If you are looking for explosive flavor to tingle your taste buds then look not further than Vietnamese vegetarian cuisine. It is considered my many well heeled vegetarian food chefs to be the most sought after food on menus that have a depth of the exotic. Though the cuisine is more known for its meat fare, vegetarians will also be delighted to know that most of its signature dishes have vegetarian variants and are as tasty if not better than their meat counterparts. The vegetarian way of Vietnamese cooking is conditioned by the Buddhist culture of non violence. It is said that in the holy days of the lunar months, vegetarianism is widely practiced, and everyday recipes are adapted to make it a vegetarian affair to the delight of many.
Rice
Rice is the staple food found at almost every meal. To replace meat, Vietnamese cooking substitutes soy and tofu. Most meals have some herbs to add that extra zing. Most of those include mint, coriander, lemongrass, basil. Traditional Vietnamese cooking is known for the freshness of the ingredients used in cooking, hence fruits and vegetables are a common occurrence at every meal due to the nature of the agrarian culture. There are three main variants of cuisine in Vietnam. Cooking styles are Northern, Central and Southern. Strict vegetarians have to look out for fish sauce as in some places it can find its way into vegetarian food as it is very popular there and some cultures use it inside the vegetarian definition.
A typical Vietnamese vegetarian variation meal would consist of bowls of rice, stir fried vegetables or steamed vegetables, Canh (a clear broth of vegetables) or other soups, soy sauce blended with garlic or chili. Vietnamese cuisine attaches great importance to the number five, as five spices are essentially there in the most important dishes as are five colors, and the food is meant to appeal to all the five senses of smell, color, taste, texture and sound. Traditional Vietnamese cooking, likewise covers five elements. Those being a powder, liquid, mineral elements, proteins and fat. The distinction of these elements
National food
Popular Vietnamese dishes include the so called 'national dish', the Pho (an anise and chili tinged noodle soup for vegetarians). If you include other dishes like Goi cuon which is a spring roll or Banh mi a bread roll or some crispy shallots mixed with fresh herbs called Banh uot, you've got the makings of a fine meal.
Noodle dishes like Banh Hoi (a thin noodle with spices and topped with onion), Bun Cha Gio (a combination of vermicelli topped with deep fried spring rolls) and a vegetarian variant of Mi quang (a noodle dish with lots of herbs, vegetables, spices and roasted rice) are some of the very best dishes that express the creativity in Vietnamese cuisine.
Noodle soups are a national favorite and come in a wide variety. The common feature is the rich broth in them which can be changed in the vegetarian variants like creamy potato soup and tamarind soup (canh chuan am bo).
Standard and sticky rice are added with steamed vegetables more often than not, and make up the bulk of the Vietnamese diet. In the south, curries are popular that have bread, rice and noodles added for bulk. Pickled vegetable dishes made with onion bulbs (Duah hanh), or carrot (Dua mon) and others are standard fare. Sauces are a rage and the most common is a fish sauce. There are other sauces that can be added to reallyspice things up like Sriracha which is a really hot chile sauce or to add some zing you can go with Tuong which is a soy sauce that is popular.
Raw vegetables
Vietnamese cuisine uses raw vegetables as condiments and are called rau song (raw vegetable) or rau ghem (sliced vegetable). Rau song is vital in dishes like banh xeo. The vegetables are usually herbs and wild edible vegetables that often have a stronger flavor than domesticated vegetables. Leaves are used generously and most of these leaves and vegetables have medicinal value as well. Rau song includes raw bean sprout, lettuce (xa lach), green banana, banana flower, and guava leaves.
Finishing
All these delicacies can be polished off with mouth watering desserts like Che (sweet beverage made from beans and sticky rice, which has many variants), deep fried banana, sinht (a fruit smoothie made with local fresh fruits, crushed ice, and condensed milk). Tea, coffee, and beer are common beverages, but are often not served until after the meal.
All in all, Vietnamese vegetarian food is not only for strict vegetarians but even hard core non vegetarians will be missing a lot if they don't try out Vietnamese vegetarian delicacies!
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