Têt – short for Têt Nguyen Dan – is the Vietnamese term for the lunar new year and is a big holiday in the country. Shortened from the historical three-month hiatus between agricultural cycles, Têt celebrations can still span up to 18 days. During this time, folks get together with their families, go visit other […]
Category: Vietnamese Cuisine
With a focus on seasonal fresh ingredients, Vietnamese cuisine is unique in its flavor. Lemongrass, bird’s eye chili, lime and Thai basil leaves are the predominant spices used in their recipes, and they are generally free of oil and flour. Despite Vietnam’s diverse environment, its cuisine is characterized by a wonderful blend of aromatics, spice, sweetness, tartness, and fish-sauciness. It’s all about the yin and yang here, as it is in other Asian cuisines: sweet and salty, cooling and warming, fresh and fermented. It’s difficult to discuss Vietnamese cuisine without addressing French colonialism, which began with the arrival of missionaries in the 18th century and lasted until 1954. Clearly, it left an indelible mark on the country, its people, architecture, landscape, and cuisine. The banh mi, with its crispy French baguette as the foundation, is perhaps the most obvious. However, the Vietnamese have completely transformed this sandwich by adding barbecued pork and other contents. Following Thailand, Vietnam is the world’s second-largest rice exporter. Rice is farmed across the country, but particularly abundantly in the Mekong Delta in the south, which can produce enough rice to feed all of Vietnam’s 87 million people, with plenty of leftovers. Breakfast, lunch, supper, and dessert all feature rice. Fresh herbs, spice, and aromatic hydrocarbons are used liberally in Vietnamese cuisine. Each ingredient’s freshness is critical. In Vietnam, unripe fruits are treated more like vegetables. Ripened fruit, on the other hand, is delightfully sweet. Instead of pastries or cookies, a meal is frequently finished with a hot tea and a large platter of local fruits. Whether you want to learn how to make a traditional Pho, a Banh mi, or explore more textures and flavors of Vietnam, we’ve got you covered.