Breakfast plays a very important role as it is the source of energy for a whole hard day’s work. Like anywhere else in the world, breakfast is an important meal of the day in Vietnam.
In the past, breakfast was prepared by the skilled hands of women in a family, which greatly enhances the taste of the food. Nowadays, Vietnamese women are more preoccupied with their social roles and cannot cook breakfast as often, so street food stalls and restaurants are the more appropriate choices. So what do the locals eat for breakfast in Vietnam?
This article will present some of the most popular breakfast dishes in Vietnam which can be found both at home or in restaurants.
Related post: The best Vietnamese dishes in Hanoi and where to eat them
The most popular foods for breakfast in Vietnam
Wondering what you are going to eat for breakfast in Vietnam? Expect some of these popular breakfast items.
1. Pho
Pho is not only the most popular breakfast in Vietnam, but also known internationally as a symbol of Vietnamese gastronomy. Thousands of pho shops supply thousands of flavors, this is why some pho shops are much more famous than the others and the secret that is hidden in pho broth.
Although the same ingredients are braising beef and pork bones to cook pho bo (pho with beef) and braising chicken and pork bones to cook pho ga (pho with chicken), an excellent stockpot is defined by added seasoning. Rice noodles, used in a bowl of pho, are made from a special type of rice called „gao te”, which is famous for its fragrance. The best served pho are Pho Bo Tai (rare fillet) and Pho Ga (white boneless chicken). Other types of Pho are Pho Bo Gau, Pho Bo Tai Nam, and Pho Sot Vang. Lemon and chilli are essential for the best taste of pho.
2. Buns (rice noodles)
Similar to Pho, Bun is made from rice flour, but instead of a flat triangle that she likes like Pho, Bun has a small and round one on top. Recipes for making buns broth are even more diverse than phothat lead to different vermicelli, the most popular are Bun Cha (vermicelli and grilled minced meat), Bun Rieu (vermicelli and crab soup), Bun Thang (varied vermicelli), Bun Ca (vermicelli with fried fish) and Bun Oc (vermicelli and snail) , while Bun Bo (fiber noodles with beef) is a Hue specialty.
A distinctive feature of bun is a reasonably sour taste. The main ingredients of their soup are tomato, garcinia cowa, and lemon lime.
3. Mien (cellophane noodles / glass noodles)
Mien has you like Bun; However, this noodle of Chinese origin is not made from rice flour; Instead, seaweed and cassava flour are used. Thanks for that, Mien is a low calorie food as well as a vegetarian preferred by vegetarians.
Basically, the main ingredients of Miens broth are the same as Pho, however the spices are more acidic and maybe fishier, as Mien is usually eaten with seafood. Mien Luon (Mien with eal) is the most popular type of Mien in Vietnam, especially in Hanoi. Broth for cooking this special Mien consists of eel bones and ginger; then sliced fried eel would be added later.
Eating fresh, undercooked vegetables with Mien Luon is recommended to eliminate the fishy taste. Other variables of Mien are Mien Ngan (Mien with goose meat), Mien Cua (Mien with crab meat), or Mien Ga (Mien with chicken).
4.Xoi (sticky rice)
Although Pho is known all over the world, It’s hard to say whether Pho or Xoi is more popular for breakfast in Vietnam. Even in the smallest alleys of Vietnam you can find a street stall in the morning selling Xoi, or recognize one or the other person who carries a basket covered with banana leaves with Xoi on his bicycle head, who loudly advertises his Xoi.
This sticky rice varies from simple, inexpensive rice varieties like Xoi Gac (Xoi colored with Gac’s oil), Xoi Do Xanh (Xoi with green beans), Xoi Lac (Xoi with peanuts) or Xoi Ngo (Xoi with corns) for ordinary people to higher ranks like Xoi Trung (Xoi with egg), Xoi Pate (Xoi with paste) or Xoi Cha (Xoi with meat rolls).
5. Banh Mi (Vietnamese bread)
Banh Mi has its origins in France during the colonial days in Vietnam at the end of the 19th century. Since then, French eating habits have greatly influenced Vietnamese gastronomy, including bread for breakfast. Goose liver paste was supposed to be the best crpe for bread when this food was introduced.
Little by little, Vietnamese bakers have developed more crpes variables to create a unique type of bread in Vietnam. these are uncooked vegetables, shrimp, sausage, pork liver paste with tomato or chilli sauce. Recently, Vietnam adopted Donner Kebab bread from Turkey, which is highly valued by its civilian population.
6. Banh Cuon (buns steamed with rice flour)
Rice seems to be the mother of many Vietnamese delicacies, another specialty made from rice flour: Banh Cuon. Banh Cuon is covered with a thin, wide sheet of steamed rice flour, and its core is filled with seasoned ground pork and chopped wood-ear mushrooms. Banh Cuon is usually served with Cha Que and a special dipping sauce called “Nuoc Cham” that is unique to Banh Cuon. will be produced.
In the past, a few drops of Ca Cuong’s oil were added to the dipping sauce for the perfect taste. Nowadays you can still try Ca Cuong’s oil, but it is becoming scarce and much more expensive.
7.Mash (congee / porridge)
Congee, or congee, is one of the most common meals in Vietnam not only for breakfast but also for lunch and dinner. Cháo is very easy to cook as almost every electronic rice cooker has a porridge cooking function.
Though it is considered the food of the poor Cháo could be a lot fancier when made with a variety of meats. To illustrate, Chao Ga is cooked with a whole bone-in chicken to make the most delicious broth. Other types of Cháo such as Cháo Vit (porridge with duck); Cháo Luon (porridge with eel) and Cháo Cá (porridge with fish) are prepared using the same method.
8. Trung Vit Lon (Balut)
Trung Vit Lon is actually The duck’s embryo is still in its shell, is going through the fertilization process and is then boiled in steaming heat. Because of this property and appearance, this dish is one of the most frightening foods for western visitors. However, if you can manage your fear of taste, you may find it a thousand times tastier than regular chicken egg and a large amount of protein that is good for your heart. In Vietnam, Trung Vit Lon is preferred by most of the people and pears in every breakfast stall.
9. Vietnamese „ball”
In this section, we will not go into a single type of food, but rather dozens of them. The reason for this is Vietnamese food offerings too many breakfast cakes and each one is as popular and delicious as the other. Some of the most common cakes can be found as Banh Chung, Banh Gio, Banh Khuc, Banh Do, Banh N? P, Banh? Australia, Banh Day or Banh Bao.
There are many more traditional Vietnamese cakes that can be used for breakfast, which can cost an entire essay, not to mention trying them all. These are often hearty and easy to pack (like Mochi in Jan) and often filled with mung beans. You can find them in many street food stalls and among the ladies wandering the streets with a bunch of banh on their shoulders.
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