Taste Vietnam: flavours and traditions of Central Vietnam
Eating in Vietnam means something very different from all other places we have visited in Asia. Herbs, spices, seasonings in large quantities, raw instead of spices and curries. Big green leaves that are served with every dish, to be tucked into rice paper rolls or sprinkled on hot noodle soups.
Never before have I tasted so many uncooked ingredients on the plate in other Eastern countries.
Vietnamese people eat any part of any plant. If you get a chance to visit a market, it will be impossible to recognize every leaf sold on the flat bamboo baskets. Coriander in so many varieties, basil of all kinds, potato leaves, mustard leaves, leaves with the flavour of fish or lemon. For every recipe there is a clever combination of greens to enrich the dish.
Spicy is in every dish, but very delicate. Vietnamese tables also feature many varieties of stuffed dumplings, Dim Sum from China, and curries from India. In addition, fish, in spicy crusts, accompanied by sweet and spicy sauces, is cooked beautifully in coastal locations.
Dishes not to be missed
Central Vietnamese cuisine is said to be among the most elaborate and tasty, so be sure to try some of these dishes:
NEM RÁN
Similar to a spring roll, this vegetable-stuffed fried spring roll differs from its Chinese cousin in the type of rice paper in which it is wrapped. This is a sheet composed of thin strands of dough that allow the cooking oil to drain and not leave the roll too greasy. Try them at a good restaurant, otherwise they will be more like fast food. The sweet and sour sauce to dip them in, is really tasty.
NEM LỤI
These are DIY rolls: they will be presented to you with skewers of minced pork or shrimp wrapped around a stick of lemongrass, which gives the meat an exceptional fragrance. These are accompanied by sheets of transparent rice paper, vegetables of all kinds, and a peanut sauce (not my favourite though). They will explain to you how to prepare the roll, by arranging the vegetables in the rice paper, then wrapping the skewer and slipping off the lemongrass stick, which of course is not to be eaten. One of the favorite dishes of our trip.
PHỞ
The world-renowned Vietnamese dish, a rich beef broth in which rice noodles, beef rags, fresh spring onion, and chili peppers sink beautifully. Phở is served with abundant herbs to arrange over the soup and generous portions of lime to squeeze to enrich the broth.
BÚN BÒ HUẾ
Similar to Phở, this beef broth with noodles contains generous (almost difficult to handle in a broth and with chopsticks) chunks of beef or pork, lots of fresh herbs, lime, and a juicy broth of meat and lemongrass with a very fresh flavor. The name indicates its origin, from the imperial city of Huế.
BÁNH MÌ
This is the street-food for breakfast of the Vietnamese: a fragrant small baguette of French heritage, encasing braised pork belly, caramelized pork, pickled vegetables, fresh sprouts and herbs, and crispy cucumber. If the ingredients are fresh and well cooked, it is an unexpected delight.
CÀ TÍM XÀO
Melt-in-your-mouth caramelized eggplant in clay pots, topped with soy sauce and a generous handful of fresh spring onion and chili. Consider that in Vietnam the concept of a side dish does not exist, and eggplant is also a one-pot dish, coming to you in a generous portion.
BÁNH BAO BÁNH VẠC O WHITE ROSE
These are dumplings stuffed with shrimp: the folded sheet is a very soft, almost transparent white rice dough, seasoned with crispy garlic and scallions. They are very common in Hoi An, and in some traditional houses you will meet the women of the family preparing this dish with their skilled hands.
THIT KHO TO
Tasty pork shreds cooked in the clay pot, caramelized with soy sauce and honey, served with steamed rice and fresh spring onion. If you find the right place, this very simple dish will leave you ecstatic.
MORNING GLORY
After meats of all kinds, rice, noodles and fried rolls, having found this enigmatically named vegetable dish satisfied us when we were craving vegetables, playing it safe. They are vegetables somewhere between spinach and broccoli, sautéed in plenty of garlic, creating a fixed point among the incomprehensible names of the hundreds of dishes on menus. Very tasty.
Of course, there are other famous Vietnamese dishes and many locally reworked foods from other Asian traditions. Those listed are the dishes that impressed us and met our tastes, but don't be afraid to explore the many different versions of Vietnamese cuisine, which seldom disappointed us.
Curiosità e abitudini a tavola
In Vietnam you eat all day long: starting very early in the morning, both in hotels and in cafes, breakfast is served as early as 6:00 am. You will not struggle to find a street stall offering food at any time of the day. However, dinner is relatively early, and after 9:30 p.m. it will be difficult to find a meal in a restaurant.
On virtually every street corner, arranged in drums all along the sidewalks, tiny plastic stools invade every pedestrian space, and provide a place, seemingly anything but comfortable, for anyone to sit down for something to eat. Street food here takes on a whole new meaning: lots of little kiosks offer food cooked on the grill, served directly to diners on the sidewalk or street. Smoke wraps you in the evening at every corner. Beer cans invade the passage, scents inebriate you. For a few Euros, you get full-bodied meals.
Dishes tend to be in big portions and are served in the center of the table. Each diner is provided with a small bowl that serves as a stand to take little by little from the serving plate, and consume your portion.
Vietnam is the world's second-largest producer of coffee, so it is not surprising that this beverage is consumed abundantly and in all forms: in South Vietnam sweet flavors predominate, and so off goes condensed milk and sugar or yogurt in coffee. In the North it seems popular to drink coffee with egg yolk, as in Central Vietnam, where coconut coffee is very diffuse. So good to be addictive.
This content is NOT SPONSORED, but based on my genuine personal experience. Spontaneous, positive and negative opinions, shareable or not, that I hope will help to live better travel experiences. My advice is a guide to accompany you in your explorations, but the real journey is built by yourselves!
