Fried chicken wings in fish sauce Recipe

It is easy to make fried chicken wings in fish sauce that is so delicious and suitable for rainy days.

Ingredients:

10 chicen wings

2 tbsp tapioca/corn starch

3 hot chili pepper

1 large clove garlic

3 tbsp sugar

3 tbsp fish sauce

3 tbsp water

1 tbsp fresh lime/lemon juicecooking oil to deep-fry

Directions:

Cut wing at elbow joint, break at the knuckle and cut through the cartilage.

Pat dry with kitchen towel

Season lightly both sides with salt and pepper. Set aside for 15 mins

Crush garlic and chili in a mortar and pestle finely.

In a ziplock bag, add 2 tbsp tapioca/corn starch and wings. Shake well to coat wings with starch,

Shake off the excess starch

In a large pan, add cooking oil just enough to over the bottom of the pan. Place wings into the oil when it is still cold.

Turn on the heat to medium high. Increasing temperature of the oil will cook the wings inside out, making it crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.

Fry for about 10 mins or until the edges turn golden, turn them over and fry for another 8-10 mins until golden brown.

Alternative 1: Remove each wing and deep into the sauce when it is still hot. It's gonna absorb the sauce very quickly.

Alternative 2: Drain the oil, add wings back to the pan, pour the sauce over and simmer on low heat for 3-5 mins until the sauce thickens.

ENJOYING FRIED RICE FLOUR CAKE

Do you like cooking? In fact, cooking is very interesting and creative. Especially, when you can make delicious for your family an friends and they like your dishes, you will find it very significant. 

Today, I will introduce you how to make fried rice flour cake. Ingredients  1 cup of rice flour (non-glutinous) 1 tablespoon of tapioca starch 1.5 cup of water 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil 1/4 tablespoon of salt 2 eggs 1 cup of chopped onion, Steps: Combining rice flour, tapioca starch, water, vegetable oil and salt together. Stirring well to dissolve. Optional: Set aside for 30 minutes to reduce the strong smell of flour. Before putting it into the microwave for 2 minutes, stirring up the batter again. Then, taking out and stirring well. Then putting it into the microwave for one more minute. Taking out and stir well. After that, microwave for 1 last minute and you will get a rice flour paste. Transfering the paste into an 18x18cm square mold that is greased with vegetable oil. Flattening the surface with a spoon. Steaming the paste for 30-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Let’s put it in the bridge overnight. Cutting the cake into rectangular cubes in the size of 5x2x1 cm. Then frying them. Mix rice flour cakes with a tablespoon of  black soy sauce. In the next step, you will have to fry cakes.  After the vegetable oil boils, putting the rice flour cake cubes into the pan. When you see both sides of cakes are crispy golden brown, you can turn off the gas cooker. Then cracking 2 eggs into the pan. Top up with 2-3 tablespoons of chopped onion and cooking for 1-2 minutes until the egg is slightly set. Then flipping it over to fry the other side for one more minute. Transfering to a plate and topping up with the pickles. Drizzling some sauce over the plate, mix well and serve. So you have a very delicious dishes for your family and friends on weekend. http://travel.org.vn/food-drink/vietnamese-food/2013/06/enjoying-fried-rice-flour-cake.html

“XÍU BÁO” CAKE IN NAM DINH

“Xíu báo” (or “Xíu páo”) is one of Chinese delicious and rustic dishes.

Along with many delicious and strange dishes like stuffed sticky rice balls, “chí mà phù” (a kind of sweet gruel cooked with black sesame), “lục tàu xá” (a kind of sweet gruel cooked with green bean)…, “Xíu báo” is beloved by everybody. Nobody knows when “Xíu báo” came to people in Nam Dinh, they just know that cake was sold on Chinese street and it has existed until now. It was created thanks to the source of inspiration of steamed wheat flour cake and mid-autumn cake. Therefore many people said that the crust of “xíu báo” is like mid-autumn cake’s crust and its stuffing is like steamed wheat flour cake’s stuffing. The stuffing of “Xíu báo” is made from griskin mixed with minced garlic, oyster sauce, honey and spices. The stuffing is fried until it turns dark red. Then it is cut into small pieces and mixed with wood ears, lard and a half of a boiled egg. In a “Xíu báo” cake, there is ¼ or ½ of a boild egg. It is up to the price. Enjoying the cake, you will be attracted by the good smell and taste. The crust is aromatic and soft, the stuffing is greasy with the flavour of pork, pepper. All of ingredients make a different taste - you can feel spicy taste, sweet taste and salted taste in a cake. there are many "Xíu báo" sold in Nam Dinh city, especially in traditional bakeries on Hoang Van Thu street, Hang Sat....

