Top 10 Vietnamese Dishes

Banh Mi is a Vietnamese sandwich that fuses a French baguette legacy with Vietnamese flavors — chili, coriander, pickled daikon and carrot, pate, and various proteins — and was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2011. The baguette recipe was introduced by French colonizers in the 19th century but was transformed by Vietnamese bakers into a lighter, crispier loaf using rice flour. Hoi An's Banh Mi Phuong, made famous by Anthony Bourdain, serves over 2,000 sandwiches per day and has been featured in over 300 international publications.

Bun Bo Hue is a spicy beef noodle soup from the imperial city of Hue in central Vietnam, considered by many food critics to be more complex and layered in flavor than Pho. The broth is spiked with lemongrass, shrimp paste, and annatto oil, giving it a distinctively red color and bold umami depth. It is served with thick round rice noodles, sliced beef shank, pork knuckle, and traditionally a slice of Vietnamese blood sausage.

Goi Cuon are translucent rice paper rolls filled with shrimp, pork, vermicelli noodles, and fresh herbs, served cold with a rich hoisin-peanut dipping sauce. Unlike their fried counterparts, fresh spring rolls are celebrated as one of the healthiest preparations in Vietnamese cuisine, low in fat and high in vegetables and lean protein. They are a staple appetizer at Vietnamese restaurants from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City and have gained enormous popularity in healthy eating circles abroad.

Com Tam, which literally means "broken rice," is a southern Vietnamese comfort dish built around the fractured rice grains that were once considered leftovers and sold cheaply to laborers. Today it is paired with grilled pork chop (suon nuong), shredded pork skin (bi), and a steamed egg meatloaf (cha trung), drizzled with sweet fish sauce dressing. Ho Chi Minh City has over 30,000 Com Tam stalls, and the dish is so embedded in city life that the meal is eaten at all hours including midnight.

Cao Lau is a rare and hyper-local noodle dish found almost exclusively in Hoi An, made from noodles that must be soaked in lye water drawn from a specific ancient well in the Cham Islands to achieve their distinctive chewiness. The dish features thick yellow noodles topped with roasted pork, crispy croutons, fresh greens, and a small amount of rich broth. Its unique flavor profile and protected geographic character make Cao Lau one of the most sought-after dishes by food tourists visiting central Vietnam.

Banh Xeo is a large, crispy Vietnamese crepe made from rice flour batter colored with turmeric and filled with shrimp, pork, bean sprouts, and green onions, named after the loud sizzle it makes when the batter hits the hot pan. It is eaten wrapped in mustard leaf or lettuce with fresh herbs and dipped in a sweet-sour fish sauce. The dish varies significantly between north and south Vietnam — southern versions are much larger, sometimes the diameter of a dinner plate.

Cha Ca La Vong is a Hanoi specialty so iconic that the street where it is traditionally served was renamed "Cha Ca Street" in its honor. The dish features catfish marinated in turmeric and galangal, pan-fried at the table with dill and green onions, and eaten with vermicelli noodles, roasted peanuts, and shrimp paste. The recipe has been kept by a single Hanoi family, the Doan family, for over 100 years and the restaurant La Vong continues to serve only this one dish.

Banh Cuon are delicate, gossamer-thin steamed rice rolls filled with seasoned minced pork and wood ear mushrooms, served with sliced pork sausage, crispy fried shallots, cucumber, bean sprouts, and a light fish sauce dipping broth. The batter is spread over a muslin cloth stretched across a pot of boiling water and steamed for just 30 seconds to achieve its translucent, silky texture. Hanoi's Banh Cuon Ba Hoanh in the Old Quarter has been a breakfast institution for over 70 years.

Chao is Vietnam's version of rice porridge or congee, a deeply nourishing slow-cooked rice soup prepared with chicken, pork, fish, or offal and served with ginger, scallions, and fried dough sticks. It is a universal comfort food eaten for breakfast, during illness, and as late-night street food across all regions of Vietnam. Regional variants include Chao Long (offal porridge) popular in the south and Chao Ca (fish porridge) favored in coastal cities like Da Nang and Nha Trang.

