Vietnamese foods, Vietnamese Cuisine, Foods in Vietnam, what to eat in Vietnam, Vietnam Foods, Travel in Vietnam, Vietnam Travel Guide, Vietnam cuisine, cuisine in vietnam

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Com (boiled rice)
In Vietnam, com is eaten at the main meals of the day
(lunch and dinner). Rice is eaten together with a
variety of different dishes and is made from different
kinds of rice. Typically fragrant rice is used, such as
Tam Thom and Nang Huong. An ordinary meal may
consist of boiled rice and the following:
Mon an kho (meal without soup) consists of dishes of
pork, fish, shrimp, and vegetable cooked in oil, as
well as vegetables, pickles, etc.
Mon canh (meal with soup) consists of a soup made
with pork or spare-ribs, crab meat, and fish.
In the past several years, people in urban centers have
begun to go out for lunch at the food stalls on the street. Consequently, there has been a
proliferation of temporary food stalls along many sidewalks and public spaces in the cities. Some
stalls are open until early in the morning to cater to regular customers. Around noon, owners can
be seen arranging tables and benches along the pavement to form makeshift shop floors. After
two or three hours, when there are no more customers, they begin to remove all of their wooden
furniture, so that the place resumes its former appearance. A well served lunch for one is very
inexpensive.
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Banh Chung (Sticky Rice Cake)
Sticky rice cakes are a Vietnamese traditional dish
that must be part of Tet meals. As a matter of fact,
every Vietnamese family must have sticky rice cakes
among the offerings placed on the altar to their
ancestors.
Bang chung 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.
According to the legend, under the reign of the Hung
Kings, Prince Lang Lieu created sticky rice cakes and
presented them to his father. Bang chung won high
acclaims from the King who awarded the prince his
throne.
Making sticky rice cakes is a very meticulous job. To
obtain the best cakes, rice has to soak in water for an
entire day. The pork meat must include skin and fat,
the green beans must be of the same size, and the
bamboo leaves must be fresh. Squaring off and tying
cakes with bamboo strings requires skilful hands.
Sticky rice cakes are available at any time of the year,
although one is sure to enjoy them with relatives and
friends during Tet. During Tet, rice cakes are served
with gio lua and hanh muoi– lean meat pie and salted
sour onions.
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Gio Lua (Lean Pork Pie)
Lean pork pie is available in Vietnam only and has different names in the north and south.
Foreigners as well as Vietnamese are fond of lean pork pie.
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Gio lua consists of pork meat wrapped in fresh banana leaves. The little bundles are then boiled.
The most delicious part of lean pork pie is the top layer since it absorbs the flavour of the banana
leaves.
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Pho – Noodles
Pho is the most popular food among the Vietnamese
population. Pho is commonly eaten for breakfast, although
many people will have it for their lunch or dinner. Anyone
feeling hungry in the small hours of the morning can also
enjoy a bowl of hot and spicy pho to fill their empty
stomachs.
Like hot green tea which has its particular fragrance, pho
also has its special taste and smell. Preparations may vary,
but when the dish is served, its smell and taste is
indispensable. The grated rice noodle is made of the best
variety of fragrant rice called Gao Te. The broth for Pho Bo
(Pho with beef) is made by stewing the bones of cows and
pigs in a large pot for a long time. Pieces of fillet mignon
together with several slices of ginger are reserved for Pho Bo Tai (rare fillet). Slices of well done
meat are offered to those less keen on eating rare fillets.
The soup for Pho Ga (pho with chicken meat) is made by stewing chicken and pig bones
together. The white chicken meat that is usually served with Pho Ga is boneless and cut into thin
slices. You could consider Pho Bo and Pho Ga Vietnam's special soups. Pho also has the added
advantage of being convenient to prepare and healthy to eat.
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Cha Ca (grilled minced fish)
Grilled minced fish has been served in Vietnam for
more than 100 years. The Doan family of Cha Ca
Street in Hanoi first invented this dish.
