Vietnam's World of Noodles

“Chán cơm, thèm phở” ("bored with rice, crave for phở") is a common saying in Vietnam. It first referred to food but later it has been used as a popular joke about a married guy who fancies other women. We love rice, no doubt. But having it everyday, obviously, we want something else sometimes.

 Thanks to the strong motivation of the… stomach, phở was created and has become one of the world’s best dishes - the pride of Vietnam’s cuisine. In 2020, Vietnam was ranked as the largest number of “strand and broth” dishes in the world by World Record Union - WorldKings, with 164 spreading all over the country.

Let me show you some of the most mouthwatering ones.

Phở

Vietnam's Signature Dish : Phở

Let’s start with this “beauty” first, Phở. “She” is always the Queen in our… stomach. Known as Vietnam’s most popular dish, the best Phở is found in Hanoi, the millennium capital where has always attracted scholars and talented people.

Phở is a bowl of noodle soup in which the noodle, phở, is made by steaming rice batter into thin sheets and then cutting them into strands. The broth is a slow cook with bone and a lot of aromatic spices and herbs like star anise, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and onion. In fact, the broth is the secret of each recipe, making the soul of the dish. A traditional bowl of Phở is usually served with beef. But later, chicken Phở was introduced and has become the preference of many.

We have Phở anytime of the day, for breakfast, lunch, dinner or after-dinner before sleeping if we are still hungry at midnight. When I was small, as the Vietnam War ended, and the country was really poor, Phở was like a classy plate for special days and holidays, or a treat from my Mum when I was sick. Later when I grew up, it became a more common food, loved by both the locals and foreigners.

A friend of mine, Hasham Wali from the UK, said that he used to have it everyday when he first moved to Hanoi. Later it also became his effective hangover recipe as well.

Bún

Bun Cha

The next delicacy must be bún, our “Miss Friendly”,the most used noodle in Vietnam.

As its name suggests, bún (rice noodle) is also made of rice by boiling rice powder with water into patterns for long, thick and round strands resembling spaghetti. But it tastes totally different, very fresh, soft and chewy to make it easy to enjoy with various foods.

The quintessence of bún is no doubt: Bún Chả, the formidable competitor of Phở.

Also from Hanoi, Bún Chả is a savoury dish of BBQ meatball and pork served with bún in fish sauce mixed with lemon, garlic, pepper, papaya and herbs.

When I left my hometown Hanoi to live in Spain for a few years, I dreamt about Bún Chả every month. Another friend, Joss Berret from Australia who has lived in Hanoi for over 10 years, also shared the same nostalgia with me. Every time he leaves Vietnam to visit his family and friends or travel, when he comes back, the first dish he wants is always Bún Chả.

 Coming second to Bún Chả is Bún Nem (spring rolls) in which the BBQ meat is replaced by spring rolls in the same sauce. And when Bún Chả shakes hands with Nem in the same bowl, the real deal has arrived.

Bun Thang

There are also a series of bún dishes from Hanoi favoured by the locals such as Bún Thang (chicken soup topped with shredded chicken, scrambled eggs, Vietnamese sausages, and herbs), bún riêu (tomato broth topped with minced freshwater crab), bún ốc (sweet and sour soup with snails), bún cá (soup with fried fish and Vietnamese sausages), bún đậu mắm tôm (deep-fried tofu and Vietnamese sausages in mắm tôm-fermented shrimp paste), bún dọc mùng (bone soup with mushroom meatball, pork rib and dọc mùng-the body of the giant elephant ear plants), and so on.

From Hanoi heading south, bún stopped in the city of Huế to boost “her” fame with Bún Bò Huế. A bowl of Bún Bò Huế is full of spicy and meaty soup with beef, pork and herbs, the pride of the cooks who served kings and lords in the ancient capital.

 Miến

Mien Ngan

Another favourite noodle of Vietnamese is miến, the transparent dry vermicelli made of canna, tapioca or sweet potato. The most popular miến dishes are Miến Lươn (eel) and Miến Ngan (muscovy duck).

There are two ways to enjoy Miến Lươn. One, Miến Lươn Nước (“nước”: literally means “water”), is the broth with bean sprouts and herbs; and the other, Miến Lươn Trộn (literally means “mixed”, here referred as “dry”), is a mixture in fish sauce, lemon, peanuts, bean sprouts and herbs. While crispy fried eels in both dishes have a unique treat, each also gives a totally different taste as the first is hot and melting with the delicious broth in the mouth for winter and the latter is fresh in sweet and sour, ideally for summer.

 Miến Ngan is another great bowl for winter with the sweet broth, rich muscovy duck meat (ngan), fresh and dried bamboo, dried mushroom, and herbs.   

 Miến is also an indispensable ingredient in our spring rolls and replaces bún in soup dishes when we want to change the flavor of the noodle. With low carb, miến is favoured by those who want to lose weight as well.

 Bánh canh

 While bún and miến are more popular in the North, bánh canh is the main noodle from the Centre to the South. It is a thick noodle made from tapioca flour or a mixture of rice and tapioca flour, resembling Japanese Udon. Thick, soft and chewy, the special combination of bánh canh goes well with at least 20 soup dishes.

Bánh Canh Chả Cá

 Among them, Bánh Canh Chả Cá and Bánh Canh Giò Heo are a must-try. Both  come in rich broth from pork bone and while the first provides the seafood taste of fishcakes (chả cá), the latter is so meaty with pork, pork hocks (giò heo) and blood puddings, in the yummy broth.

 Hủ tiếu

 If Phở is the pride of Northerners, Hủ Tiếu is that of Southerners, and eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Originating from China, it followed a large group of Chinese who migrated to the South and it was adjusted with the appetite of Vietnamese. There are different types of noodles of hủ tiếu, such as soft rice noodles, egg noodles, or tapioca noodles for its different size and taste.

Hủ Tiếu Nam Vang

 Among dozens of kinds of hủ tiếu, here are the top three: Cambodian-Chinese-Vietnamse Hủ Tiếu Nam Vang, the most well-known of its kind, is a balance of the chewy rice noodles with pork, pork liver, quail eggs, minced meat and lettuce in broth or no-broth (dry). Coming the second is Hủ Tiếu Mỹ Tho, the seafood dish is known for its thin, chewy texture and savoury thick noodles in sweet broth with squid, shrimp, and herbs. Eggs and pork are also added optionally. Hủ Tiếu Sa Đéc is a perfect combination of each smooth, soft white noodle thread pork, minced lean meat with shrimp, heart, pork liver covered on a layer of noodles, with lettuce, onions, bean sprouts, chives... with a fragrant scent.

 Bánh đa

Bánh Đa Cua

 Another noodle which is a “brother” of phở, is bánh đa. It is actually phở, cut into large strands before drying. Bánh đa can be white or brown when it is mixed with brown sugar from sugarcane. And this brown noodle is the soul of the renowned Bánh Đa Cua (crab) from the port city Hải Phòng. This colourful plate brings a full bite for pork-based broth topped with crab, pork meatballs, and either Vietnamese sausage and ground meat wrapped with betel leaves.

 So, now you know how hard it is for Vietnamese people to pick a noodle dish - they are all just remarkable.