GRILLED EGG CAKE WITH ONION

Da Lat’s temperature is cool all year round so this is a interesting destination to both domestic and foreign tourists. They come here to visit, relax and enjoy typical grilled dishes.

Coming to Da Lat, tourists will have a chance to enjoy popular street food like grilled corn, grilled eggs, grilled batata, and especially grilled egg cake with onion… Da Lat is known with many beautiful nicknames such as “the city of thousands of flower”, “the city in forest”… At the height of 900-1,600 meters above the sea level, Da Lat is compared to the city lying in the halfway of the sky with winding roads. Grilled egg cake with onion is the typical dish here. The cake has yellow colour and good smell. The process of making the cake is quite simple. Girdle cake is grilled by charcoal and then is dusted with stuffing. After that, breaking an egg onto the cake and waiting until it is cooked well done. When customers come to buy the cake, saleperson will heat up the cake and spray chilli sauce onto the cake before wrapping with papers for customers. It is sure that tourists will satisfy with the wonderful taste and the aromatic smell of the cake. Tourists cannot forget the flavor of onion, egg, oil and chilli sauce. The egg cake with onion has the root from Hue city and then comes to Da Lat. It has become a favourite cake to young people, especially students. After school, they will gather together, chat and enjoy the hot cakes. Nowadays, the cake also becomes the favourite cake to tourists. The price for a cake is only 10,000 VND.                                                                                               Provide by Vietnam travel guide

Sweet - and - sour mango girdle cake in Nha Trang

Nha Trang is famous for not only many tourist spots and beautiful beaches, but also a lot of good food and unique dishes such as white rice vermicelli with fish or jelly-fish, eel, blood cockle cooked with tamarind, squid, girdle cakes… Mango girdle cake is one of unique dishes that is rustic but so appetizing. That cake has become a famous brand name in Khanh Hoa.

Mango girdle cake has the same shape to a girdle cake. However, the ingredients to make the cake are ripe mangoes and a little sugar. There are lashings of sweet mangoes in Khanh Hoa. Therefore, people here take advantage of the number of mangoes to make delicious cakes that you can preserve for a longer time. It is very easy and simple to make the mango cake. You just need to choose ripe mangoes, clean and peel them. After that, you use a scraping knife to grate them until touching the mango seed. Then you pour mango juice and a little sugar into a pot. Next, you both heat and stir until the mixture becomes viscid. The final step is drying cake under the sun for two days. That is all. The cake tastes sour, sweet and aromatic from mangoes. Finally,You just need to preserve the cake into platic bags and enjoy with friends and family.                                                                                                                     Provide by Travel to Vietnam

Foodies of Hoi An

Hoi An boasts some of the best food I've eaten on my trip thus far. For whatever reason, this little town claims a few delectable dishes as unique to their town alone.

The first is White Rose, a simple but outstanding meat and shrimp dumpling steamed in a rice dough that somewhat resembles a white rose.

White Rose dumplings

Second is Cao Lau, a noodle and beef soup with bean sprouts and fresh herbs mixed in when it arrives at the table. The noodles are only available in Hoi An because they are made from a particular water source that gives them their unique texture.

The noodles are a bit doughy but the dish is truly delectable because the meat is marinated and tastes a bit of cinnamon. And the fresh herbs are amazing...mint and basil, I believe.

Cao Lau served with rice crackers.

