14 Dishes You Should Not Miss In A Trip To Vietnam

Vietnam is a country with a diverse culture. An important cultural feature that cannot be ignored when referring to this beautiful country is the street food. If you have ever come to Vietnam, you will not be able to skip the following dishes because they contain the essence of cuisine here.

1. Chung cake with upland glutinous rice wrapped by Rieng leaves

Cultivated from the fertile soil of the Northwest Forests, Dien Bien glutinous rice brings a special stickiness and very unforgettable fragrance. As the famous specialty of the Northwest, this cake is made from the white rice seeds which are round, sticky, fragrant and have a strong flavor.

The special feature here is that the cake is wrapped with Rieng leaves rather than Dong leaves as tradition. The cake has a natural green color because the rice is made from glutinous rice soaked in the water of Rieng leaves. The pork is originated from a rare breed of pig which has been fed by the ethnic people in three years. It often costs three or four times more expensive than super lean pork. The pigs are raised in the village with free grazing, using natural grass food, so the meat is very fragrant and does not use growth stimulants. Therefore, the fat is three times higher than the lean. When boiled for 12 hours, the fat is melted, soaked into the green bean to make its flavor difficult to forget.

Green bean is selected from the countryside. When cooked, it has an eye-catching yellow color. The cake also contains the flavor of natural wind, sunshine, the mountains of the Northwest forests when wrapped with fragrant forest leaves.

Processing is carried out very carefully, from the leaves to the rice, the meat, the bean and how to boil. Therefore, the cake is loved a lot of people in the country and abroad, from the appearance to the quality and taste.

2. Vietnamese Pho

This dish is considered as a national soul of the Vietnamese. CNN ranked in the list of 50 best food in the world, mentioning Vietnamese cuisine without mentioning Pho is a shortcoming. Pho is covered in many culinary magazines, cheered by top chefs in the world, praised in the highest class restaurants.

Pho is unique because the broth is cooked based on the special secret, so it is not only fragrant but also sweet, very hard to describe. The soft white noodle is served with the beef or chicken. The diners can squeeze a little lemon, add pieces of garlic soaked into vinegar to create a delicious and attractive taste. The sophistication and elegance of each bowl of pho is something you cannot find in any other dish.

3. Rolled rice cake

This is a specialty of North Vietnam. It is a dish that can be enjoyed by all classes of diners, from children to old people. The rolled rice cake is familiar in every region and each place has different interesting variations. Rolled rice cake has two types: With or without the topping.

The topping is usually made from shrimp, meat, and mushroom. Rolled rice cakes are usually served with chopped lettuce, sweet pickles, and the best of all is the sauce. On the top of the disk are often sprinkled with extra crispy fried onions, looking very eye-catching. The thin cake is coated very delicately and meticulously.

The famous places for rolled rice cakes are Thanh Tri, Van Dinh, Ha Long, and Hung Yen.

4. Grilled chopped fish

Grilled chopped fish is a dish that shows full of sophistication and elegance in the cuisine of Hanoi. To have the delicious grilled chopped fish, the chef has to go through a lot of complicated steps. Normally, this dish is made from tilapia to give the fragrant and delicious meat.

The fish is cleaned, removed bones, and marinated for several hours and then sandwiched into griddles to grill until it has an eye-catching yellow color. After that, the fish balls are dropped into the pan with a little boiling oil, with the dill and onion. The grilled chopped fish is served with the shrimp sauce and white noodles. Strange but very delicious taste!

5. Rice noodle, fried tofu with shrimp paste

The name is seemly said that this dish is an indispensable combination of vermicelli, tofu and shrimp sauce. In addition, this dish is also served with herbs such as marjoram, mint, and basil.

Only in Vietnam, you can enjoy shrimp paste. Shrimp paste is a “specialty” of Vietnamese cuisine. For foreigners, when first enjoy the shrimp sauce, they will feel uncomfortable, but enjoy it to see the taste of this bold street cuisine.

Bun dau mam tom is often sold on streets in Hanoi. A plastic seat for guests and a plastic tray of rice noodle, tofu, shrimp sauce, herbs are enough to enjoy this delicious food. People together eat and talk, share the life.

6. Quang Nam noodles

It is a typical dish in Quang Nam. These noodles are appreciated by the attractive ingredients, combining a variety of nutrients. Quang noodle is usually made from noodles with finely grated rice flour and thinly sliced, then sliced horizontally to make thin noodles. Under the noodles are raw vegetables, pork or shrimp, chicken. The chefs also add dried peanut and spring onion, herbs into the bowl of noodles to add flavor to the dish.

