Food You Should Try When You Visit Vietnam

Food You Should Try When You Visit Vietnam
Vietnamese Pho Noodle Soup

There is loads of great Vietnamese food that you should try when visiting Vietnam. The food varies from the different regions of Vietnam and there are 3 specific types of tastes. In the north of Vietnam, around Hanoi, the food has a salty taste. In the south of Vietnam around Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) the taste of food is very sweet. And in the centre of Vietnam, around Danang, Hue and Hoi An the food is very spicy, with loads of small red chillies used in the cooking.

So check out this food you should try in Vietnam:

Pho Vietnamese Noodle Soup

Vietnamese Pho Noodle Soup
Vietnamese Pho Noodle Soup

If you only try one type of Vietnamese food then you should the Pho Noodle Soup (Phở – pronounced ‘fer’). Pho is the most popular Vietnamese food. The local Vietnamese will eat Pho for breakfast, lunch or dinner. A delicious rice noodle soup which can have a range of different ingredients in the soup, including seafood. The most popular Pho is chicken Pho or beef Pho. The beef Pho is my favourite. They use really thinly sliced raw beef which is put into the bowl and then the hot soup is poured over, which does the cooking of the beef. Delicious! The Pho is always served with a huge plate of Mint leaves, coriander leaves, bean sprouts and sliced chilli which you add to the soup to your liking.

Vietnamese Clay Pot

Vietnamese Clay Pot
Vietnamese Clay Pot

Vietnamese Clay Pot is also very common in Vietnam. The Clay pots vary through the different regions with different ingredients and herbs and spices being used. Some clay pots will be served with pork and boiled egg or with chicken and others may be served with seafood inside.

Vietnamese Pancakes

Crispy Vietnamese Pancake
Crispy Vietnamese Pancake

Now the pancakes that are served in Vietnam are not your sweet dessert kind of pancakes, but a savoury pancake with prawn and bean sprouts inside. The Vietnamese pancakes (Banh xeo) are a crispy pancake. You break off a piece of the pancake with your fingers and then wrap the pancake with a range of lettuce, mint leaves and corander leaves then pop it in your mouth. Delicious! The Vietnamese pancakes is a very common street food. If you are stayng in Vietnam just ask in your hotel and they should be able to direct you to the closes street restaurant that serves Banh Xeo.

Vietnam street food - Crispy pancakes
Vietnam street food – Crispy pancakes

Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls

Vietnamese Fresh Spring Roll
Vietnamese Fresh Spring Roll

There are many different types of spring rolls in Vietnam. The best are the Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls which are delicious rice noodle wrapped around some fresh herbs and usually a few prawns inside. The fresh spring rolls are served with a tasty dipping sauce which is either a sweet chilli sauce or a spicy peanut sauce.

Deep Fried Spring Rolls

Vietnamese Deep Fried Sping Rolls
Vietnamese Deep Fried Sping Rolls

The deep fried spring rolls in Vietnam are another very common street food. The deep fried spring rolls are either filled with minced prawn or minced pork meat. Very crispy on the outside and dipped into a sweet chilli dipping sauce or dipped into a fish sauce mixed with fresh red chilli – very spicy.

You can also get a tasty Vietnamese dish which is a number of small deep fried spring rolls served on top of a bowl of rice noodles.

Seafood in Vietnam

Seafood in Vietnam
Seafood in Vietnam

Now there should be no surprise that alot of seafood is consumed in Vietnam. In fact if there is some thing living in the sea off the coast of Vietnam it is classed as food! There is not much in the ocean that the Vietnamese will not eat. Vietnam coastline stretches 3260 Kilometers, not including the coastline of the many islands dotted along Vietnam’s coast, so seafood is the staple diet for many Vietnamese.

Some of the best seafood found in Vietnam including huge king prawns which are delicious grilled. Also lots of small lobsters, different types of crabs including the delicious soft-shell crab and a huge variety of different salt water fish.

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