Finally, crispy rice pancakes, known as "Banh Xeo", which consist of a fried pancake, kind of like a rice crepe, with bean sprouts and shrimp inside. The dish is served with all sorts of fresh herbs which you put inside the pancake and then wrap in a thin piece of rice paper. It's topped off by dipping in an amazing spicy peanut sauce. To die for.

Crispy rice pancake with fresh herbs, ready to be rolled

A rolled pancake, ready for dipping!

Hoi An also makes a delightful fried won ton, showing the Chinese influence on this old port town. I for one am glad, because they are darn good.

Okay, they look a bit funky, but are basically fried yumminess wrapped around a meat center with veggies and sauce on top

During this trip I've also grown a slight obsession for squid, which I eat nearly every day. I've tried just about every type of squid you could imagine and my favorite thus far came from a food stand in Hoi An called "Mr. Hung."

I ordered squid grilled in a banana leaf with onions, garlic and lemongrass. It was so tender and delicious that I ate the entire thing. The ladies cooking the food made fun of me and said, mostly through sign language, that if I ate squid like that everyday I'd get fat!!

My squid is somewhere in that banana leaf, which is in a wire basket being grilled on an open flame....heaven.

The final dish...

Both Betsy and I agreed that Morning Glory was the best restaurant we visited in Hoi An. The food was simple, fresh and absolutely amazing. The proprietress of the restaurant cooks family food the way her mother taught her.

I want to live at her house! She said that fresh herbs are such a strong cultural influence that many Vietnamese will start to feel homesick if they cannot have fresh herbs everyday. It's true that most food comes with a plate of herbs which makes a huge difference in the quality of the dish.

Betsy ordered this interesting dish at Morning Glory...a shrimp coconut curry actually cooked in a young coconut. The sauce was slightly sweet and unbelievably flavorable.

The Vietnamese do not eat sweet breakfasts like we do in the states. One staple of their diet is "congee" which is a rice porridge with either fish, chicken or pork. It's savory and quite good!

The coffee here is also fantastic, albeit a little strong. It will seriously put hair on your chest so they dilute it with sweetened condensed milk! And it comes with a little coffee filter perched on the cup. Seriously delicious.

Congee for breakfast with a cup of coffee in the background. I love the little coffee filter so it can brew right at the table!

Another item that is everywhere in Vietnam is "pho," pronounced "fer." This is a simple noodle soup, traditionally with beef but you can get it with chicken or veggies, that is once again served with a pile of bean sprouts and fresh herbs you mix in at the table. Fantastic.

"Pho", aka noodle soup, with a plate of fresh herbs and some fresh coconut water. You can't get much healthier than that!

Finally, I tried a traditional Vietnamese dessert called "Che" which is basically a sweet green bean soup. It's actually made with mung beans and is only slightly sweet but quite good! No wonder the Vietnamese are so slender! They even eat veggies for dessert!!

Eating my sweet green bean soup, served cold in a glass

I reluctantly leave the food of Vietnam behind...and will seek out Vietnamese restaurants in the states as soon as I return!

Mango

Vietnamese names: Xoài

Mango varieties in Vietnam:

Mangoes are grown mostly in southern Vietnam's provinces such as Tien Giang, Dong Thap, Can Tho, and some northern regions like Son La, Ha Giang, Lai Chau. There are several kinds of mangoes in Vietnam: the yellow ones with sweet and soft meat including “xoai cat”, “xoai tuong”, “xoai ngua”; and the green sour ones “xoai xanh”.

Mango has a round shape and may weigh between 50 and 500 gram per fruit. Mango of Cao Lanh District in Dong Thap is considered the best of the country though each region has its own distinctive flavour. For example, Xòai Mộc Châu is smaller in size, often green outside but orange inside and unbeatable when it comes to the natural light sweet taste that no other varieties can compare. Xòai Nha Trang, on the other hand, is bright yellow, both inside and outside, with an almost overly sweet and juicy flavour. 

Pictures of Vietnam's mango variety:

	Xoài cát - Mango variety of Dong Thap	Mộc Châu mango
	Green Mango	Xòai tượng

Use of Xoai in Vietnam

Xoai is commonly found as an after-meal fruit treats in many families from North to South. The ripen ones are blended with sweet condensed milk that can match that of Lassi in India.

