Vietnamese food and cooking is the true ‘light cuisine of Asia’, famed for its lively and fresh flavours. It can be subtle, or bold, and is about quality ingredients, colour, contrast, texture and execution.
Abundant fresh herbs and greens, delicate soups and stir fries, and well-seasoned grilled foods served on, or with, rice or noodles are the mainstays of the Vietnamese delicacies. Even the beloved sweets for snacks or desserts are often based on fresh fruits served with sweetened rice or tapioca. Rarely does any dish have added fats.
While the Vietnamese cuisine relies on fresh vegetables, subtle seasonings and rice, Vietnamese cooking also reflects its Chinese and French influences and it has numerous regional differences; in the south, look for plentiful fresh seafood and in the colder north, you'll find slightly heartier meals with beef. In central Vietnam, around the ancient royal capital Hue, the food may contain influences of the former court cooks.
The tropical monsoon climate of most of Vietnam, the land and the freshwater and in-shore fishing come together to bring the Vietnamese staples to the table: rice, nuoc mam, fish, fruit, vegetables, pork and poultry. Rice is the most important food, present at all main meals, but coming a close second in use and importance is the condiment added to most dishes at all times: nuoc mam. This is made from salt and well- fermented fish. The first layers of liquid produced are the lesser quality nuom mam sauces. Subsequent liquids produced, months later, will contain more fish extract and be perceived as better quality products. Inland fishing is less costly than deep-sea, but every type of fish and seafood is enjoyed in the Vietnamese diet. Both wild and cultivated fruit is abundant and consumption of vegetables has increased since North Vietnam refugees brought market garden culture to the southern "rice bowl". Both meat and fats come from hogs, although some chicken, beef, small animals and reptiles are also eaten. Almost as widely used as nuoc mam is the spicy hot condiment nuoc cham, each cook preparing it in his or her own special way with chillies, garlic, onions, vinegar and a sprinkle of citrus juice to heighten the tang.
The northerners prefer long-grain rice, the southerners round-grain rice. Both areas also enjoy "hot-pot cookery" where a bubbling pot of broth, centred on the table is used to cook morsels of foods held by chopsticks. At meals, diners assemble their own titbits of meats, fish, fruits and vegetables and then wrap them in packets of edible rice paper, various green leaves, noodle dough, all to be dipped in sauce before eating. Although many similarities have been noted between the two groups, northerners and southerners insist not only upon their rice preference, but that southerners enjoy more spiciness, the use of more fresh fruits and raw vegetables, simpler dishes and a lot of coconut. They will tell you this is because of their more tropical climate. However, while northerners consider the southern food somewhat less than subtle, the southerners may counter that they think the northerners' food is too flat.