Cuisine of Vietnam

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Vietnamese cuisine (cuisine translates to ẩm thực in Vietnamese: ẩm: drink and thực: eat) is known for its common use of fish sauce, rice, fresh herbs, fruits and vegetables. Vietnamese recipes use many vegetables, herbs and spices, including lemon grass, lime, and kaffir lime leaves. Throughout all regions the emphasis is always on serving fresh vegetables and/or fresh herbs as side dishes along with dipping sauce. The Vietnamese also have a number of Buddhist vegetarian dishes. The most common meats used in Vietnamese cuisine are pork, beef, chicken, shrimp, cockles and various kinds of seafood. Duck and goat are used less widely.

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[edit] The three regions

Vietnamese cuisine can be basically divided into three categories, each pertaining to a specific region. With North Vietnam being the cradle of Vietnamese civilization, many of Vietnam's most famous dishes (such as phở) have their birthplace in the North. The North's cuisine is more traditional and more strict in choosing spiciness and ingredients. The cuisine of South Vietnam has been influenced by the cuisines of southern Chinese immigrants, and thus Southerners prefer sweet flavors in many dishes. As a new land the South's cuisine is more exotic and liberal, using many herbs. The cuisine of Central Vietnam is quite different from the cuisines of both the Northern and Southern regions in its use of many small side dishes, and also its distinct spiciness when compared to its counterparts.

[edit] Món nhậu or cocktail delicacies

Meats such as snake, soft-shell turtle, and goat are enjoyed almost exclusively as "cocktail delicacies" with alcohol, and are not considered typical everyday fare. However, dog meat consumption is more widespread in the North, where it is considered a borderline mainstream meat, although not eaten nearly as often as pork or fish.[1] Dog meat can be difficult to find in larger cities, and tourists may not always see it.

Hột vịt lộn is a fertilized duck egg with a nearly-developed embryo inside that is boiled and eaten in the shell. It's typically served with fresh herbs (rau ram or Vietnamese coriander), salt, and pepper; lime juice is another popular additive, when available.

[edit] The typical Vietnamese family meal

A typical meal for the average Vietnamese family would include:

All dishes are communal and to be shared apart from the individual bowls of rice.

[edit] Popularity of Vietnamese cuisine

Outside of its country of origin, Vietnamese cuisine is widely available in Australia, the United States, Canada, France,Japan, Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, and Russia, and is also popular in areas with dense Asian populations.

In recent years it has become popular in other Asian countries such as South Korea, Laos and Thailand.

Dishes that have become trademarks of Vietnamese cuisine include Phở, Bun, Banh Mi (bread rolls), and Goi Cuon (rice paper).


[edit] Noodle soups

Vietnamese cuisine boasts a huge variety of noodle soups, each with influences and origins from every corner of the country and each with a distinct and special taste. A common characteristic of many of these soups is a rich and very tasty broth.

[edit] Popular Vietnamese dishes

See also: List of Vietnamese culinary specialities

Popular Vietnamese dishes include:

