Vietnam quickly topped my charts of best eats in Southeast Asia with their amazing noodle dishes! Every dish they make has a variety of rice noodle/paper in it. Even served on the side with many of the dishes. Here are 15 must-try street eats in Vietnam!
PHO
You can’t go to Vietnam without getting Pho! I took a cooking class and learned how to make this simple yet yummy dish! It’s a basic rice noodle soup with your choice of protein in a beef broth, served with a side of herbs and chili to create your own flavor.
BAHN MI
Another staple of Vietnam, they eat these for breakfast or lunch. Breakfast the roll is served with eggs and vegetables on the side to create your own breakfast hoagie. Lunch is where it’s at, though! These warm rolls were stuffed with pate, vegetables and meat then chili and mayonnaise are drizzled on top. The best place I had one was at Queen Bahn Mi in Hoi An!
BAHN XEO
I loved this dish! It’s a super thin rice flour pancake stuffed with pork, shrimp and bean sprouts. It’s cooked to crispy then served with rice paper, herbs, and chili sauce. To eat you take a piece of rice paper and add a bit of the pancake with herbs, roll and dip in chili sauce. Delicious!
BAHN BO – WHITE ROSE
This simple snack is made of rice paper stuffed with minced pork and made into the shape of a rose and boiled then topped with fried shallots. It reminds me of a wonton, but with more flavor.
BUN CHA
Bun Cha is what Obama ate with Anthony Bourdain when they were in Vietnam together. IThis dish is famous in Hanoi, but you can also find it in Saigon. A bowl of both grilled pork patties and sliced pork is served alongside a plate of rice noodles, herbs, garlic, and chili. The pork is very tender and slightly sweet, but adding it to the noodles with all the other condiments you can create your own flavor. Bun Cha my second favorite dish in Vietnam.
BUN BO
This party in a bowl starts with rice vermicelli then is topped with lettuce, carrots, bean sprouts, beef slices, peanuts, grilled onions and green onions. Oh, wait there’s more! Who wants a fried pork spring roll to go on top? Yes, please!
BUN KHOT
Mini, bite-sized pancakes are made in a pan that looks like a mini cupcake tin. The batter is placed into each then stuffed with scallions and a single shrimp. The top is covered to both steam and cook the pancake which is then served with leafy greens on the side to wrap them up and pop in your mouth.
BUN MAM
Found in Hanoi this fermented fish soup, yes you read correctly, is pretty darn tasty! It reminds me a bit of gumbo with its mixture of eggplant, pork belly, shrimp, and chunks of fish. This thick, hearty, spicy broth is served over rice vermicelli with a side of herbs, not that it needs anything else!
BO LA LOT
Pork fatty goodness! This little roll of fun starts with a minced pork mixture then is wrapped up in wild leaves before deep fried and served either plain or topped with tomato sauce. Both ways melt in your mouth.
CAO LAU
Only served in Hoi An, this traditional dish is known for it’s Cao Lau noodles and is made by one family in Hoi An. They are warmed in a bowl then topped with herbs, pork slices and fried pork skin with a little bit of pork juice poured over top. The best Cao Lau I tasted is at Central Market.
CHA CA
This fun dish is fish sautéed with a healthy portion of scallions and dill cooked in a pan on your table by your server. Once cooked you create a small bowl with rice noodles, cilantro, peanuts, fish sauce and the fish mix. This would be a really fun night out with friends! I made friends with the family at the table next to me and winded up doing whiskey shots with them!
CLAYPOT
As the name suggests, is vegetables or meat simmered on the stovetop in a clay pot. The broth is simmered with the main ingredient until it dissolves into a thick broth then served over rice.
MI QUANG
Another noodle dish that starts with lettuce at the bottom of the bowl then topped with thick rice noodles, marinated pork slices, peanuts, grilled onions and a quail egg. Mi Quang another staple in Hoi An.
CAFÉ TRUNG – EGG COFFEE
This sugary treat is thick and tastes like a sugar stick. It’s Vietnamese drip coffee topped with eggs whipped with a healthy portion of sugar. It's so thick you eat your coffee with a spoon.
FRESH SPRING ROLL
Another staple of Vietnam is the fresh spring roll. Rice paper wrappe with vegetables, rice noodles, and pork then decorated with shrimp slices in the final fold. So fresh and served with a side of chili sauce for dipping.