A wide variety of fish can be used in this dish
including sturgeon and tuna. Tuna is low in fat, has an
exquisite flavour, and few bones. The bones are
separated from the meat and put into saffron water to
be later used in a sauce. The fish is marinated in salt
before being grilled.
What is interesting about this dish is that people can
add their favourite condiments: coriander, mint, dill,
shallots, and more.
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Com Rang (Grilled rice)
Grilled rice is mostly served in the fall. After
collecting the rice from the fields, several steps have
to be performed to obtain excellent com. After
removing the grains from their hulks, the rice is
wrapped in lotus leaves to keep it from drying and to
allow it to absorb the lotus flavor.
Grilled rice can be found everywhere in Vietnam, but
the best com is found in Vong village, 5 km from
Hanoi. People in this village still use traditional secret
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recipes. People eat grilled rice with eggs, bananas, or sapodillas.
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Banh Cuon (Rice Flour Steamed Rolls)
Eating banh cuon for breakfast is a great favorite among
many Vietnamese.
Banh cuon is made of rice flour. Thoroughly selected
rice is soaked overnight, then ground with a stone
mortar. Food preservatives are put into the flour to
make the rice sheets softer and smoother. A screen of
cloth used to mold the rice sheets is fitted over the
opening of a pot of boiling water. Flour is spread on the
screen and covered with a lid. After a few minutes, a
bamboo stick is used to strip the thin layer of flour off
the screen. Then it is rolled up and sprinkled with fried
onions.
A small village in a suburb of Hanoi is famous for its banh cuon. People there serve it with a
dressing comprised of lean meat, shrimps, mushrooms, dried onions, fish sauce, and pepper.
All the ingredients are stir-fried and rolled into a banh cuon.
Banh cuon is delicious when it is very thin, white, and sticky. It is even tastier when dipped in a
sweet, sour, and spicy sauce.
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Bun (rice vermicelli)
Vietnamese vermicelli is a luxurious as well as a
popular dish. There are different varieties of vermicelli
depending on their shape: bun roi or stirred vermicelli,
bun mam or twisted vermicelli, bun la or vermicelli
paper, and bun dem tram or shreded vermicelli.
Different ingredients can be served with vermicelli:
grilled pork meat, fried rice cakes, snails, fried eggs,
lean meat pie, chicken, and crab soup, to name a few.
Each region and locality, even each restaurant, has its
own vermicelli dishes with their own recipes.
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Mien (vermicelli made of cassava)
Mien threads are very long and tough, made from a kind of
tuber plant called cassava. When served, the long tiny flour
threads are cut into smaller pieces. Like rice vermicelli,
this kind of cassava vermicelli is used to make several
different dishes, the most popular being Mien Ga (chicken
cassava vermicelli), Mien Bo (beef cassava vermicelli),
and Mien Luon (eel cassava vermicelli).
Cassava vermicelli is also used for different dishes which
are stirred in oil, such as Mien Xao Thit (vermicelli and
pork stirred in fat), Mien Xao Long Ga (vermicelli and
chicken tripe stirred in fat), and Mien Xao Cua Be
(vermicelli and sea crab meat stirred in fat).
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Banh Tom (crispy shrimp pastry)
Although Banh Tom is available almost everywhere in the
country, it is best at the Nha Hang Ho Tay (Ho Tay
Restaurant) on the banks of Truc Bach Lake, close to Ho
Tay (West Lake) in Hanoi. While diners await the arrival of
the hot fried shrimp pastry, they can enjoy the picturesque
lake and landscapes offered by the vast expanse of water
from West Lake and the tree-lined Thanh Nien Road.
The dish should be eaten as soon as it arrives at the table.
The fried pastry is topped with red shrimps and is eaten
together with dishes of spicy vegetables mixed with sweet
and sour sauce.
To remind you of the local shrimping business, waiters will
often tell you that the shrimps that you have ordered for
your meal have just been netted in nearby West Lake. This will be a memorable meal that will
ensure that you remember your stay in Hanoi.
