Vietnamese cuisine
As Vietnamese cuisine original and versatile cooking tradition of Vietnam referred to the many typical dishes has produced. It is historically strongly influenced by Chinese cuisine and in the south of Vietnam also has influences from Thai , Khmer and Indian cuisine . In addition, Buddhism has contributed to a rich variety of vegetarian dishes. The main characteristic is the large number of possible ingredients.
Despite bitter wars of national liberation and vehement resistance to foreign influences, the Vietnamese people have retained many of the western customs of the former colonial powers, including baguettes , croissants and coffee , which were introduced by the French and adopted in modified forms.
Rice and rice noodles and a large number of different vegetables are eaten as staple foods in Vietnam . Fish and meat play a subordinate role in mass nutrition. A historical peculiarity, however, is the variety of possible meat dishes, which includes almost all edible animals and some types of insects. In Vietnam, food taboos are largely unknown, unlike in many national cooking traditions. However, they exist among the Buddhists. Spices are used in a variety of ways, but less spicy than in the neighboring Thai or Indian cuisine. More delicate combinations of spices from many cultures dominate, including spiced cinnamon and anise in combination with numerous types of meat.
dishes
Vietnamese dishes are typically cooked extremely hot, but fried briefly, on pans with a high open fire ( wok ). They are mostly roasted on the surface and cooked internally. Gas stoves, but also blown charcoal fires, are still normal sources of heating in rural and urban areas. Almost all solid foods, including pasta, vegetables, fruit and meat, can be roasted, deep-fried or briefly seared. Soup bases and brews are often kept for several days, but are added to the supplements very hot (bubbly and boiling).
Vietnam is known for spring rolls , which are eaten raw, fried or deep-fried and sometimes wrapped in lettuce leaves. The fillings vary from region to region and season and range from sweet and sweet to spicy and savory. The rolling of provided on the table ingredients in Reisteigblätter is a popular way of eating: herbs, lettuce, rice noodles, julienne vegetables, a whole even split grilled fish, in a kind of hot pot even cooked meat pieces are among the ingredients. A “personal activity” of the guest, which is known in the German-speaking countries from the fondue variants and raclette and the “sociability” value of such types of preparation compared with the popularity of these “self-rolled” spring rolls gives an impression of the importance of eating together in Vietnam.
There are many types of noodle soups that are eaten with vegetables, cuts of meat, fish or eggs either as a snack, for breakfast or as a whole meal. The ingredients of these soups are often only mixed with the watery stock shortly before consumption, which is why the soup served is varied, firm and versatile on the table. These rich, aromatic soups are served throughout the day, including for breakfast. A typical morning specialty of Vietnam is the Phở , a beef broth with rice noodles, which is often taken as a hearty daily basis, with thin beef slices as Phở Bò or with chicken as Phở Gà .
There are also exotic foods, although some of them are officially banned in Vietnam. In any case, higher costs must be estimated and special restaurants must be visited. Almost everything is eaten: snakes, turtles, scorpions, insects and all kinds of game. One specialty is hatched duck eggs, called Hột vịt lộn , which literally means “confused duck egg”. The kitchen has no food taboos, but there are legal prohibitions of dishes due to species protection regulations . Especially in rural areas, the cooking habits that were formed during the long war years and times of dire need have largely been preserved. All edible plant, fish, seafood and animal species are used. The “notorious” consumption of dog meat (thịt cho, in the south more: thịt cầy) should be mentioned in particular. Restaurants usually advertise it on the outside, sometimes under disguising terms, so enjoyment is avoidable. Occasionally eaten all over Vietnam, there are restaurants specializing in it, especially in Hanoi and the surrounding area.
Eating habits are determined by logistical factors: while there is a great variety of foods in the lowlands, especially in and around the major centers, the menu in remote mountain regions, such as in the northwest, can be reduced to regionally available foods. While wheat beer brewed on site in Nha Trang can be enjoyed with the most unusual seafood, the menu at Đồng Văn features rather sparse dishes with goat or chicken, unless it was market day, when it becomes a soup made from horse innards - which is rather unusual for the European palate be. Despite all the exoticism, there are many European influences. In the streets of Ho Chi Minh City , a baguette Bánh mì topped with liver pate, sausage slices, a freshly prepared omelette and cucumber strips is more popular with the Vietnamese than with the more suspicious tourists. A little further on, in the street restaurant that hardly serves tourists, cooks prepare a macaroni dish with thin slices of pork kidney and crabs, without the soy sauce it would fit in Italy. Magnificently decorated cakes are exhibited in pastry shops, bakeries offer salty or sweet-filled baked goods, from mini pizzas to chocolate croissants. For tourists, unexpectedly, on the market of , à Lạt, next to planed, uncooked cabbage heads, strawberries are also found as jam, kohlrabi is next to bitter melon. Artichokes are available all year round, at least in dried form as tea. There is the tea warm with soy milk and together with lard, for Bavaria comparable to the drawn out . The Vietnamese cuisine has not simply taken over the influence of the former colonial rulers, but used it as building blocks in its own dishes.
