Vietnamese Food Recipes
Óc trần lá ngải
Óc trần lá ngải is listed among the most horror foods for foreign visitors in Vietnam.
Grilled beef wrapped in wild betel leaf
Riding along the crowded streets of Saigon in the afternoon, people can often be attracted by a fragrant and spicy smell of seasoned grilled rolls of beef, stemming from moving-stalls blurred in the smoke from charcoal flame. This dish, wrapped up in wild betel leaf, has become a favorite snack of Vietnamese, particularly Saigonese, to serve with beer or wine.
Snakehead Congee
Snakehead fish congee can appear as a normal dish of the commoners, but to those who first taste, that dish served in hotpot style is quite a surprise.
Frequently asked questions
Is Vietnamese cooking difficult?
Yes and no.
In general, Vietnamese cooking requires more work than Western dishes, especially in the preparation process. A spring roll dish for example calls for over 10 ingredients. The same applies to Pho or Banh My.
Leaving the hard part in gathering enough ingredients behind, the actual cooking part can be fun for some but rigorous for others. For example, to make spaghetti, all one has to do is to boiled the noodle and make the sauce. To make Pho, one has to gather all the spice: ginger, clove, star anise, shallot, grilled them well and put them in the meat broth to bring out the flavor. The noodle is then added, followed by shredded chicken or thinly sliced beef, and finally herbs and spice.
The cooking of Vietnamese cuisine can be especially challenging if you do not live in the country, as some ingredients may be hard to get outside of Vietnam.
What is the healthiest Vietnamese food?
The healthiest Vietnamese food are vegetable-based dishes. Thanks to its location in the tropical zone but with diverse altitudes, Vietnam enjoys a broad spectrum of vegetables and herbs. Many of which are simply boiled to serve with soy sauce or fish sauce, making them both loaded with vitamin and low in calorie.
What does "nước mắm" mean?
This is a common ingredient in Vietnamese recipe- they can be added to braised meat or fish to replace the salt, or serve as popular dipping sauce in any Vietnamese meals. In many dishes, nuoc mam plays a vital role in adding the main flavor to the dish: it's often mixed with lime, sugar and chili or garlic to give a tangy/salty/sweet taste.
Is turmeric used in Vietnamese cooking?
Turmeric is fairly common in Vietnamese cooking. A few popular dishes that include turmeric are:
- Hoi An Chicken Rice
- Oc om chuoi dau (snail stew with green bananas)
- Bun moc (round noodle with meat balls)
