Tuesday 29 January 2013

Journey of Vietnamese Cuisine: Northern Vietnamese Food



Vietnam is a long, narrow country in Southeast Asia, covering a total of 327, 500 square kilometers. The geography of Vietnam plays an important role in the Vietnamese cuisine because the climate affects the availability of ingredients, which has effect on the types of dishes that dominate a particular region. From this post, I would like to introduce you about how Vietnamese culinary tradition differs from region to region

1.     Northern-styled Vietnamese Cuisine, there’s a lot more than Pho.

In northern Vietnam, the climate is colder, which leads to the limitation of production and availability of spices. As a result, the foods here are often less spicy than those in other regions. Black pepper is used instead of chilies as the most popular ingredient to produce spicy flavors.



In general, Northern Vietnamese food is not bold in any particular flavor. They are the harmony of all flavors: sweet, salty, spicy, bitter, and sour. Most northern Vietnamese foods feature light and balanced tastes that result from the combinations of many different flavoring ingredients. Freshwater fish, crustaceans, and mollusks—such as prawns, squids, shrimps, crabs, clams are widely used in most of the dishes. Fish sauce, soy sauce, shrimp paste, and limes are among the main flavoring ingredients. 




Being the cradle of Vietnamese civilization, northern Vietnam produces many signature dishes of Vietnam, such as phởbún riêu, and bánh cuốn, which were carried to other regions in Vietnam through the road of Vietnamese migration.





Vietnamese cuisine varies somewhat by region, with Chinese influences (such as stir fries, noodles, and use of chopsticks) in the north as China borders it to the north. During the winter months in the north, families gather around a big bowl of seasoned broth and cook vegetables and meat in it for sustenance and warmth.

2.     Hanoi, the hometown of the best Vietnamese Foods.



 North Vietnam is considered to be the cradle of the Vietnamese culture and Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam is the hometown of the best dishes. Pho_the most famous Vietnamese dish, originated here. Basically Pho is available all over Vietnam but you should enjoy this delicious dish in its own birthplace. Also, Hanoi has been selected as one of the top 10 cities for food in the world by Shermans Travel. If you travel to Hanoi, you will fall in love with all special tasty foods as well as this lively city.






Also, Hanoi is famous for its street-food culture.  It is a street-eater's paradise, with a plethora of options for those who want to eat like a local. In fact, many swear that the best food in Hanoi is found on the sidewalk, with dishes that often feature fish sauce, lemongrass, chilies,  and fresh herbs.


The city, which celebrated its 1,000th birthday 2 years ago, has put those centuries to good use perfecting its curbside nibbles. Although vendors often cook in small shop fronts, they serve their wares on the sidewalk, on small plastic tables and chairs that can seem woefully inadequate for foreigners.



Friday 18 January 2013

Main ingredients in Vietnamese Food


Born in Vietnam and absorbed Vietnamese Culture, I was nurtured with a love for Vietnamese heritage and culture, especially Vietnamese cuisine. My mission is to show you how authentic Vietnamese food is simple, fresh, and delicious. In Toronto, it’s easy to find a Viet restaurant where you can see “Pho” with an image of cow head; as a result, in lots of people’s mind, everything about Vietnamese cuisine is Pho. However, in a tropical country with more than two thousands miles of coastal line, lush and warm, where sea food, fishes, ducks, vegetables, herbs and spices are plentiful all year around, cooking art in Vietnam is much more than that to discover.



Vietnamese food has light but flavorful taste. When you try Vietnamese food, you will find that a perfect harmony of all ingredients. Most dishes combine mix of various elements: meat and vegetables; chewy and tender ingredients; sweet, salty and sour tastes. Here I will show you some key ingredients which create that awesome balance of taste:


1.  Rice Rice Rice

You can say Vietnam is a noodle-crazy country where rice plays an essential role in the nation’s diet. Vietnamese have rice for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (sometimes for snacks too J ) but you are hardly fed up with it because rice comes in many different categories such as noodle, sticky rice or rice papers.


2.  Fresh vegetable and herbs

If you google about Vietnamese food, one thing you have to agree with me is that Vietnamese foods are very colorful and good looking because they are made of plenty different ingredients, include lots of vegetables which bring the colors for dishes. Our favorite vegetables are spring onions, red onions, mung beans, lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes…For herbs, we love basil, lemon grass, coriander, mint, turmeric, black peppers…



      3.Fish sauce:

Not like Chinese food, soy sauce rarely appears in Vietnamese dishes. Our favorite sauce is fish sauce which adds an amazing and unique taste for dishes. It can be used directly with meat and vegetables or cooking purpose.



       4. Meat

The main ones are used for Vietnamese food are chicken, beef, and pork. Besides it, you can find duck, goose, lamb, or goat.



All those ingredients are easy to find in Toronto. Everyone can find them in Asian supermarket with an affordable price and high quality. Most big Asian supermarkets are located in North York area where large population has Asian background. Below are some places that everyone can find all ingredients which are needed to prepare a Vietnamese traditional dishes