Ignite your tastebuds with the symphony of powerful and complimentary flavours available in Vietnam. These dishes can be found all over Vietnam and are simply too good to miss.
Pho
Pronounced ‘fuh,’ this is tasty noodle dish served with a hot broth, sprouts, beans, chilli and your choice of meat. Usually a combination of beef and chicken is served with this dish. Pho is a favourite all over Vietnam and while it looks like it won’t fill you up, I guarantee you will be feeling very content after a bowl of this savoury Vietnamese delight.
Banh Cuon
Another popular dish in the streets of Vietnam, these steamed rice rolls are cooked in long sheets before being steamed and rolled. Try it with sprouts, shallots, cucumbers or the favourite dipping sauce in Vietnam, nuoc cham a sweet, spicy, sour and fishy sauce.
Goi Cuon
No Vietnamese meal is complete without having a rice paper roll. These are packed with vegetables and lean meat or shrimp to give you a guilt free dish. Dip them in hoisin sauce or nuoc cham.
Banh Mi
When the French colonized Vietnam they brought baguettes. The Vietnamese had a genius plan to stuff these fresh baguettes with ingredients including pork belly, fish cakes, meatballs, pickled carrots, daikon and the mandatory chilli. Bite into this sandwich and it will be like no other that you have tasted.
Goi
Light, fresh and packed full of flavour, Goi is the name given to Vietnamese salads. The crunchy, salty and zesty salads will put a spring in your step. The base is made with cabbage pickled carrots, daikon, cucumber, fresh mint and coriander. You can make it your own by adding chicken, prawns or pork.
Cha Gio
Grab a few of these Vietnamese spring rolls and bite into their crunchy golden shell to reveal the fresh ingredients to make your mouth water. These spring rolls are made with pork, shrimp or crab meat and are filled with grated carrot and glass noodles.
Bun Cha
Originating in Hanoi this dish is simply delicious. Tender marinated grilled pork and small pork patties are served on beds of rice vermicelli accompanied by the powerful flavours of lime, chilli and pickled vegetables.
Mi Quang
Originating in central Vietnam, this dish is part salad and part soup. Rice noodles are added to a rich and concentrated chicken broth and crunchy noodles are added. You can add your choice of protein whether it be chicken or fish; if you are brave you can even add chilli. This is a humble dish and will warm you from the inside out.
Cơm tấm
Commonly known as Broken Rice; this dish is made from fractured rice grains. The rice is cooked and often served with lemongrass grilled pork, fish or spicy chicken. Available from street vendors, this dish will fill the void created by the smell of the flaming grill.
Banh Xeo
This fresh and fragrant Vietnamese pork pancake is a popular street food. Named after the ‘sizzling’ sound it makes when poured into the hot pan, these pancakes are sure to make you sniff the air when wandering through the streets of Vietnam.
Banh Cam
Treat yourself to a little dessert and bite into the crispy and golden sesame seed and rice flour outer layer before reaching the chewy mung bean-filled soft centre. Yum!
