Discover a beautiful country with immense geographic and cultural diversity and very tasty, healthy kitchen! Traditional Vietnamese cooking is greatly admired for its fresh ingredients, minimal use of oil, and reliance on herbs and vegetables. With the balance between fresh herbs and meats and a selective use of spices to reach a fine taste, Vietnamese food is considered one of the healthiest cuisines worldwide.
The Vietnamese cuisine’s favorite meats are fish, chicken, pork, beef, and various kinds of seafood. They also have a strong vegetarian tradition influenced by Buddhist values. Northern Vietnam’s colder climate limits the production and availability of spices. Black pepper is used in place of chilies as the most popular ingredient to produce spicy flavors. The abundance of spices produced by central Vietnam’s mountainous terrain makes this region’s cuisine notable for its spicy food, setting it apart from the other two other regions. The culinary tradition here features highly decorative and colorful food, reflecting the influence of ancient Vietnamese royal cuisine. Warm weather and fertile soils of southern Vietnam enable growing of a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and livestock. As a result, foods in southern Vietnam are often vibrant and flavorful with liberal uses of garlic, shallots, and fresh herbs. Vast shorelines make seafood a staple in the diet of people in this region. Southern Vietnam has also been the region where foreign influences – Chinese, Indian, French and Thai are most prominent. |