Vietnamese cuisine builds meals around rice, fresh herbs added at the table rather than cooked in, and a cultivated balance of salty, sour, sweet, bitter and spicy flavors. A millennium of Chinese rule left its mark in the north through techniques such as stir frying and ingredients such as soy sauce, while nearly a century of French colonization added the baguette, pate and coffee culture, most visibly in banh mi and ca phe sua da. Meals are typically shared family style, and cooking varies meaningfully between the north, center and south of the country. This balance of flavors follows a traditional framework of five fundamental tastes, spicy, sour, bitter, salty and sweet, each linked to one of five organs, a philosophy cooks still draw on when composing a dish.
Facts
Signature TechniqueBalancing five flavor elements in a single dish and finishing it at the table with a plate of fresh herbs, bean sprouts and citrus that the diner adds rather than the cook. 1 Origin RegionVietnam, mainland Southeast Asia, from the Red River Delta in the north to the Mekong Delta in the south. 1 Vietnamese Cuisine
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Associated With
A millennium of Chinese rule over northern Vietnam, traditionally dated from 111 BCE to the 10th century CE, left techniques, ingredients and, in the case of pho, a contested etymological layer on Vietnamese cooking.
Source Pho (Language Log, University of Pennsylvania)Victor Mair
French Cuisine, Cuisines Nearly a century of French colonial rule introduced the baguette, pate and coffee culture into Vietnamese cooking, most visibly in banh mi and ca phe sua da.
Source A Taste of Vietnam, from Hearty Sour Broths to Fragrantly Spiced Street Food (National Geographic)Thuy Diem Pham
Vietnamese cuisine is documented as substantially defined by its street food register, from broths to spiced snacks sold at stalls.
Source A Taste of Vietnam, from Hearty Sour Broths to Fragrantly Spiced Street Food (National Geographic)Thuy Diem Pham
Expresses Tradition
Features Dish
Source Bánh bao (Wikipedia)
Source Banh beo (Wikipedia)
Source Bánh chưng (Wikipedia)
Source Bánh đậu xanh (Wikipedia)
Source Bánh phu thê (Wikipedia)
Source Bánh tét (Wikipedia)
Source Banh xeo, Wikipedia
Source Bun Cha (Wikipedia)
Source Chả cá Lã Vọng (Wikipedia)
Source Goi Cuon (Wikipedia)
Source Grass jelly (Wikipedia)
Source Hủ tiếu (Wikipedia)
Pho, Dishes Source What Pho Can Teach Us About the History of Vietnam (National Geographic)Ryley Graham
Source Vietnamese noodles (Wikipedia)
Uses Ingredient
Source A Taste of Vietnam, from Hearty Sour Broths to Fragrantly Spiced Street Food (National Geographic)Thuy Diem Pham
Source A Taste of Vietnam, from Hearty Sour Broths to Fragrantly Spiced Street Food (National Geographic)Thuy Diem Pham
Source A Taste of Vietnam, from Hearty Sour Broths to Fragrantly Spiced Street Food (National Geographic)Thuy Diem Pham
Source A Taste of Vietnam, from Hearty Sour Broths to Fragrantly Spiced Street Food (National Geographic)Thuy Diem Pham
Source A Taste of Vietnam, from Hearty Sour Broths to Fragrantly Spiced Street Food (National Geographic)Thuy Diem Pham
In the Other Atlases
- Also in Geography Atlas: Vietnam, originated there.
Sources
1. A Taste of Vietnam, from Hearty Sour Broths to Fragrantly Spiced Street Food (National Geographic)
Vietnamese Cuisine (Wikipedia)
WikipediaRegional cuisines
In northern Vietnam, a colder climate limits the production and availability of spices.
section: Relation to Vietnamese philosophy
Many Vietnamese dishes include five fundamental taste senses (ngũ vị): spicy (metal), sour (wood), bitter (fire), salty (water) and sweet (earth), corresponding to five organs (ngũ tạng).
View the Source Pho (Language Log, University of Pennsylvania)
Victor Mair, Language Log, University of Pennsylvania, 2023Associated With: Chinese CuisineView the Source What Pho Can Teach Us About the History of Vietnam (National Geographic)
Bun Cha (Wikipedia)
WikipediaFeatures Dish: Bun Cha, lead section, definition clauseQuote, Features Dish: Bun Cha, lead section, definition clause
is a Vietnamese dish of grilled pork and noodles, which is thought to have originated from Hanoi, Vietnam.
Goi Cuon (Wikipedia)
WikipediaFeatures Dish: Goi Cuon, lead sectionQuote, Features Dish: Goi Cuon, lead section
nem cuốn, salad roll, summer roll, fresh spring roll, or rice paper roll is a Vietnamese dish traditionally consisting of pork, prawn, vegetables, bún (rice vermicelli), and other ingredients wrapped in bánh tráng (commonly known as rice paper or cold roll).
Curry (Wikipedia)
Wonton (Wikipedia)
Banh xeo, Wikipedia
Grass jelly (Wikipedia)
Hủ tiếu (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Hủ tiếu, infobox national_cuisine fieldQuote, Features Dish: Hủ tiếu, infobox national_cuisine field
Vietnamese
Vietnamese noodles (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Vietnamese noodles, lead paragraphQuote, Features Dish: Vietnamese noodles, lead paragraph
Vietnamese cuisine includes many types of noodles.
Banh beo (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Banh Beo, lead paragraphQuote, Features Dish: Banh Beo, lead paragraph
Bánh bèo is a Vietnamese dish originating from Huế, a city in Central Vietnam.
Bánh phu thê (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Bánh phu thê, lead paragraphQuote, Features Dish: Bánh phu thê, lead paragraph
Bánh phu thê (lit. 'husband and wife cake') or bánh xu xê, is a Vietnamese dessert made from tapioca flour with mung bean stuffing wrapped in a box made of pandan leaves.
Bánh bao (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Bánh bao, lead paragraphQuote, Features Dish: Bánh bao, lead paragraph
Bánh bao (literally "dumplings") is a Chinese bun based on the Cantonese tai pao, or da bao (large bun), which was introduced to Vietnam by Chinese immigrants.
Bánh chưng (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Bánh chưng, lead paragraphQuote, Features Dish: Bánh chưng, lead paragraph
Bánh chưng, banh chung or chung cake is a traditional Vietnamese dish which is made from glutinous rice, mung beans, pork, and other ingredients.
Bánh đậu xanh (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Bánh đậu xanh, lead paragraphQuote, Features Dish: Bánh đậu xanh, lead paragraph
Bánh đậu xanh (chữ Nôm: 𩚵豆靑, mung bean pastry) is a type of bánh in Vietnamese cuisine.
Cốm (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Cốm, lead paragraphQuote, Features Dish: Cốm, lead paragraph
Cốm, or simply called green rice, is a flattened and chewy green rice in Vietnamese cuisine.
Chả cá Lã Vọng (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Chả cá Lã Vọng, lead paragraphQuote, Features Dish: Chả cá Lã Vọng, lead paragraph
Cha ca La Vong (Chả cá Lã Vọng in Vietnamese) is a Vietnamese grilled fish dish originally from Hanoi.
Bánh tét (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Bánh Tét, lead paragraphQuote, Features Dish: Bánh Tét, lead paragraph
Bánh tét is a Vietnamese savoury but sometimes sweetened cake made primarily from glutinous rice, which is rolled in a banana leaf into a thick, log-like cylindrical shape, with a mung bean and pork filling, then boiled.
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