Vietnam: Food and the National Dish

A cuisine built on freshness, herbs and balance

Vietnamese food leans on fresh herbs, light broths and a careful balance of sweet, sour, salty, bitter and spicy flavours, traditionally using little oil or dairy, and outside the central region mostly not fiery, a distinguishing feature within Southeast Asia's food landscape.

The national dish: pho

Pho, a clear broth simmered for hours with beef or chicken bones and warming spices like star anise and cinnamon, served over rice noodles with fresh herbs, lime and chilli added at the table, is widely regarded as Vietnam's national dish. First recorded in northern Vietnam in the early 20th century, with its modern form traced to Nam Định Province southeast of Hanoi, pho is believed to draw on both Chinese and French influences, its beef base linked to the demand for beef that appeared under French colonial rule.

Rice, fish sauce and a genuinely fresh pantry

Rice, in noodle and grain form, and fish sauce, used as a base seasoning across countless dishes, anchor much of Vietnamese cooking, alongside fresh herbs like mint, coriander and Thai basil that appear in a great many dishes. Lime, chilli and a wide range of fresh vegetables round out a pantry built on balance and freshness rather than heavy, slow-cooked richness.

History behind the bowl

Pho's development in early-20th-century northern Vietnam reflects a cultural convergence: French demand for beef made beef and beef bones more widely available, meeting rice-noodle and spice traditions with Chinese connections and Vietnamese herbs. The dish spread south after Vietnam's 1954 partition, as more than a million northerners moved south, and in Saigon a sweeter southern style with more garnishes developed alongside the original northern version.

Dishes to know

Five more to recognise across Vietnam:

• Banh mi — a baguette sandwich filled with meat, pate and pickled

vegetables, reflecting the French introduction of the baguette.

• Goi cuon — fresh, unfried spring rolls filled with herbs, vermicelli

and shrimp or pork.

• Bun cha — grilled pork served with rice vermicelli and a dipping

sauce, a Hanoi specialty.

• Banh xeo — a crispy rice-flour and turmeric pancake filled with

pork, prawns and bean sprouts.

• Bun bo Hue — a spicy rice-noodle soup from central Vietnam with

sliced beef, flavoured with lemongrass and shrimp paste.

Drinks

Ca phe sua da, strong drip coffee mixed with sweetened condensed milk over ice, is a daily ritual across Vietnam, the world's second-largest coffee producer after Brazil. Fresh sugarcane juice and tea are also common everyday choices.

Eating as a traveller

Vegetarians will find rice, tofu and vegetable-based dishes manageable, though fish sauce is a common ingredient even in seemingly vegetable dishes. Tap water is not for drinking; bottled water is the standard default. Trying pho for breakfast at a street stall, the way many Vietnamese start their day, is an authentic way to experience the dish.

What to take from the table

Pho, born from a blend of Vietnamese, Chinese and French influences in early-20th-century northern Vietnam, is the dish that most fully carries Vietnam's food identity: fresh, balanced, and eaten at any hour of the day.