Vietnamese cuisine

Vietnamese cuisine (Vietnamese Ẩm thực Việt Nam) is an important part of Vietnamese culture. Food is an opportunity for Vietnamese to spend time with their family and is a major element of celebrations and weddings.

The main ingredients used in Vietnamese cuisine reflect the location of the country and the local climate. Rice, which is grown in water fields throughout the country, is part of everyday meals and also produces various types of noodles and cakes. In addition to a number of Buddhist vegetarian dishes, Vietnamese dishes are combinations of different vegetables, herbs and meat. The preparations are prepared in many ways, such as cooking, stewing or roasting. The aim of the chefs is to preserve the freshest and most natural flavors of the food. Vietnamese cuisine is often considered one of the healthiest in the world.

Vietnamese cuisine is guided by the philosophies of the five elements in five basic flavors: bitter (iron), sour (wood), spicy (fire), salty (water) and sweet (earth). Each Vietnamese dish has its own taste that reflects one or more of these elements.

History

Historically, Vietnamese cuisine has been influenced by the cuisines of its neighbors. In the 1st millennium of our time, the Vietnamese were under Chinese rule, thanks to which they obtained many ingredients, dishes and ways of preparing dishes from Chinese cuisine. For example, the use of edible mushrooms, roasting in a pan or the use of soy sauce. Nevertheless, Vietnamese cuisine has retained its distinctive character and Chinese influence is limited, especially in the north of the country. Thanks to the Mongol invasion in the 13th century, the use of beef is also expanding. This is found in typical Vietnamese dishes, such as noodle soup phở bò , whether or not bẩy món (seven ways of preparing beef). At the beginning of the second millennium, Vietnam was influenced by the Cambodian Khmer Kingdom, which, along with other neighbors such as Thailand and Laos, brought Cambodian flat egg noodles, or peppers, coconut milk or curry , to Vietnamese cuisine.

Since the middle of the 19th century, Vietnam has been colonized by the French and they have established French Indochina here. They also brought with them new ingredients, such as vegetables like potatoes, carrots, artichokes, onions or asparagus. This vegetable began to be used in the same way as common domestic species, as evidenced by its Vietnamese names. Potatoes are called khoai tây ("western dioscorea"), onions are called hành tây ("western shallot") and asparagus măng tây ("western bamboo shoots"). Another important French element in Vietnamese cuisine are baguettes ( bánh mì ) , which, unlike the French, are prepared from rice flour and filled with butter, pate, herbs and vegetables. Furthermore, the French enriched the local cuisine with dairy products and various types of desserts, such as. Bánh flan , which is a dessert made of egg yolks, cream and caramel.

Ingredients

• Rice

Rice (gạo) is a basic ingredient of Vietnamese cuisine. Mainly white rice, jasmine rice ( gạo tám thơm ) or sticky rice ( gạo nếp ) is consumed. White or jasmine rice is usually steamed as a side dish to each meal. The sticky rice is stewed with other ingredients, such as mung beans , coconut and sugar. This dish is called xôi . Rice can be treated with rice flour, which produce various types of noodles - e.g., thin noodles Bun or bánh pho noodle which can be for soups ( pho ). Some types of dumplings and savory cakes are also made from rice, such as rice cakes stuffed with meat and mung beans (bánh chưng ). Thin sheets of rice paper ( bánh tráng ) are usually wrapped in meat or filled with various ingredients and these rolls are fried - (nem wounds ) or eaten fresh (nem cuốn ).

• Vegetables

Commonly consumed vegetables include cabbage (cải bắp), Chinese cabbage (cải thìa), garlic (tỏi ), spring onion (hành lá), carrot (cà rốt), onion (hành tây), chili peppers (ớt), bamboo shoots (man), daikon - white radish (củ cải trắng), cauliflower (soup lơ), cucumber (dưa chuột), salad (xà lách), bean sprouts (giá đỗ) and many more... Specialties include water spinach ( rau muống), bitter cucumber (khổ qua) and beninkasa hispada - winter melon (bi đao), from which tea is also made. Instead of potatoes, they use sweet potatoes (khoai lang), taro (khoai nước, khoai môn or khoai sọ) and cassava (khoai mì or sắn), from which tapioca grains used in the preparation of desserts are also made. The vegetables are stewed and served with noodles in a soup, fried to be added to curry, wrapped in rice paper or served as a side dish or salad. Canh is a lightweight vegetable soup that is usually served at the end of a meal.

