techniques

Some common Vietnamese culinary terms include:

Rán, chiên – fried dishes
- Chiên nước mắm – fried then tossed with fish sauce
- Chiên bột – battered then deep-fried
Rang – dry-fried dishes without oil
Áp chảo – pan-fried then sautéed
Xào – stir fry, sautéing
- Xào tỏi – stir fry with garlic, very common way of cooking vegetables
- Xào sả ớt – sautéed with lemongrass and chili pepper
- Xào lăn – pan searing or stir frying quickly to cook raw meat
- Xáo măng – braised or sautéed with bamboo shoots
Nhồi thịt – stuffed with minced meat before cooking
Sốt chua ngọt – fried with sweet and sour sauce
Kho – stew, braised dishes
- Kho khô – literally dried stew (until the sauce thickens)
- Kho tiêu/kho gừng/kho riềng – stewed with peppercorns/ginger/galangal
Nấu – means cooking, usually in a pot
- Nấu nước dừa – cooked with coconut water
Hầm/ninh – slow-cook with spices or other ingredients
Canh – broth-like soup to be served over rice
Rim – simmering
Luộc – boiling with water, usually fresh vegetables and meat
Chần – blanche
Hấp – steamed dishes
- Hấp sả – steamed with lemongrass
- Hấp Hồng Kông or hấp xì dầu – "Hong Kong-style" steamed dish (i.e.: with scallion, ginger and soy sauce)
Om – clay pot cooking of northern style
- Om sữa – cooked in clay pot with milk
- Om chuối đậu – cooked with young banana and tofu
Gỏi – salad dishes, usually with meat, fish
Nộm – salads, usually meatless
Nướng – grilled dishes
- Nướng xiên – skewered dishes
- Nướng ống tre – cooked in bamboo tubes over fire
- Nướng mọi/nướng trui/thui – char-grilled over open fire
- Nướng đất sét/lá chuối – cooked in a clay mould or banana leaves wrap, or recently, kitchen foil, hence the method has evolved into nướng giấy bạc
- Nướng muối ớt – marinated with salt and chili pepper before being grilled
- Nướng tỏi – marinated with garlic then grilled
- Nướng mỡ hành – grilled then topped with melted lard, peanuts, and chopped green onions
Bằm – sauteed mix of chopped ingredients
Cháo – congee dishes
Súp – soup dishes (not canh or clear broth soup)
Rô ti – roasting then simmering meat, usually with strong spices
Cà ri – curry or curry-like dishes
Quay – roasted dishes
Lẩu – hot pot dishes
Nhúng dấm – cooked in a vinegar-based hot pot, some variations include vinegar and coconut water-based hot pot
Cuốn – any dish featuring rice paper wraps with bún and fresh herbs
Bóp thấu/tái chanh – raw meat or seafood prepared with lime or vinegar

Food in relation to lifestyle

Vietnamese cuisine is reflective of the Vietnamese lifestyle, from the preparation to how the food is served. Going through long phases of war and political conflict, as well as cultural shifts, the vast majority of the Vietnamese people, have been living in poverty. Therefore, the ingredients for Vietnamese food are often very inexpensive but nonetheless, the way they are cooked together to create a yin-yang balance makes the food simple in appearance but rich in flavor.

Due to economic conditions, maximizing the use of ingredients to save money has become a tradition in Vietnamese cooking. In earlier decades and even nowadays in rural areas, every part of a cow is used, from the muscle meat to the intestines; nothing is wasted. The higher quality cuts from farmed animals (cows, pigs) would be cooked in stirfry, soup or other dishes, while the secondary cuts would be used in blood sausages or soup. The same goes for vegetables like scallions: the leafy part is diced into small bits which are used to add flavor to the food while the crunchy stalk and roots are replanted.

Nước mắm (fish sauce) is the most commonly used and iconic condiment in Vietnamese cooking. It is made from fermented raw fish and is served with most of the Vietnamese dishes. Vietnamese cuisines are not known for ingredients with top quality, but rather for the very inexpensive and simple scraps that are creatively mixed to create dishes with bold flavor. A traditional southern Vietnamese meal usually includes cơm trắng (plain white rice), cá kho tộ (catfish in a clay pot), canh chua cá lóc (sour soup with snakehead fish), and it would be incomplete without fish sauce served as a condiment. Dishes are prepared less with an appearance in mind but are served family-style to bring everyone together after a long day of work.

