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Vietnamese cuisine regional differences
Vietnamese cuisine - HOME PAGE
World Cuisine - HOME PAGE

Why
Vietnamese Cuisine
is special

Vietnamese cuisine is one of the world's healthiest - fresh vegetables are important elements. Many dishes have a broad medley of flavors. Vietnam's noodle soups best epitomize this attribute and have collectively become the country's national dish.

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regional cuisines

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Vietnamese cuisine regional differences

Noodle soups

Birth of a soup

A Vietnamese noodle soup begins with a delicate, yet flavorful clear broth that takes hours to prepare. Then, rice noodles are briefly added. Then both cooks in the kitchen and diners at the table enhance the preparation with various ingredients and flavoring agents.

Pho Bo

It defines a certain type of noodle soup. This is by far the most popular dish in Vietnam - and the one you should try first. Beef is the star ingredient. Pho Bo is enjoyed at lunch, dinner and especially breakfast. It is served in a range of venues, from humble street stalls to quality restaurants.

A platter of fresh herbs (such as mint) and vegetables (such as bean sprouts) is set on the table for Pho Bo and other noodle soups. The diner selects the ones he wants to mix in his bowl with the broth. This lets the diner flavor the preparations to suit his personal tastes.

Shrimp rolls

Cha Gio

This is the fried shrimp roll variety. It is made with a filling (such as minced pork) that is tightly wrapped with a thin dough sheet, then deep-fried until its crisp outside, yet still moist inside. It should be served hot. Like virtually all shrimp rolls, the diner hand-dips it into a sauce.

Goi Cuon

It's a fresh version of the shrimp roll. Its filling (usually a combination of vegetables and shelled cooked shrimp) is lightly wrapped in thin, edible, transparent rice paper. Then, it is over-wrapped with a lettuce leaf. Unlike the Cha Gio (described above), the Goi Cuon is served cold - and is soft, not crispy.

Other
culinary items

Rice

It is the main starch staple in Vietnam. Most is grown in the southern Mekong River delta. (In the cooler north, wheat is also grown).

Popular flavoring agents

These two play a major role in Vietnamese cuisine.

Nuoc Nam
Strong smelling and tasting sauce made with salted fermented fish
Nuoc Cham
Garlicky chili paste

They are used both in the kitchen and at the table. The same is true for fresh herbs like mint, basil, and coriander.

Dining traditions

The food is normally brought to the table all at once in communal serving bowls. Diners transfer the food into their small individual eating bowls - and eat with chopsticks.

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