Culture Notes

Vietnamese cuisines offer a range of dishes that are unique as well as exotic. Translation alone cannot fully deliver the essence of the food.

In this part, let’s look at some traditional dishes often enjoyed by Vietnamese people:

a/ Breakfast food:

• Bánh mì: Vietnamese sandwich: A small-sized baguette with a range of stuffing such as pork, eggs, pickled vegetables, etc.
• Phở: Vietnamese signature noodles, better-known in the North, often have a rich broth from cattle stocks
• Bún: Rice noodles, eaten all over the country, can be eaten in various styles depending on region (Bún bò Huế, Bún cá, Bún trộn…)
• Bánh cuốn: Rolled rice sheets: a thin layer of rice flour steamed and rolled, served with various toppings
• Xôi: Sticky rice
• Bánh bao: Dumplings
• Cháo: Rice porridge

b/ Food in the main courses:

• Nộm/ Gỏi: Mixed vegetables, often have a mix of sweet, sour and spicy tastes
• Chả giò / Chả nem / Nem rán: Spring roll – Rice paper wrapped into a roll with stuffing inside and deep fried
• Giò lụa / Chả lụa: Minced pork (to the point it looks like puree) which is then steamed or boiled

c/ Snacks:

• Bánh rán / Bánh cam: Doughnut, often with mung beans inside
• Bánh ngô: Corn pancake
• Bánh chuối: Fried banana
• Chè: Sweet porridge
• Bim bim: chips or snacks

d/ Other holiday foods:

• Bánh chưng: Square-shaped dish made from glutinous rice, mung beans and pork, wrapped in leaves, often misleadingly translated as Chung Cake or Sticky Rice Cake
• Bánh tét: Similar to Bánh chưng, but with a round shape
• Bánh giầy: Round-shaped dish made from glutinous rice, with no stuffing and has a completely white color
• Bánh trung thu: Moon cake, often made in Mid-Autumn festival