Vietnamese Vegetarian Cuisine

Author: Tom Johnson

Vietnamese cooking is one of the most explosive in taste and flavor. It is considered my many well heeled vegetarian food chefs to be the most sought after food on menus that have a depth of the exotic. The Vietnamese menu is not known for its vegetarian meals, but there is much to offer if you substitute some creativity for the meat components. One of the funniest things about eating in Vietnam is the integration of their national faith. It is said that in the holy days of the lunar months, vegetarianism is widely practiced, and everyday recipes are adapted to make it a vegetarian affair to the delight of many.

Rice as a staple

Rice is the staple food found at almost every meal. Vietnamese cooking uses a lot of soy and tofu which replace meat in most of the vegetarian variants of dishes. Vietnamese recipes use a variety of herbs like mint, coriander, lemongrass, basil and others that add a unique tangy component. Due to a long farming history, fresh ingredients are always found in every meal. Everything from fruits and vegetables to the herbs used in vegetarian diets in Vietnam. There are three main varients of cusine in Vietnam. Cooking styles are Nothern, Central and Southern. Many meals have a fish sauce component that must be removed from the vegan or vegetarian ingredient list, but there are many substitutes that can replace this.

Between the rice, stir fried vegetable or steamed vegetables and the Cahn which is a clear broth of vegetables, there are soups with soy, garlic and chile to tingle your tastebuds. Vietnamese cuisine attaches great importance to the number five, as five spices are essentially there in the most important dishes as are five colors, and the food is meant to appeal to all the five senses of smell, color, taste , texture and sound. Traditional Vietnamese cooking, likewise covers five elements. Those being a powder, liquid, mineral elements, proteins and fat. Vietnamese food is celebrated for its clearly defined flavors. In all the dishes the individual flavors remain distinct while giving the dish an overall character of taste.

National food

The 'national dish', Pho, is an anise and chile flavored noodle soup which is perfect for vegetarians. If you include other dishes like Goi cuon which is a spring roll or Banh mi a bread roll or some crispy shallots mixed with fresh herbs called Banh uot, you've got the makings of a fine meal.

Noodle dishes like Banh Hoi (a thin noodle with spices and topped with onion), Bun Cha Gio (a combination of vermicelli topped with deep fried spring rolls) and a vegetarian variant of Mi quang (a noodle dish with lots of herbs, vegetables, spices and roasted rice) are some of the very best dishes that express the creativity in Vietnamese cuisine.

Noodle soups are a national favorite and come in a wide variety. Vegetarian variant like creamy potato soup and tamarind soup, called canh chuan am bo, are some of the best offerings for creamy type soups.

Standard and sticky rice are added with steamed vegetables more often than not, and make up the bulk of the Vietnamese diet. In the south, curries are popular that have bread, rice and noodles added for bulk. Dishes like pickled vegetables are pretty common that might be made from onion bulbs which are called Duah hanh or even carrots which are called Dua mon are pretty common Vegetarian sauces like Sriracha (hot chili sauce) and tuong made from soy are very popular too.

Raw vegetables

Vietnamese cuisine uses raw vegetables as condiments and are called rau song (raw vegetable) or rau ghem (sliced vegetable). Rau song is vital in dishes like banh xeo. Sometimes wild herbs and vegetables are added for their stronger flavor. Leaves are used generously and most of these leaves and vegetables have medicinal value as well. Rau song includes raw bean sprout, lettuce (xa lach), green banana, banana flower, and guava leaves.

Finishing

All these delicacies can be polished off with mouth watering desserts like Che (sweet beverage made from beans and sticky rice, which has many variants), deep fried banana, sinht (a fruit smoothie made with local fresh fruits, crushed ice, and condensed milk). Tea, coffee, and beer are common beverages, but are often not served until after the meal.

All in all, Vietnamese vegetarian food is not only for strict vegetarians but even hard core non vegetarians will be missing a lot if they don't try out Vietnamese vegetarian delicacies!

For more information on Vegetarian delights go to Vegan Heretic dot com.

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