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Vietnamese Vegetarian Cuisine |
Article Submitted by: Tommas Johnson
Saturday, 27 February 2010
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If you are looking for explosive flavor to tingle your tastebuds then look not further than Vietnamese vegetarian cuisine. Virtually every well heeled vegetarian chef seeks out menu items that has this depth of the exotic. Though the cuisine is more known for its meat fare, vegetarians will also be delighted to know that most of its signature dishes have vegetarian variants and are as tasty if not better than their meat counterparts. One of the funniest things about eating in Vietnam is the integration of their national faith. During the holy days on lunar month, many Vietnamese take to vegetarian menus to satisfy the needs of purity. This makes a great opportunity for the vegetarian chef. Rice Rice is the staple food found at almost every meal. Vietnamese cooking uses a lot of soy and tofu which replace meat in most of the vegetarian variants of dishes. Most meals have some herbs to add that extra zing. Most of those include mint, coriander, lemongrass, basil. Traditional Vietnamese cooking is known for the freshness of the ingredients used in cooking, hence fruits and vegetables are a common occurrence at every meal due to the nature of the agrarian culture. There are three main varients of cusine in Vietnam. Cooking styles are Nothern, Central and Southern. Many meals have a fish sauce component that must be removed from the vegan or vegetarian ingredient list, but there are many substitutes that can replace this. A typical Vietnamese vegetarian variation meal would consist of bowls of rice, stir fried vegetables or steamed vegetables, Canh (a clear broth of vegetables) or other soups, soy sauce blended with garlic or chili. Vietnamese cuisine attaches great importance to the number five, as five spices are essentially there in the most important dishes as are five colors, and the food is meant to appeal to all the five senses of smell, color, taste , texture and sound. Traditional Vietnamese cooking, likewise covers five elements. Those being a powder, liquid, mineral elements, proteins and fat. The distinction of these elements National food The 'national dish', Pho, is an anise and chile flavored noodle soup which is perfect for vegetarians. Other famous dishes are the goi cuon (spring rolls), and banh mi (a kind of bread roll) and crispy shallots with fresh herbs (banh uot). Noodle dishes like Banh Hoi (a thin noodle with spices and topped with onion), Bun Cha Gio (a combination of vermicelli topped with deep fried spring rolls) and a vegetarian variant of Mi quang (a noodle dish with lots of herbs, vegetables, spices and roasted rice) are some of the very best dishes that express the creativity in Vietnamese cuisine. Noodle soups are a national favorite and come in a wide variety. Vegetarian variant like creamy potato soup and tamarind soup, called canh chuan am bo, are some of the best offerings for creamy type soups. A variety of rice dishes in both normal and sticky rice are available and can be prepared with only vegetables, leaving out the meat. Vietnamese curry is more popular in the south especially with coconut milk and is usually served with bread, rice and noodles. Dishes like pickled vegetables are pretty common that might be made from onion bulbs which are called Duah hanh or even carrots which are called Dua mon are pretty common Vegetarian sauces like Sriracha (hot chili sauce) and tuong made from soy are very popular too. Raw vegetables Vietnamese cuisine uses raw vegetables as condiments and are called rau song (raw vegetable) or rau ghem (sliced vegetable). Rau song is vital in dishes like banh xeo. The vegetables are usually herbs and wild edible vegetables that often have a stronger flavor than domesticated vegetables. Leaves are used generously and most of these leaves and vegetables have medicinal value as well. Rau song includes raw bean sprout, lettuce (xa lach), green banana, banana flower, and guava leaves. Finishing All these delicacies can be polished off with mouth watering desserts like Che (sweet beverage made from beans and sticky rice, which has many variants), deep fried banana, sinht (a fruit smoothie made with local fresh fruits, crushed ice, and condensed milk). Tea, coffee, and beer are common beverages, but are often not served until after the meal. All in all, Vietnamese vegetarian food is not only for strict vegetarians but even hard core non vegetarians will be missing a lot if they don't try out Vietnamese vegetarian delicacies! Article Source: http://www.ArticleBlast.com |
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