The 7 dishes a Japanese loved in Vietnam!
I spent a little over a month in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam!
First I spent 14 days visa-free, then had to come back because I couldn't get enough of the very good street food...
Where I grew up in the U.S. and in Japan, both countries love pho and spring rolls. Japanese are starting to go crazy for Banh mi and a lot of stores are opening especially in Tokyo.
During my trip to the city, I found out my favorite food isn't pho... and I miss the favorites that I found already...
So I want to share with you the Vietnamese dishes that completely amazed me!
1. Hủ Tiếu Khô
From what I heard from the locals and some research online, this dish is a noodle dish that is eaten in Southern Vietnam. It's a mix of influences from China and Cambodia, so you'll see different taste and toppings on a Hủ Tiếu Khô.
You can either choose the soup type or the dry but I'm definitely a fan of the dry one, in which the noodle and the soup come separately.
The garlic flavor and the seafood fragrant chili are full of umami!
From what I researched thin rice noodles are used for the dish, but I had times when yellow noodles similar to our ramen were used.
I love how it comes with an unbelievable amount of herbs, and it has little bits of a variety of proteins like shrimp, meat, and eggs!
I love phở and gỏi Cuốn spring rolls but I was in Ho Chi Minh recently and now my absolute favorite dish is Hủ Tiếu.
— Ryu Aomi (@ryu_aomi) February 7, 2023
The texture of the dry noodles, the various proteins, the fragrant chili, fried onions, and lots of herbs🤤
I miss it very much🤤https://t.co/RAbgO7XdnT pic.twitter.com/Ynm5iEclfp
A - Lú: District 2
Hủ tíu Nam Vang Thành Đạt: District 1
Price range：60,000~100.000VND
2. Bánh mì
Banh Mi is already very popular around the world, and it's my favorite sandwich, too.
Banh Mi is a Vietnamese sandwich that has either grilled meat, pate, or scrambled eggs with herbs and pickled vegetables inside a French baguette with fish sauce.
Most of the time, I had the option of having an egg or a pate.
BBQ pork is also a popular ingredient, while some will put grilled beef, chicken, or even kebab.
The way they marinate the meat is just so out of the world...🤤
The fish sauce and the herbs match so well, while the pickled vegetables are sweet and citrusy.
There was a Vietnamese friend telling me"Every street in Ho Chi Minh will have a banh mi stall!" but this is really true.
I also loved the one that subtracts the vegetables and uses a thinner baguette, to toast to eat which made me very happy to start my morning with a nice Vietnamese coffee.
Price range：
Food Stall：20,000 ~50,000 VND
Banh Mi Oi 80,000 ~100,000 VND
3. Cơm Tấm
The two most frequent Vietnamese dishes I ate during my stay in Vietnam were Banh Mi and Com Tam. It's the same kind of BBQ pork that is used for Banh Mi, but this one will come with broken rice.
I really can eat this every day. The shops usually BBQ the pork in front so it smells really tempting, and there were a few occasions when I couldn't resist going in and trying it even if I wasn't that hungry.
Price range: 78,100-101,200 VND
4. Bo la lot
Bo la lot is a marinated grilled beef dish that is wrapped with la lot leaves. The la lot leaves have a distinct, fragrant smell when grilling that you can smell it from a distance.
The spice used for cooking the Bo la lot is very appetizing! It neutralizes the fattiness of the beef.
I once encountered a lady sitting down on a street BBQing the Bo la lot, then sandwiching it to a Banh Mi in District 1.
When I smell the grilling Lo Lat leaves, I can't stop locating it and buying it...
Bo la lot Co Lieng： District 3
Price range: 50,000-165,000 VND
5. Bánh cuốn
Bánh cuốn is a chewy wrapping made of steamed rice sheets, filled with minced meat, diced Auricularia, and eschalots.
The ones I ate had fish cakes, fried onions, and herbs on top.
The slightly sweet fish sauce is poured into the dish to eat, which I think is distinct from the other fish sauces in the surrounding countries, which is quite common in the Vietnamese Cusine, The taste appears as a sauce for many other dishes, which is probably why we Japanese are crazy about Vietnamese food.
I also went to have this dish while I lived near the place that serves it, then will buy a Banh Mi and coffee to take away in the same street for brunch to bring back home very frequently. Another dish that I never got bored of!!
Price range：50,000VND
6. Bun Mam
I think the biggest surprise of trying new dishes in Vietnam was the Bun Mam.
Bun Mam is cooked with fermented fish and has a strong fishy smell, which might be disgusting for some people but for a Japanese, this is a wowing dish.
It's more of a hotpot you eat with lots of seafood and herbs, but some places have bun mam noodles, too.
