Sarah Johnson

Sep 10, 2023

The Best Food In Vietnam: 9 Traditional Dishes You Must Eat

The internal regional differences either that have affected ‘tradition’, neighbors, and colonizers, have also had a significant impact. From the Chinese Dynasties who brought noodles to the people of Vietnam, to the arrival of the French in the 1800s, which saw additional influences hit Vietnamese cuisine. One is certain – discovering local food adds greatly to your .

So where do we begin when talking about traditional Vietnamese dishes? Well, we asked some close friends of ours about their favorite dishes, figuring it was perhaps best to ask the locals what to eat in Vietnam. So here is the list, in no particular order – you just need to try them all! 

Beef Noodles from Huế 

It might be the best-known Vietnamese dish worldwide. This wonderfully meaty, noodle dish comes from the former capital of Vietnam, Huế in the center of Vietnam. It’s made with rice vermicelli, thinly sliced beef (bò) in a beef broth and it’s all married together with the distinct aromatic flavors of lemongrass and fermented shrimp paste.

It’s normally served with an abundance of lime wedges, diced spring onions, several different local salad/vegetable leaves, cilantro, and chili sauce that you can add to your soup to taste.

Broken Rice

Perhaps one of the most recognizable signs you will see dotted around the major city of Saigon. You will find ‘Cơm tấm’ signs on street food carts and local restaurants all over the place.

Traditionally a food that grew out of poverty in the Mekong Delta, broken rice was seen as inferior to whole grains and is a result of poor handling during the farming process. These broken grains could not be sold and were eaten by farmers not wishing to waste a valuable commodity.

In the early days, the dish was not much more than just that, cooked broken grains of rice. However, as Vietnam has developed, so too has the dish, with the addition of various proteins like grilled pork and a minced pork and mushroom meatloaf topped with omelet known as Chả Trứng Hấp.

Extra Tips

You can call it Chả in general at Cơm Tấm restaurants. Hấp = steamed, Trứng = egg. Chả Trứng Hấp describes exactly what it is, but at the Cơm Tấm stall, you just need to say Chả, and people will understand what you mean.

Most of the time it is also served with a sunny-side-up egg, pickled thinly sliced carrots and radish, freshly sliced cucumbers and tomato, and of course some sweet and spicy fish sauce Nước mắm pha is served on the side.

Cơm tấm in Saigon, also comes with a little break from tradition, as some restaurants seek to elevate the dish, substituting local pork with the famous Spanish Iberico Pork and other premium ingredients.

Fresh Spring Rolls or Summer Rolls

No list of food to try in Vietnam would be complete without the inclusion of nearly everyone’s favorite; fresh spring rolls. A refreshing alternative to the fried spring rolls or egg rolls we might be more accustomed to in the United States.

Made with bánh tráng (rice paper) which is first lightly soaked with water, then fresh ingredients are laid on top before being rolled up and dipped in the accompanying sauce. Often, they are served pre-rolled to your table, but in some restaurants or indeed if you are lucky enough to be invited to somebody’s home, it can be an enjoyable experience to find them served in a ‘do it yourself’ way when all the ingredients are served separately.

Your friends or guide will waste no time, in showing you how to make the perfect roll, layering up ingredients in flawless harmony before teaching you the ultimate rolling technique! The main fillings in this dish include grilled pork or prawns (although many other protein variants exist such as squid, sausage, and tofu, etc.), cold vermicelli noodles, and vegetables.

They can be seen served with various sauces such as Hoisin Sauce, peanut sauce, and indeed fish sauce. Normally Spring Rolls are served as an appetizer to share amongst friends before the main dishes arrive.

Filled Rice Batter Pancakes

This is another interesting dish to try and can be found on many a street corner, but also in some of the fanciest Vietnamese restaurants in town. Originating in the north of Vietnam, it is a joy to watch the street sellers at work, producing these little bundles of joy.

Starting with fermented rice batter, much in the same way a Frenchman will make crepes on a hot plate, the batter is poured onto a round stretched piece of cloth over a big pan of boiling water and spread into a perfect circle. A lid is added to create steam to cook it quickly.

Once cooked they are filled with cooked seasoned minced pork, finely chopped wood ear mushroom, and fried shallots, which are then rolled and often cut into bite-sized pieces. It’s served with fish sauce as a dipping sauce and occasionally some fresh vegetables like bean sprouts and then topped with more golden fried shallots. As with the fresh spring rolls, these are more for sharing as an appetizer but are a little more filling and so can be served as a main dish too.