Into the Vietnamese Kitchen by Andrea Nguyen

Vietnamese food is an amazing cuisine, there are an estimated 500 traditonal Vietnamese dishes . There is a wide assortment of Vietnamese dishes and regional specialities .Viet cuisine is an amalgam of Chinese, Indian (by way of Thailand), and French cuisines.

Soups

Pho Soup

The most famous of vietnamese dishes is Pho a noddle soup that is eaten at all meals and is especially popular for breakfast in Vietnam . It is prpared by quickly boiling noodles and placing them in a bowl with greens such as basil, green onions and shredded beef, chicken or pork .. Some people add chilli sauce and lemon or lime .There are four basic kinds of soups: canh, sup, chao and pho .Canh is a clear broth with bits of vegetables and meat and is eaten with the meal .Sup is a heartier soup usually served before them meal. Chao is a rice porridge .

Lau

Lau is a fish and vegetable soup served in a bowl with hot coals under it to keep the soup hot .

Bun Bo Hue

Bun Bo Hue Spicy beef noodle soup originated from the royal city of Hue in 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 mung.

Mien luon

Mien luon is a vermicelli soup with eal and mushrooms .

Bun thang

Bun thang is made with rice noodles, chicken and fried eggs on top and a broth made of chiken, prawns and pig bones .

Canh kho

Canh kho is a soup made from bitter melons that is supposed to have health benefits .

Main dishes

Cha ca , fish slices broiled over charcoal, often serves with noodles and greens .

Ech tam bot ran

Ech tam bot ran frog meat soaked in batter and fried in oil and served with sauces .

Spring Rolls Cha gio

spring rolls

Vietnamese spring rolls are called Cha gio in the south and nem sai gon in the north . they are made of rice paper filled shrimp. pork, vermicelli , mushrooms, noion and egss and fried . Nem rau are vegetable spring rolls ,

Banh cuon

Banh cuon Summer rolls

Banh cuon is a steamed rice pqncake into which pork and mushrooms are rolled . and dipped in a special sauce of nouc mam, vinegar,pepper,sugar and garlic .

Chao tom

chao tom

Chao tom , grilled sugar cane rolled in spiced shrimp paste .

Banh bao

Banh bao are steamed rolls similar to Chinese baozi .Can be stuffed will pork, beef, can be stuffed with onion, mushrooms, vegetables .

Banh Bot Chien

A Chinese influenced pastry with many versions all over Asia, the Vietnamese version features a special tangy soy sauce on the side

Bánh chung

Bánh chung , sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves and stuffed with mung beans, fatty pork and black pepper, traditionally eaten during the Lunar New Year (Tet)

Banh Mi Thit

(Bánh mì k?p th?t) Vietnamese baguette, French bread containing paté, Vietnamese mayonnaise, 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.

Banh xeo

Banh xeo is a 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 Viet Nam. It is eaten with lettuce and various local herbs and dipped in Nu?c ch?m or sweet fermented peanut butter sauce. Rice papers are sometimes used as wrappers to contain banh xeo and the accompanying vegetables.

Cha-lua

Cha-lua is a sausage made with pork, potato starch and fish sauce. Also available fried; known as Cha-chien.

Com tam

Com tam grilled pork (either ribs or shredded) plus a Vietnamese dish called bi (bì) (thinly shredded pork mixed with cooked and thinly shredded pork skin plus fried ground rice) over broken rice (what the words "com tam" actually mean in Vietnamese) and sweet and sour fish sauce. There are numerous types of meat prepared in various ways that are 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, trung hap and grilled prawns.

Bun thit nuong

Bun thit nuong ; One of the more popular Vietnamese dishes, basically a combination vermicelli plate, a kind of vermicelli counterpart to Com tom. Grilled pork (often shredded) and vermicelli noodles over a bed of greens (salad and sliced cucumber), herbs and bean sprouts. Also often includes a few chopped up egg rolls, spring onions, and shrimp. Served with roasted peanuts on top and a small bowl of Nuc chom.

Nem Nuong

Nem Nuong ; 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 kebabs. Ingredients in the marinade include fish sauce.

Sup mang cua

Sup mang cua ; A creamy bamboo-crab soup. Served typically as a first dish at banquets

Thit vit quay

Thit vit quay; Roast duck, eaten over rice.

Cafe sua da

Cafe sua da ; strong iced coffee, most often served with sweetened condensed milk at the bottom of the cup to be stirred in. A Vietnamese favorite.

Sauces and condiments

Nuoc mam

Nuoc mam fermented fish sauce

Vietnamese cuisine can be basically divided into three categories, each pertaining to a specific region. With North Vietnam being the cradle of Vietnamese civilization, many of Vietnam's most famous dishes (such as pho) have their birthplace in the North. The North's cuisine is more traditional and more strict in choosing spiciness and ingredients. The cuisine of South Vietnam has been influenced by the cuisines of southern Chinese immigrants, and thus Southerners prefer sweet flavors in many dishes. As a new land the South's cuisine is more exotic and liberal, using many herbs. The cuisine of Central Vietnam is quite different from the cuisines of both the Northern and Southern regions in its use of many small side dishes, and also its distinct spiciness when compared to its counterparts.