Chicken Pho
Chicken Pho
Bún Bò Huế
Bún Bò Huế
Summer rolls with accompaniments
Summer rolls with accompaniments
A bánh xèo
A bánh xèo
Bánh mì
Bánh mì
Cà phê sữa
Cà phê sữa
  • Banh bao (Bánh bao) Steamed bun dumpling that can be stuffed with onion, mushrooms, or vegetables. Banh bao is an adaptation from the Chinese baozi to fit Vietnamese taste. Vegetarian banh bao are also available. Vegetarian banh bao are popular food in Buddhist temples. Typical stuffings for banh bao include slices of marinated "xa xíu" (BBQ pork from Chinese cooking) meat, tiny boiled quail eggs, and pork.
  • Banh Bot Chien (Bánh Bột Chiên): A Chinese influenced pastry that exists in many versions all over Asia; the Vietnamese version features a special tangy soy sauce on the side.
  • Bánh canh, a thick rice noodle soup with a simple broth. Often includes pork, crab, chicken, shrimp, spring onions and freshly sautéed onions sprinkled on top.
  • Bánh chưng - sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves and stuffed with mung beans, fatty pork and black pepper, traditionally eaten during the Lunar New Year (Tet)
  • Banh Mi Thit (Bánh mì kẹp thịt) Vietnamese baguette, French bread containing paté, Vietnamese mayonnaise, different selections of Vietnamese cold cuts (of which there is a large variety, most commonly ham, head cheese, and a Vietnamese bologna), pickled daikon, pickled carrot, and cucumber slices. The sandwich is often garnished with coriander and black pepper. This food is common everywhere in Vietnam as a favorite of factory workers and students, and eaten for any meal of the day, commonly breakfast and lunch. There are a wide variety of banh mi (with different meats) and many shops have popped up across North America serving primarily Banh mi.
    • Breakfast Banh mi: stuffed with scrambled eggs and canned sardines, or the more popular version: eggs fried sunny-side-up with onions, sprinkled with soy sauce and eaten with a fresh (and sometimes buttered) baguette.
  • Bánh tét: same ingredients as banh chung but in cylindrical form and wrapped in banana leaves. It is served during Tet.
  • Banh trang: 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 cau lau and mi quang. Many types fo 'banh trang' exist, including the clear sesame seed ones, prawn-like cracker with dried spring onions, sweet milk, and so on.
  • Banh xeo (Bánh xèo) Crepe made out of rice flour with tumeric, shrimps with shells on, slivers of fatty pork, sliced onions, and sometimes button mushrooms, fried in one or two teaspoons of oil, usually coconut oil, which is the most popular oil used in Vietnam. It is eaten with lettuce and various local herbs and dipped in Nước chấm or sweet fermented peanut butter sauce. Rice papers are sometimes used as wrappers to contain banh xeo and the accompanying vegetables.
    • Bi cuon: (Rice paper rolls with the bi (bì) mixture of thinly shredded pork and thinly shredded pork skin tossed with powdered toasted rice, among other ingredients, along with salad)
    • Bo bia (Bò bía): Stir fried jicama and carrots, Chinese sausage, shredded scrambled eggs, all wrapped with vermicelli noodle in a rice paper roll. Dipped into a spicy peanut sauce (with freshly roasted and ground peanuts). It is of Chinese (Hokkien/Chaozhou) origin, having been brought over by the immigrants. It is a common sight to see an old Chaozhou man or woman selling bò bía at their roadside stand. The name bò bía phonetically resembles its original name popiah in the Chaozhou language.
    • Bo la lot (Bò lá lốt): not strictly a spring roll, but rather spiced beef rolled in a pepper leaf (la lot)and grilled.
  • Bo kho (Bò kho): Vietnamese beef and vegetable stew, often cooked with warm, spicy herbs and served very hot with French baguettes for dipping.
  • Bò 7 Món: Vietnamese seven courses of Beef. A less popular version is the Ca 7 Mon (Cá 7 Món) - or, seven courses of fish.
  • Bun Bo Hue (Bún Bò Huế) – Spicy beef noodle soup originated from the royal city of Hue in Central Vietnam. Beef bones, fermented shrimp paste, lemongrass, and dried chilies give the broth its distinctive flavors. Often served with mint leaves, bean sprouts, lime wedges, shredded banana blossoms and shredded rau muống.
  • Bun Mang Vit (Bún Măng Vịt): Bamboo and duck noodle soup.
  • Bun Oc (Bún Ốc): Vermicelli with snails (sea snails similar to the snails in French cuisine).
  • Bun Rieu (Bún riêu) – noodle soup made of thin rice noodles and topped with crab and shrimp paste, served in a tomato-based broth and garnished with bean sprouts, prawn paste, herb leaves, water spinach, and chunks of tomato.
