Over the past few years, Vietnamese foods have gained massive popularity as dishes like Phở and Bánh Mì (Vietnamese Sandwiches) have become internationally known foods. However, besides these 2 food items and other common dishes like egg rolls and fried rice, most people don’t really try too many other Vietnamese foods. Therefore, I’ve compiled a list of 5 lesser known dishes you can order at most Vietnamese restaurants.
5. Bún Bò Huế - Spicy Beef and Pork Noodle Soup
What it is:
Bún Bò Huế is a spicy noodle soup often including oxtail, beef slices, pork knuckles, pork blood cubes, and thick vermicelli noodles. The broth is often made by simmering beef/oxtail bones and lemongrass together and is then seasoned with a fermented shrimp sauce and chili oil.
Although this seems like it would be a pretty hearty dish, the broth is beefy but still relatively light and not too spicy at all. If you’re looking to try a noodle soup dish a bit different from Phở, this is a pretty popular Vietnamese dish that is both flavorful and unique.
4. Bún Thịt Nướng – Vietnamese Grilled Pork over Cold Vermicelli Noodles
What it is:
Bún Thịt Nướng is a cold vermicelli noodle dish often served with grilled pork, roasted peanuts, herbs, pickled carrots and radish, and dressed with a fish sauce. There are many variations to the toppings of this dish and can often include things like egg rolls, prawns, or beef. This refreshing Vietnamese rice noodle salad is very popular and can be found in most Vietnamese restaurants.
3. Bún Riêu – Vietnamese Crab Noodle Soup
What it is:
Bún Riêu is a rice noodle dish that has many variations but often includes tomatoes, fried shallots, fried tofu, and minced crab and pork.
Despite the red color, there’s no real spicy elements to Bún Riêu and the broth is both light and a bit sweet and sour from the tomatoes. This dish became one of my favorites after first trying it and I highly recommend it.
2. Bò Lúc Lắc – Shaking Beef
What it is:
Bò Lúc Lắc is a French inspired dish that is made of cubed filet mignon, onions, tomatoes, and cucumber sautéed in a soy sauce based sauce. It is often served with rice (sometimes tomato flavored red rice) and a side salad. This dish often has extremely soft and tender cubes of steak and, when done correctly, I personally think can even compete with steak dishes served at more expensive restaurants.
1. Chè – Traditional Vietnamese Sweet Drink/Soup/Pudding
What it is:
Chè refers to a genre of traditional Vietnamese desserts that come in various different forms and often contains things like sweet beans, fruits, puddings and jellies. My personal favorite comprises of tapioca, pandan jelly and fruits like lychee, jackfruit and coconut all served together in young coconut milk. If you’re not familiar with the taste of coconut milk, this dessert may be a bit of an acquired taste, but it’s definitely worth giving a try!
Conclusion:
There are many dishes in every culture that we overlook because we are unfamiliar with what they are or what we should try, but I encourage everyone to step out of their comfort zone and try something new! The above list contains just some of my personal favorite Vietnamese dishes (in no particular order), but if anybody has any recommendations of lesser known foods in your or other cultures, please let me know in the comments below!
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I love Vietnamese food. There's a couple here I've never tried before thank you !
Me too! I live pretty close to little Saigon so there's Vietnamese food everywhere for me lol
These look absolutely amazing. I think I just drooled over my keyboard haha
Haha thanks! I was drooling like crazy while writing this too lol
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