{"id":1008,"date":"2013-04-04T08:56:32","date_gmt":"2013-04-04T08:56:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tucan.travel\/blog\/?p=1008"},"modified":"2020-01-21T13:08:52","modified_gmt":"2020-01-21T13:08:52","slug":"sampling-vietnamese-cuisine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tucan.travel\/blog\/2013\/04\/sampling-vietnamese-cuisine\/","title":{"rendered":"Sampling Vietnamese Cuisine"},"content":{"rendered":"

So what should I try?
\n<\/em><\/strong>
\nI always recommend trying the local dishes specific to wherever you are at the time, even though Vietnam is a relatively small country it is still diverse and has three distinctly different culinary zones; Northern, Central and Southern.<\/p>\n

Northern Vietnam<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Pho\"\"Bun
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Northern Vietnamese cooking is the least bold in flavor compared to the rest of Vietnam, a colder climate means less spices are able to grow. Northern foods feature light and balanced flavors with a little black pepper\u00a0is used to give it some spice. In the past pork, beef, and chicken in dishes were rare, most dishes centred on freshwater fish, prawns, squids, shrimps and crabs, flavoured with fish sauce,\u00a0soy sauce, prawn sauce, and limes.<\/p>\n

\"Banh\"Banh<\/p>\n

Northern Vietnamese cuisine has a strong Chinese influence, so while rice is a staple in the rest of Vietnam, the North has a preference for noodles,
\nTypical dishes include;<\/p>\n

Pho<\/em> <\/strong>– broth, noodles (made from rice), a few herbs, and meat \u2013 normally beef, often with a side of bean sprouts and coriander or spear mint for you to add as you wish.
\nBun rieu<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 crushed crab and tomatoe soup with hearty chunks of tofu, pig\u2019s blood sausage and served with a side of beans sprouts and spearmint for you to add.
\nBanh cuon<\/em><\/strong> – rice noodle roll filled with seasoned ground pork, mushroom, and shallots served with sliced cucumber,\u00a0bean sprouts, and a Nuoc cham dipping sauce (fish sauce, sugar & lime).
\nBanh Bao<\/em><\/strong> –\u00a0steamed bun dumpling stuffed with onion,\u00a0mushrooms, vegetables, egg or meat. Great for a snack or for eating on the go, you will find them steaming hot all day at most markets, bus stops or vendors with a trolley of them outside tourist attractions.<\/p>\n

Central Vietnam<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Banh\"Bun
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Central Vietnam is known for its spicy food, due to the abundance of spices produced by its mountainous terrain. They face harsh weather conditions throughout the year, so don\u2019t have as many green ingredients as the rest of Vietnam, but the coastline around the central Vietnam area is known for its salt and fish sauce industries, two ingredients you will find in their daily diet along with plenty of chilli peppers.<\/p>\n

Hue was the capital of the last dynasty of Vietnam, so their cuisine often reflects the influence of ancient Vietnamese royalty.\u00a0 Sophisticated meals with lots of complex, very decorative dishes, served in small portions.
\nTypical dishes include;<\/p>\n

Bun Bo Hue<\/em><\/strong> – a popular Vietnamese soup containing rice noodle (bun) and beef (bo) \u2013 sometimes oxtail or pig knuckle \u2013 served with green onion, bean sprouts, banana flower, raw onion, mint, basil and lime.
\nBanh xeo<\/em><\/strong> \u2013\u00a0\u2018sizzling cake\u2019,\u00a0savoury fried pancakes made of rice flour, stuffed with slivers of fatty pork,\u00a0shrimp, diced green onion, and bean sprouts. Served wrapped in mustard leaf or lettuce leaves and dipped in a sweet and sour diluted fish sauce.<\/p>\n

Southern Vietnam<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Ca\"Canh
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

The warm weather and fertile soil of southern Vietnam – especially the\u00a0Mekong Delta \u2013 are ideal growing conditions for not just rice but a huge variety of different fruits, vegetables and livestock and seafood is a natural staple for the people of the south.<\/p>\n

\"che\"\"Cha<\/p>\n

The South Vietnamese prefer sweeter foods and use a lot of coconut milk in their cooking.<\/p>\n

\"Goi<\/p>\n

Typical dishes include;<\/p>\n

Ca Kho To<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 Caramelized catfish in a clay pot, served with (Com Trang) plain white rice.
\nCanh Chua Ca Loc<\/em><\/strong> – Sour soup made with\u00a0snakehead fish, pineapples, tomatoes, herbs, bean sprouts,\u00a0tamarind, and various vegetables, served with (Nuoc Mam) Fish Sauce.
\nCha goi <\/em><\/strong>– Spring rolls: deep-fried flour rolls filled with pork,\u00a0yam, crab, shrimp, rice vermicelli, mushrooms and other ingredients
\nGoi cuon<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 Salad rolls: rice paper rolls that are dipped into water to soften and often include shrimp, herbs, pork, rice vermicelli and other ingredients wrapped up then dipped in nuoc cham or peanut sauce.
\nChe<\/strong> – A sweet dessert made from beans and\u00a0sticky rice. There are many different varieties to try all throughout Vietnam, each with different fruits,\u00a0beans and other ingredients. They can be served hot or cold and often with coconut milk.<\/p>\n

Drinks \u2013 Enjoyed throughout Vietnam<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Bai\"Ca\"Jasmin<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jasmin tea<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 Initially Jasmin tea came from Persia via China but now it is grown in Vietnam. The local way of welcoming a guest into a Vietnamese home is to share a small cup of hot Jasmin tea, in the south it is often served with fresh seasonal fruits. Tea is for every occasion and almost any ware there is a group of people you will find small street-side stall selling tea. Watch how the locals drink there hot drinks, not straight from the cup but often poured into the saucer to cool it first.
\nCa phe su da<\/strong> – Strong iced coffee, served with\u00a0sweetened condensed milk at the bottom of the cup to be stirred in. Now days you will find \u2018iced coffee\u2019 in almost every small street side tea shop, it\u2019s a very refreshing drink on a hot day and cost a fraction of a starbucks.
\nBai hio<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 \u2018Fresh Beer\u2019, you will normally find it in small bars and on street corners. The beer is brewed daily and each bar gets a fresh batch delivered every day. It is a very light\u00a0lager, aprox 3%\u00a0and cost a fraction of the price of any western beer.
\nIf you are in Hanoi <\/a>then the best place to try it is on Bia Hoi Corner in the heart of the Old Quarter, sitting on the small plastic seats chatting to locals and tourist alike watching the city come to life.<\/p>\n

To try some of the dishes mentioned above, why not enjoy one of Tucan Travel’s Vietnam Tours<\/a>.<\/p>\n

About the Author:<\/strong> Owen is Sales & Marketing Executive for Tucan Travel. He has travelled and tour led extensively on Group Tours and independently to South and Central America, Asia, Australia, Western Europe and Africa. You can find him on\u00a0Google+<\/a> or read his other contributions\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Owen Denton, ex Tour Leader at Tucan Travel has journeyed the world, sampling all the culinary delights on offer. Here he offers advice on where to eat in one of the most flavourful countries in Asia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4662,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8,35,32],"tags":[57,16,31,59,33],"yoast_head":"\nSampling Vietnamese Cuisine - Tucan Travel Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tucan.travel\/blog\/2013\/04\/sampling-vietnamese-cuisine\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sampling Vietnamese Cuisine - Tucan Travel Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Owen Denton, ex Tour Leader at Tucan Travel has journeyed the world, sampling all the culinary delights on offer. 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