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Introduction

Looking for a quick lunch of soup, salad or a sandwich? Maybe you ought to think Vietnamese. Perhaps an exquisite vegetarian meal? Well, then, why not think Vietnamese? Or is tonight time for multiple dishes, contrasting flavors, varied textures and exotic ingredients? Once again, it's a good time to think Vietnamese. Or perhaps something healthy and "lite?" Guess what: think Vietnamese.

While Vietnamese food has long been appreciated in France, the former colonial power, U.S. residents are only beginning to discover its many fine features. Vietnamese chefs like to refer to their cooking as "the nouvelle cuisine of Asia." And indeed, with the heavy reliance on rice, wheat and legumes, abundance of fresh herbs and vegetables, minimal use of oil, and treatment of meat as a condiment rather than a main course, Vietnamese food has to be among the healthiest on the planet.

Regional Cuisine

Cuisine in this country of 70,000,000 people differs strikingly between the north, south and central regions, but two key features stand out. First, rice plays an essential role in the nation's diet as it does throughout southeast Asia. But this is also a noodle-crazy population, regularly downing them for breakfast, lunch and dinner, in homes, restaurants and at roadside stands. Noodles are eaten wet and dry, in soup or beside soup, and are made in different shapes and thicknesses of wheat, rice and mung beans. Secondly, no meal is complete without fresh vegetables and herbs. A key portion of every meal, north, south and central, is a platter containing cucumbers, bean threads, slices of hot pepper, and sprigs of basil, coriander, mint and a number of related herbs found principally in southeast Asian markets.

As in any country, Vietnam's cuisine reflects its geography and history. Geographically, it consists of two great river deltas separated by a belt of mountains. Vietnamese describe their country as two great rice baskets hung on either end of a carrying pole. The Red River Delta surrounding Hanoi provides rice for the residents of North Vietnam. The tremendously fertile Mekong Delta, centered by Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) produces rice plus a wide variety of fruits and vegetables both for itself and the central strip of the country whose principal city is the former imperial Hue.

A former colony of China, Vietnamese adopted Confucianism, Buddhism, chopsticks and the wok. But in spite of centuries of domination, Vietnamese food retained its own character. Due to its proximity to the border, north Vietnam reflects more Chinese influence than central or south. Soy sauce rarely appears in Vietnamese dishes except in the north. It is replaced by what is perhaps the most important ingredient in all of Vietnamese cuisine -- fish sauce or nuoc mam. Stir frying plays a relatively minor role in Vietnam and once again is seen more in the north than elsewhere. Frying in general is less important than simmering.

Northern cuisine exhibits fewer herbs and vegetables than the other regions because its climate is less hospitable than that of the Mekong Delta. For heat, north Vietnamese cooks rely on black pepper rather than chilies. Residents also exhibit a particular fondness for beef, picked up from the Mongolians during their 13th century invasions.

The royal tradition in the central region goes back beyond the more recent Vietnamese monarchy to the ancient kingdom of Champa. The royal taste reveals itself in the preference for many small dishes placed on the table at once. The more lavish the spread, the wealthier the household. But even the poorer families are likely to have multiple dishes of simple vegetables.

Servings are larger and fewer in the south; and hot chilies replace black pepper for heat. The profusion of fruit in the area means that sweet fruit occasionally makes its way into a dish of meat and vegetables. Preparations are less complex than many of those in the center and the style of cooking often resembles that of neighboring Cambodia. This is the part of Vietnam responsible for curries. Once again history influences cuisine for ancient Angkor, centered in Cambodia, once ruled this portion of Vietnam.

Dining Customs

But what about the ordinary eater? For in spite of this glorious culinary tradition, Vietnam remains a poor country of peasants and workers. Just what does the ordinary Joe or Jill eat from day to day? I asked a friend who had just come back from a year as a bartender/ English teacher in Hanoi. "Noodles!" exploded Toby Miller of Berkeley, California. "Noodles and soup. There were times when I was convinced I was going to turn into a noodle!"

At mealtimes, noodle stands line the roads where people pull over their bicycles or, if they are somewhat wealthier, motorscooters for a quick meal, a shared chat and a cigarette with their co-workers. Three meals a day of noodles is not uncommon.

Fortunately for us living in the U.S., we have the option of sampling both the healthy, simple and delicious meals-in-a-bowl provided by the Vietnamese noodle passion and more elaborate meals at our local restaurants. So get out there and do yourself a favor. Or buy one of the excellent cookbooks on the market and start experimenting at home.

Mail Order Supply Sources

In case you don't have an Asian market near you, try calling one of the importers/markets listed below and inquire about mail order services.

