THE TYPICAL DIFFERENCE OF FOOD IN 3 REGIONS IN VIETNAM
On map, Vietnam has the shape of S letter and divided into 3 regions. Each region has typical “character” of their own cuisines because of the distinct taste and the diversity of Vietnam cuisines.
The delicacy of our beloved country’s cuisines
In Vietnam, the area in the North is the oldest land which owns several hundreds of the dishes. Northerners are crazy for something frugal, sour slightly, a little bit sweet such as: various kind of Hanoi noodles (noodle with beef, chicken, ball of pork meat, noodle with stir-fried beef & roasted peanut, Snail vermicelli, Hanoi combo noodle soup (chicken, egg, pork & sausage), sticky-rice with dry pork meat and spring roll (fresh and fried one), etc…
Northerner food is not only focused on the godfather worshipping dishes during Lunar New Year festival but also the snack of various cakes. Our local can eat these snack every afternoon (around 5 - 6 pm) after the work. Here is the preferred list for your first look: Steamed rice pancake, soya cake, steamed wheat flour cake, pancakes, shrimp cake
The local community in this place enjoy the spicy food with lots of chilies but less sweet than Southerner, especially the local in Hue city from the normal street food to the refine luxury restaurants. The main flavor is sour, spicy and uses lots dipping sauce and fish sauce.
The specialties are Noodle with stir-fried beef & roasted peanut, pancakes, noodle soup with fried fish, girdle-cake with boiling pork meat and fresh herbs.
Southern food style is very simple, not as sophisticated as the people here who is very honest and simple. The food is very distinct, metamorphosis with sweet, spicy, lipid by using the coconut water. Typical dishes use lots of sugar such as the cakes, sweet soup (banana, sweet potato, grapefruits), sticky rice, chicken nuggets, roasted chicken ... Coconut juice or coconut is used to increase fat, sweet taste. Typical dishes: grilled snakehead fish, spring rolls, noodles, noodles Nam Vang ...
The characteristics of each dish vary, but there are similarities, expressed through the structure of meals, principles of processing such as water, fish sauce, mixed seasonings, rich vegetables, a varied variety of dishes. Therefore, not only Vietnamese but many foreigners love the food culture of the S-shaped country.
Yin Yang collaborative philosophy exists in Vietnam finest cuisines
Not known for rare ingredients, expensive or too "toxic", Vietnamese meals are cooked on the basis of simple and popular ingredients. Combining a variety of protein, fiber and especially spices, Vietnamese dishes are coming famous and attracts a huge foreign community because of its balancing and amazing flavor.
Especially in spices, we have a variety of different types such as onions, coriander, shiso, dill, marjoram or fermented products with batch, vinegar, alcohol; From spices such as garlic, lemongrass, galangal, ginger to spices from animals like dozens of sauce and sauce. The variety and flexible combination of spices have created a very moderate, not too sweet, fat, spicy or salty taste for Vietnamese cuisine.
The harmonious advantage of Vietnamese cuisine also comes from the traditional yin-yang element. With sound representing the dark, soft, passive, positive, bright, tough, active, this philosophy assumes that everything in life has positive yin, and those two elements are always intertwined. Together they make the essence of the world.
Eating and drinking are not outside of this principle. A Vietnamese dish or tray of rice contains deep philosophical values with yin and yang and the five elements of yogurt - the two principles combined in cooking to achieve the harmony of harmony. Aesthetic standards of the Vietnamese.
Specifically, a dish should contain both positive and negative yin. Main ingredients are cold (dip) such as duck eggs must be accompanied by hot herbs (positive) such as vegetables, duck meat is cold (negative) must have ginger hot new (positive). On a wider scale than the tray of rice daily, the rule of the yin-yang is more clearly expressed: fried, fried or salty items, the texture, dry (positive) Liquid (negative) balance.
What makes you proud of Vietnamese cuisine
Going a little further into the principles of raw materials development and cooking methods of the Vietnamese, we will be surprised to know that the rules of production are quite strict in cooking. The Five Elements are derived from Yin-Yang, representing the five changing states of the universe: Kim-Mộc-Thủy-Fire-Earth. Each pair of elements in the Five Elements, if properly combined, will be mutually supportive and supportive of one another, while on the contrary, they will cause mutual destabilization. In cooking, the Vietnamese focus on choosing the right pair of ingredients and spices to reach the state of the Five Elements, bringing the flavor and nutritious effect of the dish to the highest value of it.
What makes you proud of Vietnamese cuisine
The Vietnamese classify sour, powdered and animal bile into “Moc” - Tree, bitter, fat and young heart into “Hoa” - Fire, sweetness, protein and stomach to “Dat” - Earth, spicy, mineral salt and old heart into “Kim” - Metal. In the end, salty, liquid and kidney belong to “Thuy” - Water.
Vietnamese food is sometimes the combination of all five elements of heaven and earth, conveying all the richness of the natural flavor, balance the nutritional value in the body. In a bowl of pho, we find a combination of all the ingredients, the smell, the taste, the color: lean beef (Earth), fatty stakes (Fire), salty water (Metal), the spicy of chili vinegar ginger (Water), with the sour of fresh lemon squeezed on the face (Tree).