Banh Mi is a Vietnamese sandwich that fuses a French baguette legacy with Vietnamese flavors — chili, coriander, pickled daikon and carrot, pate, and various proteins — and was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2011. The baguette recipe was introduced by French colonizers in the 19th century but was transformed by Vietnamese bakers into a lighter, crispier loaf using rice flour. Hoi An's Banh Mi Phuong, made famous by Anthony Bourdain, serves over 2,000 sandwiches per day and has been featured in over 300 international publications.

Bun Bo Hue is a spicy beef noodle soup from the imperial city of Hue in central Vietnam, considered by many food critics to be more complex and layered in flavor than Pho. The broth is spiked with lemongrass, shrimp paste, and annatto oil, giving it a distinctively red color and bold umami depth. It is served with thick round rice noodles, sliced beef shank, pork knuckle, and traditionally a slice of Vietnamese blood sausage.

Goi Cuon are translucent rice paper rolls filled with shrimp, pork, vermicelli noodles, and fresh herbs, served cold with a rich hoisin-peanut dipping sauce. Unlike their fried counterparts, fresh spring rolls are celebrated as one of the healthiest preparations in Vietnamese cuisine, low in fat and high in vegetables and lean protein. They are a staple appetizer at Vietnamese restaurants from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City and have gained enormous popularity in healthy eating circles abroad.

Com Tam, which literally means "broken rice," is a southern Vietnamese comfort dish built around the fractured rice grains that were once considered leftovers and sold cheaply to laborers. Today it is paired with grilled pork chop (suon nuong), shredded pork skin (bi), and a steamed egg meatloaf (cha trung), drizzled with sweet fish sauce dressing. Ho Chi Minh City has over 30,000 Com Tam stalls, and the dish is so embedded in city life that the meal is eaten at all hours including midnight.

Cao Lau is a rare and hyper-local noodle dish found almost exclusively in Hoi An, made from noodles that must be soaked in lye water drawn from a specific ancient well in the Cham Islands to achieve their distinctive chewiness. The dish features thick yellow noodles topped with roasted pork, crispy croutons, fresh greens, and a small amount of rich broth. Its unique flavor profile and protected geographic character make Cao Lau one of the most sought-after dishes by food tourists visiting central Vietnam.

Banh Xeo is a large, crispy Vietnamese crepe made from rice flour batter colored with turmeric and filled with shrimp, pork, bean sprouts, and green onions, named after the loud sizzle it makes when the batter hits the hot pan. It is eaten wrapped in mustard leaf or lettuce with fresh herbs and dipped in a sweet-sour fish sauce. The dish varies significantly between north and south Vietnam — southern versions are much larger, sometimes the diameter of a dinner plate.

Cha Ca La Vong is a Hanoi specialty so iconic that the street where it is traditionally served was renamed "Cha Ca Street" in its honor. The dish features catfish marinated in turmeric and galangal, pan-fried at the table with dill and green onions, and eaten with vermicelli noodles, roasted peanuts, and shrimp paste. The recipe has been kept by a single Hanoi family, the Doan family, for over 100 years and the restaurant La Vong continues to serve only this one dish.

Banh Cuon are delicate, gossamer-thin steamed rice rolls filled with seasoned minced pork and wood ear mushrooms, served with sliced pork sausage, crispy fried shallots, cucumber, bean sprouts, and a light fish sauce dipping broth. The batter is spread over a muslin cloth stretched across a pot of boiling water and steamed for just 30 seconds to achieve its translucent, silky texture. Hanoi's Banh Cuon Ba Hoanh in the Old Quarter has been a breakfast institution for over 70 years.

Chao is Vietnam's version of rice porridge or congee, a deeply nourishing slow-cooked rice soup prepared with chicken, pork, fish, or offal and served with ginger, scallions, and fried dough sticks. It is a universal comfort food eaten for breakfast, during illness, and as late-night street food across all regions of Vietnam. Regional variants include Chao Long (offal porridge) popular in the south and Chao Ca (fish porridge) favored in coastal cities like Da Nang and Nha Trang.