Vietnamese Vegetarian Cuisine

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. Though the cuisine is more known for its meat fare, vegetarians will also be delighted to know that most of its signature dishes have vegetarian variants and are as tasty if not better than their meat counterparts. 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. To replace meat, Vietnamese cooking substitutes soy and tofu. Vietnamese recipes use a variety of herbs like mint, coriander, lemongrass, basil and others that add a unique tangy component. Traditional Vietnamese cooking is known for the freshness of the ingredients used in cooking, hence fruits and vegetables are a common occurrence at every meal due to the nature of the agrarian culture. There are three main varients of cusine in Vietnam. Cooking styles are Nothern, Central and Southern. Strict vegetarians have to look out for fish sauce as in some places it can find its way into vegetarian food as it is very popular there and some cultures use it inside the vegetarian definition.
A typical Vietnamese vegetarian variation meal would consist of bowls of rice, stir fried vegetables or steamed vegetables, Canh (a clear broth of vegetables) or other soups, soy sauce blended with garlic or chili. 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. The distinction of these elements

National food

The 'national dish', Pho, is an anise and chile flavored noodle soup which is perfect for vegetarians. Other famous dishes are the goi cuon (spring rolls), and banh mi (a kind of bread roll) and crispy shallots with fresh herbs (banh uot).

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. Vietnamese curry is more popular in the south especially with coconut milk and is usually served with bread, rice and noodles. 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 There are other sauces that can be added to reallyspice things up like Sriracha which is a really hot chile sauce or to add some zing you can go with Tuong which is a soy sauce that is popular.

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!

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