Green mangoes, especially the crunchy ones, are used in the famous green mango salad and very common in the South of Vietnam.

Travel to Vietnam and enjoy Tom Long in Mekong River Delta

Tom long is a favourite food of the Mekong’s delicacy, a kind of small crayfish the size of a thumb, and is expensive for its size but worth every dong.

Tom long (Vietnamese: Tôm lóng) is a favourite food of the Mekong’s delicacy, a kind of small crayfish the size of a thumb, and is expensive for its size but worth every dong.

Mekong River Delta is famous for water culture, have many dissever kinds of fishs, crafts, shrims as well as other special product. This is one of the most attractive destinations in Vietnam travel.

Tom long lives in canals and waterways or along the banks of Tien and Hau rivers. The local farmers usually put bung, a tool to catch this shrimp, in the area with strong flows of water. The crayfish can even be raised in paddy-fields or small ponds.

To cook “tom long nau bong so dua” (Tôm lóng nấu bông so đũa), you need a half kilo of fresh catches. First, you need to wash them, cut their feelers and leave the shrimps in a basket until they dry.

The next step is to cook a pot of water, wait until it boils and add some salt. Then you need to mince some lemon grass, red pepper and merge it all into hot water.

After that, you put some sugar, monosodium glutamate, fish sauce, tomatoes, pineapple, and tamarind into the pot. The dish will be even tastier if you add some con me.

A half kilo of flowers of so dua should be prepared for the next step. When the water boils, you have to put tom long into the pot first.

When the shrimps turn red, put so dua flowers into the pot and turn off the cooker. What you have to do now is to add some flavor with mu om vegetables.

Enjoy the dish with hot cooked rice or bun (soft noodles), and dipping one shrimp into delicious fish sauce or a combination of salt and red pepper surely makes for a beautiful taste. The season to taste tom long is from January until the rainy season arrives.

You can find many tom long dishes in several restaurants in Mekong Delta provinces, including tom luoc nuoc dua (shrimps boiled with coconut milk), tom chien bot (shrimps fried with flour), tom tron goi ngo sen (shrimps mixed with lotus rootstock) etc. However, the most simple and attractive one is still tom long nau bong so dua.

This is such a special delicious food that tourists in Vietnam travel to Mekong River Delta should not miss.

Quan An Ngon - Food adventures in Hanoi

If there’s one thing that tourists enjoyed most about their holiday in Hanoi, it’s eating all that delicious food! There’s so much to try it’s almost like an adventure in itself! Located on 18 Phan Boi Chau Str. or 1st floor, 25T2 Hoang Dao Thuy Str., Hanoi, Vietnam

The Quan An Ngon restaurant is absolute favourite so of course it’s high on the list of places to eat with fabulous tasty food and friendly efficient staff.

The Quan An Ngon restaurant – Hanoi

And if the tourists are the type of traveller who must sample local dishes wherever they go, they probably should visit this place. An entire selection of local fare can be found here and the food was certainly good without being over-priced.

The Quan An Ngon restaurant – Hanoi

The menu here is full of traditional food as chicken pho (chicken noodle soup), bun bo (beef vermicelli soup), bun cha (grilled pork and vermicelli), nem cua be (fried spring rolls), prawn fritters, young papaya salad, squid salad, mango salad with prawn crackers, fried tofu with fermented shrimp dip, fresh spring rolls, bbq squid, and che (sweet dessert) to share.

The Quan An Ngon restaurant – Hanoi

The food were absolutely sumptious and it’s great to have so many choices at one place. For those wary of ‘street food’ here is the answer – clean, quality Vietnamese food within a great courtyard atmosphere.

The Quan An Ngon restaurant – Hanoi

The Quan An Ngon restaurant – Hanoi

The Quan An Ngon restaurant – Hanoi

The restaurant is extremely busy and packed with both locals and tourists. The tourists shouldn’t expect much privacy but to share tables and will be slotted in wherever there is a space. If the customers  haven’t been to one before, these Vietnamese “food courts” are interesting and fun with a wide variety of foods on display.

