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Introduction to
Vietnamese Cuisine 
MORE THAN PHO AND SPRING
ROLL
Vietnam
is a tropical country with more than two thousands miles of coastal line,
lush and warm, where sea food, fishes, ducks, green vegetables, herbs and
spices are plentiful all year round; chicken, pork and beef are considered
to be luxurious items. Its meals are light but flavorful. To bring out the
savories of the main ingredients, the Vietnamese cuisine uses more
herbs & spices instead of lard & oil, it enhances the sense
of taste with a balance of salty, sweet & sour. Most dishes combines
delightful mix of contrasting textures: soft & crunchy, chewy &
tender, smooth and grainy.
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The typical Vietnamese family meal
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A typical meal for a normal Vietnamese family would include:
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A carmelized meat or fish dish
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A stir-fried vegetable dish
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A large bowl of rice to share amongst the family (each person has their own small bowls and wooden chopsticks)
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Small bowls of fish sauce and soy sauce
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A large bowl of soup to share amongst the family (as typical in Vietnamese cuisines the soup is most often a clear broth with vegetables and meats)
Typically, some people eat sitting on the floor, usually on a special mat that is rolled out to create the eating place. |
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Low
Fat Low Calorie Healthy Vietnamese Recipes
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BASIC VIETNAMESE
CUISINE:
Popular Vietnamese dishes
- Vegetables - Fruits
- Herbs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnamese_food
Popular Vietnamese dishes
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Phở is a traditional Vietnamese
noodle dish. It is served as a bowl of white rice noodles in clear beef
broth with thin cuts of beef (steak, fatty flank, lean flank, brisket),
tendon, tripe, meatballs, chicken leg, chicken breast, other chicken
organs (heart, liver, etc.), and other ingredients such as green onions,
white onions, coriander leaves, ngo gai ("saw leaf
herb"), mint, basil, lemon or lime, bean sprouts, and chile peppers.
The last four items are usually provided on a separate plate, which allows
customers to adjust the soup's flavor as they like. Some sauces such as
hoisin sauce, fish sauce, and the popular Thai hot sauce, Sriracha, are
popular additions as well. Phở can be eaten for breakfast, lunch or
dinner. The broth is generally made by boiling beef
(and sometimes also chicken) bones, oxtails, flank steak, and spices, and
takes several hours to prepare. |
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Cơm tấm is grilled pork
(either ribs or shredded) plus a Vietnamese dish called bi (bì) (thinly
shredded pork mixed with cooked and thinly shread pork skin) over broken
rice (what the words "com tam" actually mean in Vietnamese). The
rice and meat are served with various greens and pickled vegetables, along
with a prawn paste cake, chung hap (chứng hấp) (Vietnamese
adaptation of Chinese Egg Foo Young), and grilled prawns. Typically
restaurants will serve this popular combination rice plate with a small
bowl of Nước chấm, as well as a small bowl of soup broth
with spring onions. |
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Bánh mì (pronounced "bun me"),
sometimes
also referred to as a "Vietnamese hoagie", is a Vietnamese
submarine sandwich, made with a French-inspired baguette. It is made up of
thinly sliced, pickled carrots, daikon, onions, cilantro, choice of
barbecued pork, paté, chicken and other meats. The contrasting flavors
and textures of the sandwich — as well as its relatively low cost —
make it a popular dish. |
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Goi Cuon (Spring Roll). Vietnamese
fresh spring rolls are essentially nifty little self-contained
salads-to-go -- crisp raw veggies and minced fresh herbs, along with
cooked shrimp, pork, fried tofu or whatever else suits your fancy, all
neatly packaged up in a deliciously chewy-soft, pliable rice paper
wrapping that you can snatch up and eat with your hands (or chopsticks, if
you’re feeling civilized). |
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Cha Gio (Vietnamese Egg Roll: Fried Spring Roll).
Either
the Chinese egg roll wrappers or the Vietnamese rice paper wrappers may be
used for this dish. With rice paper wrappers, they fry up crisper and
lighter than the ready-to-use egg roll skins. |
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Bun (Noodle Salad). Here
in the United States, cool noodle salads translate into perfect summer
suppers. The soft rice noodles sit on a bed of cool, crunchy bean sprouts,
cucumbers, lettuce, and mint, and they're topped with warm stir-fried
vegetables, meat, or shrimp. |
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Banh Cuon (Rice Crepe). This is
stuffed rice film pancake. Banh Cuon filling including mashed up minced
pork, mushrooms and prawns is wrapped in a flimsy rice film. It comes
served with sliced cucumber, cha lua (mortadella), beansprouts, sprinkled
with deep-fried shallots and chopped mint with a nuoc mam (fish sauce)
dip. |
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Nem Nuong (Grilled Vietnamese Meat Ball).
The
Vietnamese pork meatballs (called nem nuong) are small, and grilled on
skewers. The meat is coaxed through a food processor
and mixed with potato starch for a springy texture. They're pulled off the
skewer and wrapped in rice paper or lettuce with shredded carrots,
cucumbers, rice vermicelli, star fruit and herbs. Served with nuoc mam
(fish sauce) dip. |
- 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 sprout, prawn paste,
herb leaves, water spinach, and tomato chunks.
- Com hen (cơm hến) is a popular dish for the low-budgeted
customers in the city of Hue and the vicinity.
- Bánh
canh, a thick rice noodle soup with a more basic broth. Often includes
pork, crab, chicken, shrimp, spring onions and freshly sauteed onions
sprinkled on top.
- Mam: fermented fish in various styles.
- Bo kho (Bò kho): Vietnamese beef and vegetable stew, often cooked with
warm, spicy herbs and served very hot with French baguettes for dipping.
