Abundance in Vietnamese Cuisine

     Vietnam is a country with the shape resembling the letter S; it spreads from North to South and is contiguous with many neighboring countries: Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and China. The S-shaped country also lies next to the South China Sea and agriculture is its main economy. Vietnamese food is not as fussy or sophisticated as that of bigger Asian countries, such as China, Japan or Korea. Vietnamese cuisine focuses on mixing ingredients precisely to create food that people enjoy and makes them feel  pleasant and engrossed. Because of the diverse geographic elements and climate of the country, various sources of food combined with cooking styles from other countries to create abundance in Vietnamese cuisine. Vietnamese cooking is divided into three distinct regional styles: northern, central and southern Vietnamese cuisine. 

      Features of the North’s food are simplicity, leanness, and mildness. Seafood that lives in the brackish waters, such as mussels, shrimp, crabs, and clams, as well as vegetables, are the main food sources there. Vietnamese people have an idiom: “Eating food from the North is like wearing clothes of the Kinh” (Kinh is a majority ethnic in Vietnam whose clothing is considered very beautiful) to express how wonderful it is when people enjoy the Northern food. Vietnam’s capital is located in North; therefore, North food is a symbol of special traditional food to foreigners who travel to Vietnam. Besides focusing on cooking food daily, Northern people also like to make special cakes as gifts for travelers. Northern food is not splendid, but it is simple. Foods that are named after villages, such as Thang noodles, Moc noodles, Lang Vong cake, express the love that people have for their hometowns.

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In contrast with simple food in North, Chinese, Cambodia and Thailand styles affect Southern food. Features of South food are sweetness, sourness and usually extra coconut milk. Because Southern food is affected by many different styles, it does not have specific traditional food. However, when we travel the Southern area, no one can ignore fish sour soup, plentiful kinds of snails and special vegetables from forests. Saigon is a big city is located in the Southern area. Because Saigon is a city that is developing, it is incorporating the West’s cuisine as well. Therefore, choosing what to eat and enjoy in the Southern area is always a hard question for travelers.

Unlike simple Northern food, or sweet Southern food, food in central Vietnam is really spicy and hot. The central of Vietnam always bears the harsh climate with summer very hot and winter with terrifying floods and cruel storms. The ground is tough to cultivate, so food supplies here are less. However, citizens who live in this harsh environment always respects the minimal resources and create special food that satisfies the country's tastes. Hue was a royal city where the King and Queen used to live. Therefore, food that was served for royalty was decorated and cooked very precisely. The royal cooking styles and eating artistry are still preserved today. 

       Vietnam is a small country but its cuisine is not small at all. Differences in geography, climate, and history make wonderful variety in the cuisines of three areas, and these differences create abundance in Vietnamese cuisine. One day, this abundant cuisine will develop to become one of the top cuisines in the world.