Authentic Vietnamese Food

Since I’ve written about this charming place in Danang in my previous post here, I am now sharing with you some of the most authentic dishes I enjoyed while in Vietnam.

Vietnam is becoming more and more a “gourmet destination” nowadays. Tourists visit Vietnam for a number of reasons : natural beauty, history, arts and culture. But the adventurous travelers with a more discerning palate come to Vietnam for its highly flavorful cuisine, more than anything else. Vietnamese cuisine is highly complex – a good mix of traditional Vietnamese, incorporated with Chinese and Thai flavors. It is influenced by the French style of cooking too, having been once colonized by this European country before.

Vietnamese food is light and creative. It makes use of a lot of fresh herbs and spices, turning the flavors of each dish even more pronounced, bold and lively.

Here are some of the most delicious Vietnamese dishes I tried while in Danang :

Vietnamese Seafood Fried Rice with Chili Soy Dipping Sauce

Green Mango Peanut and Fresh Herb Salad

Fresh Rice Noodles with Pork, Egg and Spring Onions

Pork Belly with Ginger, Herbs and Chili on top of Fresh Vermicelli Noodles

Fresh Rice Paper Rolls with Chicken and Prawns topped with Mint and Fish Sauce. 

And here is the breakfast buffet at Hotel Intercontinental Danang Sun Peninsula…

This is probably one of my most favorite hotel breakfasts, since it had a good mix of continental and traditional Vietnamese breakfast dishes. Note the giant croissant at the center of the bread table too! 🙂

Tropical Asian fruits which we are familiar with are bountiful here as well : mangosteen, jackfruit, pineapple, passion fruit, pomelo, watermelon and dragon fruit, among many others.

My “breakfast starter” :  fresh yogurt, a couple of slices of fresh fruits and a mix of nuts and dried fruits.

My three kiddos would have the same things too…

Then after which, I would line up for the main event – the star of any Vietnamese breakfast meal : the Fresh Pho Noodle Soup.

Yes, they have this soup for breakfast! 🙂

There are as many sauces and condiments as you can imagine here :  fresh lime, chopped garlic, soy sauce, chili sauce and fish sauce.  Fresh herbs like basil, coriander and cilantro are aplenty. Endless choice of toppings as well, from green onions to bean sprouts and to my favorite, the really spicy : freshly chopped red chilies! 🙂

The most authentic and most delicious Beef Pho Noodle Soup.

Since I was in Vietnam, I made sure that I had this traditional soup every day! To vary them on a daily basis, I would change their condiments and sauces to create my own different versions.

After having beef a couple of times in a row, I would also change it up to Chicken Pho Noodle Soup instead, which is a lighter but equally tasty and flavorful soup.

And what would a Vietnamese meal be without their traditional Vietnamese Iced Coffee?

Photo above shows my “black” Vietnamese coffee on days when I wanted my coffee really strong. (And boy, was this coffee strong!!)

And here is the original Vietnamese Iced Coffee, with a little condensed milk added.

Yes, that’s condensed milk… because to make it authentic, no substitutions are allowed here! 🙂

To make this Vietnamese Iced Coffee, they use medium coarse ground coffee that is pressed in their traditional Vietnamese coffee press. This is the best way to extract the bold flavor of their beans. Local condensed milk is then added, mixed and after which, topped with ice cubes.

The added sweetness in this coffee makes it like a dessert, which I say is the best way to end any flavorful meal. I enjoyed this so much that it became my breakfast staple too. It was the perfect ice cold drink (and yes, it was like having my coffee-and-dessert-in-one) after every hot bowl of that authentic Vietnamese noodle pho!