Waffles, Waffles and more

Caravelle Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City has unveiled some interesting culinary programs for November.

The talented chefs at Caravelle will serve six kinds of freshly baked waffles piping hot from the kitchen. Photo courtesy of Caravelle Hotel The first features waffles served in the hotel's ground floor Lobby Lounge from November 16 to 22. The talented chefs at Caravelle will serve six kinds of freshly baked waffles piping hot from the kitchen. They will include toppings such as warm cherry stew with macadamia ice-cream, sautéed apples and vanilla bean sauce Anglaise, and the simple joys of natural icing sugar and maple syrup. The price is VND128,000++ for a portion. At the same time, the hotel’s Reflections Restaurant on the third floor will hold a special US beef promotion showcasing cuts of Black Angus strip loin, beef tenderloin, and rib eye. Enjoy fresh beef grilled over live coals. Each cut will be priced by weight from 150 to 350 grams, and served with classic steak sauces and a choice of two delicious side dishes. Prices range from VND450,000++ to VND990,000++ for 150 to 350 gram cuts. Reflections Restaurant will also present a Ruffino wine dinner to bring the renowned wine flavor to guests on November 21. The finest Sangiovese grapes from the most exceptional estates in Tuscany together with five courses of delectable gourmet cuisine are all the stars of the Ruffino wine dinner. Made from grapes grown in the winemaking heart of Italy, Chianti Ruffino is renowned as one of the first wines to cross the country’s border and for its role in introducing Italian wines to the world. Alan Wong, Ruffino’s brand ambassador in Asia, will represent the winery and the Folonari family at Reflections Restaurant, where guests will sample six vintages from Ruffino’s legendary cellars. The evening begins with canapés and a welcome drink of Orvieto Classico DOC 2011. A stellar Riserva Ducale Chianti Classico 2007 will be served with the fourth course of roast beef tenderloin with breaded artichokes, smoked potato puree, and tarragon-flavored bacon mushroom ragout. Price is VND1,480,000 nett per person. Along with these programs, the Nineteen Restaurant on the ground floor will also lay out a lavish Thanksgiving feast on Thursday, November 22. The Caravelle’s standout buffet restaurant is extending an invite to foodies, friends and families to partake of the most mouth-watering Thanksgiving dinner in town. Its chefs are preparing specialties from all over the world, together with a heaping selection of fresh seafood, as-you-like-it action stations serving hearty grilled and barbecued meats, and an overflowing line-up of appetizers, cheeses, soups, salads, and desserts to satisfy your palate. For traditionalists, there will be a succulent whole roasted turkey with stuffing, giblet and cranberry sauce, garlic potatoes, buttered vegetables, pumpkin pie, and more than enough gravy to go around. Price is VND1,013,000 per person with a free flow of red, rose and white wines.

MIEN XAO CUA TRUNG- A SPECIAL DISH JUST HAS AT HANG THAN

Located at 1 Hang than, Old Quarter, Hanoi there is a pavement shop attracting many guests. This shop sells every kind of seafood such as clams, oysters…In addition to, there is also the most famous dish that almost guests love eating.

Mien xao cua trung (crabs fried with vermicelli and eggs) is very hot here because of two following reasons: Firstly, the processing is not only delicious but also attractive. Secondly, it is extremely reasonable price-only 35,000 VND per dish and I can make sure that you will be satisfied. Mien xao cua trung dish seems very attractive Mien xao cua is not too strange or fussy dish but it is very rarely to find the place but Hang Than having such delicious dish. Overcoming many years of experiences, chefs have processed  this dish skillfully with the aim of serving customers best. Coming to this shop, guests will have the opportunity to enjoy a strange and delicious dish that will be in your mind forever. Don’t miss such great opportunity when setting foot in Old Quarter, Hanoi. ............................................................................................ If you are the one who love explore Vietnam Cuisine, you can enter Vietnam travel site to know more information.

