It is not incidental that a famous expert in the world said “Vietnam should become the kitchen of the world”. Not only is cuisine of Vietnam rich, varied in number but also sophisticated in the way processed and food selections. Therefore, Vietnamese food had been immensely admired by people all over the world.
Furthermore, Vietnam cuisine is famous all over the world and is highly appreciated by culinary experts. Food of Vietnam is less fat than that of China, less spicy than Thai or Korean food, less meat than European dishes and prepared sophisticatedly, careful to ensure easy digestion after meals. During preparing, decoration and spicy combination, Vietnamese food always applies yin and yang (two complementary principles). Besides, Vietnamese food has healing effects… Raw materials and processed foods are rich, diverse and natural. Moreover, spices for tasty dishes are also diverse, from vegetables (fennel, basil, perilla, onions…), nuts (ginger, galangal), and fruits (cardamom, tamarind, mango, tomatoes…) to sauces (soy and fish sauce…) making unique dishes of Vietnam. Each region, each rural area has its own special dishes by processing and combining spices to create unique and attractive dishes.
Vietnamese cuisine is becoming more popular in the world which is affirmed by the number of customers participating in Vietnamese culinary festivals organized in many countries. Organizing frequency of Vietnamese cuisine festivals in the world are also increasing. More than 60% of international visitors when asked about Vietnamese cuisine are expressed their satisfaction and excitement. Many international visitors to Vietnam have evaluated that Vietnam is culinary paradise with the delicious and tasty dishes which cannot be forgotten in every destination. The unique is that three regions of Vietnam are three culinary paradises with unique dishes, specially flavor and their own characteristics.
Visiting Hanoi, tourists cannot forget the taste of pho, crab paste vermicelli, grilled pork vermicelli soup, snail noodles, vermicelli with egg and chicken and pork, La Vong grilled/fried fish and West Lake shrimp cakes. Cuisine in the central is attractive with tourists by the cakes, Hue porridge, Quang and Cao Lau noodles, whereas, the southern region is famous with hotpot dishes, grilled from seafood with fruits.
The Vietnamese is no longer surprise at foreigner sitting on pavement holding chopsticks to enjoy a morning bowl of pho or snail noodles in the familiar street. A growing number of famous chefs are going to Vietnam for food flavor of Vietnam including Mr. Didier Corlou – French chef in the Metropole Hanoi hotel. He really enjoys using sauce for food processing. He is fascinated Pho and consider Pho as one of the most delicious dishes in the world, and Hanoi capital is the top capital with many delicious dishes. Didier Corlou wrote a book about the most delicious Vietnamese food in French to introduce to international friends.
With the characteristics of geography, culture and climate, every region in Vietnam has its own food culture. For instance, in the north, the dishes are not as strongly spicy, sweet, and fat as in other areas. Northern dishes often use many vegetables and other fresh-water seafood. Cuisine of Northern, especially in Hanoi is highly evaluated; it is the most typical representative of Vietnam to the culinary world. These dishes like pho, vermicelli with egg and chicken and pork, grilled/fried fish or Thanh Tri spring rolls are often chosen by tourists when visiting Vietnam.
Southern cuisine is much influenced by Chinese, Cambodian, Thai cuisine when is often used sugar and coconut milk.
Unlike the South, the Central cuisine is very special and unique; this is represented by the flavor of every dish. Generally, cuisine in the Central is more spicy and saltier than others; mixed colors are rich and more colorful. The central cities like Hue, Da Nang, Binh Dinh are very famous with shrimp sauce. In particular, cuisine of Hue has been influenced by royal style, thus very sophisticated in processing and decoration.
Unlike the North, the Central and the Southern, cuisine of the ethnic minorities have different identities, in which each minority has its own unique dishes and can not be mixed. However, there is a similar characteristic of the culinary culture of the minority when dishes are mostly from baked wild animals.
In the developing society with many cultures introduced, thus Vietnamese cuisine become diverse with dishes mixed with the different cultures. However, the traditional cuisine is still intact and becomes popularly admired in the world. Not only are dishes not simply food and drink, but a hidden art containing a thickness of Vietnam culture.
Vietnamese cuisine
