Vietnamese cuisine
Vietnamese cuisine is a style of cooking derived from Vietnam with fish sauce, soy sauce, rice, fresh herbs, fruits and vegetables all commonly used. Vietnamese recipes utilize a diverse range of herbs, including lemongrass, mint, Vietnamese mint, long coriander and Thai basil leaves. Traditional Vietnamese cooking is greatly admired for freshness of the ingredients and for the healthy eating style.
The most common meats used in Vietnamese cuisine are beef, pork, chicken, fish, and various kinds of seafood. The Vietnamese also have a strong vegetarian tradition influenced by Buddhist values.
Regional variations
As a whole, Vietnamese cuisine contains strong influences mainly from Cantonese cooking with a bit of a French twist to it. This is because unlike many other Indochinese nations, which are strongly influences by the culture of India, Vietnam is the only country in which Chinese-like cultures remained strong, since that it was first ruled by China for at least a 1000 years, followed by control from France centuries later for a 100 years. However, depending on the region, it can be divided into three categories, each pertaining to a distinct geographical region. With Northern Vietnam being the cradle of Vietnamese civilization, many of Vietnam's most notable dishes such as phở and bánh cuốn can trace their origin to the North. Northern cuisine is more traditional and less diverse in choosing spices and ingredients.
The cuisine of South Vietnam has historically been influenced by the influx of southern Chinese immigrants, French colonists and other nationalities. Southerners prefer sweet flavors in many dishes. As a region of perhaps greater diversity in terms of external influences, the South's cuisine uses a wider variety of herbs.
The cuisine of Central Vietnam is distinct from the cuisines of both the Northern and Southern regions in its use of many small side dishes. For a while the country was ruled from Huế in Central Vietnam, so that most of the dishes were made small and dedicated to the kings. Compared to its counterparts, its cuisine is more spicy.
One most common French influence is the use of baguettes in Vietnamese meals. Vietnamese sandwiches are traditionally made with baguettes, and sometimes soups such as canh chua are served with a baguette on the side.
Typical Vietnamese family meals
A typical meal for the average Vietnamese family would include:
- Individual bowls of rice
- Meat, fish or seafood (grilled, boiled, steamed, stewed or stir fried with vegetables)
- Stir-fried, raw, pickled or steamed vegetables
- Canh (a clear broth with vegetables and often meat or seafood) or other Vietnamese-style soup
- Prepared fish sauce and/or soy sauce for dipping, to which garlic, chili, ginger or lime juice are sometimes added according to taste.
All dishes apart from the individual bowls of rice are communal and to be shared.
Popularity
Outside of Vietnam, Vietnamese cuisine is widely available in countries with strong Vietnamese immigrant communities, such as Australia, the United States, Canada, and France. Vietnamese cuisine is also popular in Japan, Korea, Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, and Russia, and in areas with dense Asian populations.
In recent years, Vietnamese cuisine has become popular in other Southeast Asian countries such as Laos, and Thailand.
Dishes that have become trademarks of Vietnamese cuisine are phở, gỏi cuốn (spring/summer rolls), bún, and bánh mì (Vietnamese baguette).
Television shows featuring Vietnamese food have increased its publicity. On The Great Food Truck Race, a vietnamese sandwich truck called Nom Nom Truck received the most money in the first three episodes. Anthony Bourdain wrote for the Financial Times in 2005, "“A year from now, I plan to live here. I will move to a small fishing village in a coastal area of Vietnam near Hoi An. I have no idea what I'm going to do there, other than write about the experience. I plan only on being a visual curiosity, the lone westerner in a Vietnamese community; to rent a house, move in with few, if any, expectations and let the experience wash over me. Whatever happens, happens.”
Philosophical influences on Vietnamese cuisine
Yin Yang balance
The principle of yin and yang is applied in selecting the ingredients of a dish and the dishes of a meal, in matching dishes with seasonal or climatic conditions, with the prevalent environment and with the current physical well-being of the diners.
Some examples are:
- Duck meat is considered as "cool" so is served in summer, which is hot, and with ginger fish sauce which is "warm", while chicken which is "warm" and pork which is "hot" are used in cold winters.
- Seafood ranging from "cool" to "cold" are suitable to use with ginger ("warm").