It does have an intense fish smell, but when you have the soup it's neutral than you'd imagine, and full of umami. I could remember the taste of our strong miso or the French cheese, the taste is so rich!
The noodle I had came with white fish that also tasted quite clean.
I came across many Vietnamese that told me their favorite Vietnamese dish is Bun Mam, so ask them you want to try and I'm sure they will have a good recommendation for you!
We Japanese are crazy about fermented food and Bun Mam from Vietnam was so special...!
It uses fermented fish as broth, so it had an aggressive smell like our natto or blue cheese, but the taste is more neutral and very rich!!
Absolutely loved it:)https://t.co/czyhArqE0M pic.twitter.com/uCbiZThlD6
Bun mam Mien Tay: District 1
Price Range: 35,000-45,000VND
7. Oc
Vietnamese people are very friendly and you'll be invited to"an oc" with them, which means "eat snails." Vietnam stretches long from North to South with borders facing the sea, so seafood is fresh and very delicious.
They have so many ways to eat seafood like BBQ, soups, and frying. On your first try, I would say it's much better to have a local with you to go with! But usually, all the seafood is displayed, and if you point then the restaurant people will basically suggest their preferred way of cooking.
The sauce is something very special with sweet, sour, and salty, which goes really well with beer!
*Be careful with the ice, as lots of foreigners including me have major stomach issues taking these. Ice also steals the gas away from beer, too.
Ut Ca Mau Restaurant: District 3
Price Range: 90,000-200,000 VND
If you're ok with a very local street food style I recommend here： District 2
The reason I like Hủ Tiếu Khô so much
1. The "Al Dente" of the noodle!
I tell the locals how I love Vietnamese food and they will ask me "So what do you not like about it? You seem to just say you like everything 😆"
But Oh my god I'm very precise about food and still don't have many negative things to say about Vietnamese food.
But one thing is how the noodles are usually overcooked. And from the term al dente comes from, I bet Italians will feel the same.
Japanese are also very precise about the chewiness of the noodles, and the Hakata people have a special term for very al dente, "Bari kata" which translates to "very hard" noodles.
The noodles for the Hủ Tiếu Khô are very chewy and it doesn't get overcooked. How it's a bit curly takes in more flavor and ingredients, like the Japanese chijire noodlesちぢれ麺 or the Fusilli Italian Pastas
2. The oil and the chili are fragrant
Not just the Hủ Tiếu Khô but the dry noodle dishes will usually have oil-coated noodles, which for the Japanese is "Mazesoba" or mixed noodles まぜそば. It's fragrant while the chili oil adds and mixes flavor and fragrance to the dish which makes the dish full of umami, similar to when you have pasta, olive oil, and the sauce really blended thickly together so that it's not watery.
It seems quite common that Hủ Tiếu Khô has this rich garlic flavor along with fried leak and onions...
Now, who doesn't like the combination...?
Which district in Ho Chi Minh should you stay?
I would recommend Districts 1, 2, and 3.
My favorite was District 2, as you have more nature and art around you.
The "busyness" of the city is part of the highlight of the city, but less traffic and quieter mornings and nights make the travel much easier.
The locals are definitely more relaxed and are used to foreigners. A lot speak English.
I've also stayed in District 3 in front of a big park, and the other side of the park was already District 1. District 3 is also quite central, but at night everything was closed. I'd have to walk or bike taxi to D2 for nightlife.
District 1 has a big Japanese food area which I don't really need as I could get it back home, and everything is the most expensive. But there are good bars and cafes that are really good, and I was able to meet a lot of interesting locals.
But my recommendations and I would say most of the locals I met also likes District 2 the best.
Foodies should head to North Vietnam
Although I stuck to Ho Chi Minh, EVERYONE told me to go to Hanoi and the surroundings for the best-tasting food.
Ho Chi Minh is an ideal place to try cuisine from different areas of Vietnam, as Vietnamese come from all across the country to this economical capital of the country.
But I heard all dishes are sweeter than back in the origin, which did bother me a bit.
Well, next time I would head to Hanoi then:)
Follow Ryu Aomi for more to come:)
In Japanese, Ryu 龍 means "Dragon" and Aomi 青海 means "Blue Ocean." I was inspired by Sanji from a best-seller manga One Piece in his dream to find the mythical All Blue, where all fish from the world meet.
So, will there be a place in the real world where all ingredients meet? This blog is my notes of all the food places and knowledge I encountered and experienced!
Blue Ocean comes from the fact that I've lived close to and loved the ocean, the One Piece All Blue, and the blue ocean means "going for no competition."
Especially after Covid, competing for more fame and money doesn't mean much to me anymore. Instead, I long to communicate through good food and stay in good mood🤤
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