All You Have to Know About Vietnam

Each Vietnamese dish has a distinctive flavor which reflects one or more of these elements.Vietnamese recipes use lemongrass, ginger, mint, Vietnamese mint, long coriander,Saigon cinnamon, bird's eye chili, lime, and Thai basil leaves. Traditional Vietnamese cooking has often been characterised with using fresh ingredients, not much use of dairy nor oil, interesting textures, and the use of herbs and vegetables.A leading soy sauce manufacturer's research confirms that fish sauce (nước mám)is the predominant table sauce in Vietnamese homes, where it captures over 70% of the market, while the market share for soy sauce is under 20%.12) It is also low in sugar and is almost always naturally gluten-free, as many of the dishes are made with rice noodles, rice papers and rice flour instead of wheat.

Besides indigenous Vietnamese influences, which are the major core of Vietnamese Bun food, owing to historical contact with China and some centuries of sinicization, some Vietnamese dishes shares similarities with Chinese cuisine. In culinary traditions, the Chinese introduced to Vietnam several dishes, including vân thần/hoành thánh (wonton), xã Xỉu (char siu), há cảo (har gow), hủ tiếu (ka tieu), mi (wheat noodles), bỏ bia (popiah), bánh quẩy (youtiao), mooncake and bánh pia (Suzhou style mooncake), bánh tố (nian Mi vằn thân (wonton noodles soup) gao), sủi dìn (tang yuan), bảnh bỏ, bảnh bao (baozi),cơm chiên Dương Châu (Yangzhou-fried rice), and mi xào (chow mein).

The Vietnamese adopted these foods and added their own styles and flavors to the foods. Ethnic minorities in the mountainous region near the border-Vietnam border also adopted some foods from China. Ethnic Tày and Nung in Lạng Sơn Province adopted thit lon quay (roasted Bò kho (beef stew) and bánh mì (Vietnamese baguette) influenced pork) and khâu nhuc (braised pork belly) from China. Some New World vegetables, such as chili peppers and corn (maize), also made their way to Vietnam from the Ming dynasty.The French introduced baguettes to Vietnam, which were combined with Vietnamese stuffing to become a popular fast food in Vietnam called banh mi thit, known overseas as "Vietnamese baguettes". Bánh mi is just the bread, whereas thit implies meat or stuffing.The French also introduced Vietnam to onions, cauliflower, lettuce, potatoes, tarragon, carrot, artichoke, asparagus, and coffee.Cà ri gà (chicken curry with coconut milk)influenced by South.

The western introduced ingredients often have a name derived from a similar native East Asian cuisineVietnamese ingredient, then adding the word tây (meaning western). Onions are called hành tây (literally "western shallots"),asparagus as mäng tây (western bamboo shoots) and potatoes are called khoai tây(western yam) in Vietnamese, which reflects their origin before arriving in Vietnam. French-influenced dishes are numerous and not limited to sa lát (salad), pate, patê số (a Brittany pasty called "pate chaud"), bánh sừng trâu (croissant), bánh flan, yava (yogurt), rôti (rotisserie), bo (butter), vịt nấu cam (duck à l'orange), õp lēt (omelette), õp la (aufs au plat), phá xi (farcies),bit tết (beefsteak), sőt vang (cooking with wine), dām bông (jambon), and xúc xích (saucisse). Owing to influences from French colonial rule, the French Indochinese countries of Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia have several shared dishes and beverages, including baguettes and coffee. The French also introduced the use of dairy products in Vietnamese-French fusion dishes.Vietnamese cuisine also has influences from Champa, Malaysia and Cambodia. The use of coconut milk and various central dishes such as bánh khọt were influenced by Cham cuisine. Spices including curries were also introduced to Vietnam by Malay and Indian traders.[4] Though not common in the north, cà ri is a quite popular dish in central and southern Vietnam. The most common form is chicken curry, and to a lesser extent, goat curry. Chicken curry is an indispensable dish in many social gathering events, such as weddings, funerals, graduations, and the yearly death anniversary of a loved one. Similar to Cambodia, curry in Vietnam is eaten either with bread, steamed rice, or round rice noodles (rice vermicelli). Mam bo hoc or prahok, adopted from ethnic Khmer in Southern Vietnam, is used as a central ingredient of a Vietnamese rice noodle soup called bun nước lèo which originated with ethnic Khmers in Vietnam and is not found in Cambodia.Owing to contact with previous communist countries from Eastern Europe, the Vietnamese adopted dishes such as stuffed cabbage soup, thịt đông (Kholodets), sa lát Nga (Russian salad) and bia Tiệp (Czech beer).