- Spicy, which is extremely yang, must be harmonized by sour, which is extremely yin.
- Balut ("cold") must be combined with Vietnamese mint ("hot").
- Cold and flu patients must drink ginger water ("hot").
Five element correspondence
Vietnamese cuisine is influenced by the Asian principle of five elements and Mahābhūta.
Many Vietnamese dishes include five spices (Vietnamese: ngũ vị): spicy (metal), sour (wood), bitter (fire), salty (water) and sweet (Earth), corresponding to: five organs (Vietnamese: ngũ tạng): gall bladder, small intestine, large intestine, stomach and urinary bladder.
Vietnamese dishes also include five types of nutrients (Vietnamese: ngũ chất): powder, water or liquid, mineral elements, protein and fat.
Vietnamese cooks try to have five colours (Vietnamese: ngũ sắc): white (metal), green (wood), yellow (Earth), red (fire) and black (water) in their dishes.
Dishes in Vietnam appeal to gastronomes via five senses (Vietnamese: năm giác quan): food arrangement attracts eyes, sounds come from crisp ingredients, five spices detected on the tongue, aromatic ingredients coming mainly from herbs stimulate the nose and some meals, especially finger food, can be perceived by touching.
Cultural importance
Cooking and eating play an extremely important role in Vietnamese culture. The word ăn (eat) is included in a great number of proverbs and has a large range of semantic extensions. Lang Liêu was chosen as the next King due to his invention of a new dish: bánh chưng and bánh dầy. Salt is used as the connection between the world of the living and the world of the dead. Bánh phu thê is used to remind new couples of perfection and harmony at their weddings. Offerings which include dishes are essential in festivals and ceremonies.
Popular Vietnamese dishes
Popular Vietnamese dishes include:
| English | Vietnamese | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Banh Hoi | Bánh hỏi | An extremely thin noodle that is woven into intricate bundles. Often topped with spring onion and a complementary meat dish, such as thịt heo quay (roasted pork, often eaten at weddings). |
| Bun thit nuong | Bún thịt nướng | A thin rice vermicelli served cold with grilled marinated pork chops and nước chấm (fish sauce, served with julienned daikon and carrot). A similar Northern version is bún chả with grilled pork meatballs in placed of grilled pork chops. |
| Bun cha | Bún chả | A simple and popular dish, basically a combination vermicelli plate. Grilled pork (often ground) and vermicelli noodles are served over a bed of greens (salad and sliced cucumber), herbs and bean sprouts. 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 | it is similar to the above dish except deep-fried spring rolls are substituted for the meats. |
| Cao lầu | A Hội An dish, made of specially "burnt-flavoured" egg noodles topped with meats. | |
| Mì Quảng | A popular and extremely complicated noodle dish, originating from Quang Nam. Mi Quang varies in its preparation but features sharply contrasting flavors and textures in a shallow bowl of broth, noodles, herbs, vegetables, and roasted rice chips (Bánh tráng). | |
| Mi xao don | Mì xào dòn | A dish of crispy deep-fried egg noodles, topped with a wide array of seafood, vegetables and shrimp in a gravy sauce. This is a dish of Chinese origin. |
| Banh Tam Cari | A Ca Mau specialty, made of special rice noodles and very spicy chicken curry. |
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.
