Foods in Vietnam, Vietnam Foods

Vietnam foods offered special dishes are prepared and served with great carefor every birth, marriage and death, and the anniversaries of ancestors deaths.

About foods in Vietnam

More business deals are struck over dinnertables than over boardroom tables, and whenfriends get together, they eat together. Preparing food and eating together remains the focus of family life.

Vietnamese cuisinevaries slightly from region to region, with many regions having their ownspecialities. Generally, northern Vietnam cuisine is known for being blandwhile southern Vietnamese cuisine is known for being spicy.

At the same time, the Vietnamese are surprisingly modest about their cuisine. (And old proverb/joke says that a fortunate man has a Western (French) house, Japanese wife, and Chinese chef.) High-end restaurants tend to serve "Asian-fusion" cuisine, withelements of Thai, Japanese, and Chinese mixed in. The most authentic Vietnamese food is found at modest or even quite cheap restaurants. Definite regional styles exist -- northern, central, andsouthern, each with unique dishes. Central style is perhaps the most celebrated,with dishes such as mi quang (wheat noodles with herbs, pork, and shrimp), banhcanh cua (crab soup with thick rice noodles) and bun bo Hue City (beef soup withherbs and noodles).

Many Vietnamese dishes are flavored with fishsauce (nước mắm), which smells and tastes like anchovies (quite salty and fishy) straight from the bottle, but blends into food verywell. (Try taking home a bottle of fish sauce, and using it instead of salt inalmost any savory dish -- you will be pleasantly surprised with the results.) Fish sauce is also mixed with lime juice, sugar, water, and spices to form atasty dip/condiment called nước chấm, served on the table with mostmeals. Vegetables, herbs and spices, notably Vietnamese coriander or cilantro (rau mùi or rau mgò), mint (rau răm) and basil (rau húng), accompany almost every dishand help make Vietnamese food much lighter and more aromatic than the cuisine ofits neighboring countries, especially China.

Vietnam national dish is phở, a brothsoup with beef or chicken and rice noodles (a form of rice linguini orfettuccini). Phở is normally served with plates of fresh herbs (usually including Asian basil), cut limes, hot chilis and and scalded bean sprouts which you canadd in according to your taste, along with chili paste, chili sauce, and sweet soybean sauce. Phở bò, the classic form of phở, is made with beef broththat is often simmered for many hours and may include one or more kinds of beef (skirt, flank, tripe, etc.). Phở gà is the same idea, but with chickenbroth and chicken meat. Phở is the original Vietnamese fast food, which localsgrab for a quick meal. Most phở places specialize in phở and can serve you abowls as fast as you could get a Big Mac. It is available at any time of the day,but locals eat it most often for breakfast. Famous phở restaurants can be foundin Hanoi City. Generally speaking, the phở served at roadside stalls tends to becheaper and taste better than those served in fancier restaurants.

Streetside eateries in Vietnam tour package typically advertise phở and cơm. Though cơm literally means rice, thesign means the restaurant serves a plate of rice accompanied with fish or meatand vegetables. Though they may look filthy, streetside eateries are generally safe so long as you avoid under cooked food.

Coffee, baguettes, andpastries were originally introduced by the French colonials,but all three have been localized and remain popular contemporary aspects ofVietnamese cuisine. More on  below, but coffee shops that alsoserve light fare can be found in almost village and on multiple street cornersin the bigger cities. Bánh mì Hanoi are French bread sandwiches: freshly baked white bread baguettes filled withgrilled meats or liver or pork pâté, plus fresh herbs and vegetables. Mostpastry shops serve a variety of sweets and quick foods, and are now owned by Vietnamese.

If you like seafood, you may findheaven in Vietnam vacation. The ultimate seafood experience is traveling to a seasidevillage or beach resort area in the south to try the local seafood restaurants that often serve shrimp, crab, andlocally-caught fish. Follow the locals to a good restaurant: the food will stillbe swimming when you order it, it will be well-prepared, very affordable by Western standards, and often served in friendly surroundings with spectacularviews.

• Vietnam Travel Guide
• Vietnam tour package
• Foods in Vietnam, Vietnam Foods