I am proud of my Vietnamese heritage and one of the things I am most proud of is the AMAZING food that we have. I truly believe that it is one of the best cuisines ever. Vietnamese cuisine has so many different foods that it is hard to keep count of. But, each of them come with their own unique flavors that surprise you every time. Also, our cuisine is also very diverse as we have taken other cuisines and made it our own. For example, we took baguettes from the French and made Bánh mì. We took Chinese Baos and made Bánh bao. We made Kari Ga out of Indian Curry. In all of these cuisines, we were able to take another culture’s cuisine into ours. This is just like Blair, from the video Lost and Found, made new objects out of other objects. As a result of all these factors, it is easy to see that Vietnamese cuisine is made up of tasty and diverse dishes. Out of all these dishes, I have 3 favorites.

#3 – Bánh xèo

Picture from “Vietnamese crispy pancakes (banh xeo)”

My third favorite Vietnamese dish is Bánh xèo, which is a crispy pancake which is filled with meat and vegetables. The meats inside can vary to meats like beef, pork, shrimp, or all of them. Bánh xèo is usually filled with bean sprouts and onions. It is paired with a special fish sauce, or Nước Mắm, that usually made for dishes like this. The Nước Mắm is made more acidic and savory than usual and that complements the crispness of the Bánh xèo. The thing that I love about this dish is that it is very customizable to your liking. You can choose what kind of vegetables and meats you would like. I also love how when you bite it, it is very crispy. But, as soon as it touches your mouth is becomes soft and all the flavors of the Nước Mắm and the meath come out. One restaurant that I recommend to get good Bánh xèo is Quán Mii. Quán Mii takes their own twist on Bánh xèo. They give you rice paper, bánh tráng, with the Bánh xèo so that you can make a roll out of it. I love that they did this because the rice paper gives it a chewy texture that takes it to the next level.

#2 – Bánh Mì

Image from Jet Tila

Another one of my favorite foods is Bánh Mì. Bánh Mì is a cold cut sandwich made with Vietnamese baguettes and a variety of coldcut meats and pickles. There are many varieties of Bánh mì, but my favorite one is Bánh Mì Đặc Biệt, or Bánh Mì special. It is made with a combination of multiple meats and a preference of vegetables. I especially like to eat Bánh Mì when I go out to places like the beach or amusement parks and I need to bring something to eat. Whenever my family went out to any parks or amusement parks, we brought Bánh Mì because of how portable it is. It is also a quick and delicious way to fill me up whenever I am busy with school work. According to the infographic “How to Succeed in School”, filling up with food like Bánh mì is important for efficient studying. One of my favorite places to buy Bánh Mì from is THH Sandwiches. Bánh Mì is a big part of my childhood and that is why it is one of my favorites.

#1 – Phố

Image from Vicky Pham

My most favorite dish is Phố. Phố is a very basic, but hardy dish. It consists of a soup and rice noodles that are topped with bean sprouts and meat. The 2 types of Phố are Phở Bò and Phở gà. Phở Bò is the more hardy version of pho that is made with beef. Phở gà is the lighter version ph that is made with chicken. Both versions of Phố are great, but my favorite is Phở Bò. The flavor of the soup is phenomenal and it keeps getting better every time I eat it. The crunchiness of the bean sprouts and the soft noodles are a great combination with the beefy soup. Nothing beats when my grandma decides to cook up a pot of Phở Bò on cold or rainy day and if you are lucky, there are also tendon and bone marrow they come along with the pho. Whenever this happens, I might just turn into a pig just like the parents from the movie, Spirited Away. Yes, it is that good. My favorite Phở restaurant is Phở 86, the soup of the pho is one of the greatest ever.

Conclusion

As you can see, Vietnamese cuisine is full of delicious food, diversity and variety. It is one of my favorite cuisines and it will always have a big part in my life. I encourage anyone who reads this to at least try Vietnamese food. You will not regret it.