| English | Vietnamese | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Bún bò Huế | Spicy beef noodle soup originated from the royal city of Huế 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. Blood cakes and pig's feet are also common ingredients at some restaurants in the United States and possibly elsewhere.. | |
| Bun Mang Vit | Bún măng vịt | Bamboo shoots and duck noodle soup. |
| Bun Oc | Bún Ốc | Vermicelli with snails (sea snails similar to the snails in French cuisine). |
| Bánh canh | A thick udon-widthed rice noodle soup with a simple broth. Often includes pork, crab, chicken, shrimp, spring onions and freshly sautéed onions sprinkled on top. | |
| Bún riêu | A 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. | |
| Mi bo vien | Mì bò viên | A Chinese-influenced egg noodle soup with beef meatballs and raw steak |
| Phở | A noodle soup with a rich, clear broth made from a long boiling of meat and spices. There are many varieties of phở made with different meats (most commonly beef or chicken) along with beef meatballs. 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 broth. In the South, vegetables and various herbs are also added. | |
| Hủ Tiếu | A noodle soup with many varied styles including a 'dry' (non-soup but with sauce) version, brought to Vietnam by way of Chinese (Teochew) immigrants. The noodles are usually egg noodles or rice noodles, however, many other types may be used. The soup base is made of pork bones. |
Soups and congees
| English name 1 | English name 2 | Vietnamese | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sup mang cua | Súp măng cua | A blended asparagus-crab combination soup. Served typically as a first dish at banquets. | |
| Vietnamese hotpot | lau | lẩu | A spicy variation of the Vietnamese sour soup, with many vegetables, meats and seafood, as well as some spicy herbs. |
| Chao | Cháo | A variation of congee. There are also a variety of different broths and meats used, including duck, offal, fish, etc. When chicken is used, it is called Cháo gà. | |
| Canh chua | Vietnamese sour soup - typically include fish, pineapples, tomatoes, herbs, beansprouts, tamarind, and various kinds of vegetables; when made in style of a hotpot, it is called Lau Canh Chua. | ||
Rice dishes
| English | Vietnamese | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Com chien Duong Chau | A Chinese fried rice dish, named after a region in China. It is a well-known dish in Vietnam. | |
| Vietnamese mint chicken rice | Cơm gà rau thơm | A dish of 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. |
| Com hen | Cơm hến | This is a popular inexpensive dish in the city of Huế and its vicinity. |
| Cơm tấm | Generally, grilled pork (either ribs or shredded) plus bì (thinly shredded pork mixed with cooked and thinly shredded pork skin plus fried ground rice) over com tam ("broken rice" in Vietnamese) and sweet and sour fish sauce. Other types of meat, prepared in various ways, may be 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 (chả tôm), trung hap (trứng hấp) and grilled prawns. |
Sticky rice dishes
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Bánh chưng | Sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves and stuffed with mung bean paste, lean pork and black pepper, traditionally eaten during the Lunar New Year(Tết). Bánh chưng is popular in the North, while its cousin version bánh tét is more popular in the South. Bánh tét has the same content, except cylindrical in shape and lean pork is substituted with fatty pork. |
| Xôi | Sticky rice with coconut milk, cooked the same way as one cooks rice, or steamed for a firmer texture and more flavorful taste. It comes in a great number of varieties. |
Dumplings and pancakes
| English name 1 | English name 2 | Vietnamese | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banh bao | Bánh bao | A Steamed bun dumpling that can be stuffed with onion, mushrooms, or vegetables. Bánh bao is an adaptation from the Chinese baozi to fit Vietnamese taste. Vegetarian banh bao are also available. Vegetarian bánh bao are popular food in Buddhist temples. Typical stuffings for bánh bao include slices of marinated xá xíu (BBQ pork from Chinese cooking) meat, tiny boiled quail eggs, and pork. | |
| 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 ingredients such as chives, fried shallots and pork rinds. Eaten with Nước chấm. | ||
| Banh Bot Chien | fried rice flour cake | 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, rice flour cubes with fried eggs and some vegetables. This is a popular after-school snack for young students. |
| Banh bot loc | Bánh bột lọc | A Huế 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'œuvres at more casual buffet-type parties. | |
| Banh xeo | Bánh xèo | A type of 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. | |
Wraps and rolls
| English | Vietnamese | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Bánh cuốn | Rice flour rolls stuffed with ground pork, prawns, and wood ear mushroom. They are eaten in a variety of ways with many side dishes, including one out of many kinds of chả (sausage). | |
| Bi cuon | Bì cuốn | 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. Similar to summer rolls. |
| Vietnamese-style popiah | 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. In Saigon (particularly in Cholon), it is common to see an old Teochew man or woman selling bò bía at their roadside stand. The name bò bía phonetically resembles its original name popiah in the Teochew language. |
| Chả giò or Nem rán (Northern) | A kind of spring roll (sometimes referred to as egg roll) – deep fried flour rolls filled with pork, 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 rice paper rolls (discussed below as "Summer Rolls"), where the rice paper is dipped into 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 outside of Vietnam have changed the recipe to use a wheat-flour-based wrapper. | |
| Salad rolls | Gỏi cuốn | Also known as Vietnamese fresh rolls, or summer 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. |
Bánh tráng can be understood as either of the followings:
- Bánh tráng cuốn
- thin rice flour sheet dried into what is commonly called "rice paper", used in making spring roll (aka chả giò), and summer rolls (aka 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 'banh trang' exist, including the clear sesame seed ones, prawn-like cracker with dried spring onions, sweet milk, and so on.
