Vietnamese food is one of the most popular cuisines across Asia. Indeed its complex flavours and easy appeal has made Vietnamese food a global force. With mass migration after the war with America, the Vietnamese diaspora has helped bring their healthy and tasty dishes to the world.
The dishes of Vietnam reflect the country’s deep traditions, their use of local ingredients and many cultural touchstones which help to define what it means to be Vietnamese.
Vietnamese cuisine always combines fragrance, taste, and colour. Vietnamese cuisine always has five elementswhich are known for its balance in each of these features. Many Vietnamese dishes include five fundamental taste senses (ngũ vị): spicy (metal), sour (wood), bitter (fire), salty (water) and sweet (earth), corresponding to five organs (ngũ tạng): gall bladder, small intestine, large intestine, stomach, and urinary bladder.
Vietnamese cuisine is so much more than just pho!
Vietnamese dishes also include five types of nutrients (ngũ chất): powder, water or liquid, mineral elements, protein and fat. Vietnamese cooks try to have five colours (ngũ sắc): white (metal), green (wood), yellow (earth), red (fire) and black (water) in their dishes.
Dishes in Vietnam appeal to gastronomes via the five senses (năm giác quan): food arrangement attracts eyes, sounds come from crisp ingredients, five spices are detected on the tongue, aromatic ingredients coming mainly from herbs stimulate the nose, and some meals, especially finger food, can be perceived by touching. Whether complex or simple, Vietnamese dishes also offer satisfying mouthfeel during the dining enjoyment.
Five-element correspondence
Vietnamese cuisine is influenced by the Asian principle of five elementsand Mahābhūta.
| Correspondence | Elements | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wood | Fire | Earth | Metal | Water | |
| Spices (ngũ vị) | Sour | Bitter | Sweet | Spicy | Salty |
| Organs (ngũ tạng) | Gall bladder | Small intestine | Stomach | Large intestine | Urinary bladder |
| Colors (ngũ sắc) | Green | Red | Yellow | White | Black |
| Senses (ngũ giác ) | Visual | Taste | Touch | Smell | Sound |
| Nutrients (ngũ chất) | Carbohydrates | Fat | Protein | Minerals | Water |
Yin-yang balance
The principle of yin and yangis applied in composing a meal in a way that provides a balance that is beneficial for the body. While contrasting texture and flavors are important, the principle primarily concerns the “heating” and “cooling” properties of ingredients. Certain dishes are served in their respective seasons to provide contrasts in temperature and spiciness of the food and environment.
Some examples
- Duck meat, considered “cool”, is served during the hot summer with ginger fish sauce, which is “warm”. Conversely, chicken, which is “warm”, and pork, which is “hot”, are eaten in the winter.
- Seafoods ranging from “cool” to “cold” are suitable to use with ginger(“warm”).
- Spicy foods (“hot”) are typically balanced with sourness, which is considered “cool”.
- Balut(hột vịt lộn), meaning “upside-down egg” (“cold”), must be combined with Vietnamese mint(rau răm) (“hot”).
Popular Dishes
Phở
Bánh cuốn
This dish is actually a number of different steamed rice cake-like dishes.
Bánh mì
Bánh mì are now trendy across the globe as these little “sandwiches” blend French colonialism and Vietnamese ingenuity. Today they are made with just about any stuffing you like but the more typically Vietnamese styles include pork belly, fish cakes, meatballs, pickled carrots, daikon and usually chilies.
Bún chả
Rice vermicelli (“bún”) is a staple all over Vietnam.
A Final Thought
Anthony Bourdain summed up food in Vietnam perfectly, “You don’t have to go looking for great food in Vietnam. Great food finds you. It’s everywhere. In restaurants, cafes, little storefronts, in the streets; carried in makeshift portable kitchens on yokes borne by women vendors. Your cyclo-driver will invite you to his home; your guide will want to bring you to his favourite place. Strangers will rush up and offer you a taste of something they’re proud of and think you should know about. It’s a country filled with proud cooks – and passionate eaters.”
