Enjoy the Best Food of Vietnam

Vietnam is a culture deservedly proud of its rich selections of delicious and healthy cuisine. Let’s take a look at the best food of Vietnam not to be missed, whether traveling in Vietnam or stepping out for dinner at home.

The food in Vietnam is incredibly delicious, varied, and quite healthy. I am always fascinated by the seemingly endless variety of Vietnamese food that is available for the hungry traveler to enjoy.

Every time I think that I have tried everything this culinary loving country has to offer, I am so pleasantly surprised to find something new and exciting.

Though similar, the cuisine of northern, central, and southern Vietnam often differs in appearance and taste. Even locals from any one region are often surprised by the variety of food they may experience for the first time when they visit other regions of the country.

Likewise, travelers to Vietnam will be delighted with what they can find to eat, and all at unbelievably reasonable prices.

What is the Best Food of Vietnam Not to Miss?

The food of Vietnam is rich and varied, and there is something the tantalize the taste buds of even those with the most discerning palates. Let’s start with the soups, as they are a common meal in Vietnam.

All of the following can be enjoyed for as little as 50,000 Vietnamese dong (Vietnam’s unit of currency), the equivalent of about two US dollars.

Let’s start with the soups. Soups in Vietnam are viewed differently than the way they are in the West. Whereas in the West, they are often complements to a meal, in Vietnam, they ARE the meal.

Just treat yourself to a bowl of any of the following and you will quickly see why.

Phở: Quite Possibly the National Dish of Vietnam

Often considered the national dish of modern-day Vietnam, phở (pronounced like the English word “sun” without the “n”) is a delicious soup made with a tasty broth, rice noodles somewhat similar in shape and size to linguine (but with a different taste, made with rice, rather than wheat), onion, basil, and a few other herbs. You can order it with either beef or chicken.

Phở as a Street Food

Phở is among the best of the street food of Vietnam, and you will be able to find it everywhere all over the country. Also, it is almost universally available in Vietnamese restaurants all over the world.

It is served with fresh vegetables such as basil, scallions, and steamed bean sprouts on a separate plate and there will always be two sauces served with this dish. One sauce is called “hoisin,” which is Chinese in origin. This sauce is made with sweet potato, soybeans, wheat flour, sugar, garlic, water, salt, sesame seeds, cornstarch, and chili.

The other is called “sriracha,” named after the Thai village in which is was first used. Though Thai in origin, it’s become quite popular not only in Vietnam, but all over the world. Sriracha sauce is made with ground chili peppers, distilled vinegar, garlic, sugar, and salt.

After being served, break up the veggies into your bowl and also add the two sauces.

One sauce is a red chili sauce. It’s a little spicy, but not as much so as you would think. The other sauce is called hoi-san. It’s a sweet-potato-based sauce made with vinegar and an assortment of delicious herbs and spices. Start off with a small amount and then add more until you get the taste you like. But don’t omit the sauces, as they are what give phở its characteristic flavor!

If you are travelling through Vietnam, you will notice a difference between northern and southern varieties of this dish. The broth tends to be sweeter in the north compared to the south. Also, the choice of herbs and vegetables differs. In fact, northern style is served with few vegetable, whereas southern style comes with quite a lot of veggies served on the side.

Hủ Tiếu: Simple Yet Elegant Meal on the Go

During a visit to Vietnam, nothing beats sitting in little plastic chairs on a sidewalk near a chaotic Saigon street and digging into a fresh, hot bowl of hủ tiếu.

Like phở, and in fact like most soups in Vietnam, hủ tiếu is noodle-based, but the noodles in hủ tiếu are made from tapioca. They are a little chewy and more firm than other noodles.

Varieties of Hủ Tiếu

There are many varieties of hủ tiếu, but for many, the definitive bowl of hủ tiếu is hủ tiếu Nam Vang Nam Vang is the the Vietnamese word for Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, from which the soup actually originated. Hủ tiếu is found primarily in southern Vietnam.

Hủ tiếu Nam Vang’s broth is pork-based, and a serving comes with a chunk of pork meat, a few shrimp, a boiled quail egg, lettuce and a few herbs, and boiled bean sprouts. You can add about a tea-spoon of fish sauce to really bring out the delicious flavor of the soup.

Hủ tiếu is a soup, but you can get a dry (broth-less) version, which I also really like. Of course, everything is cooked; there’s just no broth.

Bún Bò Huế: Delicious Beef and Vegetable Soup

Bún bò Huế is a specialty from central Vietnam, more specifically the city of Huế, the old imperial capital of the country.

The name is derived from the fact that the noodle is bún, a common rice noodle in Vietnam, and that the primary meat is beef, or bò in Vietnamese. Like most Vietnamese dishes, bún bò Huế is very healthy, as it is mostly noodles and vegetables, and not a lot of beef. In fact, I don’t typically eat beef, but I make an exception for bún bò Huế!

Bún bò Huế is cooked with a hint of lemongrass, which is one of the most amazing tastes in the Vietnamese food canon, giving it a bit of a kick of exotic flavoring. If you are feeling truly adventurous, try adding a small amount of shrimp paste, a purple sauce that gives bún bò Huế its incredibly unique flavor.

A word of caution, though. Start with a very small amount and then add more if you like it. Even many locals can’t handle shrimp paste. But if you can eat it, the locals will be quite impressed.

Bún Riêu: Tangy and Tomato-y Delight

Bún riêu is a real treat. For many Vietnamese, this is one of their favorite soups. It’s made with a light tomato-based broth and a thinner rice noodle, called “bún.” (similar in size to hủ tiếu’s noodles). Then, freshly ground crab meat, sliced tomatoes, stir-fried tofu, mint leaves, and bean sprouts are added and cooked into the soup.