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Nom (salad)
This dish is a combination of a variety of fresh
vegetables, usually used in salads in Western
countries. The make-up of Nom, however, is slightly
different.
The main ingredients of Nom include grated pieces of
turnip, cabbage, or papaya, and slices of cucumber
with grated, boiled, lean pork. Other auxiliary
ingredients include grated carrot, slices of hot chilly,
and roasted ground nuts. These are used to make the
dish more colourful. All are mixed thoroughly before
being soaked in vinegar, sugar, garlic, hot chilly, and seasoned with salt.
The presentation of the dish is also very meticulous. The mixture of ingredients is put into a dish
before being covered with vegetables.
To try a mouthful of Nom is to enjoy a combination of all the tastes life has to offer, including
sour, hot, sweet, salty, and fragrant tastes. The dish helps with digestion at meals and parties. It
can become an addictive aid to assist the real connoisseur enjoy more food.
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Nem Ran or Cha Gio (fried spring roll)
This dish is called Nem Ran by northerners and Cha
Gio by southerners. In Hanoi, the introduction of
Nem Ran dates back to a time when Cha Ca had not
existed. Although it ranks among Vietnam's
specialty dishes, Nem Ran is very easy to prepare.
Consequently, it has long been a preferred food on
special occasions such as Tet and other family
festivities.
Ingredients used for Nem Ran comprise of lean
minced pork, sea crabs or unshelled shrimps, two
kinds of edible mushroom (Nam Huong and Moc
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Nhi), dried onion, duck eggs, pepper, salt and different kinds of seasoning. All are mixed
thoroughly before being wrapped with transparent rice paper into small rolls. These rolls are then
fried in boiling oil.
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Faifo Dainty (Danang)
Faifo dainty is a fairly unknown Vietnamese dish
named after an old street in Hoi An.
Dainty fiber is carefully made by putting rice in water
containing ashes from wood found in Cu Lao Cham.
Then, the rice is ground and quickly boiled to make a
fibrous mixture. Dainty can be preserved only one
day, which is why it is boiled and dried. Dainty fibers
have a dark-yellow colour.
The filling for dainty consists of lean pork and other
condiments that are stir-fried. Then, the dainty is cut
into finger-long pieces that are dried and grilled.
Finally, the filling is put into the dainty. For a saltier taste, one can add fish sauce. Chicken meat
cut in squares combined with small shrimps can also be added to the recipe.
Although dainty is not a popular meal in Vietnam, it is still served in certain restaurants in Ho
Chi Minh City.
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Tom Chua (Hue Sour Shrimp)
When Hue natives living outside the city return
to their homeland, they usually have sour
shrimp. Tourists also make sure to buy some
jars of sour shrimp before leaving Hue.
Because of the national reputation of this dish,
some cooks and merchants specialize in making
sour shrimp. In the past, people made this dish
at home, but now it is easier to buy it at the
market.
This dish can be prepared with any kind of
shrimp. The recipe includes a number of steps that must be performed in a specific order. First,
the fresh, clean, and dry shrimp of approximately the same size are put in wine along with dry
bamboo shoots, garlic, and chili. The ingredients are kept in a closed container at room
temperature for three days. Then the container is put in a cool, dry place. After five or seven
days, the sour shrimp are ready.
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Com Hen (Hue Mussel Rice)
Hot white rice is part of every meal in Vietnam, but
only Hue mussel rice is served cool. Hue people, after
deciding that no food should be wasted, have
designed this dish using leftover rice.
This dish includes Chinese vermicelli, bamboo shoots,
lean pork meat, and an assortment of green vegetables
(banana leaves, mint, star fruit, etc.).
The broth obtained after boiling the mussels is used to
flavour the rice. Ginger, sesame, and chili are also
added to the broth. This dish is very spicy and it is not
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rare to see people with watery eyes and sweaty faces while eating it; nevertheless, everyone
congratulates the cook for such a delicious meal.
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Hue Beef Noodle Soup
One must have years of experience to cook
excellent Hue beef noodle soup. This recipe mainly
consists of shredded meat and rice noodles. Most
restaurants and merchants in Hue do not make the
rice noodles themselves; they buy them in Van Cu
and Bao Vinh, two villages located near Hue.