- Prawn paste cake (Cha tom): (a variant of the Chao tom, eaten often with
Com tam)
- 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.
- Bun Mang Vit (Bún Măng Vịt): Bamboo and duck noodle soup.
- 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 chilli. Very spicy, eaten almost
exclusively as a cocktail snack.
- Bun Oc (Bún Ốc): Vermicelli with snails (sea snails similar to the
snails in french cuisine).
- Banh Bot Chien (Bánh Bột Chiên): A Chinese influenced pastry with
many versions all over Asia, the Vietnamese version features a special tangy
soy sauce on the side.
- Paté Chaud: A French inspired meat-filled pastry. Characterized by flaky
crust and either pork or chicken as the filling.
- Cha-lua:
sausage
made with pork, potato starch and fish sauce.
- Cao lầu: A Hoi An dish, made of specially burnt flavoured egg
noodles topped with meats.
- Banh
trang: These are large round flat rice crackers which when heated
enlarges into round, easily shattered pieces. They can be eaten separately,
although it is most commonly added into the vermicelli, noodle dishes e.g.
in cau lau, mi quang...Many 'banh trang' that exists include the clear
sesame seed ones, prawn-like cracker with dried spring onions, sweet milk
etc...
- Banh
Mi Thit (Bánh mì kẹp thịt) Vietnamese baguette,
French bread containing paté, Vietnamese mayo, different selections of
Vietnamese cold cuts and deli (a large variety, most commonly with ham, head
cheese, and a Vietnamese bologna), pickled daikon and carrot, cucumber
slices. Often garnished with coriander, black pepper. This food is common
everywhere in Vietnam as a favorite of factory workers and school kids 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, scrambled eggs and
canned sardines, or the more popular version eaten widely for breakfast
in Vietnam: Eggs fried sunny-side-up with onions, sprinkled with Soy
sauce and eaten with a fresh (and sometimes buttered) baguette.
- 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.
- Banh bao
(Bánh bao) Steamed bun dumpling that can be stuffed with onion,
mushrooms, vegetables, etc. Banh bao is an adaptation from the Chinese baozi
to fit Vietnamese taste. Exclusively vegetable 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" (from Chinese
cooking) meat, tiny boiled duck eggs or quail eggs, and pork.
- Banh
Chung (Bánh chưng) Sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves and
stuffed with mung beans, fatty pork and black sesame seeds, traditionally
eaten during the Lunar New Year (Tet)
- Bánh tét: same ingredients as banh chung but in cylindrical form and
wrapped in banana leaves. It is served during Tet.
- Banh xeo
(Bánh xèo) Crepe made out of rice flour with tumeric, shrimps with
shelves 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 Viet Nam. 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.
- Bun
Bo Hue (Bún Bò Huế) – Spicy beef noodle
soup originated from the Royal Hue City of Central Vietnam. Beef bones,
fermented shrimp paste, lemongrass, lots of dried chilies give its broth the
distinctive flavors. Often served with mint leaves, bean sprouts, lime
wedges, shredded banana blossoms and shredded rau muong.
- Com tam
(Cơm tấm) – Grilled pork (either ribs or shredded) plus
a Vietnamese dish called bi (bì) (thinly shredded pork mixed with cooked
and thinly shread pork skin) over broken rice (what the words "com
tam" actually mean in Vietnamese) and sweet and sour fish sauce.. 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.
- 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. They include:
- 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 jimica 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).
- Ca cuon (Cá cuốn): A roll with fish and spring onions.
- Bo la lot (Bò lá lốt): not strictly a spring roll, but rather
spiced beef rolled in pepper leaf (la lot)and grilled.
- 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 include 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): Slighltly similar to Bun Thit
Nuong,
except this very simple vermicelli Vietnamese cuisine boasts a couple of
spring rolls served with chilli fish sauce and greens.
- Nem Nuong (Nem nướng): grilled meatballs, usually made of
seasoned pork. Often reddish in color due to food coloring additive and with
a distinct taste, grilled on skewers like kabobs. Ingredients in the
marinade include fish sauce.
- Chao tom: Prawn paste/cake on sugarcane.
- Goi (Gỏi): salad. Many varieties with the most popular including:
- Goi Du Du (Gỏi đu đủ): Vietnamese papaya salad
typically with shredded papaya, shrimp, slices of pork, 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 delicious gravy 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 sauteed 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 a million 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.
- 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 and
round rice flour pancakes, each served in a tiny round dish. They are topped
with minced shrimp and other smaller ingredients. Dipped in Nước
chấm.
- Com chien Duong Chau : a Chinese fried rice dish, name after a region
in China. It's 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 truly 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 a mint (and other herbs)
fried chicken (which is shredded). 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 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, kind of
flat tube shape. Stuffed with shrimp and ground pork. It is wrapped and
cooked inside banana leaf, served often as Vietnamese hors
d'oeuvres at more casual buffet-type parties.
- Mi quang
(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 shallowly
filled bowl of broth, noodles, herbs, vegetables, and roasted rice chip (banh
trang).
- Pho
(Phở) – beef
noodle soup (Phở bò) It is a beef noodle soup with a rich, clear
broth achieved from hours upon hours of boiling meat and different herbs.
There are many varieties of pho, with different selections of meats (most
commonly beef and chicken) along with beef balls. Pho is typically served in
bowls with spring onion, (in pho 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.
- Chè
is a sweet desert usually made from beans or 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, cool or
hot.
- Fruit
smoothies are also popular. They are simple to make and require just a
few teaspoons of sugar, crushed ice and fresh locally available fruits. The
smoothies come in many varieties, including apple
custard, avocado,
jack
fruit, strawberry, passionfruit,
dragonfruit,
lychee, and
banana.
Vegetables
Fruits
Herbs
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