Love noodles, soup or noodle soup? If so, Vietnam is where you must be. Soup is everywhere. Fortunately, Vietnamese food is diverse from healthy herb and vegetarian dishes to high carb French influences. While in Vietnam, you should not pick up foods, in fact, you must eat everything and anything. If it looks good, eat it. That’s what everyone travelling to Vietnam should do. Here are a few Vietnamese foods that you must try when in Vietnam.
- Vietnamese Noodle Soup (Pho)
Pronounced “Fu” as in the Furby this delicious noodle dish is synonymous with Vietnamese food. It is also everywhere; from the moment you keep your foot in Vietnam to the moment you leave the place. From breakfast tables to the curbside, this street food is available everywhere. This dish is a bit bizarre but unique. Generally, Pho comes as Chicken or Beef Pho served in a broth over flat rice noodles and flavours of herbs. Optional garnish of sliced red chillies, bean sprouts, squeeze of lime, cilantro, and holy basil. Pho is used in endless numbers of soups in Vietnam.
2. Fried Spring Rolls or Summer Rolls
Summer roll or fresh spring roll, which when matched with a right dip, is hard to resist. It is an unusual snack that everyone must try. They are not only healthy, but the summer rolls are wholly packed with fresh green ingredients. Traditionally, tightly wrapped in a thin rice paper and include ingredients like fresh herbs, vermicelli noodles, and meat. While sauces vary, a phenomenal favourite is the peanut sauce. Summer rolls also come in two versions, vegetarian and meatless. Fried spring rolls require less of a definition; vegetable and meat rolled in the rice paper before frying. This is a healthy alternative to the summer rolls. Both are found in most of the Vietnamese food menus.
3. Thit Nuong or Grilled Pork
Grilled roadside, smoking charcoals, and marinated pork. For barbecue lovers, Thit Nuong is one of the best street foods that nobody can resist. While perfect eaten skewered as a fast, meaty snack; Thit Nuong is also found in many other Vietnamese foods. Stuffed in a baguette, wrapped in the spring rolls and the Vietnamese Favourite topping noodles are a must-try.
4. Bun Bo Nam Bo or Rice/ Beef Noodles
Thailand has a few Beef dishes. Tender slivers of sliced beef grilled on a bed of fresh vermicelli noodles topped with fresh herbs and peanuts are awesome to taste. Again, Bun Bo Nam Bo is usually served with a side dish of Nuoc Cham, a famous Vietnamese sour, salty, and sweet hop dipping sauce with unripe papaya, chillies, and carrot.
5. Cao Lau or Pork on Thick Noodles
This is the perfect example of diversity in Vietnamese food. This iconic dish is originated from the old trading port of Hoi An and while possibly better suitable for Ramen Restaurants of Japan it is noticeably Vietnamese. Thick wheat noodles topped with juicy slabs of pork served drenched in a thin herb and pork mixed broth. Large numbers of Vietnamese bean sprouts, peanuts, and greens are superb.