Sandwiches and pastries
| English | Vietnamese | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Bánh Mi Thit | Bánh mì kẹp thịt | Vietnamese baguette or 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 leaves 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 | This can be 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. | |
| Paté Chaud | A French inspired meat-filled pastry. Characterized by flaky crust and either pork or chicken as the filling. |
Meat dishes
| English | Vietnamese | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Meat Soup | Bò kho | A beef and vegetable stew, often cooked with warm, spicy herbs and served very hot with French baguettes for dipping. In northern Vietnam, it is known as "bo sot vang" |
| Bo la lot | Bò lá lốt | A dish of spiced beef rolled in a pepper leaf (la lot) and grilled. |
| Bo luc lac | Bò lúc lắc | A dish of beef cut into cubes and marinated, served over greens (usually watercress), and sautéed onions and tomatoes. Eaten with rice. |
| Vietnamese seven courses of Beef | Bo 7 Mon | A less popular version is the Ca 7 Mon (Cá 7 Món) - or, seven courses of fish. |
| Cha lua | Chả lụa | A sausage made with ground lean pork and potato starch. Also available fried; known as chả chiên. There are various kinds of chả (sausage), made of ground chicken (chả gà), ground beef (chả bò), fish (chả cá), or tofu (chả chay, or vegetarian sausage). |
| Ga nuong sa | Gà nướng sả | Grilled chicken with lemon grass. Lemon grass grilled beef and other meats are also popular variations. |
| 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. |
| Nem Nguoi | Nem Nguội | A Huế 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. |
Seafood dishes
| English | Vietnamese | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Ca cuon | Cá cuốn | A roll with fish and spring onions. |
| Ca kho to | Cá kho tộ | Caramelised fish in claypot. |
| Chao tom | Chạo tôm | Prawn paste/cake on sugarcane. |
| Mam | Mắm | Salted fish in various styles. 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. |
Salads
Gỏi is Vietnamese salad. Many varieties with the most popular including:
| Vietnamese | Description |
|---|---|
| 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. |
| Gỏi Huế rau muống | A salad dish originating from Huế (Central Vietnam), including water spinach (Rau Muong). |
| Gỏi ngó sen | Lotus stem salad, with shrimp and pork or chicken. |
| Goi Ga | Chicken and cabbage salad. |
Curries
- Vietnamese curry is also popular, especially in the south. Curry chicken can be either similar to the Thai curries with coconut milk, or similar to Caribbean curries, stir fried with no coconut milk. It is usually served with bread,rice or noodles.
- 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.
Pickled vegetable dishes
Dưa muối is Vietnamese term for this.
| English | Vietnamese | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Dưa chua, Dưa cải muối chua | Made from a kind of mustard green | |
| Cà bát muối xổi | Made from a kind of eggplant | |
| Dưa kiệu | Made from Allium chinense. This is a dish of Tết holiday. | |
| Dưa hành | Made from onion bulbs. | |
| Dưa món | Made from carrot, daikon, green papaya,... |
Fermented fish dishes
Mắm is Vietnamese term for this. Mắm is used as main course, ingredients or condiments.
| English | Vietnamese | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Mắm tôm | Made from shrimp. This is the condiment of bún đậu mắm tôm, bún riêu, bún thang. | |
| Mắm cá thu | Made from mackerel fish. This is usually made in Bình Định province. | |
| Mắm nêm | Usually made from round scad fish. This is a dish of Central Vietnam. | |
| Mắm tôm chua | Made from shrimp, green papaya. This is a dish of Huế city. | |
| Mắm ruốc | Made from a kind of shrimp. This is a dish of Central Vietnam. | |
| Mắm cá linh | Made from a kind of fish that immigrates to Mekong delta every flood season from Tonlé Sap, Cambodia. |
Condiments and sauces
Condiments
Vietnamese usually use raw vegetables as condiments for their dishes. It named rau sống (literally: raw vegetable) or rau ghém (literally: sliced vegetable). It combined properly with each main dish in flavour. For some dishes, rau sống could come into almost all the flavours: sour, bitter, spicy,...Dishes in which rau sống is indispensable are bánh xèo and hot pot. The vegetables principly are herbs and wild edible vegetables gathered from forests and family gardens. Leaves and buds are the most common parts of vegetables used. Most of the vegetables have medicinal value.