Despite being a small country in Southeast Asia, the foods from each region in Vietnam carry their distinctive and unique characteristics that reflect the geographical and living conditions of the people there. The traditional southern Vietnamese meal is made up of fresh ingredients that only the fertile Mekong Delta could provide, such as cá lóc, and a wide range of tropical fruit like mangosteen, mango, and dragon fruit. The southern-style diet is very 'green', with vegetables, fish and tropical fruits as the main ingredients. Central Vietnam is the region in which food is prepared with the strongest, boldest flavors. This region is constantly under harsh weather conditions throughout the year, so people there do not have as many green ingredients as others do in the north and south of Vietnam. Instead, the coastline around the central Vietnam area is known for its salt and fish sauce industries; these two condiments are central to their daily diets. Northern Vietnamese cuisine has a strong Chinese influence, and its iconic dish is phở. While rice is a staple in the southern Vietnamese diet, the north has a preference for noodles. Owing to the drastic differences in climate and lifestyles throughout the three main regions of Vietnam, the foods vary. Northern Vietnamese cooking is the least bold in flavor compared to the foods from central and southern Vietnam.

Popular dishes

When Vietnamese dishes are referred to in English, it is generally by the Vietnamese name without the diacritics. Some dishes have gained descriptive English names, as well.

Popular Vietnamese dishes include:

Noodle soups

Vietnamese cuisine boasts a huge variety of noodle soups, each with distinct influences, origins and flavours. A common characteristic of many of these soups is a rich broth.

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Soup and cháo (congees)

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Rice dishes

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Sticky rice dishes

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Bánh

The Vietnamese name for pastries is bánh. Many of the pastries are wrapped in various leaves (bamboo, banana, dong, gai) and boiled or steamed. One of the historic dishes, dating to the mythical founding of the Vietnamese state is square "cake" (bánh chưng). As it is a savory dish and thus not a true pastry, bánh chưng and the accompanying bánh dày are laden with heaven and earth symbolism. These dishes are associated with offerings around the Vietnamese New Year (Tết). Additionally, as a legacy of French colonial rule and influence, bûche de Noël is a popular dessert served during the Christmas season.

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Wraps and rolls

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Bánh tráng can be understood as either of the following:

Bánh tráng cuốn

thin rice flour sheet dried into what is commonly called "rice paper", used in making spring roll (chả giò), and summer rolls (gỏi cuốn) by applying some water to soften the texture

Bánh tráng nướng (in the south), or bánh đa in the north

These are large, round, flat rice crackers, which, when heated, enlarge into round, easily shattered pieces. They can be eaten separately, although they are most commonly added into the vermicelli noodle dishes like cao lầu and mì quảng. Many types of bánh tráng exist, including the clear sesame seed ones, prawn-like cracker with dried spring onions, and sweet milk.

Sandwiches and pastries

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Meat dishes

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Seafood dishes

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Salads

Gỏi is Vietnamese salad; of the many varieties, the most popular include:

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Curries

Vietnamese curry is also popular, especially in central and south due to the cultural influence of Indian and Malay traders.
Another type of well-known Vietnamese curry is beef brisket curry or oxtail curry. The beef curries are often served with French bread for dipping, or with rice.
Cà ri gà is a popular Vietnamese curry made with chicken, carrots, sweet potatoes, and peas in a coconut curry sauce. It is also served with rice or baguette.

Pickled vegetable dishes

Dưa muối is Vietnamese term for these dishes:

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Fermented fish or shrimp

Mắm, a Vietnamese term for fermented fish or shrimp, is used as main course, ingredients or condiments. The types of fish most commonly used to make mắm are catfish, snakeheads, and mackerels. The fish flesh remains intact (this is how it is different from nước mắm), and can be eaten cooked or uncooked, with or without vegetables and condiments.

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Sour fermented meat dishes

Nem chua, a Vietnamese fermented meat served as is or fried, is made from pork meat, coated by fried rice (thính gạo), mixed with pork skin and then wrapped in country gooseberry leaves (lá chùm ruột) or Erythrina orientalis leaves (lá vông nem). The preservation process takes about three to five days.

Sausages

Vietnamese sausage, giò, is usually made from fresh ground pork and beef. Sausage makers may use the meat, skin or ear. Fish sauce is added before banana leaves are used to wrap the mixture. The last step is boiling. For common sausage, 1 kg of meat is boiled for an hour. For chả quế, the boiled meat mixture will then be roasted with cinnamon.

Vegetarian dishes

Vegetarian dishes in Vietnam often have the same names as their meat equivalents, e.g. Phở Bò. But in restaurants with « chay » (vegetarian) sign in front, those dishes are served with tofu instead of meat. Nearly every soup, sandwich and streetfood has its vegetarian correspondent.

Sometimes you can also see notations like "phở chay", "bánh mì chay" (vegetarian sandwich) or "cơm chay" (vegetarian rice).

The vegetarian food in comparison the normal dishes are almost always cheaper, often it's half the normal price. Chay restaurants are mostly frequented by religious Vietnamese people and are rarely found in touristic areas.

