Modern Vietnamese cuisine is heavily influenced by the French colonists. However, traditional Vietnamese cuisine is similar to Chinese cooking, only instead of using soy sauce, they use fish sauce almost exclusively. Vietnamese recipes use a lot of lemon grass, lime and kaffir lime. The Vietnamese also have their own version of Buddhist vegetarian dishes.

Nước chấm is a multi-purpose dipping sauce. Made chiefly from fish sauce, chillies and lime or lemon juice, it is always present on Vietnamese tables.

There are also French-Vietnamese sandwiches called bánh mì, which consists of Vietnamese meats and French baguettes.

In Western countries, Vietnamese cuisine is widely available in most Vietnamese and Chinese immigrant communities, such as Chinatown and Little Saigon. The popular Chinese/Vietnamese hot sauce brand of Sriracha, made by Huy Fong company, can be found in many Vietnamese cuisine restaurants in Western countries.

Famous Vietnamese dishes:

• Spring rolls (Gỏi cuốn or Nem Ran) – Shrimp rolls wrapped in rice paper
• Phở – beef noodles, a northern Vietnamese breakfast. However, in Western Countries it is eaten as lunch and dinner too. Also eaten with chicken or pork instead.
• Cơm tấm – Grilled pork or shredded pork over broken rice. May include crispy egg rolls (chả giò) or broiled egg.
• Cà phê sữa đá – extremely strong coffee (most often served with milk, particularly sweetened, condensed milk and ice.)

See also: cooking

External links

• Directory of Vietnamese Restaurants and Food Guide
• wokme.com Asian Cooking Guide - Vietnamese Cuisine
• Introduction to Vietnamese Cuisine
• Vietnamese recipes