Enjoy Broad Bean Porridge With The Sweet Flavor

Broad bean porridge is the delicious dish with the sweet flavor and very familiar with the rural areas of Vietnam. It is also the dish that many people love.

Broad bean is a kind of climbing plant. It only needs a simple trilles from some branches of tree to cling. It is easy to plant broad bean, since the tree grows very fast. Very soon from the sowing– time, the tree will rebound from the ground. Broad bean is very sweet, fragrant and nourishing. When broad bean is old and dry, its seeds will be taken out and used for cooking sweetened porridge. The process of making broad bean sweetened porridge is quite simple. Firstly, the bean must be soaked into water to become soft. Then, lightly remove the thin peel of the seed; make sure that the seed will not be broken. Next, steam the bean and embalm it with sugar in about 15 minutes. Then, pour water and cook it with small fire. Mingle tapioca flour with water and slowly pour it into the pot. To make the dish more tasty and fragrant, add some garlic, a little salt and some fragrant pandan leaves. All the steps from stirring and spooning must be done carefully and lightly in order not to make the beans broken. When the dish is done, it looks so appetizing with the white and well – rounded bean floating on the yellow syrup. Broad bean sweetened porridge is attractive for the greasy taste and the fragrance of the bean, as well as the refined sweet from the combination of syrup and the bean. Some people also prefer to enjoy broad bean sweetened porridge with other kinds of sweetened porridge. However, it is highly recommended that the dish should be enjoyed when it is iced. Also, serve it with coconut milk and the dish will show how tasty it is.

Hanoi's Coffee Culture, Like No Other

Sai Gon has coffee on high floor, and under ground, etc., whereas Hanoi has street coffee and traditional cafeteria. The competition between Trung Nguyen coffee system, modern Cappuccino coffee and traditional coffee is still equal. This reveals that the Hanoians retain some uniqueness of their ancient lifestyle.

Coffee and the Hanoians The Hanoians drink a lot of the dark, caffeinated beverage and prefer sipping their stronger blends outside in front of a small shop with some sweet milk and aspoonful of sugar. Every morning, on hot days of summer and cold and dull days of winter, you can easily see some here with a cup of coffee in one hand and a newspaper in the other. For many Hanoians, the most important factor of a café is not its luxuriousness but the quality of the product. Old people love cafés which have been around a long time, located on old streets or inside deep alleys. Office workers like cafes with romantic and quiet styles like those in Pho Co Quarter. Young people prefer the noisy and busy atmosphere of modern and luxury or pavement cafés. Street Coffee… Soaking up the rhythms of the street and embracing Hanoi from all of its sides, from old to new ones, and from traditional to modern & quirky ones, you will tenderly recognize that, nothing can be better refresh us after hardworking hours than a cup of coffee on a street near Sword Lake (Hoan Kiem Lake). Basking with sunshine in the afternoon when there’s less noise from automobiles, Hanoi ends a day and opens a new paradise for culture experiences. Taking over a legacy from bygone years with the involvement of an irresistible French factor, the Vietnamese have embraced café culture in a great way. There are so many famous coffee shops in Hanoi, like Nang café (6 Hang Bac), Nhan (39D1 Hang Hanh), Quat (Quan Thanh), Quynh (Bat Dan) to Giang (Hang Gai and Lam (60, 91 Nguyen Huu Huan)… Chairs are small, literally child-sized, and are sometimes made of blue plastic or painted wood. The tables are covered with glasses of ca phe den (black coffee) or ca phe sua da (iced coffee), which come with their own picturesque drip top. Not only just for connoisseurs,  these places are idea for having gossip, meeting old friends, talking to pass  time of day, stealing precious moments for romantics … Now, let’s follow a coffee connoisseur… A good example of the authentic Hanoi cafés is Hang Hanh, an atmospheric slender street veering off the city’s central Hoan Kiem Lake. In the afternoon, one may find himself inexplicably drawn to its’ wall-to-wall cafés which unfold below the shady boughs of leafy trees. Here, the annoying young and cool Vietnamese often sit and watch the world in front of their eyes. In late afternoon, with the last rays of sunshine, the place starts to buzz. At weekends, it is positively heaving with dating couples or gangs of youths desiring to be couples. If this sounds too frenetic, a more subdued place like Giang Café can be chosen! Though situated in a busy tourist shopping street, the tiny confined Giang Café attracts the serious permanent coffee lovers and soccer addicts. Cyclo cafe in Hanoi My next stop is Lam café - the perfect refuge for artists, poets and thespians to refresh their minds for creativeness. Situated on a shaded street, it will bring you the relaxed moments by the simple but artistically-decorated bamboo furniture, colorful framed oil paintings on the wall, ceiling fans as well as wooden table with a lot of tiny china teapots. Yet, if you ask me about my favorite one, I will not hesitate to answer that it is Quynh Café. Down in a quiet side street, this unassuming cafes’ entrance is marked by a simple red lantern and ornate ironwork doors. Stepping inside, you not only see the bamboo furniture on tiled floor but also the tiny plants adorn wooden shuttered windows. Looking on damp-streaked walls, you may surprise with wooden arrows and trumpets, farming implements and ancient hunting pistols. Breathing the cool air from the antiquated table-fan, wallowing in soft French background music, you will desire to stay longer... Coffee drinking from another approach The resurgence of tourism to these fragrant shores has led to the resurrection of the wonderful old ambience of former colonial times in many Hanoi cafés. Delightful cafés are now housed in elegant French-style villas with exquisite silk prints, meticulously polished wooden floors and pot-planted courtyards or serve delicious food all day and evening. Street cafés like the La Terrasse du Metropole on Ngo Quyen and Le Phung Hieu or Highlands Café, 84 Nguyen Du are the typical examples! Hanoi’s coffee culture calls on coffee addicts from every corner of the globe!