Desserts

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Fruit preserves

Vietnamese use fruits in season. When the season is passing, they make candied fruit, called ô mai and fruit preserves, called mứt. The original taste of ô mai is sour, sweet, salty, and spicy. The most famous kind of ô mai is ô mai mơ, made from apricots harvested from the forest around Perfume Pagoda (Chùa Hương), Hà Tây Province. This ô mai consists of apricot covered by ginger, sugar, and liquorice root slivers.

Tofu

Tofu (đậu phụ) is widely used in Vietnamese cuisine. It is boiled, fried (sprinkled with ground shrimp or oil-dipped minced spring onion) or used as ingredient in a variety of dishes.

Other soybean products range from soy sauce (nước tương- usually light soy sauce), fermented bean paste (tương), and fermented bean curd (đậu phụ nhự or chao) to douhua (soft tofu sweet soup- tàu hũ nước đường, or tào phớ).

Photo: Jason Hutchens / CC BY 2.0 / en.wikipedia.org

Exotic dishes

The use of ingredients typically uncommon or taboo in most countries is one of the quintessential attributes that make Vietnamese cuisine unique. While unusual ingredients can only be found in exotic restaurants in many countries, Vietnamese cuisine is deemed atypical in that the usage of these ingredients can play a customary role in daily family dishes regardless of social class.

A common and inexpensive breakfast dish that can be found in any wet market, balut (hột vịt lộn) is a fertilized duck egg with a nearly developed embryo inside, which is boiled and eaten in the shell. It is typically served with fresh herbs: rau răm or Vietnamese coriander, salt, and black pepper; lime juice is another popular additive, when available. A more unusual version of balut dish—fetus quail (trứng cút lộn)—is a snack favored by many Vietnamese students. Paddy crab and paddy snail are the main ingredients in bún riêu ốc—a popular noodle dish—and in some everyday soup dishes (canh) and braised food (món bung). Family meals with silkworms (nhộng), banana flowers (hoa chuối), sparrows, doves, fermented fish and shrimp (mắm cá, mắm tôm tép) are not rare sights. Seasonal favorites include ragworms (rươi), which are made into many dishes such as fried rươi omelet (chả rươi), fermented rươi sauce (mắm rươi), steamed rươi (rươi hấp), stir-fried rươi with radish or bamboo shoot (rươi xào củ niễng măng tươi hay củ cải).

Northern Vietnamese cuisine is also notable for its wide range of meat choices. Exotic meats such as dog meat, cat meat, rat meat, snake, soft-shell turtle, deer, and domestic goat are sold in street-side restaurants and generally paired with alcoholic beverages. A taboo in many Western countries and in southern Vietnam, consumption of dog meat and cat meat is common throughout the northern part of the country and is believed to raise the libido in men. Paddy mouse meat—barbecued, braised, stir- or deep-fried—is a rarer dish that can be found in many Vietnamese rural areas or even high-end city restaurants. Furthermore, television chef Andrew Zimmern visited northern Vietnam in the 12th episode of his popular show Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern. Cobra beating heart and dried bones, silkworms, and bull penis are some of the dishes he sampled. He also tried porcupine.

Crocodiles were eaten by Vietnamese while they were taboo and off limits for Chinese. Vietnamese women who married Chinese men adopted the Chinese taboo.

Shark fins are imported in massive amounts by Vietnam.

Anthony Bourdain, the host chef of Travel Channel's Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, wrote in April 2005: "...everything is used—and nothing wasted in Vietnam." Animal parts that are often disposed of in many Western countries are used fully in Vietnamese cooking. Organs, including lungs, livers, hearts, intestines and bladders of pigs, cattle, and chickens are sold at even higher prices than their meat. Chicken testicles and undeveloped eggs are stir-fried with vegetables and served as an everyday dish.

Many of the traditional northern Lunar New Year dishes such as thịt đông, giò thủ, and canh măng móng giò involve the use of pig heads, tongues, throats and feet. Pig and beef tails, as well as chicken heads, necks and feet, are Vietnamese favorite beer dishes. Bóng, used as an ingredient in canh bóng—a kind of soup, is pig skin baked until popped. Steamed pig brains can be found almost anywhere along a Vietnamese street. Also in the northern part of Vietnam, different kinds of animal blood can be made into a dish called tiết canh by whisking the blood with fish sauce and cold water in a shallow dish along with finely chopped, cooked duck innards (such as gizzards), sprinkled with crushed peanuts and chopped herbs such as Vietnamese coriander, mint, etc. It is then cooled until the blood coagulates into a soft, jelly-like mixture and served raw.

Coconut worms, or đuông dừa, is a delicacy found widely in the Trà Vinh Province of Vietnam. They are the larvae form of the palm weevil and are eaten live within a salty fish sauce with chili peppers.

