The food in Vietnam is amazing. I don’t know how I can even begin to describe my feelings as I taste one delectable dish after another. In short, I feel like I’ve come home. It’s a strange feeling since I’ve never been here, nor have I ever really tasted proper Vietnamese food save the odd bowl of pho or bun.
Vietnamese food tastes like what food should taste like. There is so much variation in flavor because the Vietnamese use an astounding array of fresh herbs (cilantro, mint, basil, etc) plus limes and chilies. They emphasize texture in food as well and as a result, there’s always lots of crunch from fresh bean sprouts or crispy fried things. It’s all so good!
We’ve explored the country a bit starting in Ho Chi Minh and the Mekong Delta and now we are in central Vietnam in a town called Hoi An which is surrounded by rice fields and vegetable gardens. There seems to be a very direct connection from the field to the table here with the farmers coming into the markets daily to sell their produce. It’s not like at home where there are weeks between visits to the grocery store. Fresh food is a daily affair. Restaurants get fresh meat and produce from the market every morning and outside our hotel(which is in a residential neighborhood) you see women on mopeds or bikes delivering fresh greens to our neighbors. I read that 75% of Vietnamese people live in rural areas of Vietnam. That’s the largest population of rural inhabitants of any country in the world. That means most people here work on fields and in rice paddies, or fish the waters for their sustenance. It’s not surprising then that the food here is so good.
Something about Vietnam reminds me of being a kid in Germany. The village where I lived was surrounded by fruit orchards, vineyards and pastures. Our neighbors had chickens roaming in their backyard. These foods turned up on my grandmother’s table cooked up in some delicious way. Perhaps that’s what I’m tasting when I eat in Vietnam. Fresh and wholesome ingredients brought alive in the hands of someones grandma.
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Yum……it all looks so good!
I am enjoying following along on your blog and know that feeling of ‘coming home’. Vietnam is still one of my most favorite countries I’ve visited and can’t wait to go back. Perhaps even spend winters there (away from our Edmonton winters!). The food was truly amazing and fresh, the markets exciting and vibrant. As a travel photographer in my spare time, I’d have to say that visiting Hoi An was a photographer’s dream!
Hi Vi, thanks for your comment(and sorry for the late reply). I recently had pho in Tokyo, and it brought back all those nice, warm feelings. Vietnam was one of my favorite places and we have yet to explore the north! I agree about the amazing opportunities for pictures in Hoi An. We were there during a full moon celebration and it was really beautiful the way the candle lit lanterns floated on the river. Probably my favorite memory of Vietnam.