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Vietnamese cuisine is a style of cooking derived from Vietnam with fish sauce, soy sauce, rice, fresh herbs, fruits and vegetables all commonly used. Vietnamese recipes utilize a diverse range of herbs, including lemongrass, mint, Vietnamese mint, long coriander and Thai basil leaves. Traditional Vietnamese cooking is greatly admired for freshness of the ingredients and for the healthy eating style.
The most common meats used in Vietnamese cuisine are beef, pork, chicken, fish, and various kinds of seafood. The Vietnamese also have a strong vegetarian tradition.
As a whole, Vietnamese cuisine contains strong influences mainly from Cantonese cooking with a bit of a French twist to it. This is because unlike many other Indochinese nations, which are strongly influences by the culture of India, Vietnam is the only country in which Chinese-like cultures remained strong, since that it was first ruled by China for at least a thousand years, followed by control from France centuries later for a hundred years. However, depending on the region, it can be divided into three categories, each pertaining to a distinct geographical region. With Northern Vietnam being the cradle of Vietnamese civilization, many of Vietnam's most notable dishes such as phở and bánh cuốn can trace their origin to the North. Northern cuisine is more traditional and less diverse in choosing spices and ingredients.
The cuisine of South Vietnam has historically been influenced by the influx of southern Chinese immigrants, French colonists and other nationalities. Southerners prefer sweet flavors in many dishes. As a region of perhaps greater diversity in terms of external influences, the South's cuisine uses a wider variety of herbs.
The cuisine of Central Vietnam is distinct from the cuisines of both the Northern and Southern regions in its use of many small side dishes. For a while the country was ruled from Huế in Central Vietnam, so that most of the dishes were made small and dedicated to the kings. Compared to its counterparts, its cuisine is more spicy.
One most common French influence is the use of baguettes in Vietnamese meals. Vietnamese sandwiches are traditionally made with baguettes, and sometimes soups such as ca-ri are served with a baguette on the side.
Outside of Vietnam, Vietnamese cuisine is widely available in countries with strong Vietnamese immigrant communities, such as Australia, the United States, Canada, and France. Vietnamese cuisine is also popular in Japan, Korea, Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, and Russia, and in areas with dense Asian populations.
Popularity
In recent years, Vietnamese cuisine has become popular in other Southeast Asian countries such as Laos, and Thailand.
Dishes that have become trademarks of Vietnamese cuisine are phở, gỏi cuốn (spring/summer rolls), bún, and bánh mì (Vietnamese baguette).
Television shows featuring Vietnamese food have increased its publicity. On The Great Food Truck Race, a vietnamese sandwich truck called Nom Nom Truck received the most money in the first five episodes. Anthony Bourdain wrote for the Financial Times in 2005, “A year from now, I plan to live here. I will move to a small fishing village in a coastal area of Vietnam near Hoi An. I have no idea what I'm going to do there, other than write about the experience. I plan only on being a visual curiosity, the lone westerner in a Vietnamese community; to rent a house, move in with few, if any, expectations and let the experience wash over me. Whatever happens, happens.”
Philosophical influences on Vietnamese cuisine
Yin Yang balance
The principle of yin and yang is applied in selecting the ingredients of a dish and the dishes of a meal, in matching dishes with seasonal or climatic conditions, with the prevalent environment and with the current physical well-being of the diners.
Some examples are:
• Duck meat is considered as "cool" so is served in summer, which is hot, and with ginger fish sauce which is "warm", while chicken which is "warm" and pork which is "hot" are used in cold winters.
• Seafood ranging from "cool" to "cold" are suitable to use with ginger ("warm").
• Spicy, which is extremely yang, must be harmonized by sour, which is extremely yin.
• Balut ("cold") must be combined with Vietnamese mint ("hot").
• Cold and flu patients must drink ginger water ("hot").
Five element correspondence
Vietnamese cuisine is influenced by the Asian principle of five elements and Mahābhūta.
Many Vietnamese dishes include five spices (Vietnamese: ngũ vị): spicy (metal), sour (wood), bitter (fire), salty (water) and sweet (Earth), corresponding to: five organs (Vietnamese: ngũ tạng): gall bladder, small intestine, large intestine, stomach and urinary bladder.
Vietnamese dishes also include five types of nutrients (Vietnamese: ngũ chất): powder, water or liquid, mineral elements, protein and fat.
Vietnamese cooks try to have five colours (Vietnamese: ngũ sắc): white (metal), green (wood), yellow (Earth), red (fire) and black (water) in their dishes.
Dishes in Vietnam appeal to gastronomes via five senses (Vietnamese: năm giác quan): food arrangement attracts eyes, sounds come from crisp ingredients, five spices detected on the tongue, aromatic ingredients coming mainly from herbs stimulate the nose and some meals, especially finger food, can be perceived by touching.
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