Love Travel: Tour of Taste (14) : Vietnam

Vietnamese cuisine associates with a combination of five fundamental taste elements in the overall meal, which are spicy (metal), sour (wood), bitter (fire), salty (water) and sweet (Earth). Each Vietnamese dish has a distinctive flavor which reflects one or more of these elements. Traditional Vietnamese cooking is greatly based on fresh ingredients, minimal use of oil, and reliance on herbs and vegetables. With the balance between fresh herbs and meats and a selective use of spices to reach a fine taste, Vietnamese food is considered one of the healthiest cuisines in the world.

Pho (Noodle)

Pho is the most popular food among the Vietnamese population. Pho is commonly eaten for breakfast, although many people will have it for their lunch or dinner. Anyone feeling hungry in the small hours of the morning can also enjoy a bowl of hot and spicy pho to fill their empty stomachs. There are three types of Pho for you to choose, including Pho Bo (beef), Pho Bo Tai (rare fillet), and Pho Ga (chicken meat). Pho also has the added advantage of being convenient to prepare and healthy to eat.

Cha Ca (Grilled Minced Fish)

Grilled minced is a traditional cuisine that served in Vietnam for more than 100 years. This dish first invented by the Doan family of Cha Ca Street in Hanoi. A wide variety of fish can be used in this dish such as sturgeon and tuna. The bones are separated from the meat and put into saffron water to be later used in a sauce. The fish is marinated in salt before being grilled.What is interesting about this dish is that people can add their favorite condiments: coriander, mint, dill, shallots, and so on.

Banh Cuon (Rice Flour Steamed Rolls)

Many Vietnamese eating Banh Cuon for breakfast. Basically Banh Cuon is made of rice flour. A small village in a suburb of Hanoi is famous for its Banh Cuon where people there serve it with a dressing, including lean meat, shrimps, mushrooms, dried onions, fish sauce, and pepper. All the ingredients are stir-fried and rolled into a Banh Cuon. Banh Cuon is delicious when it is very thin, white, and sticky. It is even tastier when dipped in a sweet, sour, and spicy sauce.

Banh Tom (Crispy Shrimp Pastry)

The dish should be eaten as soon as it arrives at the table to ensure the good taste. The fried pastry is topped with red shrimps and is eaten together with dishes of spicy vegetables mixed with sweet and sour sauce. In the local shrimping business, waiters will often tell you that the shrimps that you have ordered for your meal have just been netted in nearby West Lake. This will be a memorable meal that will ensure that you remember your stay in Hanoi.

Bun (Rice Vermicelli)

Bun is a luxurious and popular dish in Vietnam. There are different varieties of vermicelli depending on their shape: Bun Roi or stirred vermicelli, Bun Mam or twisted vermicelli, Bun La or vermicelli paper, and Bun Dem Tram or shreded vermicelli. Different ingredients can be served with vermicelli, such as fried rice cakes, snails, fried eggs, lean meat pie, chicken, and crab soup, to name a few. Each region, locality or even each restaurant, has its own vermicelli dishes recipes.

Nem Ran or Cha Gio (Fried Spring Roll)

This dish is called Nem Ran by northerners and Cha Gio by southerners. In Hanoi, Nem Ran or Cha Gio is introduced before Cha Ca existed. Consequently, it has long been a preferred food on special occasions such as Tet and other family festivities. Variety of ingredients is mixed thoroughly before being wrapped with transparent rice paper into small rolls. These rolls are then fried in boiling oil.

Vietnamese Tea

Vietnamese tea is mainly green. Sometimes people serve it with flavourings, or drunk without milk or sugar from small handle-less cups. This is the drink traditionally offered to people visiting families, friends, offices, shops and so on. Black tea is also popular in Vietnam, but drunk without milk. Stick to the tourist areas to have a traditional cup of tea with milk.

Chè (Vietnamese Dessert)

Fresh fruits are the most popular desserts for Vietnamese, but "Chè" is the most traditional Vietnamese dessert. This dish is a sweet pudding usually made by beans, bananas, coconut milk, pearl tapioca, sweet yam or yucca root vermicelli and sugar. There are shops which sell nothing but "Chè" in Vietnam. "Chè" is also a popular snack for the Vietnamese.