Primer for Vietnamese food newbie?
Jul 26, 2018 | 5:42 pm
#1
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Primer for Vietnamese food newbie?
Somehow, I've never made it to a Vietnamese restaurant. But I'd like to try.
Anyone have a primer link handy? Or tips?
I like most sushi and Chinese food, but am very much a carnivore -- not much interested in vegetable dishes. Enjoy Hawaiian food, particularly pork laulau, saimin (with lots of meat/fish), poke.
What are your suggestions?
TIA!
Anyone have a primer link handy? Or tips?
I like most sushi and Chinese food, but am very much a carnivore -- not much interested in vegetable dishes. Enjoy Hawaiian food, particularly pork laulau, saimin (with lots of meat/fish), poke.
What are your suggestions?
TIA!
Jul 26, 2018 | 6:51 pm
#2
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I always end up having a big bowl of Pho. Usually beef. I need to branch out and try something else when I go to a Vietnamese restaurant, but I always end up trying their Pho. And I have had some amazing Pho.
I need to try something else, so I will follow this thread. But Pho.
I need to try something else, so I will follow this thread. But Pho.
Jul 27, 2018 | 6:41 am
#3
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Pho for sure
Some others I've ordered regularly and enjoyed:
Bnh xo - Vietnamese crispy crepe
Catfish or pork in clay pot, the pot is baked and the fish sauce & other goodies caramelize in the pot
Fresh spring rolls (not fried) - wrapped around noodles, fresh herbs, shrimp or beef usually
Bnh m - one of the most incredible sandwiches you'll ever have, lots of options
Bn chả - grilled meat (I like pork chop version), vermicelli noodles, herbs and the ever important nuoc cham sauce
Goi Ga - chicken salad with fresh herbs
Broken Rice w/grilled pork chop and again with nuoc cham sauce
Enjoy, it is an amazingly flavorful cuisine
Some others I've ordered regularly and enjoyed:
Bnh xo - Vietnamese crispy crepe
Catfish or pork in clay pot, the pot is baked and the fish sauce & other goodies caramelize in the pot
Fresh spring rolls (not fried) - wrapped around noodles, fresh herbs, shrimp or beef usually
Bnh m - one of the most incredible sandwiches you'll ever have, lots of options
Bn chả - grilled meat (I like pork chop version), vermicelli noodles, herbs and the ever important nuoc cham sauce
Goi Ga - chicken salad with fresh herbs
Broken Rice w/grilled pork chop and again with nuoc cham sauce
Enjoy, it is an amazingly flavorful cuisine
Last edited by Sweet Willie; Jul 27, 2018 at 6:54 am
Jul 27, 2018 | 9:08 am
#4
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Here's a pretty good idea of the most popular Vietnamese dishes
https://www.houstonpress.com/restaur...uisine-6402510
Personally, I wan't to venture out and get creative with my Vietnamese, but if I find a place that has awesome Pho broth, I basically never get anything else. Add in all the siracha, all the jalapenos, the basil, the bean sprouts.... Can't go wrong. (skip the siracha and jalapenos if you're not into spicy)
I should also add: Be careful with what you ask for in your Pho. Most traditional, or authentic styles, include tripe and tendon which can be texturally off-putting to a newbie. Stick with the rare eye-round, fat brisket or well-done brisket unless you're feeling adventurous.
https://www.houstonpress.com/restaur...uisine-6402510
Personally, I wan't to venture out and get creative with my Vietnamese, but if I find a place that has awesome Pho broth, I basically never get anything else. Add in all the siracha, all the jalapenos, the basil, the bean sprouts.... Can't go wrong. (skip the siracha and jalapenos if you're not into spicy)
I should also add: Be careful with what you ask for in your Pho. Most traditional, or authentic styles, include tripe and tendon which can be texturally off-putting to a newbie. Stick with the rare eye-round, fat brisket or well-done brisket unless you're feeling adventurous.
Last edited by cblaisd; Jul 27, 2018 at 10:12 am Reason: merged poster's two consecutive posts
Jul 27, 2018 | 11:28 am
#5
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Personally, I wan't to venture out and get creative with my Vietnamese, but if I find a place that has awesome Pho broth, I basically never get anything else. Add in all the siracha, all the jalapenos, the basil, the bean sprouts.... Can't go wrong. (skip the siracha and jalapenos if you're not into spicy)
I should also add: Be careful with what you ask for in your Pho. Most traditional, or authentic styles, include tripe and tendon which can be texturally off-putting to a newbie. Stick with the rare eye-round, fat brisket or well-done brisket unless you're feeling adventurous.
I should also add: Be careful with what you ask for in your Pho. Most traditional, or authentic styles, include tripe and tendon which can be texturally off-putting to a newbie. Stick with the rare eye-round, fat brisket or well-done brisket unless you're feeling adventurous.
