Bò Bía, is a northern Vietnamese spring roll appetizer that was most likely inspired by our Chinese neighbor. It’s a fresh rice paper roll, filled with thinly sliced eggs, Chinese sausage, jicama, carrots, dried shrimp, and Thai basil leaves. Serve with a side of peanut dipping sauce for a delicious appetizer.
Read MoreWhat started as a cheap after school snack for Vietnamese students has become a popular street food that attracts many tourists. Vietnamese rice paper salad (Banh Trang Tron) is what Andrew Zimmern describes as “Vietnam in a bag.” This street food is what I like to call a hodge-podge salad. It includes leftover ingredients and condiments to transform unwanted broken rice paper into an unorthodox salad of amazing textures and flavors.
Read MoreNem Nuong Cuon or Nem Nuong Nha Trang is a spring roll appetizer that appears in many Vietnamese restaurants. These spring rolls are made with rice paper and filled with Vietnamese grilled / baked pork sausage, lettuce, assorted herbs, a crunchy component made from either fried rice paper wrapper or egg roll wrapper and comes with its signature orange dipping sauce on the side.
Read MoreVietnamese Pyramid Dumpling (Banh Gio) is a common breakfast in Northern Vietnam. Banh Gio directly translates to “pork cake” which unfortunately doesn’t sound too appetizing but don’t let the name fool you. It is a tasty banana-leaf-wrapped pyramid-shaped rice dumpling filled with ground pork, onions, minced woodear mushroom and quail eggs.
Read MoreBanh Beo are steamed savory rice cakes. Banh is cake in Vietnamese and Beo is the delicate white flower of a water fern that the steamed rice cake resembles. Locals in Vietnam usually graze all day, and Banh Beo can be one of many small meals that they eat.
Read MoreBanh Trang Nuong, or Vietnamese Pizza, is a popular street food among young people in Vietnam. It resembles pizza with an assortment of fun toppings. However, instead of a thick dough as the base, you have a thin sheet of rice paper. Instead of tomato sauce, you have a quail or chicken egg beaten directly on top of the rice paper and spread evenly. The egg prevents the rice paper from burning, and it serves as a glue for the toppings. There's no right or wrong topping. Some people like to add a Western spin with cheese and cut-up hot dogs. Whereas I like to keep mine very traditional with exotic Southeast Asian flavors, such as fermented shrimp paste (Mam Ruoc), dried pork, and Sriracha sauce.
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