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Dining Guide
/ Vietnamese Cuisine
Considering
the geographical closeness of Thailand and Vietnam, and furthermore
taking into account the large number of Vietnamese refugees who
have flocked into Thailand throughout the past decades it is not
surprising that Vietnamese cuisine is well represented in Thai cities,
chiefly in Bangkok.
Vietnamese
cuisine of the last 200 years is a unique combination of Asian
and French cooking. Of Asian origin is the importance of
vegetables in the daily diet, and the habit of chopping up food
before preparation. Accordingly chopsticks are used at the
table.
French, for
example, is the base of most Vietnamese soups, actually a consomme.
Also French are many terms in cooking. The most common spice, lemon
grass, is referred to in Vietnam as citronelle; and an indigenous
paste of mashed shrimp, black pepper, and coriander is called pate.
Aside from
the French influence in cooking Vietnam has a tradition of purely
French dining. Before the US-Vietnamese war and the communist
take-over there was a large number of French restaurants in Vietnam,
particularly in Saigon.
However, Vietnamese
cuisine differs in one aspect from French cuisine: it uses hardly
any oil. But it also doesn't boil most of the foods; the
most common preparation is to stir-fry.
Meats are less
important in Vietnamese cuisine than are fish and particularly seafood.
There is an immense abundance of shrimp in Vietnam. Among meats
the Vietnamese prefer beef over pork because pork is often too fatty
for their taste.
It was mentioned
that the Vietnamese use a soup base similar to the French consomme.
However, in Vietnamese cuisine noodles are often added to
the soup. The resulting "noodle consomme" is called pho
bo
The Vietnamese
also eat curries but they are less spicy than Indian or Thai
curries. Vietnamese curries get their taste mainly from coriander,
and chili is used in very small quantities.
Spring rolls
seem to be an adoption from Chinese cuisine. However, much in contrast
to the Chinese habit of deep-frying spring rolls, they are prepared
largely without fat in the Vietnamese variation, named cha gio.
In common with
most Southeast Asian cuisines the Vietnamese have a very tasty fish
sauce (nouc mam). It is added to many dishes and also used
as a salad dressing. Commonly prepared as salads are not only vegetables
but meats as well.
Other descriptions:
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