Rau sống includes:
- Lettuce (xà lách)
- Raw bean sprout (giá sống)
- Herbs (rau thơm)
- Shreded banana flower (bắp chuối bào)
- Green banana (chuối xanh)
- Split water spinach (rau muống chẻ)
- Mango bud (đọt xoài)
- Guava leaves (lá ổi)
Match
- Chicken dishes are combined with lime leaves.
- Crab and seashell dishes are combined with fishy smell herb and perilla.
Sauces
- Mắm tôm (shrimp paste)
- Nước mắm (fish extract) The fish sauce can be used as it is or mixed with lemon juice, garlic, vinegar, sugar, and chili.
- Tương Made from fermented soybeans
- Hoisin sauce, mostly used in marinades and sauces.
- Hot chili sauce, such as Sriracha.
Desserts
| Dessert | Description |
|---|---|
| Chè | A sweet dessert beverage or pudding usually made from beans and sticky rice. Many varieties of chè are available, each with different fruits, beans (for example, mung beans or kidney beans), and other ingredients. Chè can be served cold – such as sâm bổ lường, which includes dried jujube, longan, fresh seaweed, barley and lotus seeds – or hot. |
| Bánh rau câu | A popular gelatin dessert cake made with agar and flavored with coconut milk, pandan or other flavors. Because the gelatin is firm in texture compared to American gelatin, Vietnamese gelatin can be layered and shaped into intricate cakes. The gelatin is often called sương sa. |
| Chuoi Chien | Banana fried in a batter and often served hot with cold ice cream, usually vanilla or coconut. |
| Flan | Influenced by French cuisine and served with caramel sauce. |
| Sinh tố | A fruit smoothie made with just a few teaspoons of sweetened condensed milk, crushed ice and fresh local fruits. The smoothies come in many varieties including custard apple, sugar apple, avocado, jackfruit, durian, strawberry, passionfruit, dragonfruit, lychee, mango, and banana. |
| Yogurt | Made with condensed milk and has a sweet, tart flavor. It can be eaten in its cool, soft form or frozen. In Vietnam, it can be seen served frozen in small, clear bags. |
| Various cakes and confections made with any combination of sweet beans, tropical fruit and glutinous rice. |
Beverages
| English | Vietnamese | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Bia hơi | A Vietnamese specialty draft beer produced locally in small batches. | |
| Cafe sua da | Cà phê sữa đá | Strong iced coffee, Most often served with sweetened condensed milk at the bottom of the cup to be stirred in. The beverage is very popular among the Vietnamese. |
| Nước mía | Sugar cane juice extracted from squeezing sugar cane plant, served with ice. | |
| Rau má | Pennywort juice made from blending fresh pennywort leaves with water and sugar until dissolved. The beverage is a near-transparent green color and served over ice. | |
| Slushes | Sinh To | |
| tropical sorbets | ||
| Soy milk | Sữa đậu nành | A soybean drink served either hot or cold, sweetened or unsweetened. |
| Rượu đế | A distilled liquor made of rice. |
Exotic dishes
The use of ingredients that are typically uncommon or taboo in most countries is one of the quintessential attributes that make Vietnamese cuisine unique. Celebrity chef Andrew Zimmern visited Vietnam in the 12th episode of his popular show Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern. Cobra beating heart and dried bones, silk worms and bull penis are some examples of the dishes he sampled in this episode.
In some countries, unusual ingredients, most of the time, can only be found in exotic restaurants. What makes the use of these ingredients in Vietnam stand out is that ingredients that are deemed atypical in most countries can play a customary role in daily family dishes, from the poor's to the riches'.
