By dylanmaric
The one topic of conversation that I never get sick of talking about is how much I enjoy the food in Saigon—and greater Vietnam. I was pretty unaware of Vietnamese cuisine coming into this experience and didn’t know much past the very well known Phở and Bánh mì. Well, let me tell you, there are so many other dishes that should get greater recognition. Truthfully, of all the food I’ve eaten so far, the two mentioned are decent at best.
Well, I have now taken the liberty to outline the most noteworthy Vietnamese dishes that will *hopefully* get the global notoriety they deserve.
Bánh Khoái & Bánh Xèo
These two pancake-like dishes are delicious. These dishes are regionally popular, the latter being a Southern variant—Bánh xèo. Bánh xèo is a much thinner pancake and Bánh khoái is a little thicker and uses a much fluffier dough. These pancakes are typically filled with bean sprouts, pork, and shrimp. They are typically paired with fish sauce which is collected from the fermentation of dead fish. Not an ideal way to get your condiments, but it works. These pancakes are perfect meals and it is easy to find one for less than 50,000 dong ($2.50).
Cơm Tấm
Arguably the dish I talk about most, cơm tấm needs to become a new fad in the states. The dish is served with the typical marinated pork and adds fractured rice grains. In addition, it is normally served with pickled carrots and radishes and cucumber slices. I would say that it would not be a stretch to say that I eat this meal every other day—and that is a generous estimate. It is just so good and filling—especially when I order it with a fried egg. The pork is cooked with the right spices that add a lot of flavor and the rice adds texture to the dish considering that it's fractured grains. Best part, it's 35,000 dong ($1.50).
Bún Thịt Nướng
Bún thịt nướng is a pork based dish that puts grilled, marinated pork on top of a bowl of rice noodles. It also has herbs and mint in the mix and, again, is served with fish sauce. It is absolutely delicious. The noodles are served cold, which took getting used to, but this dish really fills you up. The pork is cooked perfectly and is very flavorful. There is a place around the corner from my guest house where I can get it for lunch around 25,000 dong ($1.15).
Bột Chiên
I was only recently introduced to bột chiên and I already hold it in a very high regard. To start, the dish is basically and omelette cooked with fried rice flour cakes. It is very common in terms of street food and is served with a sweet soy sauce, similar to dumpling sauce. It's nothing particularly special, but the sweetness of the sauce and the texture of the rice cakes is really really good! And, as always, it was roughly 20,000 dong (< $1.00).
Mangos
Obviously, mangos are popular in the US. But, the mangos here are so good and can be found in so many forms. Firstly, it needs to be known that there are sour and sweet mangos. Without a doubt, the sweet are better. They are commonly used in smoothies and sold on the street, but there is a food market I like to frequent that has a mango stand where you can get mango sticky rice, mango crepes, and mango mochi. All of it is amazing. Most of the sweets cost 30,000 to 70,000 dong ($1.25 to $3.15).
Obviously, I've still eaten phở and bánh mì's while I've been abroad, but there are so many other options that I am so blessed to now be aware of!
