Vietnam Overseas

Rice or ‘com’ in Vietnamese language is a staple food in every household in Vietnam – the country is one of the major rice producers in the world. An ordinary meal consists of steamed and boiled rice eaten together with a variety of different dishes. Vietnamese recipes use a variety of vegetables, herbs and spices, including lemon grass, lime, and kaffir lime leaves.

Fish and soy sauce are used in most dishes while fresh vegetables and/or fresh herbs and dipping sauce are served as a side dish. The most common meat used in their cuisine is pork, prawns, beef, various kinds of tropical fish and chicken. However, a typical Vietnamese meal relies mainly on rice and vegetables dishes rather than meat. Besides rice, Vietnamese is famous for delectable noodle dishes. The noodle dishes can be served with and without soup while noodles are made from different main ingredients such as wheat, rice and beans.

Generally, no meal is complete without fresh vegetables and herbs that come in a platter of cucumbers, bean sprouts, basil, coriander, mint and a number of herbs. Arguably, Vietnamese food is said to be one of the most nutritious and delicious foods in the world. If you like eating vegetable, you won’t be disappointed at Vietnamese food. Therefore, having an authentic Vietnamese food – we recommend you go to a proper restaurant – is one of activities that should not be missed when you travel to Vietnam.

Regional Cuisine

Vietnamese cuisine is divided by 3 regions; the north, the central and the south. Due to its proximity to China, Vietnamese’s northern dishes are influenced by Chinese cuisine. Soy sauce is commonly found in most northern dishes while people in the central and southern regions opt for fish sauce. Most northern foods are rather stir fried and simmered than deep fried. Beef is popular choice of meat in the north due to the Chinese influence. However, northern cuisine does not use as many herbs and vegetables as the central and the southern part. Unlike the central and the southern cooking, black pepper is used more often than chillies in many northern dishes.

Southern culinary features different kinds of vegetables, fish and seafood. Many of the dishes are adopted from the French. Several kinds of fruits make its way to the main dishes together with meat and vegetables. Preparations are simple and the style of cooking is similar to that of neighbouring Cambodia. Curries are more popular here than the other parts of the country.

The central culinary is the most colourful and spiciest in the country. The style of cooking dates back to the ancient kingdom of Champa, whose culture and spiritual belief is influenced by the Indians. Meals in the central region are more lavish than the south and the north. They usually include several small different dishes placed on the table at once. Moreover, its cooking style is perhaps the most complex with a lot of use of herbs and spice.

Recommended Vietnamese dishes

Since you are travelling to Vietnam, you cannot avoid trying their local food. Here some of Vietnamese foods that are considered safe to tourists that come from the west and, at the same time, delicious. However, for the safety of your stomach, we suggest you try them at the restaurants rather than food vendors on the streets.

Pho - Noodles

Besides rice, Pho or noodle is the most popular food in Vietnam. It can be eaten for at breakfast, lunch or dinner. Preparations may vary in each region. Pho Bo is a noodle soup that is served with slices of cooked beef. Pho Ga is a bowl of noodle soup topped with sliced of boneless chicken meat. Perhaps the most famous place try Pho is at Pho 2000 restaurant. Located near Benh Tha Market in Ho Chi Minh City, the restaurant is visited by important figures in the country as well as foreign diplomats.

Banh Cuon (Rice Flour Steamed Rolls)

Many Vietnamese like to eat Banh Cuon for breakfast. It is made of rice that is soaked overnight and grounded with a stone mortar. The soaked flour is then spread on top of a clean white thin cloth screen that is placed over the opening of a pot of boiling water. After a few minutes, a bamboo stick is used to strip the thin sheet of flour off the screen. Then the sheet is rolled up and sprinkled with fried onions. Stir fried lean meat, shrimps, mushrooms, dried onions, fish sauce, and pepper can be added inside the sheet roll.

Banh Cuon is most delicious when it is very thin, white, and sticky. It is tastier when dipped in a sweet, sour, and spicy sauce.

Nem Ran or Cha Gio (fried spring roll)

Called Nem Ran by northerners and Cha Gio by southerners, this is perhaps the most familiar dish to western tourists. Similar to Chinese fried spring roll, it is usually cooked during the Tet festival or other special occasions. Ingredients used for Nem Ran includes lean minced pork, sea crabs or unshelled shrimps, mushroom, dried onion, duck eggs, pepper, salt and different kinds of seasoning. All are mixed thoroughly before being wrapped with a transparent rice paper into a small roll. Then, the roll is deep fried until it turns gold.

Hu Tieu (My Tho Noodle Soup)

My Tho seafood noodle soup contains soy bean, lemon, chilli, and soy sauce. This southern dish originates in My Tho town, 70 kilometres from Ho Chi Minh City. The sweet aroma of the broth comes from the meat, dried squid and special condiments.

Banh Chung (Sticky Rice Cake)

Sticky rice cakes are a traditional dish normally cooked during Vietnamese’s New Year. It is made of glutinous rice, pork meat, and green beans paste wrapped in a square of bamboo leaves, giving the rice a green colour after boiling. Nowadays, sticky rice cakes are available throughout the year. During the Tet or New Year, they are served with lean meat pie and salted sour onions.

by Julie Grotto, Absolute Asia

A great way to enjoy a country’s culture is through it’s cuisine. Because of a rapid growth in tourism, Vietnamese cuisine is gaining the attention of food lovers around the world.