Historical influences

Due to historical contact with China, Vietnamese cuisine shares many of its characteristics with Chinese cuisine. In culinary traditions, the Chinese introduced to Vietnam many dishes, including hoành thánh (wonton), xá xíu (char siu), há cảo (har gow), hủ tiếu (ka tieu), mì (wheat noodles), bò bía (popiah), bánh quẩy (youtiao), mooncake and bánh pía (Suzhou style mooncake), bánh tổ (nian gao), sủi dìn (tang yuan), bánh bò, bánh bao (baozi), cơm chiên Dương Châu (Yangzhou-fried rice), and mì xào (chow mein). The Vietnamese adopted these foods and added their own styles and flavors to the foods. Ethnic minorities in the mountainous region near the China–Vietnam border also adopted some foods from China. Ethnic Tày and Nùng in Lạng Sơn Province adopted thịt lợn quay (roasted pork) and khâu nhục (braised pork belly) from China. Some New World vegetables, such as chili peppers and corn (maize), also made their way to Vietnam from the Ming dynasty.

The French introduced baguettes to Vietnam, which were then combined with Vietnamese stuffing to become a popular fast food in Vietnam called bánh mì and known overseas as “Vietnamese baguettes", though different from the French counterpart in that the baguette is normally made entirely of rice flour. The French also brought to Vietnam onions, cauliflower, lettuce, potatoes, tarragon, carrot, artichoke, asparagus, and coffee. Onions are called hành tây (literally “western shallots”), asparagus as măng tây (western bamboo shoots) and potatoes are called khoai tây (western yam) in Vietnamese, which reflect their origin before arriving in Vietnam. French-influenced dishes are numerous and not limited to: sa lát (salad), pâté, patê sô (a Brittany pasty called "pâté chaud"), bánh sừng trâu (croissant), bánh flan, ya ua (yogurt), rôti (rotisserie), bơ (butter), vịt nấu cam (duck à l'orange), ốp lết (omelette), ốp la (œufs au plat), phạc xi (farcies), bít tết (beefsteak), sốt vang (cooking with wine), dăm bông (jambon), and xúc xích (saucisse). Due to influences from French colonization, the French Indochinese countries of Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia have several shared dishes and beverages including baguettes and coffee. The French also introduced use of dairy products in Vietnamese-French fusion dishes.

Vietnamese cuisine also has influences from its neighbor Champa, Malaysia and Cambodia. The use of coconut milk and various central dishes such as bánh khọt were influenced by Cham cuisine. Spices including curries were also introduced to Vietnam by Malay and Indian traders. Though not common in the north, cà ri is a quite popular dish in central and southern Vietnam. The most common form is chicken curry and to a lesser extent, goat curry. Chicken curry is an indispensable dish in many social gathering events, such as weddings, funerals, graduations, and the yearly death anniversary of a loved one. Similar to Cambodia, curry in Vietnam is eaten either with the French baguettes, steamed rice, or round rice noodles (rice vermicelli). Mắm bồ hóc or prahok, adopted from ethnic Khmer in Southern Vietnam, is used as a central ingredient of a Vietnamese rice noodle soup called bún nước lèo which originated with ethnic Khmers in Vietnam and is not found in Cambodia.

Due to contact with communist countries from Eastern Europe, the Vietnamese adopted dishes such as stuffed cabbage soup, thịt đông (Kholodets), sa lát Nga (Russian salad) and Czech beer.

Based on: Wikipedia

Where to Try

Vietnamese cuisine - related cities and regions

Hà Nội Hanoi
Hồ Chí Minh Ho Chi Minh City
Khánh Hòa Nha Trang
Lâm Đồng Dalat
Quảng Nam Hoi An
Thừa Thiên Huế Hue
Đà Nẵng Da Nang

Vietnamese cuisine

Facts About Vietnamese cuisine

Philosophical importance

Five-element correspondence

Yin-yang balance

Cultural importance

Regional variations

Cooking techniques

Typical Vietnamese family meal

Feast

Cuisine

Popularity

Proverbs

Food in relation to lifestyle

Popular dishes

Noodle soups

Soup and cháo (congees)

Rice dishes

Sticky rice dishes

Bánh

Wraps and rolls

Sandwiches and pastries

Meat dishes

Seafood dishes

Salads

Curries

Pickled vegetable dishes

Fermented fish or shrimp

Sour fermented meat dishes

Sausages

Vegetarian dishes

Desserts

Fruit preserves

Tofu

Condiments

Pairing

Sauces

Food colourings

Herbs and spices

Exotic dishes

Historical influences

How Vietnamese cuisine contrasts to other countries

Where to Try