Restaurants
Food stall in Hoi An
Mobile noodle soup food stall in Ho Chi Minh City
Food stall in Da Nang
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In Vietnam, small street stalls dominate, and food is cooked depending on what the cook has to offer or what the guests want. The guest takes a seat on stools in the street or in a room open to the street. It is served directly from the pan or from the brewing kettles that are simmering in the background. The street chefs usually only have a few dishes to choose from and close when the ingredients run out. Due to the large number of these stands, there is a rich offer until late in the evening.
There are also western-oriented restaurants, but mostly only in the tourist areas. The established restaurants are almost exclusively visited by tourists or the few wealthy Vietnamese. You have western dishes on offer that do not always meet the usual western tastes. Hybrid dishes that are otherwise not typical for the country are served, rich in refined vegetable combinations, sometimes overloaded with massive meat side dishes.
beverages
Tea is drunk in Vietnam , it is ubiquitous and covers a large part of the fluid needs of the people in the tropical climate. In contrast to the Arab cultures, mineral water plays a negligible role and the typical Indian drinking water wells are unknown. Tea is available in unlimited quantities everywhere, from street shops to grocery stores to government agencies. In the home, the guest traditionally always gets a cup of green tea and it is considered impolite not to have at least a sip. The bowl is refilled again and again, but it is not expected to drink all that is served. Green tea is served free of charge in restaurants and is always cold due to the climate. Special teas have to be paid for. In addition, decaffeinated artichoke tea, which is brewed from a mixture of powder and sugar, is popular. This tea is common, but it is mostly consumed by children.
Coffee (Cà phê) is drunk a lot in Vietnam. Vietnam is now the second largest coffee producer in the world. Cup filters made of sheet metal are used almost exclusively for the preparation, a process originally widespread in Europe. In this form, however, it has been replaced by other, easier-to-use processes (filter bags, coffee machine ) or preparation variants (such as espresso ). The coffee used differs significantly from the European taste due to its own production process, has a cocoa-like aroma and is traded in different (manufacturer-dependent: "Nguyen", highest level: 8) quality levels. A cup (or glass) of tea is often served with coffee. The presentation can be chosen: hot / cold, with / without milk (which means a rather sweet condensed milk): Cà phê đen nóng: "Coffee black hot" to Cà phê sữa đá: "Coffee with milk on the rocks". The latter designation means: the coffee from the cup filter runs into the glass filled with ice cubes (and possibly condensed milk). For the hot version, unsolicited hot water is served to dilute, because the dosage in the cup filter can be extreme. In the north of Vietnam, this type of coffee culture may disappear regionally, but even there, at least canned goods are available that are similar to goods known to tourists.
Chanh muối is made from limes soaked in salt and water and is drunk as a salty lemonade - poured on with water.
Beer is brewed under the license of foreign brewing companies, there are Vietnamese brands whose taste is very typical. Bia hoi is particularly widespread in Hanoi , a locally brewed, rather light beer that is transported to local beer pubs by kegs for final consumption soon. The international brands Heineken , Tiger and Saigon beer are available almost everywhere , although the Saigon beer differs slightly from the western taste. Beer is served from spacious glasses with huge pieces of ice, if not drunk straight from the bottle. Once the ice has melted in the glass, it is often refilled immediately. The local beers, for example Ba Ba Ba (333) , are brewed on the basis of rice. There is no state restriction of the ingredients ( purity law ).
There is also higher percentage, such as the well-known snake schnapps , which, as an alcoholic infusion on a snake body (of various types) caught in a bottle, looks more like a strange liqueur and takes some getting used to for the European palate. The snakes are refilled after the bottle has been emptied. In Vietnam, it is considered to be markedly masculine and promotes potency, without any scientific evidence. Alcoholic infusions of body parts of other animals are available in pharmacies. Almost all conventional alcoholic beverages sold internationally are available in the cities of Vietnam, but they are expensive.
A classic family business in Vietnam is a still for rice schnapps, which is usually simply distilled to an alcohol concentration of around 25% from rice mash, the slightly cloudy result (happy water) is not sold in official stores, but on the doorstep.
Fruit and confectionery
Popular fruits are jackfruit , mangosteen , sour sack , longiane , durian , guava , lychee , dragon fruit and the coconut . In rural areas many berry and tree fruits that are completely unknown in Europe, sugared vegetables are common. In the dry area, they form the transition to the fruit-based confectionery . Fatty or sugary sweets such as candy bars or sugar candy are available only in the cities, but not particularly popular. Some types of fruit, such as the mango, are eaten unripe with a little salt or soaked in salted water.
The Vietnamese confectionery industry provides a variety of different types of soft candy prepared the protein foam , nuts or dried fruit components contained, and typically in edible paper wrapped, after removal of the outer packaging to eat together with the firmly adhesive paper. The taste types are mostly finely tuned and have a subtle and unobtrusive effect on the European palate, occasionally tart or exotic herbaceous. The pure sesame bars , a simple preparation from grains and hard gelatine , are available as one-bit or as a solid bar with predetermined breaking lines. Cocoa products, glazes for baked goods or marzipan products, cased milk desserts such as yoghurt and quark preparations are unusual. Spices such as cinnamon, coriander and anise, which are mainly used for sweet products in Europe, are mainly added to hearty meat dishes in Vietnam and are rarely used in confectionery.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Vietnamese coffee: All information. Retrieved November 23, 2018 .