Top breakfast foods in Vietnam

Breakfast is something we often ignore when talking about cuisine. Want to find out what Vietnamese people eat for breakfast? Let's have a taste of Vietnamese breakfasts follow you feel they are really delicious foods when coming to Vietnam.

1. Pho

 Pho is soup with rice or wheat based noodles that's flavored with a meat such as beef, chicken, or pork . Fresh ingredients are added to the soup or act as a topping for the soup. These ingredients may include :  chopped chilies, roasted peanuts, shallots, basil, lime, bean sprouts, cilantro.  Vietnamese parsley and garlic. A fish or chile sauce is almost always served with the soup. Best  variety of Pho are Pho Bo Tai (rare fillet) and Pho Ga (boneless white chicken meat), Pho Bo Gau, Pho Bo Tai Nam and Pho Sot Vang. Lemon and chilly are indispensible for the best taste of Pho.

2. Bun (Rice Vermicelli)

Bun is made of rice flour but instead of flat triangle shape like Pho, Bun has small and circular shape. Recipes to make Bun’s broth are even more diverse than Pho, which result in different vermicelli dishes, most varity of Bun are Bun Cha (vermicelli and grilled chopped meat), Bun Rieu (vermicelli and crab meat soup), Bun Ca (vermicelli with fried fish), Bun Thang (varied vermicelli) and Bun Oc (vermicelli and snail),  of which Bun Bo (vermicelli with beef) is specialty of Hue. Specific trait of Bun is an adequate sour taste the main ingredients of their soup are tomato, garcinia cowa and lemon lime.  If you walk along some streets and stop at one rice vermicelli vendor in Hanoi or Sai Gon, you will have  many chances for tasting various dishes of rice vermicelli with unforgettable flavor.

3. Mien (Cellophane Noodles/ Glass noodles)

Mien has a similar shape to Bun; however, this Chinese originated noodle is not made of rice flour; seaweed and cassava flour are used instead. That is the reason why Mien is a less-calorie food as well as a vegetarian favorable by on-diet people. Basically, main components of Mien’s broth is the same with Pho, but its spices are sourer and maybe more fishy because Mien usually eaten with sea-foods. Mien Luon (Mien with eal) is the most popular type of Mien in Vietnam, especially in Hanoi. Other variables of Mien are  Mien Cua (Mien with crab meat) or Mien Ga (Mien withj chicken), Mien Ngan (Mien with goose meat).

