Vietnam - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 827

VIETNAMESE FOOD
Vietnamese food is very distinct, using
plenty of fresh herbs, though flavours and
dishes vary depending on the region. he
cuisine relies on a balance of salty, sweet,
sour and hot flavours, achieved through
use of nuoc mam , a fermented fish sauce ,
cane sugar, the juice of kalamansi citrus
fruit or tamarind and chilli peppers.
Vietnamese food tends not to be overly
spicy, as chilli sauces are served separately,
but pepper is used liberally; Vietnamese
pepper is some of the most flavourful
in the world.
he staple of Vietnamese meals is rice
( com ), with noodles a popular alternative,
and potatoes eaten in the northern
highlands. Typically, rice will be
accompanied by a fish or meat dish, a
vegetable dish and soup. he other great
staple is pho (pronounced “fur”), a noodle
soup eaten at any time of day but primarily
at breakfast. he basic bowl of pho consists
of a light beef or chicken broth flavoured
with ginger and coriander, to which are
added broad, flat rice noodles, spring
onions and slivers of chicken, pork or beef;
there are regional variations.
Spring rolls or nems are ubiquitous
throughout Vietnam. Various
combinations of minced pork, shrimp or
crab, rice vermicelli, onions, straw
mushroom, catfish and dill, bean sprouts
and fragrant herbs are rolled in rice-paper
wrappers, and then eaten fresh or
deep-fried, usually dipped in the
ubiquitous chilli-fish sauce, or a dark
peanut sauce. Lau or steamboat is the
Vietnamese take on the Chinese hotpot,
with groups of diners cooking slices of
meat and seafood in the communal pot,
and then afterwards drinking the
flavourful liquid that's left.
Vietnam is a great country for seafood ,
with clams, crab, prawns, squid, and all
manner of fish (including the snake-head
fish in the Mekong Delta). Meats
consumed include beef, chicken, pork;
less conventional sources of protein
include freshwater snails, rat, dog, snake
and frogs.
Most restaurants offer a few meat-free
dishes , such as stewed spinach or similar
greens, or a mix of onion, tomato, bean

sprouts, various mushrooms and peppers
( rau xao cac loai ); places used to
foreigners may do vegetarian spring rolls
( nem an chay or nem khong co thit ). he
phrase to remember is nguoi an chay
(vegetarian), or seek out a vegetarian
rice-shop ( tiem com chay ) - Buddhist
restaurants that serve faux-meat dishes.
Regional specialities not to miss in the
south include: bahn mi (baguette
sandwiches with sausage, pâté and mayo,
canh chua ca (a hearty Mekong Delta
soup with snakehead fish, pineapple and
taro in a tamarind broth), and bahn xeo
(chewy rice crepe with pork, shrimp and
mung bean filling). Central Vietnam is
famous for bun bo hue (rice noodle soup
with chilli, lemongrass, beef, pork and
herbs), com hen (rice served with tiny
clams and broth, garnished with rice
crackers, pork crackling, herbs and
vegetables), and bahn khoai (crepes filled
with shrimp, pork, bean sprouts, star
fruit and green banana, dunked in a
fermented soybean sauce). In Hoi An and
further north you'll find claypot dishes
featuring smoky charred aubergine, while
northern dishes include bahn cuon
(steamed rice rolls filled with pork,
mushrooms and dried shrimp, garnished
with crispy shallots), bun cha (barbecued
pork patties with rice, vermicelli and
fresh herbs, dipped in fish sauce with
pickled vegetables) and pho bo (beef
noodle soup made with shallot, black
cardamom, star anise and fish sauce).
Vietnam is blessed with dozens of
tropical and temperate fruits . Pineapple,
coconut, papaya, mango, longan and
mangosteen flourish in the south. A fruit
that people either love or hate is the
durian , a spiky, yellow-green football-
sized fruit with an unmistakeably
pungent odour and a strong taste.
Vegetables such as aubergines and
potatoes are widely used, particularly in
northern cooking; look out also for
wonderful salads that use banana
blossoms and green papaya.

11

DRINKS
Don't drink the tap water in Vietnam;
bottled water and carbonated drinks are
ubiquitous throughout the country.