Jul 27, 2018 | 12:17 pm
#6
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The first thing I would suggest is pho. In broadening my horizons some, I might suggest pho. And did I mention pho?
But in seriousness, I think pho is one of the great soups of the world. I've had it from restaurants here in NY to a small hole in the wall place in Hanoi, where it was mind bending good. Due to the ingredients, meat and such, and noodles, it's really a man course dish. Apart from pho, the banh mi, as mentioned, is often very good. I also like both the fried and steamed spring rolls. There is also a dish with cut up fried spring rolls on a bed of angel hair pasta that I love. Enjoy!
But in seriousness, I think pho is one of the great soups of the world. I've had it from restaurants here in NY to a small hole in the wall place in Hanoi, where it was mind bending good. Due to the ingredients, meat and such, and noodles, it's really a man course dish. Apart from pho, the banh mi, as mentioned, is often very good. I also like both the fried and steamed spring rolls. There is also a dish with cut up fried spring rolls on a bed of angel hair pasta that I love. Enjoy!
Last edited by GadgetFreak; Jul 28, 2018 at 8:36 am
Jul 29, 2018 | 10:02 pm
#8
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I went to Vietnam in 1996, very early on in the development of the tourism industry there, and before I’d ever eaten Vietnamese food anywhere. My friend and I ate at dozens of restaurants, very few of which had any English on their menus or English-speaking staff. Our strategy was just to pick a few things at random and eat whatever showed up on the table. To this day, I remember the food we ate there as some of the most delicious, varied, and healthy cuisine I’ve ever had. Basically, everything we got was pretty wonderful. I don’t recall a single bad or even mediocre meal. What really struck me was the huge variety of dishes—not just rice and noodles, but all sorts of things, in all sorts of preparations. (The Vietnamese are no slouches at baking bread and pastry, too, due to the long French influence.)
These days when I eat at a Vietnamese restaurant I try to do the same thing—find something on the menu that I have no idea what it is, and order it. This strategy rarely fails. Just two weeks ago I did it at an amazingly good hole-in-the-wall place in Biloxi, and it was wonderful. (That time, I got banh hoi with grilled pork, and I confess that I discreetly Googled how to eat it when it showed up on the table, but it turned out that my assumption “wrap everything in the lettuce leaves” was correct
)
I love good pho as much as the next person, but I do urge everyone to branch out.
These days when I eat at a Vietnamese restaurant I try to do the same thing—find something on the menu that I have no idea what it is, and order it. This strategy rarely fails. Just two weeks ago I did it at an amazingly good hole-in-the-wall place in Biloxi, and it was wonderful. (That time, I got banh hoi with grilled pork, and I confess that I discreetly Googled how to eat it when it showed up on the table, but it turned out that my assumption “wrap everything in the lettuce leaves” was correct
)I love good pho as much as the next person, but I do urge everyone to branch out.
Last edited by travelmad478; Jul 29, 2018 at 10:07 pm
Jul 30, 2018 | 6:30 am
#9
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Pho is lovely, but it's a breakfast/ morning snack, akin to saying that US cuisine is all about pancakes with golden syrup. For something a little out there nobody has mentioned yet would be to find somewhere that does old Imperial cuisine from Hue which sounds to me like a kind of Asian Versailles during Louis 15th. It's very pretty and super over the top.
More conventionally, you'll see a big difference between the complex flavours of cooking around Hanoi (which had more of a French influence) and in the south which is generally "cleaner". I've found the Hanoi flavours more to my personal taste (red wine stewed beef pho - mmm), but each to their own.
More conventionally, you'll see a big difference between the complex flavours of cooking around Hanoi (which had more of a French influence) and in the south which is generally "cleaner". I've found the Hanoi flavours more to my personal taste (red wine stewed beef pho - mmm), but each to their own.
Jul 30, 2018 | 7:48 am
#10
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No question people should do this, Vietnamese food is some of the most flavorful I've had anywhere. But I do think pho is a good introduction to the cuisine, as it's almost a guarantee that the person will want to come back to the food and branch out as you suggest.
Jul 30, 2018 | 9:53 am
#11
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As a carnivore, you should scope out a restaurant that does a proper 7 Courses of Beef (B 7 mn)
VN cuisine, overall, is my favorite Southeast Asian food, and it is overall, at least with what seems to be available here, the healthiest of all the Asian cuisines (save, perhaps Japanese), given the vegetable to meat ratios, and the comparative lack of oil added to food.
VN cuisine, overall, is my favorite Southeast Asian food, and it is overall, at least with what seems to be available here, the healthiest of all the Asian cuisines (save, perhaps Japanese), given the vegetable to meat ratios, and the comparative lack of oil added to food.
Aug 22, 2018 | 5:23 pm
#12
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