4. Xoi (Sticky Rice)

Pho and Xoi are popular for breakfast in Vietnam. Even in the smallest lanes in Vietnam ones can find a street-stall selling Xoi in the morning or recognize one or two people carrying a basket of Xoi, covered by banana leaves. This sticky rice varies from simple low-price, some of them are Xoi Do Xanh (Xoi with green beans), Xoi Gac (Xoi colored with Gac’s oil), Xoi Ngo (Xoi wih corns), Xoi Com, Xoi Lac (Xoi with peanuts) or  for commoners to higher ranks like Xoi Trung (Xoi with egg), Xoi Cha (Xoi with meat rolls) or Xoi Pate (Xoi with past ).

5. Cháo (Congee/Porridge)

Congee or rice porridge is one of the most common meals in Vietnam for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Cháo is very to cook since almost every electronic rice-cooker has porridge cooking function. Although it is considered as the poor’s food, but Cháo could be much fancier when cooked with a variety of meats. There are some kind of Chaos are Chao Ga (chao boiled with a whole chicken with bones to get the tastiest broth), Cháo Vịt (porridge with duck); Cháo Lươn (porridge with eel) and Cháo Cá (porridge with fish).

6. Trứng Vịt Lộn (Balut)

Trứng Vịt Lộn is actually duck’s embryo still laying in its shell going through fertilization process and then boiled in steamy heat. Because of  this characteristic and its appearance, this dish is listed among the most terrific food for Western visitors. Nevertheless, if ones can manage your fear to taste it one time, you may find it thousand times more delicious than normal chicken egg as well as a huge amount of protein good for your heart. In Vietnam. It is favored by most people and appears in every breakfast stalls.

7. Banh Mi (Vietnamese Bread)

The sandwiches made from bánh mì include meat and soy fillings such as steamed, pan-roasted or oven-roasted seasoned pork belly, Vietnamese sausage, grilled pork, spreadable pork liver pâté, pork floss, grilled chicken, chicken floss, canned sardines in tomato sauce, soft pork meatballs in tomato sauce, head cheese and fried eggs. Accompanying vegetables such as fresh cucumber slices, cilantro (leaves of the coriander plant) and pickled carrots and daikon in shredded form. Spicy chili sauce is normally found in bánh mì sold by vendors in Vietnam.

8. Banh Cuon (Rice Flour Steamed Rolls)

Rice seems to be the mother of many Vietnamese delicious foods, yet, another specialty made of rice flour: Banh Cuon. It is covered by a thin, wide sheet of steamed rice flour and its core filled with seasoned ground pork, and minced wood ear mushroom. Banh cuon is usually served with Cha Que and special dipping sauce named “nước chấm” made only for Banh Cuon.

10.Banh Bao

Banh bao is a simple but delicious food; it’s basically a large, round dumpling filled with various ingredients include pork, onion and sausage mushrooms. The most popular version in Saigon is a mixture of ground pork, hard-boiled quail egg and Chinese sausage. The ground pork is formed into a meatball and then the eggs and chunks of sausage are added.

The mixture is then wrapped in a slightly sweetened flour dumpling and steamed to perfection. On the street, banh bao is served directly out of the steamer so you’ll want to give it some time to cool before you dig in, or you may burn your mouth.

10. Vietnamese's 'banh'

In this section we won’t discuss about an individual type of food but dozens of them. Because it is Vietnam food offers too many breakfast cakes and each of them is as popular and tasty as one another. Some most common cakes can be named as Bánh Chưng Rán,  Bánh Nếp, Bánh Tẻ, Bánh Giò, Bánh Khúc, Bánh Rán, Bánh Tôm, Bánh Đúc, or Bánh Dày. There are still many more Vietnamese traditional cakes can be used for breakfast which may cost a whole essay to list out not to mention trying all of them. These are often savoury and easy to pack (like mochi in Japan) and often stuffed with mung beans.  Tourists can find them in many street food stalls and from the ladies wandering the streets with a pile of Banh on their shoulder.