After being served, you can add an assortment of other ingredients to suit your taste, such as shredded banana flowers, vinegar, sweet fish sauce, and tamarind sauce.

An Adventurous Sauce

For the adventurous, shrimp paste can be added to really bring out the flavor. As mentioned above, start with a small quantity and work your way up, as this sauce is quite intensely flavored. But do add even a drop to bring out the authentic flavor of this exquisite soup.

Bo Kho: Savory Slow-Cooked Beef Stew

Bo Kho is a rich and tasty lean beef stew that is served with thin rice noodles, often the same as you’ll find in bun rieu (see above). Bread or rice is sometimes served with bo kho as an alternative to the rice noodles.

The beef is prepared using the “kho method” of cooking popular in southern Vietnam and Cambodia. The beef is braised on low heat in a marinade of fish sauce, sugar, and water or the juice of young coconut.

Sometimes, this dish is quite spicy, but usually it’s not so much spicy as it is savory. Bo kho is a unique taste in Vietnamese cuisine and is of mixed origin, possibly originating from the influence of French stew recipes brought into Vietnam during colonial times. Some chefs feel the dish is closer to that of Malaysian or Indian cuisine.

In addition to the lean beef, bo kho includes carrots, garlic, lemongrass, tomato sauce, ginger, chili, and fish sauce.

Bun Mam: The Queen of Soups

Bun mam is one Vietnamese soup that rises above the rest in terms of being flavorful and savory. It’s my personal favorite, but it’s so strong that I only let myself enjoy a bowl every few weeks, so as to not become burned out by its strong taste.

I even know local Vietnamese who have told me they cannot deal with the strong flavor.

This soup is known for its robust broth, which is made from fermented fish. Bun mam is similar in look to a seafood gumbo, but the soup is much thinner. Cooked Inside the broth is a delicious blend of fish, prawns, pork (known as “cracking pork”), squid, and eggplant, and Chinese celery.

A tasty sweet fish sauce is added just before eating.

Bun mam will deliver a sharp smack to the nose, but its fresh herbs give it a aromatic smell.

Now, let’s look at some rice and noodle dishes that are not soups.

Cơm Tấm: Broken Rice Served Hot and Fresh

One of the most prevalent dishes that you will see everywhere in Vietnam is cơm tấm. It’s a true specialty within Vietnam, as broken rice is not usually exported.

The rice consists of the grains that were broken during the milling and drying process, so that’s where the name comes from. These grains cannot be sold on the market, as they are considered to be flawed. Formerly, the rice was usually ground up to use as flour in other dishes or just thrown out or fed to animals, but farmers near Saigon began cooking and eating it themselves. Today, it’s a specialty of the city.

Broken rice looks very similar to any other rice; it’s just smaller. The taste is is not at all diminished by the fact that they are “broken.” It’s quite good, actually. Cơm tấm is served with other items placed on top, for example, grilled pork chops (sườn nướng), pork stuffed tofu, chicken legs, fish, or a fried egg. Sliced cucumber and tomatoes are served on the side, along with a fish sauce with lime and chili added.

The best place to eat cơm tấm is at a small eatery in front of someone’s home or from a cooked-food stall. You will be able to spot a place serving this dish by the sign on the front of the cart, which will say “Cơm Tấm.” This dish is served for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Bún Thịt Nướng: Thin Rice Noodles and Grilled Pork

Bún thịt nướng is thin rice noodles boiled and cooled, then served in a large bowl with grilled pork, mint and basil leaves, bean sprouts, sliced cucumber, and (sometimes) fried spring rolls (chả giò). Peanuts and a fish sauce lightened with lemon juice, sugar, and chili are mixed in after serving.

The pork is prepared by slicing it thinly, then flavoring it overnight in a marinade of minced shallots (a small mild onion) and garlic, fish sauce, sugar, and soy sauce. It is then grilled over red-hot charcoal just before the noodles and vegetables are prepared.

Bún thịt nướng is a favorite in the south. In the north, a dish very similar to bún thịt nướng, called bún chả Hanoi, is very popular. It’s usually served on a plate, rather than in a bowl, and the sauce served with it is a very light fish sauce but with vinegar added, along with sugar. Also, the vegetables served with this dish differ from those in the south.

Both of these dishes are very traditional Vietnamese fare, so give them a try if you see them being served.

Bánh Xèo: Vietnamese Pancake, Not an Omelette

If you are looking for a unique traditional Vietnamese food, bánh xèo would be a worthy addition to your list of “must-eat foods.”

Bánh xèo translates as “sizzling cake” in Vietnamese, but they are often called “pancakes” in English, though they are nothing like what you may think of as a pancake. The shell is made with rice flour, coconut milk, salt, turmeric, egg, and green onion lightly fried in a wok over a traditional charcoal stove. The edges have a tasty crusty exterior, but the cakes are soft and moist in the center.

While still in the wok, other ingredients such as shrimp, pork, various mushrooms, bean sprouts, and other vegetables are added, and then the crust is folded over to form what looks like a huge yellow crepe or omelet. Despite what you may think from looking at it, there are no eggs in this dish.

To eat bánh xèo, just use your chopsticks or fingers to break off a piece a little smaller than your palm and then wrap it, along with some mint and basil leaves, in a large piece of lettuce. All the necessary vegetables are served on a separate plate.

Dip your roll generously into the thin sauce that is served in a small bowl on the side. The sauce, called nước chấm, is made with fish sauce, garlic, chili, lemon juice, and water.

I hope you have enjoyed reading my recommendations for the best food of Vietnam. Whether you visiting this charming country or looking for a great meal in your own hometown, you will be in for a real culinary treat. Bon appétit!