A common and inexpensive breakfast dish which can be found in any wet market, balut or 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 pepper; lime juice is another popular additive, when available. A more unusual version of balut dish - Fetus quails ("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 silk worms ("nhộng"), banana flowers ("hoa chuối"), sparrows, doves, fermented fish and shrimp ("mắm cá, mắm tôm tép") are not rare sights. Seasonal favorites include ("rươi") or ragworm, 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).
Vietnamese cuisine is also notable for its wide range of meat choices. Exotic meat such as dog meat, snake, soft-shell turtle, deer and domestic goat are widely sold in street-side restaurants and enjoyed with alcoholic beverages. A taboo in many Western countries, consumption of dog meat is a common sight throughout 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.
Anthony Bourdain, the host chef of Travel Channel's Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, wrote in April 2005, for the Financial Times, "...everything is used - and nothing wasted in Vietnam." Animal parts that are often disposed of in many Western countries are utilized fully in Vietnamese cooking. Organs, including lungs, livers, hearts, intestines and bladders of pigs, cows and chickens are sold at an even higher price 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 - Tết - dishes such as thịt đông, giò thủ, canh măng móng giò involve the use of pig heads, tongues, throats and feet. Pig and cow 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 anywhere along a Vietnamese street. Different kinds of animal blood is made into tiết canh by whisking the blood with 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.
Common ingredients
Vegetables
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Fruits
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Herbs (rau thơm)
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Vietnamese food utensils
- Basket, various kinds (rổ or rá)
- Bowl (small bowl: bát in Northern Vietnam or chén in Southern Vietnam; large bowl: tô)
- Chopsticks (đũa)
- Chõ- a kind of steamer to cook glutinous rice
- Clay pot cooking (thố đất)
- Cup (cốc or ly)
- Dipper (gáo)
- Flat drying basket (nong or nia)
- Knife (dao)
- Mill (cối xay gạo)
- Mortar (cối giã)
- Pestle (chày)
- Plate (dĩa or đĩa)
- Pot, various kinds (nồi and niêu)
- Spoon (thìa in Northern Vietnam or muỗng in Southern Vietnam)
- Teacup (tách or chén uống trà)
- Teapot (ấm pha trà)
- Tray, various kinds (mâm and khay)
See also
- List of Vietnamese dishes
- List of Vietnamese culinary specialities
- List of Vietnamese produce varieties
- List of Vietnamese ingredients
- Vietnamese noodles
- Vietnamese wine
- Rượu đế rice wine
References
Footnotes
Notations
- Nguyen, Andrea Quynhgiao; Cost, Bruce (FRW); Beisch, Leigh. (2006) Into the Vietnamese kitchen: treasured foodways, modern flavors. Ten Speed Press, ISBN 1-58008-665-9
- Le, Ann; Fay, Julie. (2006) The Little Saigon Cookbook: Vietnamese Cuisine and Culture in Southern California's Little Saigon, Globe Pequot, ISBN 0-7627-3831-6
- Thị Chơi Triệu, Marcel Isaak, (1998) The Food of Vietnam: Authentic Recipes from the Heart of Indochina, Tuttle Publishing, ISBN 962-593-394-8
- McDermott, Nancie; Alpert, Caren (2005) Quick & Easy Vietnamese: 75 Everyday Recipes Chronicle Books, ISBN 0-8118-4434-X
- Chi Nguyen; Judy Monroe, (2002) Cooking the Vietnamese way: revised and expanded to include new low-fat and vegetarian recipes Twenty-First Century Books, ISBN 0-8225-4125-4
- Pauline Nguyen; Luke Nguyen; Mark Jensen (2007), Secrets of the Red Lantern: Stories and Vietnamese Recipes from the Heart Murdoch Books, ISBN 1-74045-904-0
- Trieu Thi Choi, Thị Chơi Triệu, Marcel Isaak, Heinz Von Holzen (2005), Authentic Recipes from Vietnam Tuttle Publishing, ISBN 0-7946-0327-0
External links
- Culinary Matters in Vietnam
- Vietnamese recipes collection (Vietnamese)
- Vietnamese Food (English)
- Vietnamese Food and Travel Information (English)
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