The Vietnamese cuisine evolved within a tropical ecology of warm weather, plenty of rainfall, and profuse rivers that allowed for intensive agriculture. The other dominant natural element was the sea, which provided fish and seafood. The third influence was hardworking people who settled in densely populated river deltas, valleys, and lowlands.Under these conditions, growing rice as the staple was an ecologically sound practical choice. lrrigated, transplanted, labor-intensive paddy rice grown in the major river valleys and deltas was the most effective crop under the conditions of limited soil, plenty of water, high temperatures, perennial humidity, and a large number of available working hands.Yet, while rice provides most of ViệtNam's carbohydrates and energy, polished white rice is nutritionally polished white rice is nutritionally unwholesome and lacks fat, protein, vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

Nutritionally speaking, the Vietnamese cuisine is all about balancing these shortcomings with local edibles. Fish and seafood provide protein; aromatics and leafy greens (and some other fruits and vegetables) supply vitamins, minerals, and fiber; and ground nuts and coconuts supply fats. Raw greens and aromatics in great variety (basils, mints, corianders, lettuces) are essential components of any Vietnamese meal. Mixed with other foods, they are the elements that provide exceptional variation in taste and texture.While fresh and dried fish and seafood are essential meal components, the most common way to consume them is in the form of nuoc mam (fish sauce), which is produced by fermenting fish in brine.

This is actually a preservation technique, and the outcome is nutritionally rich. While many of students found the smell of raw fish sauce hard to cope with, once cooked or diluted with lime juice and spices, the sharp smell is transformed into a rich and appealing aroma that is the main marker of Vietnamese food.The most common spices-chili, lime, ginger, garlic, shallot, and pepper-are all important sources of vitamins and minerals. There is a preference for sour tastes (for instance, the pulp of unripe tamarind), which are considered cooling and appropriate for the warm weather. Vietnamese food is not as hot as Thai food, and diners determine the level of spiciness by adding shredded fresh chili into their dishes or biting into one while eating. Altogether, the Vietnamese cuisine is shaped by specific ecological conditions and is clearly devised to supply human nutritional demands.Presenting Vietnamese cuisine as ecologically and biologically sound may demystify it when studying its cultural characteristics. ln cooking techniques, despite the sophisticated dishes they produce, Vietnamese kitchens are surprisingly simple when compared to Western kitchens. The most important kitchen utensil is a large oval iron pan (chao, Chinese wok),which distributes heat evenly for fast cooking (stir-frying), saves expensive fuel, and maintains crispiness as well as nutritional value. Another crucial utensil is a heavy cleaver, which-along with a wood block-facilitates slicing ingredients for stir-frying.Pestle and mortar come third, mainly to process the spices. These utensils do most of the work, with ladles, large chopsticks, and strainers doing much of the rest.

It's hard to talk about Vietnamese food without mentioning French colonization, which began with missionaries arriving in the 18th century and not ending until 1954. Clearly it had a lasting effect on the country, the people, the architecture, the land, and the flavors. Most obvious might be the banh mi, with its crusty French baguette as the foundation. But the Vietnamese have taken this sandwich and made it entirely their own with grilled pork, fish patties, sardines, cilantro, chili-spiked pickled carrots and other fillings. Most salt intake in the Vietnamese diet is delivered in the form of fish sauce.Salty, funky, fermented fish sauce, or nước mắm in Vietnamese, is used in marinades, soup broths, salad dressings, spring roll dips, and it's really hard to think of any dish where it's not used. The national condiment is nước chấm, made of fish sauce that's diluted slightly with a splash of lime juice, sugar, chilies and garlic.

Unripe fruits are considered more like vegetables in Vietnam. A green papaya or banana flower, for example, becomes the base for salads in lieu of leafy greens.Usually a bit sour, the unripe fruit pairs nicely with fish sauce, chili, garlic, dried shrimp, and finely chopped peanuts. Ripe fruit, on the other hand, is sweet and wondrous. lnstead of cakes or cookies for dessert, usually a meal ends with a hot teapot and big platter of indigenous fruits. Slices of banana, mango, pineapple, watermelon, dragonfruit, papaya, rambutans, and lychees.