Vietnamese Food

Food sits at the very epicenter of Vietnamese culture: every significant holiday on the Vietnamese cultural calendar, all the important milestones in a Vietnamese person's life, and indeed, most of the important day-to-day social events and interactions - food plays a central role in each. Special dishes are prepared and served with great care for every birth, marriage and death, and even the anniversaries of ancestors' deaths. More business deals are struck over dinner tables than over boardroom tables, and when friends get together, they eat together. Preparing food and eating together remains the focus of family life.

Characteristics of Vietnamese food include heavy use of fish sauce, which smells notoriously bad if you sniff it straight from the bottle, but blends into food very well. Vegetables, herbs and spices, notably Vietnamese coriander, accompany almost every dish and help make Vietnamese food much lighter than the cuisine of its neighboring countries.

Vietnam's national dish is pho, a broth soup with rice noodles garnished with fresh greens (usually including basil) and bean sprouts. Pho bò, the classic form of pho, is made with beef broth that is often simmered for many hours and may include one or more kinds of beef (skirt, flank, tripe, etc.). Pho gà is the same idea, but with chicken broth and chicken meat. Pho is available at any time of the day, but is most often eaten for breakfast, for lunch as well if you like. Famous pho restaurants can be found in both Hanoi and HCMC.

Streetside eateries in Vietnam typically advertise pho and com. Though com literally means rice, the sign means the restaurant serves a plate of rice accompanied with fish or meat and vegetables.

Coffee, baguettes, and pastries were originally introduced by the French colonials, but all three have been localized and remain popular contemporary aspects of Vietnamese cuisine. Coffee shops that also serve light fare can be found in almost village and on multiple street corners in the bigger cities. Bánh mì Hanoi are French bread sandwiches: freshly baked white bread baguettes filled with grilled meats or liver or pork pâté, plus fresh herbs and vegetables. Most pastry shops serve a variety of sweets and quick foods, and are now owned by Vietnamese.

If you like seafood, you may find heaven in Vietnam. The ultimate seafood experience is traveling to a seaside village or beach resort area in the south to try the local seafood restaurants that often serve shrimp, crab, and locally-caught fish. Follow the locals to a good restaurant: the food will still be swimming when you order it, it will be well-prepared, very affordable by Western standards, and often served in friendly surroundings with spectacular views.