Vietnamese food: the dishes, flavors and pantry basics

Vietnamese food is the cuisine of Vietnam, built on rice, rice noodles, fresh herbs, fish sauce and a balance of sweet, sour, salty and spicy tastes. Its best-known dishes include pho noodle soup, fresh spring rolls, banh mi sandwiches, crispy crepes and grilled meat served over rice or vermicelli.

What makes Vietnamese food different?

Vietnamese food is defined by balance and freshness. Cooks aim to combine sweet, sour, salty, bitter and spicy tastes in one meal, and almost every plate arrives with raw herbs and greens to add brightness.

Compared with many other cuisines, Vietnamese cooking uses little oil and relies on broth, herbs and dipping sauces for flavor. Rice is the staple. Noodles are made from rice rather than wheat in most traditional dishes, and sauces are served on the side so you can season to taste.

What are the main flavors of Vietnamese food?

The main flavors come from fish sauce, lime or vinegar, sugar, garlic, chili, lemongrass and fresh herbs. Together they give a bright, savory, lightly sweet taste.

What are the best-known Vietnamese dishes?

The best-known Vietnamese dishes are pho, goi cuon, banh mi, banh xeo, bun (vermicelli bowls), com tam (broken rice plates) and lemongrass chicken. Each has regional variations.

• Pho: a clear, spiced beef or chicken broth with flat rice noodles, served with herbs, sprouts and lime.
• Goi cuon: fresh rice paper rolls with shrimp, vermicelli and herbs, served with a dipping sauce.
• Banh mi: a crisp baguette sandwich with pickled carrot and daikon, cilantro and a protein.
• Banh xeo: a turmeric rice crepe with shrimp and bean sprouts, wrapped in lettuce and herbs.
• Bun: a bowl of room-temperature rice vermicelli with herbs, pickles and grilled chicken or beef.
• Com tam: broken rice with grilled meat, an egg or pickles.

What is the role of fish sauce in Vietnamese cooking?

Fish sauce, called nuoc mam, is the main seasoning in Vietnamese cooking. It is made from fermented fish and salt, and it adds deep savory flavor to marinades, soups and dipping sauces.

Nuoc cham, the table dipping sauce, mixes fish sauce with lime juice, sugar, water, garlic and chili. Most Vietnamese cooks keep a bottle of fish sauce within reach. It smells strong from the bottle but tastes rounded when diluted. People who avoid fish should check labels, since the sauce is an invisible ingredient in many dishes.

Which herbs and vegetables are essential?

Vietnamese cooking uses herbs the way other cuisines use salad: raw, in large amounts and often at the table. The usual set includes mint, Thai basil, cilantro, rau ram (also called Vietnamese coriander), perilla and culantro.

Bean sprouts, lettuce, cucumber and pickled carrot and daikon appear too. Many herbs are sold in bunches at Asian markets and keep best wrapped loosely in damp paper in the refrigerator. Buy them close to the day you plan to eat them.

How do Vietnamese regional cuisines differ?

Vietnamese food is often divided into northern, central and southern styles. The north favors subtle, savory flavors, the center is known for spicier and more elaborate dishes, and the south leans sweeter with more herbs and coconut.

This is a broad generalization. Cooks and families vary, and dishes travel between regions.

What pantry basics do you need for Vietnamese cooking?

A basic Vietnamese pantry holds fish sauce, rice noodles, rice paper, rice, a chili sauce, sugar, rice vinegar and fresh herbs. These items cover most home recipes.

1. Fish sauce for seasoning and dipping sauce.
2. Dried flat rice noodles for soups and vermicelli for bowls and rolls.
3. Rice paper rounds for fresh rolls.
4. Jasmine rice for everyday plates.
5. A fresh chili or chili sauce.
6. Limes, garlic and shallots.
7. A bunch of fresh herbs.

Most of these are found in an Asian grocery store, and the dry goods keep well.

How is a Vietnamese meal structured?

A Vietnamese family meal is usually built around rice, a soup, one or two savory dishes and a plate of raw greens, all set out together. Diners take small portions of each and eat them with rice.

Street and restaurant food is more often a single dish in a bowl or on a plate, such as pho, a vermicelli bowl or broken rice with grilled meat. Dipping sauces and chili sit on the table in small dishes. Tea is common, and so is strong iced coffee with condensed milk. The idea is the same in both settings: contrasts of hot and cool, soft and crisp, rich and fresh in one sitting.

What cooking methods are common in Vietnamese food?

Common methods are simmering, grilling, steaming, quick stir-frying and eating raw. Deep-frying appears in spring rolls and a few snacks, but it is not the dominant method.

• Simmering: broths, braised fish in clay pots and caramelized dishes.
• Grilling: lemongrass chicken, skewers and meat for vermicelli bowls, often over charcoal.
• Steaming: rice rolls, rice cakes and buns.
• Raw and quick-pickled: herbs, lettuce, cucumber and pickled carrot and daikon.

Where can you find Vietnamese ingredients in Tulsa?

An Asian grocery store is the practical place. Nam-Hai Oriental Food Market, at 11528 E 21st St in Tulsa, is described by public sources as an Asian grocery with fresh produce, frozen goods, sauces, noodles and snacks.

Stock varies, and the guide has no price list, so ask in the store or call (918) 438-0166 before going out for a particular item. The menu page shows the categories on record, and the hours and location page shows the opening times. Google Maps shows the market open every day from 9 AM to 8 PM.

Common questions

Everything practical is on the home page: Nam-Hai Oriental Food Market hours, menu and directions.

This article is general information from an independent guide, not from Nam-Hai Oriental Food Market itself. For the store’s current details see hours and location.