Continuing the series of delicious street foods, today I will introduce to you the remaining 5 enticing dishes. Which one do you like the most?
6/ Mixed Rice Paper
Mixed rice paper has naturally infiltrated street cuisine, becoming a delicious and famous street food, widely available in schools across provinces and cities nationwide. This is a tasty snack loved not only by the youth but also by adults.
True to its name, it’s a mixed dish of rice paper and ingredients such as dried beef, dried chicken, shredded squid, mango strips, roasted peanuts, coriander, shrimp salt, scallion oil, and a type of moderately spicy satay sauce. Especially, the soul of mixed rice paper lies in boiled quail eggs, with each serving containing 1-2 eggs or even more.
Mixed rice paper is easy to eat and incredibly delicious, making everyone who tries it “addicted” after just one bite. Depending on the place, each serving of mixed rice paper costs from 15,000 to 25,000 VND. When eating, you need to mix all the ingredients evenly and feel the various flavors spreading in your mouth. Especially, it’s best to eat mixed rice paper immediately after mixing, as leaving it for too long may make the rice paper soft, affecting the taste.
7/ Sweet Soup (Chè)
Sweet soup is one of Vietnam’s delicious dishes available everywhere from the North to the South. Each region has its own specialties, but whenever you crave sweet soup, you can enjoy it anywhere. This dish is considered a dessert, a delicious snack with a list of up to dozens of different types.
Sweet soup is usually made from various ingredients such as beans, glutinous rice, sugar, coconut milk, various fruits, tubers, etc., to create a sweet and rich flavor. To name a few, there are assorted sweet soup, Thái sweet soup, khúc bạch sweet soup, various bean sweet soups, nhãn nhục sweet soup, sâm bổ lượng sweet soup, hạt sen sweet soup, banana sweet soup, etc. When you crave sweet soup, just head to a sweet soup stall to indulge in your favorite sweet soup.
It’s hard to pinpoint when sweet soup became a famous street food in Vietnam. In large cities, it’s easy to come across street vendors selling sweet soup, from small roadside stalls to popular brands that create a buzz on food forums. Exploring Vietnamese cuisine reveals its true diversity, and sweet soup is just one example of the extensive variety.
8/ Snails
Talking about Vietnamese street foods without mentioning snails would be a significant omission. With a coastline stretching over 3000km, Vietnam is blessed with a rich source of seafood, making snails a captivating dish, especially during parties and gatherings.
From tourist cities like Hanoi, Saigon, Nha Trang, Vũng Tàu, Phan Thiết, to remote provinces, you can find snail vendors everywhere. For delicious snails, you only need to visit large cities where there’s a plethora of snail restaurants, ranging from casual to high-end. Take Saigon and Hanoi as examples.
Don’t believe it? Just take a stroll around Saigon in the evening, and you’ll see many snail stalls open for business. There are large, wide-fronted restaurants and small, roadside stalls. However, all of them captivate customers with the enticing aroma emanating from their stoves. This is the most effective “advertisement” to attract passersby to stop and try.
Snails come in many varieties such as apple snails, nail snails, bitter snails, rice snails, buffalo snails, fatty snails, along with seafood like razor clams, blood clams, hard clams, cockles, etc. These are boiled, steamed with lemongrass, stir-fried with lemongrass and chili, grilled with scallion oil, or stir-fried with noodles, bringing forth delicious and mouth-watering dishes. Depending on your preference, you can choose upscale snail restaurants or casual ones, enjoying both the food and the vibrant street life.
There are many Vietnamese street foods that have made a name for Vietnamese cuisine. Among them, the ones introduced here are considered the most delicious and famous, a source of pride for the Vietnamese people among friends worldwide.
9/ Coffee
Coffee was introduced to Vietnam by the French in 1857 and was later grown into some of the largest plantations in Indochina. Since then, coffee has become a robust and valuable crop in Vietnam, placing the country as the second-largest coffee producer in the world.
In Vietnam, the most common coffee brewing method is probably the phin filter, a traditional method enjoyed by people from all walks of life. The choice of good coffee accounts for up to 50% of the success of this beverage. There are also many unique coffee brewing methods, such as egg coffee, coconut coffee, etc.
Coffee has many special benefits, such as providing essential minerals and beneficial compounds for the body. Alongside its role in preventing drowsiness, coffee promotes relaxation and comfort, helping to achieve a more relaxed state of mind, preventing cancer, aging, extending lifespan, beautifying, and aiding in weight loss.
In Vietnam, the coffee consumption rate is very high. People drink it almost every time of the day, with major consumption happening in large cities. In Ho Chi Minh City, this beverage accounts for up to 26% of other beverages on the market. In Vietnam, a cup of coffee is priced at less than 1 USD. Along with sidewalk culture, it creates a unique way of enjoying coffee.
10/ Savory Southern-Style Beef Rolls (Bò Bía Mặn Miền Nam)
One of the street foods that any traveler cannot miss when visiting Saigon is the savory beef rolls, or “bò bía mặn.” This dish even holds a special place in the favorites list of Saigonese people. The preparation of this dish is quite simple, with the key being the harmonious combination of ingredients. It includes vegetables, dried shrimp, eggs, Chinese sausage, creating a flavorful and characteristic beef roll. The dipping sauce preparation is a crucial step in determining the taste of the dish. The ingredients for making beef rolls should be sliced thinly so that the roll is soft and evenly absorbs the spices.
Street Food: Rice Paper Rolls Rice paper rolls are considered one of the highly favored snacks among the young when talking about Vietnamese street cuisine. Along with mixed rice paper, avocado rice paper rolls have caused a sensation in the snack food market. Basically, rice paper rolls are a rolled version of mixed rice paper, resulting in a chewy texture when eaten. The filling is combined similarly to mixed rice paper, with fried shallots, dried beef, dried shrimp, coriander, quail eggs, satay sauce, sesame, shredded mango, etc. The soft and creamy filling, along with the richness of avocado, creates an irresistible rice paper roll.
Above is a brief overview of some of the most popular rolled dishes known for Vietnamese street cuisine. Just by changing some ingredients, people from different regions can turn the dish into an impromptu and simple yet delicious roll.
These are the street foods that contribute to the diversity of Vietnamese street cuisine. Follow us to stay updated on more exciting street foods!