• Fruit

Popular fruits include mango (xoài), pineapple (dứa), melon (dưa hấu), lychee (vải), tangerine (quýt hồng), carambola (khế), coconut (dừa), papaya (đu đủ) durian (sầu) riêng), jackfruit ( haveh long), pitahaya (thanh long) and pomelo (bưởi), which are used as snacks, sweet side dishes or added to salty dishes to give a contrasting sweet taste. Typically, the Vietnamese fruit is momordika (gấc), which gives the rice dishes a red color.

• Legumes and nuts

Legumes such as beans, peas and lentils are commonly eaten throughout Vietnam. Tofu (đậu phụ), which is made from soy beans, is an ingredient in many traditional dishes. Bean sprouts (giá đỗ) and pea pods are also popular ingredients. Peanuts (lạc) are spread into pastes, which are added to soups, stews or noodles. Crushed roasted peanuts are also used to sprinkle onto ready meals. Sesame seeds (vừng) are used to make sesame oil, which is used in small portions to flavor food, or roasted and sprinkled onto ready meals.

• Fish and seafood

Vietnam is a coastal state and at the same time has a rich river network, so fish, aquatic crustaceans (shrimps ), crabs (cua) and molluscs (calamari (mực), squid, mussels (hến) form an essential part of the traditional Vietnamese diet. Fish and seafood are especially popular in soups, fried mixes, rice dishes, curry dishes with coconut milk, as well as baked, grilled or wrapped in rice paper. Popular frewshwater fishes are Anabas testudineus (cá rô) and other species of gourds, snakeheads (cá lóc) ) , carp (cá chép), amur (cá trắm cỏ) , pangasius (cá tra nuôi) and terns (Vietnamese eel - lươn) , such as groupers (cá mù) , mackerel (cá thu) and wahoo (ca thu ngàng).

• Fish sauce

Fish sauce (nước mắm) is a very important part of Vietnamese cuisine. It is used as a basic raw material for various sauces (for example, nước chấm), its various dishes are flavored. It has the same function in Vietnam as, for example, soy sauce in China. Fish sauce is made by fermenting layers of anchovies and other fish, salt and other ingredients in large tanks for several months. Gradually, a liquid forms at the bottom of the vessel, which is poured onto the top of the raw materials and allowed to ferment again. The resulting sauce has both a salty and a sweet taste.

• Meat

Meat is traditionally spoken in Vietnam. It consumes mainly beef (thịt bò), which is most often fried with various vegetables, cooked with soy sauce or in soups, pork (thịt lợn) , usually minced to fill various rolls and rolls, and chicken (thịt gà) , which is cooked with various spices or fried with noodles or rice and vegetables. Goat (thịt dê) and veal (thịt bê) are most often served baked and thinly sliced, drizzled with lemon juice and sprinkled with roasted sesame. Ducks (vịt) , geese (ngỗng) cooked or roasted are popular in Vietnam. Dog meat (thịt chó) is considered a specialty and is attributed healing effects (it gives the body strength, we eat misfortune). It is usually prepared by baking over a fire, stewing, cooking or frying. There is also meat in Vietnam for other animals, such as snakes, turtles, deer or wild boar, but the meat of domestic cats is rarely eaten and is consumed illegally. In the past, it was prepared under the name Tiểu hổ "tiger cub".

