Talking about street food, people will think about food on the sidewalk or other public places like fairs, markets. The food is usually simple and quick preparation, you can say they are "ready to eat" meals. This kind of food has been very popular in Vietnam for decades and even mentioned as one of the most delicious cuisines in serious magazines and social media channels around the world. Today I would like to share with you five- first-choice street food which you must try if you have intentions of traveling to Vietnam in the near future 🤗
Bún thịt nướng
1. Bún thịt - Nem nướng (Grilled Pork Noodle with Fried Spring Roll)
Originally this dish comes from the north of Vietnam but this type of cuisine is popular everywhere in my country. It looks the same but has a different taste because of sauces and herbs. Basically, it's a combination of vermicelli noodles, grilled pork meats, spring rolls, tropical herbs, and fish sauce. There are two ways that you can choose to enjoy, either wrap everything in a piece of rice paper and dip it into fish sauce or mixed all together and pull sauce in a bowl (like my picture) Whichever ways you eat, it's still amazing 😝
On the channel of CNN, you can see a video talking about Bourdain and Anderson talk Vietnam, dining with President Obama
You can easily find food stalls selling "bún chả", my tips are just heading to crowded local places, they should be the best ;)
2. Bánh Mì (Vietnamese Sandwich)
Like "bún chả, phở", this Vietnamese sandwich has become a very popular breakfast not only for our local but also international friends. They listed "bánh mì" in Oxford dictionary and many journalists, photographers get inspiration from this dish.
The root of "bánh mì" actually comes from France since the nineteenth century during the war. At that time, French people just used it for daily meals as their traditional food (baguette), then our local people started to mix other ingredients inside like eggs, meats, veggies, and sauces, etc. Gradually "bánh mì" has become popular as one of the iconic foods in Vietnam.
3. Xôi - Sticky Rice
In Southeast Asia and many countries with rice agriculture, sticky rice is not something fancy but when it turns into food culture, we are proud of being so creative with that. I can't count how many types of "xôi" that we have, we like mixing with different ingredients. For a vegan, you can choose with peanut, beans, coconut, corn, sesame, etc and people who love meat can eat it with grilled pork, chicken, and eggs. Nowadays, thanks to culture cross, we get to know mango sticky rice from Thailand, jackfruit sticky rice. They are all very yummy taste, we can eat them not only for breakfast but also any time of the day. There is a well-known place named Xôi Yến in Hanoi that you can experience various sticky rice in both traditional and modern style.
Iconic symbol of street food in Vietnam - vendors moving around cities with this kind of tall.
Sticky rice with green bean, coconut, and dried onion
- Bánh tráng nướng - Grilled Rice Cakes
Oh, this little thing may remind you about pizza but the Vietnamese version. The cake is made from rice cake, together with a lot of small ingredients like bird eggs, shrimp, onion, dry beef, mayonnaise, and other sauces. The cook will grill it on fire until all cooked and crunchy. Its smell and taste are the most tempting people to eat, especially in wintertime.
PIZZA VIỆT NAM Reference source]
- Phở - Rice Noodle
The last specialty that I definitely put you in attention is our national dish. It's called Phở, one of two famous dishes listed in Oxford because of its image traveling around the world wherever Vietnamese people living. It's a noodle soup consisting of rice noodles (thick and fat noodles-like Japanese Udon), meat (mainly beef, but you can choose chicken or veggie style), herbs, and spices. The best thing to make "phở" becomes "signature dish" is the soup which is cooked very carefully and rich in healthy ingredients. Don't miss it when you have a chance to taste it in Vietnam. You may find it served in your country, however, the taste can't be hundred percent authentic as it in the local 😋
Many more street food and places I want to share with you but let's continue in other posts so that we are not overwhelmed because of getting hungry 😜
See you in the next post and much love from Vietnam 😘