  • Canh chua: Vietnamese sour soup - typically with fish, pineapples, tomatoes, herbs, beansprouts, when made in style of a hotpot, it is called Lau Canh Chua.
  • Ca cuon (Cá cuốn): A roll with fish and spring onions.
  • Cao lầu: A Hoi An dish, made of specially burnt flavoured egg noodles topped with meats.
  • Cha-lua: sausage made with pork, potato starch and fish sauce. Also available fried; known as Cha-chien.
  • Chao ga: A chicken and rice porridge.
  • Com hen (cơm hến): is a popular dish for the low-budget customers in the city of Hue and the vicinity.
  • Com tam (Cơm tấm) – Generally, grilled pork (either ribs or shredded) plus a Vietnamese dish called bi (bì) (thinly shredded pork mixed with cooked and thinly shredded pork skin plus fried ground rice) over broken rice (what the words "com tam" actually mean in Vietnamese) and sweet and sour fish sauce. There are numerous types of meat prepared in various ways that are served with the broken rice. One can have barbecued beef, pork, or chicken served with the broken rice. The rice and meat are served with various greens and pickled vegetables, along with a prawn paste cake, trung hap (trứng hấp) and grilled prawns.
  • Mam: fermented fish in various styles.
  • Nem Nguoi (Nem Nguội): A Hue dish and a variation of the Nem nuong meatballs, these also come from Central Vietnam. They are chilled, small and rectangular in shape, and stuffed with vermicelli. The reddish meat is covered with peppers and typically a chili. Very spicy, eaten almost exclusively as a cocktail snack.
  • Paté Chaud: A French inspired meat-filled pastry. Characterized by flaky crust and either pork or chicken as the filling.
  • Prawn paste cake (Cha tom): (a variant of the Chao tom, eaten often with Com tam)
  • Spring rolls aka Egg roll (Nem rán or Chả giò) – deep fried flour rolls filled with pork meat, yam, crab, shrimp, rice vermicelli, mushrooms ("wood ear" variety) and other ingredients. The spring roll goes by many names - as many people actually use (falsely) the word "spring roll" while referring to the fresh transparent paper rolls (discussed below as "Summer Rolls") that are dipped in water to soften and then rolled up with various ingredients. Traditionally these rolls are made with a rice paper wrapper but in recent years Vietnamese chefs have changed the recipe to use a flour-based wrapper rolls.
  • Summer rolls aka Spring rolls (Gỏi cuốn) also known as Vietnamese fresh rolls. They are rice paper rolls that often include shrimp, herbs, pork, rice vermicelli and other ingredients wrapped up and dipped in Nước chấm or peanut sauce. Spring rolls almost constitute an entire category of Vietnamese foods, as there are numerous different kinds of spring rolls with different ingredients in them.
  • Bun thit nuong (Bún thịt nướng): One of the more popular (and simple) Vietnamese dishes, basically a combination vermicelli plate, a kind of vermicelli counterpart to Cơm tấm. Grilled pork (often shredded) and vermicelli noodles over a bed of greens (salad and sliced cucumber), herbs and bean sprouts. Also often includes a few chopped up egg rolls, spring onions, and shrimp. Served with roasted peanuts on top and a small bowl of Nước chấm.
  • Bun Cha Gio (Bún Chả giò): Slightly similar to Bun Thit Nuong, except this very simple vermicelli dish boasts a couple of spring rolls served with chili fish sauce and greens.
  • Nem Nuong (Nem nướng): grilled meatballs, usually made of seasoned pork. Often colored reddish with food coloring and with a distinct taste, grilled on skewers like kebabs. Ingredients in the marinade include fish sauce.
  • Ga xa (Gà xả): Lemongrass chicken. Lemongrass beef and other meats are also popular variations.
  • Bo luc lac (Bò lúc lắc): Beef cut into cubes and marinated, served over greens (usually watercress), and sautéed onions and tomatoes. Eaten with rice.
  • Sup mang cua (Súp măng cua): A creamy bamboo-crab soup. Served typically as a first dish at banquets.
  • Banh Cuon (Bánh cuốn): Rice flour rolls and/or pancakes sometimes stuffed with ground pork and onion. They are eaten in a variety of ways with many side dishes, including one out of many kinds of Cha (Chả), which are Vietnamese meats spiced and flavored in a multitude of ways - often ground to a paste and cooked.
  • Chao (Cháo): Rice congee. There are also a variety of different broths and meats used, including duck, chicken, etc.
  • Chao tom: Prawn paste/cake on sugarcane.