Learning how to make a clear broth from bone and
meat is also a difficult task, but cooks have the
satisfaction of seeing customers enjoying a good
meal. The secret of this recipe resides in the meat–
this is why it must be bought directly from the
slaughterhouse early in the morning. The meat is then shredded, boiled, and taken out of the
water to obtain a delicious clear broth.
The amount of salt put in the recipe varies depending on the season; during summer, Hue beef
noodle soup is served with soy bean, mint, and different kinds of lettuce; in the winter, the recipe
is saltier and lemongrass and fish sauce are added.
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Cau Mong Beef
Cau Mong beef is a specialty of Cau Mong, located 15 km from Danang, Dien Ban district,
where nearly ten restaurants serve the dish. Cau Mong beef has been served for a long time and
is found in many places outside Danang, such as Hoi An, Tam Ky, Vinh Dien, and Ho Chi Minh
City.
The meat along with its skin is cut in thin slices, half cooked, and eaten with nem, which consists
of fish sauce mixed with soy sauce, sugar, chili, garlic, lemon, star fruit, vervain, and green
banana.
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Hu Tieu (My Tho Noodle Soup)
My Tho seafood noodle soup is different from Chinese
noodle soup, nam vang soup, and Hue beef noodle soup,
because it contains soy bean, lemon, chili, and soy sauce
instead of herbs and lettuce.
Back in the 1960s, a shop in My Tho, 70 km from Ho Chi
Minh City, started serving this dish using a secret recipe
for the rice noodles. Ever since then, its reputation has
grown to become a very well known meal in Vietnam.
It is said that the most delicious noodle soup is made with
Co Cat rice, from the most famous rice growing area of
My Phong village, a suburb of My Tho.
The sweet aroma of the broth comes from the meat, dried
squid, and special condiments.
My Tho noodle soup is a traditional dish specific to the south.
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Lau Mam (Mixed Soup)
Lau mam was a popular dish among farming communities hundreds of years ago, especially in
the southwestern provinces. Nowadays, lau mam is considered a delicacy and is often served to
special guests. Lau designates the broth, and mam the salted fish.
The main ingredient used in the broth is marinated fish to which meat and vegetables are added.
Various ingredients, such as seafood, fish, and meat, are prepared on separate plates. Guests
choose and boil their meat in the broth. The meal is accompanied by several fresh vegetables and
aromatic herbs.
This dish is particularly enjoyed since so many alternatives are possible, offering a wide array of
delicious flavours.
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Canh Chua (Fish Sour Soup)
Canh chua originated from the Mekong Region, more specifically from Dong Thap Muoi. Canh
chua is a fish sour soup made with fish from the Mekong River and so dua flower. This dish is
mostly served when the so dua flower first blossoms at the end of the rainy season. A feast is
organized and the fish sour soup is among the delicious meals prepared for this event. Fish sour
soup must be eaten very hot. It must also be eaten all at one time since the taste is altered when
the soup is reheated.
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Chao Tom (Grilled Shrimp Paste)
Foreigners often say that grilled shrimp paste is a very unusual dish made from very simple
ingredients. The recipe consists of clean shrimps placed in coconut water. The shrimps are later
grilled and ground to obtain shrimp flour. The flour is mixed with fat and sugar to finally obtain
shrimp paste. This dish is served with fish sauce.
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Banh Cuon Trang Bang (Rice Cakes)
Trang Bang, located 40 km from Ho Chi Minh City, is where one can find the best rice paper and
rice cakes.
Both can be found everywhere, but nowhere are they better than in Trang Bang where they are
made from local rice. The rice flour is roasted for four or five hours and made into thick cakes.
Once the cakes are dried, they are placed into nylon bags.
These cakes can be eaten with shrimp, meat, salad, and coriander. During Tet, the cakes are
served with roasted meat, eggs, and sour mustard.
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Vietnamese Foods
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