Cuisine

Vietnamese

A fresh, herb-heavy rice cuisine seasoned with fish sauce, known for noodle soups, rice-paper rolls and a table of raw herbs and dipping sauces at every meal.

Flavour character: Light and aromatic: fish-sauce saltiness balanced with lime, sugar and chilli; clear, spiced broths; lots of fresh mint, coriander, perilla and Thai basil; crunchy raw vegetables.

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Delicious Vietnamese Pho noodle soup with fresh herbs and beef, captured from above.

History

Around a thousand years of Chinese rule left chopsticks, noodles, soy and many techniques, while the south absorbed Khmer and Cham influences. The Nguyen dynasty's court at Hue developed an elaborate imperial cuisine. French colonial rule (from the mid-19th century to 1954) introduced baguettes, coffee, butter and pâté, which fed into banh mi and ca phe sua da. Pho is generally traced to northern Vietnam (around Nam Dinh and Hanoi) in the early 20th century and spread south after 1954.

Commonly told; not firmly documented

Geography and influences

A long S-shaped country between the Red River delta in the north and the Mekong delta in the south, joined by a narrow central coast.

Chinese cooking
Khmer and Cham cooking in the south and centre
Hue imperial court
French colonial period

Regional variations

North (Hanoi): Subtler and less sweet; the home of pho and bun cha.
Centre (Hue): Spicier, with imperial court dishes and lemongrass-chilli bun bo Hue.
South (Saigon, Mekong): Sweeter, with coconut, abundant herbs, tropical fruit and caramelised clay-pot dishes.