  • Prawn paste cake (Cha tom): (a variant of the Chao tom, eaten often with Com tam)
  • Mì Quảng - a very popular yet extremely complicated noodle dish. Also originating from Quang Nam, Mi Quang varies in its preparation and features very sharply contrasting flavors and textures in (if prepared properly) a shallow filled bowl of broth, noodles, herbs, vegetables, and roasted rice chips (banh trang).
  • Phở (Pho) – beef noodle soup (Phở bò) It is a beef noodle soup with a rich, clear broth achieved from a long boiling meat and different herbs. There are many varieties of phở, with different selections of meats (most commonly beef and chicken) along with beef balls. Phở is typically served in bowls with spring onion, (in phở tai) slices of semi cooked beef (to be cooked by the boiling hot broth), and then of course the broth itself. The use of vegetables and various herbs is common in the southern region.
  • Goi (Gỏi): salad. Many varieties with the most popular including:
  • Goi Du Du (Gỏi đu đủ): Vietnamese papaya salad typically with shredded papaya, herbs, various meats such as shrimp, slices of pork, liver, or meat jerky, herbs, and with a more vinegar-based rendition of Nước chấm.
  • Goi Hue Rau Muong (Gỏi Huế rau muống): a salad dish originating from Hue (Central Vietnam), including water spinach (Rau Muong).
  • Mi xao don (Mì xào dòn): Crispy deep-fried egg noodles, topped with a wide array of seafood, vegetables and shrimp in a gravy sauce.
  • Vietnamese hotpot: a spicy variation of the Vietnamese sour soup, with many vegetables, meats and seafood, as well as some spicy herbs. Also called lau (lẩu).
  • Banh beo (Bánh bèo): a central Vietnamese dish consisting of tiny round rice flour pancakes, each served in a similarly shaped dish. They are topped with minced shrimp and other smaller ingredients such as green onions and pork rinds. Eaten with Nước chấm.
  • Com chien Duong Chau : a Chinese fried rice dish, name after a region in China. It is a well-known dish in Vietnam.
  • Mi bo vien (Mì bò viên): Chinese influenced egg noodle soup with beef balls, shrimp, and (sometimes) won tons.
  • Bun cha Hanoi (Bún chả Hànội): Similar to Bun Thit Nuong, Bun Cha Hanoi comes from the Northern capital of Hanoi. The difference being that the pork meat is ground and marinated, then rolled into balls, grilled and left in a bowl of Nước chấm along with pickled vegetables, daikon and carrot. The meat balls are especially savoury, having soaked in the sauce. It is eaten with vermicelli and greens.
  • Banh Hoi (Bánh hỏi): A special Vietnamese noodle that is extremely thin and woven into intricate bundles. Often topped with spring onion and a complementary meat dish.
  • Thit heo quay (Thịt heo quay): BBQ pork, often eaten at weddings (and with Banh hoi)
  • Thit vit quay (Thịt vịt quay): Roast duck, eaten over rice.
  • Com ga rau thom (Cơm gà rau thơm): Vietnamese mint chicken rice. Rice cooked in chicken stock and topped with chicken that has been fried then shredded, and flavoured with mint and other herbs. The rice has a unique texture and taste which the fried mint garnish enhances. Served with a special herb sauce on the side.
  • Cafe sua da (Cà phê sữa) – strong iced coffee, most often served with sweetened condensed milk at the bottom of the cup to be stirred in. A Vietnamese favorite.
  • Banh bot loc (Bánh bột lọc): A Hue food, consisting of tiny rice dumplings made in a clear rice flour batter, often in a small flattish tube shape. Stuffed with shrimp and ground pork. It is wrapped and cooked inside a banana leaf, served often as Vietnamese hors d'oeuvres at more casual buffet-type parties.
  • Vietnamese curry is also popular, especially in the south. Curry chicken can be either similar to the Thai curries (w/coconut milk) or taste kind of like Caribbean curries (no coconut milk, and more stir fried instead of steamed like a soup), and is usually served with rice.
  • Another type of well known Vietnamese curry is beef brisket curry or beef tail curry. The beef curries are often eaten with French bread for dipping, or eaten with rice.

[edit] Desserts

Also a popular beverage is bubble tea.

[edit] Vegetables

[edit] Fruits

[edit] Herbs (rau thơm)

[edit] Other ingredients

[edit] See also

  • American Vietnamese cuisine
  • French Vietnamese cuisine
  • Vietnamese Chinese cuisine
  • Vietnamese wine

[edit] References

  1. ^ Arthurs, Clare (Monday, 31 December, 2001, 10:56 GMT). Vietnam's dog meat tradition. BBC. Retrieved on 2006-10-10.

[edit] External links

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