Two of Vietnam’s most popular dishes, pho and cha gio, are common throughout the country. Usually eaten at breakfast, pho is noodles made from rice flour in a light beef stock flavored with ginger, cinnamon, anise, onions and the ubiquitous nuoc mam (fish sauce). Often garnished with bean sprouts or fresh mint, this dish is a wonderful combination of flavors. Another dish found throughout Vietnam is cha gio (spring rolls). Shrimp, pork, fresh mint and bean sprouts are rolled in wafer thin rice paper, and then usually accompanied by the pungent nuoc mam fish sauce as well.

Although these dishes can be found throughout the country, each region in Vietnam boasts a local specialty. In Hanoi, while wandering the Old Quarter, you’ll stumble upon the aptly named Cha Ca Street. A major staple in local cuisine, cha ca is fried fish. Cha Ca Street’s most popular restaurant may be Cha Ca La Vong, where the specialty is served with dill, turmeric, rice noodles and peanuts. In the south, expats and locals agree that Ho Chi Minh City’s best spring rolls are found at Tan Nam. The ancient trading port of Hoi An in Central Vietnam has strong Chinese influences, and local specialties include delicate wontons filled with shrimp and garlic.

Of course, no visit to Vietnam is complete without a trip to a bustling local market. Most Vietnamese shop for food at least twice a day. This explains why Vietnamese cuisine is famed for it’s fresh ingredients. Visiting a local market is certainly an exciting way to witness day-to-day life. Binh Tay Market in Saigon’s Chinatown includes a dizzying array of tropical fruit, vegetables, live fish, meat and sugars. However, for the more adventurous traveler, Hanoi’s December 19th market is not to be missed. This market ventures away from the standard fare with everything from snake, to dog meat to armadillo.

Finally, if you find you’re itching to recreate some of Vietnam’s best dishes, perhaps you’d like to check out a class at the country’s first cooking school. The Vietnam Cookery Centre offers half-day courses that include different aspects of food preparation, utensils and presentation. The school usually covers four to five dishes which are served as lunch to end the lesson. Whether you’re an expert chef or just nurturing a love of cuisine, a trip to Vietnam can incorporate the right blend of authentic culture and cuisine to satisfy anyone’s tastes

For in spite of this glorious culinary tradition, Vietnam remains a poor country of peasants and workers. Just what does the ordinary Joe or Jill eat from day to day? I asked a friend who had just come back from a year as a bartender/ English teacher in Hanoi. “Noodles!” exploded Toby Miller of Berkeley, California. “Noodles and soup. There were times when I was convinced I was going to turn into a noodle!”

At mealtimes, noodle stands line the roads where people pull over their bicycles or, if they are somewhat wealthier, motor scooters for a quick meal, a shared chat and a cigarette with their co-workers. Three meals a day of noodles is not uncommon.

Fortunately for us living in the U.S., we have the option of sampling both the healthy, simple and delicious meals-in-a-bowl provided by the Vietnamese noodle passion and more elaborate meals at our local restaurants. So get out there and do yourself a favor. Or buy one of the excellent cookbooks on the market and start experimenting at home.

Ethnic Cuisine: Vietnam by Nancy Freeman

Cuisine in this country of 70,000,000+ people differs strikingly between the north, south and central regions, but two key features stand out. First, rice plays an essential role in the nation’s diet as it does throughout southeast Asia. But this is also a noodle-crazy population, regularly downing them for breakfast, lunch and dinner, in homes, restaurants and at roadside stands. Noodles are eaten wet and dry, in soup or beside soup, and are made in different shapes and thicknesses of wheat, rice and mung beans. Secondly, no meal is complete without fresh vegetables and herbs. A key portion of every meal, north, south and central, is a platter containing cucumbers, bean threads, slices of hot pepper, and sprigs of basil, coriander, mint and a number of related herbs found principally in southeast Asian markets.

As in any country, Vietnam’s cuisine reflects its geography and history. Geographically, it consists of two great river deltas separated by a belt of mountains. Vietnamese describe their country as two great rice baskets hung on either end of a carrying pole. The Red River Delta surrounding Hanoi provides rice for the residents of North Vietnam. The tremendously fertile Mekong Delta, centered by Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) produces rice plus a wide variety of fruits and vegetables both for itself and the central strip of the country whose principal city is the former imperial Hue.

A former colony of China, Vietnamese adopted Confucianism, Buddhism, chopsticks and the wok. But in spite of centuries of domination, Vietnamese food retained its own character. Due to its proximity to the border, north Vietnam reflects more Chinese influence than central or south. Soy sauce rarely appears in Vietnamese dishes except in the north. It is replaced by what is perhaps the most important ingredient in all of Vietnamese cuisine — fish sauce or nuoc mam. Stir frying plays a relatively minor role in Vietnam and once again is seen more in the north than elsewhere. Frying in general is less important than simmering.

Northern cuisine exhibits fewer herbs and vegetables than the other regions because its climate is less hospitable than that of the Mekong Delta. For heat, north Vietnamese cooks rely on black pepper rather than chilies. Residents also exhibit a particular fondness for beef, picked up from the Mongolians during their 13th century invasions.

The royal tradition in the central region goes back beyond the more recent Vietnamese monarchy to the ancient kingdom of Champa. The royal taste reveals itself in the preference for many small dishes placed on the table at once. The more lavish the spread, the wealthier the household. But even the poorer families are likely to have multiple dishes of simple vegetables.

Servings are larger and fewer in the south; and hot chilies replace black pepper for heat. The profusion of fruit in the area means that sweet fruit occasionally makes its way into a dish of meat and vegetables. Preparations are less complex than many of those in the center and the style of cooking often resembles that of neighboring Cambodia. This is the part of Vietnam responsible for curries. Once again history influences cuisine for ancient Angkor, centered in Cambodia, once ruled this portion of Vietnam.