Vietnamese recipes
12 viral Vietnamese dishes — clear, structured, and quick to cook.
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फो बो — हनोई स्टाइल बीफ नूडल सूप
Star anise, cinnamon, charred ginger and onion, beef bones simmered for 4 hours. Thin rice noodles. Paper-thin raw eye round that cooks in the ladled-over broth. Hanoi version — restrained, herb-forward, no hoisin.
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Bánh Mì — Vietnamese Baguette Sandwich
Vietnam's perfect sandwich and a relic of French colonialism reinvented: an airy, crackly baguette spread with pâté and mayo, layered with savory protein, quick-pickled daikon and carrot, cucumber, cilantro, chili, and a dash of Maggi. Crunch, freshness, funk, and heat in one bite.
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Bún Chả — Hanoi Grilled Pork with Noodles
The taste of Hanoi: smoky char-grilled pork patties and slices of caramelised pork belly served swimming in a warm, sweet-sour-savoury dipping bowl of nuoc cham with pickled carrot and kohlrabi. You dunk cool rice vermicelli and a heap of fresh herbs into the bowl, bite by bite. Bright, balanced and irresistible.
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Bún Bò Huế — Spicy Hue Beef Noodle Soup
The fiery cousin of phở from the old imperial city of Huế: a deep beef-and-pork broth perfumed with lemongrass, stained red with annatto and chilli, and given its soul by a spoonful of fermented shrimp paste. Served with thick round rice noodles, tender beef shank and a mountain of fresh herbs — bolder, spicier and more complex than phở.
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Bánh Xèo — Vietnamese Sizzling Crêpes
Vietnam's sizzling crêpe (the name means 'sizzle cake'): a crisp, golden, turmeric-yellow rice-flour pancake made shatteringly thin and filled with pork, prawns and bean sprouts. You tear off pieces, wrap them with herbs and lettuce, and dip in nuoc cham — a hands-on, fresh-and-crunchy feast that's naturally gluten- and dairy-free.
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Gỏi Cuốn — Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls
Vietnam's fresh (unfried) spring rolls: prawns, pork, rice vermicelli and a bundle of herbs wrapped in soft, translucent rice paper, served cool with a rich peanut-hoisin dip. Light, fresh and pretty — the herbs glowing through the wrapper — and naturally gluten-free. Once you get the hang of rolling, they're quick and endlessly customisable.
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Cơm Tấm — Vietnamese Broken Rice with Grilled Pork
Saigon's signature plate: fluffy 'broken' rice topped with a smoky, caramelised lemongrass pork chop (sườn nướng), served with a fried egg, pickled vegetables, fragrant scallion oil and a bowl of nuoc cham to pour over. Once a thrifty dish made from fractured rice grains, it's now the beloved breakfast-to-dinner staple of southern Vietnam.
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Bún Riêu — Vietnamese Crab & Tomato Noodle Soup
A tangy, savoury Vietnamese noodle soup built on a freshwater-crab-and-tomato broth, with clouds of a fluffy crab-and-pork-paste 'riêu' floating on top. Soured lightly and finished with shrimp paste, it's served over rice vermicelli with tofu, tomato and a big plate of herbs. Bright, light and deeply savoury — a beloved everyday bowl across Vietnam.
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Chả Giò — Vietnamese Fried Spring Rolls
Vietnam's crackling fried spring rolls: a savoury filling of pork, shrimp, wood-ear mushroom and glass noodles wrapped in rice paper and fried until shatteringly crisp and golden. Served with herbs and lettuce to wrap and a bowl of nước chấm for dipping, chả giò (nem rán in the north) is the celebratory roll found at every Vietnamese feast — crunchy outside, juicy inside.
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Bánh Cuốn — Vietnamese Steamed Rice Rolls
A delicate Vietnamese breakfast: paper-thin steamed rice-batter sheets rolled around a savoury filling of minced pork and wood-ear mushroom, served with crisp fried shallots, sliced Vietnamese pork sausage (chả lụa), fresh herbs and a bowl of nước chấm. Bánh cuốn is light, silky and slippery — the steamed sheets are an art to make thin and tender — and the contrast of soft rolls, crunchy shallots and tangy dipping sauce is irresistible.
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Cá Kho Tộ — Vietnamese Caramelized Braised Fish
Vietnamese home cooking at its most soulful: chunks of firm fish braised in a clay pot in a glossy, savoury-sweet caramel (nước màu) with fish sauce, garlic, ginger and a hit of black pepper, until the sauce clings dark and sticky. Cá kho tộ is everyday comfort — deeply umami, a little sweet, a little smoky-bitter from the caramel — and best eaten with plain steamed rice and a simple bowl of soup to balance its bold, salty richness.
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Cao Lầu — Hoi An Pork & Noodle Bowl
The singular noodle dish of Hoi An, found almost nowhere else: thick, chewy, faintly smoky noodles — traditionally made with water from a particular ancient well and ash lye, giving them their unique bite and tawny colour — topped with slices of five-spice marinated char siu-style pork, fresh herbs and bean sprouts, crunchy croutons of fried noodle, and just a little intense broth pooled at the bottom. Cao lầu is dry-ish, not soupy, mixed together before eating — a study in texture and balance, with Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese influences reflecting Hoi An's history as a trading port. It's one of Vietnam's most distinctive bowls.
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