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Food in Vietnam
Vietnamese food boasts a huge variety of flavour with influences from neighbouring countries as well as years of tradition. With plenty of arrable land, Vietnam offers some of the finest and freshest ingredients found in Southeast Asia. Rice is a staple of many of the dishes, as well as being the biggest and most important crop. In fact Vietnam is the second largest rice exporter in the world! Dishes use plenty of fresh herbs, sauces and fresh vegetables, with the vietnamese spring roll being famous all over the globe. Vietnamese cuisine is influenced by the Asian principle of the five elements; wood, fire, earth, metal and water.
Vegetarian and vegan choices are widely available in Vietnam, with various restaurant choices in the major cities. Rice, vegetables and salad are always good backup options when choices are limited, but ensure you ask for them not to cook anything in fish sauce, which is common. In the bigger cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City there are plenty vegetarian and vegan only restaurants which are perfect for sampling local food that you can trust is suitable! Smaller places such as Nha Trang and Hoi An also have a surprisingly good number of vegetarian restaurants too.
Vietnam is a great gluten free holiday destination, as many of the dishes use rice noodles or rice as a base for the meal. With various meats and fresh vegetables on offer, gluten free travellers should have no bother finding delicious and local meals in indulge in!
Food Culture in Vietnam
Vietnam has a unique and charming food culture. Picture tiny, plastic tables and chairs scattered throughout the streets, as if they were plucked straight from a child's classroom. Street food is iconic in Vietnam, with some of the best being found down unassuming side alleys and off the tourist path. If you want to get a feel of the authentic Vietnamese lifestyle, pull up a chair, grab some chopsticks and dig into a freshly made pho! (Yes, they really do use chopsticks in soup, and then drink the rest!)
Typical Vietnamese Dishes
Rice Dishes
Rice is considered the heart of many meals in Vietnam. Each region has a slightly different way of preparing rice, from burnt rice to vegetable rice. Coconut rice is made from cooked sticky rice mixed with coconut milk, with a little salt and boiled to condense. Many of the deserts are also rice based!
Seafood
Fish is popular in Vietnam due to its long coastline. You will find some of the best seafood in Nha Trang. Shrimp and crab is also often used in Vietnamese spring rolls and many noodle dishes.
Pho
The national dish of Vietnam and a staple in the diets, pho is a noodle soup eaten at any time of the day. This basic but tasty dish consists of noodles in a vegetable or chicken broth, with flavourings such as ginger and coriander. It is usually served with a sprinkling of spring onions.
Goi Cuon - Vietnamese Spring Rolls
The mother of all Vietnamese food, the heart and soul of a local kitchen and a favourite among travellers and locals alike, the Vietnamese spring roll. Translucent rice paper is packed with greens, coriander, various seasonal vegetables and either pork, shrimp or crab, before being wrapped tightly into a neat and mouth watering roll. Accompanied with a dipping sauce, usually either sweet chili or peanut sauce, this vietnamese speciality is a must try when travelling the country. Vegetarian and vegan versions are also widely available.
Regional Specialities
Hanoi
Bun Cha is a dish made famous in Hanoi. Grilled pork and vermicelli noodles are tossed into a broth with lots of greens and served with deep fried spring rolls. The most well known located for trying this is the bún chả hương liên restaurant where Obama and Anthony Bourdain dined, with their table famously being placed in a glass cabinet.
Hue
Hue is famous for Bánh Xếp Chay, dumplings made from tapioca and rice flour and filled with a savory mung bean filling. In addition to being delicious, these are also vegan.
Hoi An
Just walking down the street in Hoi An, you will see the words Cao lầu advertised outside restaurants. This dish of noodles, pork, crispy pork and local vegetables originates in Hoi An and you will find it hard to come by anywhere else in Vietnam. Here you can also find the white rose dumplings, flower shaped steamed rice paper with a small spoonful of meat or shrimp filling.
Nha Trang
No stay in Nha Trang would be complete without trying Bò Né, a delicious sizzling beef and egg breakfast dish.
Mekong Delta
The perfect place to sample fresh fish and fruit. Elephant ear fish (aptly named as the fish is flat like an elephant ear!) is found here. Dragonfruit, jackfruit, starfruit and pomelo are just some of the fresh fruits you can try in the Mekong.
Ho Chi Minh City
Like any major city, Ho Chi Minh City has every type of cuisine you can imagine, from local Vietnamese to international.
Vietnamese Coffee
Some consider coffee a daily ritual, a lifeline if you will. It is drank almost all over the world in its varying flavours. Vietnamese coffee is something special, with travellers making it part of their everyday routine to stop by a new cafe for some coffee indulgence. Robusta is the main coffee bean used in Vietnam, with a slightly more bitter and stronger taste than the usual Arabica coffee. Mixed with condensed milk, the coffee takes on a strong yet sweet flavour and can be enjoyed hot or cold. Vietnam is also known for its “egg” coffee, which mixed egg yolks with coffee and vanilla extract; it is a lot more delicious than it sounds!
Did you know?
Robusta coffee (or robust if you will) is highly resistant due to the high caffeine levels making it toxic to bugs. It therefore has a better yield and can be produced at a much lower cost, making it the most popular type of coffee in Vietnam.
Egg Coffee
Egg Coffee, as strange as it sounds, is a speciality of Vietnam and a must try! Egg yolks, sugar and condensed milk are heated and whisked into a smooth and delicious drink. Legend has it a bartender added in whisked egg yolk when he ran out of fresh milk!
Beer
Beer is loved throughout Vietnam, with each town having their own special lagers, and at a fraction of the cost you would find back home! Vietnamese people will always say 1,2,3 cheers! (một, hai, ba, yoooo!) before taking a sip, and love passing this tradition onto visitors. Rice wine and snake wine is also readily available throughout the country.
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