Vietnamese Cuisine

Of all Asian cuisines, Vietnamese cuisine at first glance seems a rather plain, most dishes require few ingredients, and the cooking methods are mainly just steamed, boiled, blanched, and braised, and yet to achieve the perfect taste for that dish, and to assemble a balanced meal require the loving attention of an artist.

Years ago, I used to own a Vietnamese restaurant in Anaheim, California, a couple miles from Disneyland. but remains the least understood, and because of that perhaps even the most appreciated.

Vietnamese cuisine has had many influences including French Indian and Chinese. The French influence that is often evident in Vietnamese soups is due to the French colonization of Vietnam, which began in the 16th century and ended in the middle of the 20th century. While The Indian influence is probably due to the Buddhist religion which is popular thought much of Asia.

As in much of Asia, a Vietnamese meal is rarely divided into courses. All the food is served at once and shared from common dishes. The food is well prepared and therefore chopsticks are used. Meals revolve around rice or noodles and accompany a soup, a stir-fry, and another main dish.

Vietnamese cooking is generally not as rich or heavy as the coconut milk curries, of, say, Thailand or India. Fish are abundant to Vietnam therefore seafood is central to Vietnamese cuisine. The distinct flavors of Vietnamese food come primarily from: mint leaves, coriander, lemon grass, shrimp, fish sauces, star anise, ginger, black pepper, garlic, basil, rice vinegar, sugar, and green onions.

The Vietnamese also eat curries but they are less spicy than Indian or Thai curries. Vietnamese curries get their taste mainly from coriander, and chili is used in very small quantities.

Popular dishes worth trying include "Pho Bo" a noodle soup and "cha gio" which are spring rolls that are low in fat.

Famous for its lively, fresh flavors and artfully composed meals, Vietnamese food and cooking is the true 'light cuisine' of Asia. Abundant fresh herbs and greens, delicate soups and stir-fries, and well-seasoned grilled foods served on, or with, rice or noodles are the mainstays of the Vietnamese delicacies. Even the beloved sweets for snacks or desserts are often based on fresh fruits served with sweetened rice or tapioca. Rarely does any dish have added fats.

While the Vietnamese cuisine relies on fresh vegetables, subtle seasonings and rice, Vietnamese cooking also reflects its Chinese and French influences and it has numerous regional difference; in the south, look for plentiful fresh seafood and in the colder north, you'll find slightly heartier meals with beef. In central Vietnam, around the ancient royal capital Hue, the food may contain influences of the former court cooks.

But regardless of the region, home-style Vietnamese cooking calls for an array of simple dishes that make complementary partners at a family's communal meal. Dinners customarily call for a soup, probably a platter of leafy greens accompanied by rice papers and a dipping sauce, seafood or grilled meats or poultry, a vegetable stir-fry, and rice or noodles in some form - with hot tea as the preferred beverage. While such meals may look complex to outsiders, most dishes come together easily, and some call for advance preparation to avoid last-minute conflicts. And, as in any type of cooking, planning ahead makes putting together meals much easier.

Modern cooks with well-equipped kitchens and handy appliances will find preparing a Vietnamese meal both rewarding and relatively easy. And with the widespread popularity of Asian recipes and foods, locating ingredients is not a challenge as most supermarkets carry such basics as fresh ginger and spring onions, lemongrass and chilies, even coconut milk and Asian noodles.

The topical monsoon climate of most of Vietnam, the land and the freshwater and inshore fishing contribute to bring the Vietnamese staples to the table: rice, nuoc mam, fish, fruits and vegetables, pork and poultry. Rice is the most important food, present at all main meals but close in use and importance is the condiment added to most dishes at all times: nuoc mam. This is made from salt and fish well fermented. The first liquid produced is the best quality nuom mam; the result of pressing the remaining fish and salt (stronger flavor and more pungent smell) is of lower quality. Inland fishing is less costly than deep-sea, but every type of fish and seafood is enjoyed in the Vietnamese diet. Both wild and cultivated fruits are abundant and consumption of vegetables has increased since North Vietnam refugees brought market garden culture to the southern "rice bowl". Both meat and fats come from hogs, although some chicken, beef, small animals and reptiles are also eaten. Almost as widely used as nuoc mam is the spicy hot condiment nuoc cham, each cook preparing it in her own special way with chili peppers, garlic and onions, vinegar and a sprinkle of citrus juice to heighten the tang.

The northerners prefer long grain rice, the southerners round grain rice. Both areas also enjoy "hot-pot cookery" where a bubbling pot of broth centered on the table receives tidbits of foods held by chopsticks for quick-cooking. At meals, diners assemble their own tidbits of meats, fish, fruits and vegetables and then wrap them in packets of edible rice paper, various green leaves, noodle dough, all to be sauce-dipped before devouring. Although many similarities have been noted between the two groups, northerners and southerners insist not only upon their rice preference, but that southerners enjoy more spiciness, the use of more fresh fruits and raw vegetables, simpler dishes and a lot of coconut. They will tell you this is because of their more tropical climate. However, while northerners consider the southern food something less than subtle, the southerners may counter that they think the northerners' food is too flat.