Enjoy By Your Heart And Your Stomach
Vietnam – a beautiful country in Southeast Asia is not only famous for marvelous rice paddies and traditional conical hats but also its unique and diverse cuisine. Recently, Vietnam is proudly listed in the top 10 of the best cuisines in the world according to readers of Canadian magazine The Travel besides other long-lasting cultures such as the UK, Germany, Italy, Greece, and India.
The most special feature of Vietnamese delicacy that can satisfy various preferences is balance. Each delicious dish is a harmonious combination of five flavors, including sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and spicy, using many kinds of sauces and spices. Similar to Italians who prefer to add olive oil, Chinese cuisine does not miss soy sauce, in Vietnam, fish sauce, or Nuoc mam is a “secret weapon” to create its depth of flavor. Additionally, it is also healthy food created by the great balance of high fresh vegetables and low amounts of fat, grease, or oil. Understandably, to enjoy the full taste, the dinner should be eaten with all of their senses including smelling the amazing fragrance, gazing at the colors and decorations, absorbing the fascinating flavors, and listening to the fun crunchy sound as well feeling the texture with hands.
Thanks to the long shape from the North to the South with different natural conditions and cultural values, each region has its characteristics creating enriched Vietnamese cuisine. The dishes in the Northern – a thousand-year-old culture are represented by extremely vibrant decorations and a mild flavor with a light sour. Following each family’s recipes, the North’s cuisine is very creative only by mixing various green vegetables and freshwater fishery. On the other hand, local people living in the Central prefer a taste of spiciness and savoriness with the dark brown and red color presentation. Because it is also the former ancient capital of Vietnam, all the delicacies are skillful preparation, sophisticated techniques, and fancy aesthetics. Moreover, Southern cuisine is sweet and juicy with the use of sugar or coconut juice as well as tends to add more herbs to cooking. The Southern signature is exotic and diverse combined with the freshness of fruit from fruit orchards along the Mekong river.
The star of the Vietnamese table is rice, and the best chefs still shop for a long time to find the best ingredients and to create recipes that balance the five tastes, senses, and colors. Thinking about Vietnamese cuisine, people from all over the world often imagine “Pho” (Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup) or “Banh Mi” (Vietnamese Baguette) which have been recognized in the famous Oxford Dictionary. Besides that, Bun Cha (Vietnamese rice vermicelli with grilled pork and fresh herbs) is another kind of delicious rice-based dish, included in a guidebook with recipes offered during visits of the British royal family on the celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s 70th reign. Furthermore, Banh Trang or rice paper – a simple food can make a lot of easy-to-make snacks in Vietnamese as well as cook some famous individual dishes of other countries in the world such as rice paper tteokbokki (South Korea) or Mochi rice paper (Japan).
To sum up, Vietnamese cuisine has evolved and changed throughout its long history. With immense satisfaction and unforgettable pride, each dish represents one side Vietnam’s beauty. As a traveler in Vietnam or even local people, taste and enjoy as many traditional dishes as possible.