• Herbs and spices

Herbs and vegetables (coriander, dill, mint, spring onion and more) prepared as a side dish, Herbs (rau thơm) are an important part of Vietnamese cuisine. Herbs are served with almost every meal, picked fresh herbs are used for sprinkling, added to a variety of dishes such as soups, noodles and rice dishes, salads, stews, filled with pastries and rolls. The herbs and other flavorings used include coriander (rau mùi), Thai basil (rau húng quế), purple perilla (tía tô), white perilla (kinh giới), Vietnamese coriander (rau răm), Mexican coriander (mùi tầu) , lemon grass (sả), chili peppers (ớt), galangal (riềng), ginger (gừng), fragrant mud (ngò), turmeric (nghệ), star anise (hoa hồi), tamarind (me), a mixture of five spices (ngũ vị hương) and others.

Cooking techniques

• Chiên, wounds: fried foods.
• Xào: frying on a small amount of oil with constant stirring.
• Kho: stews.
• Hầm: slow and long cooking with lots of spices and other ingredients.
• Rome: suffocation (water usually does not boil directly).
• Luộc: food cooked in water.
• Hấp: steamed dishes.
• Om: cooking in a ceramic pot.

Typical Vietnamese food

Soups

• Phở - Soup with wide rice noodles (phở) served with pieces of meat - usually beef (phở bò) or chicken (phở gà), with vegetables and herbs (onion, spring onion, coriander, Thai basil), which are drizzled with bone broth and meat, onions, ginger and various spices (cinnamon, star anise, etc.). The soup is flavored with lime, chili peppers and fish sauce.
• Bún bò Huế - Soup with thin noodles, beef, lemon grass, coriander, lime, shrimp sauce and bean sprouts.
• Bún Mắm - Soup with seafood (shrimp, octopus) and thin rice noodles.
• Canh chua - Fish soup with carambola, pineapple, tomatoes and broth flavored with tamarid and other spices or herbs. Usually seafood is also added.

Meat dishes

• Bún chả - Grilled pork with thin rice noodles (bún), herbs, vegetables and sauce (nước chấm)
• Thịt bò kho - Stewed beef with vegetables (carrots, radishes, onions), noodles and various spices.
• Bún bò Nam Bộ - Salad of thin rice noodles, lettuce, fried beef, onion, bean sprouts and other vegetables and herbs. Pour the broth into everything and sprinkle with crushed peanuts and fried shallots.
• Giò lụa - Pork ham.

Rolls and pancakes

• Bánh cuốn - Stewed rolls of thin rice dough filled with minced mushrooms and pork, sprinkled with pieces of fried shallots and served with nước chấm sauce
• Nem cuốn - Often also called gỏi cuốn or summer rolls. Fresh rolls of pork or shrimp, vegetables and herbs, wrapped in rice paper and served with nước chấm sauce
• Nem rán - Known as spring rolls. Fried rice paper rolls filled with a mixture of meat, mushrooms, noodles and other ingredients. and served with nước chấm sauce
• Bánh xèo - Fried pancakes from dough made from rice flour, turmeric and coconut milk, which are stuffed with pork, shrimp, bean sprouts, salad and herbs.

Rice dishes

• Xôi - Sticky rice prepared with a number of different ingredients, such as sugar, coconut milk, legumes, nuts, fruit or with meat, legumes, etc.
• Bánh chưng -Traditional pie made of sticky rice, pork and mung beans. These ingredients are wrapped in a dong la leaf, the Latin name is Phyllodes placentaria, in which it is also cooked. This dish is traditionally served during the Vietnamese New Year (Tết) celebrations.

Dishes with pastries

• Bánh mì - Vietnamese baguette with pate, mayonnaise, pickled carrots and white radish, cucumber, chili peppers and various types of meat, such as grilled meat, Vietnamese ham or salami, fried tofu and more.

Deserts

• Bánh rán - Fried loaves of sticky rice flour filled with sweet mung bean paste with jasmine essence and wrapped in roasted sesame seeds. Jasmine essence is used only in northern Vietnam.

Drinks

• Trà việt - Vietnamese (green) tea.
• Cà phê đá - Strong coffee served with ice and condensed milk.
• Nước Mía - Sugar cane juice.
• Rượu rắn - A snake loaded with rice distillate or a distillate mixed with snake fluids (blood, bile and poison).

Source https://cs.wikipedia.org/