7. Stewed Beef

This attractive dish usually served with rice or bread. Beef is marinated in a mixture of fish sauce, sugar, and some other spices, then cooked until it is really soft. Depending on your taste and reference, you can add carrots, potatoes to this dish.

8. Hue beef noodle soup

Those who have been enjoying Hue beef noodle soup once will be difficult to resist the taste of the delicious dish. The mixture of lemongrass and chili covers the surface of the bowl looking extremely eye-catching. Spring onions and herbs also bring to this dish a delicious flavor.

Hue beef noodle soup is one of the specialties in Hue. The main ingredients are rice noodle, beef, pig knuckles, and red colored broth. Sometimes the bowl of beef noodle soup is added to beef, crab meat, and other ingredients depending on the taste of the cook.

To Vietnamese people living in their homeland or far away, the flavor of the home is indispensable. So, whether in California, the US, Sydney, Australia or District 13 Paris in the West (where many Vietnamese live), Hue beef noodle is still one of the “national soul” of Vietnam South that has spread globally. Enjoy this dish if you have the opportunity to visit Vietnam!

9. Spring rolls

In each region, spring rolls are changed a little. The ingredients change according to the taste of each region. For example, some places choose shrimp, pork mussels, and mushroom to make spring rolls. Some places use specialized seafood. Whatever the variation, Nem Ran (spring rolls) also bring delicious taste to please customers.

10. Banh Xeo

Many people love to enjoy the grease of the powder combined with the bean sprouts and the natural sweetness of shrimp and meat. The best cakes are served with sweet and sour fish sauce, salad rolls or kale. A cake is priced from 20,000 to 30,000 VND depending on the ingredients.

11. Broken rice

Broken rice is a specialty in South Vietnam, one of the most popular rice dishes. A plate of the broken rice includes the grilled rib, pigskin, grilled pork, and egg, offering a nutritious and delicious meal. Guests can easily find this dish in restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City and some places in Hanoi or Da Nang.

12. Bun Cha

Bun Cha is a dish with rice noodles, accompanied by grilled pork kebabs and bowls of sweet and sour sauce. This dish has long-lasting vitality for Hanoians, which is also a favorite for tourists.

13. Summer rolls

This dish is characterized by its cool and easy-to-eat flavor, especially suitable for summer lunch. The summer roll consists of rice noodle, roasted pork, carrots, raw vegetables, and shrimp. All are wrapped up in the thin rice cake and then dipped into the sauce with sweet and sour sauce. It is difficult to resist.

14. Fried squid

Vietnam has a rich source of seafood, especially in the provinces of Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Da Nang, and Nha Trang. And fried squid is one of the favorite seafood dishes. The crispy dough combines with the crispy taste of freshly crunchy squid for attractive dishes.

Vietnam cuisine is diverse and rich, always know how to refresh themselves, but still retain the traditional flavor which is stored through how many generations. Therefore, the cuisine of the country is not only famous in the map of Southeast Asia but also set foot in other parts of the world, attracting many tourists coming here.

In addition to the above-mentioned dishes, there are many other names that soon occupy the heart of tourists. They are all rustic but still very delicious dishes, satisfying the taste of each person from the first time of enjoying.

Vietnam cuisine is diverse and rich, always know how to refresh themselves, but still retain the traditional flavor which is stored through how many generations. Therefore, the cuisine of the country is not only famous in the map of Southeast Asia but also set foot in other parts of the world, attracting many tourists coming here.

Important note for Vietnam visa

Visa is very important item that all travelers who go abroad should be aware of. It is completely different from passport. Many travelers holding a powerful passport even don’t know about the existence of visa. It comes to them only when they are refused to enter a country due to no visa. So, the advice for all travelers who are planning a trip abroad, including Vietnam is to check for visa requirements. For Vietnam entry, only citizens from 24 countries are exempted from visa, some are exempted unconditionally, but some are exempted conditionally. The period of visa exemption also varies.

Vietnam-visa.com – established in 2007, serving over 300,000 groups of travelers to Vietnam during their 11 years of uninterrupted service. The website is well presented with information covering Vietnam visa requirements, how to get Vietnam visa and also how much it cost for each nationality.