California

Bangkok Market
4757 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, California 90029 (213) 662-9705

Viet Nam Thuc Phan
1010 Doyle Drive
Menlo Park, California 94025 (415) 326-2901

Colorado

Pacific Mercantile Grocery
1925 Lawrence Street
Denver, Colorado 80202 (303) 758-1432

Florida

Southeastern Food Supplies
1677 N. W. 36th Avenue
Miami, Florida (305) 688-2228

Illinois

Far East Trading Co., Inc.
1836 S. Canal Street
Chicago, Illinois (312) 733-1688

Oriental Food Market and Cooking School
2801 West Howard Street
Chicago, Illinois 60645 (312)274-2826

Star Market
3349 N. Clark Street
Chicago, Illinois 60657 (312) 472-0599

Iowa

Jung's Oriental Food Store
1140 E. 9th Street
Des Moines, Iowa 50316 (515) 266-3891

Louisiana

Tien Nha Trang
3709 Westbank Expressway
Harvey, Louisiana (504) 340-4626

New Jersey

Asian Food Market
217 Summit Avenue
Jersey City, New Jersey 07306 (201) 333-7254

New York

Aphrodesia Retail Store
264 Bleecker Street
New York, New York 10014 (212) 989-6440

Kam Kuo Food Corp.
52-15 Metropolitan Avenue
Ridgewood, New York (718) 456-9617

Kam Man Food Products
200 Canal Street
New York, New York 10013 (212) 962-8414

Oregon

Anzen Importers
736 Northeast Martin Luther King Boulevard
Portland, Oregon 97232 (503) 233-5111
and 4021 SW 117th
Beaverton, Oregon (503) 627-0913

Texas

Tan Viet Market
10315 Ferguson Road
Dallas, Texas 75228 (214) 324-5160

Hoa Binh Supermarket
2800 Travis Street
Houston, Texas 77006 (713) 520-9558

Virginia

Viet My Corporation
1007 St. Stephen Road
Alexandria, Virginia 22304 (703) 370-2234

Washington

Uwajimaya
519 Sixth Avenue South
Seattle, Washington 98104 (206) 624-6248

Restaurants

You can cruise your own yellow pages to find good Vietnamese restaurants. A couple of clues: a concentration of noodle shops in any one area like Dorchester in Boston or Argyle Street in Chicago is a pretty good indicator of a large Vietnamese population -- and, hopefully, a sign of food quality. If the Vietnamese restaurants in your city are principally soup places, you likely have a large North Vietnamese population -- as in San Jose, California.

To start you off, we include a list of restaurants from all over the U.S. They range from take-out noodle shops to white tablecloth dining establishments, so call ahead if you want more information. When cruising the phone book in your area, keep in mind the fact that a huge number of Vietnamese restaurants start with one of the following five words: "Little," "Mekong," "Pho," "Saigon" and "Vietnam." Happy cruising!

Alabama

Mobile

Yen Restaurant
763 Holcombe Ave.
Mobile (334) 478-5814

Arizona

Phoenix

Pho Bang Restaurant
1702 W. Camelback Road
Phoenix (602) 433-9440

Dong Phuong
8123 E. Roosevelt
Scottsdale (602) 949-5251

Tucson

Cock Asian Vietnamese Restaurant
2226 N. Stone Avenue
Tucson (520) 623-7765

The Three Sisters
4210 Speedway Boulevard
Tucson (520) 881-4686

California

Los Angeles

Mekong Restaurant
637 N. Spring
Los Angeles (213) 680-2776

Pho 79 Restaurant
727 N. Broadway
Los Angeles (213) 625-7026

Viet Huong Restaurant
727 N. Broadway
Los Angeles (213) 626-0764

Oakland

Quang Da
820 Franklin Street
Oakland (510) 444-1142

San Francisco

Aux Delices Vietnamese Food
2327 Polk Street
San Francisco (415) 928-4977

Golden Turtle
2211 Van Ness Avenue
San Francisco (415) 441-4419

Rose Garden Vietnamese Restaurant
509 Haight
San Francisco (415) 621-1500

San Jose

Khanh's Garden Restaurant
618 Town & Country Village
San Jose (408) 241-4940

Nhatrang Restaurant
1820 Tully Road
San Jose (408) 274-2677

Pho Hoa
735 The Alameda
San Jose (408) 286-3481

Colorado

Greater Denver

Chez Thuy Restaurant
2655 28
Boulder (303) 442-1700

My Canh Restaurant
333 S. Federal Avenue
Denver (303) 935-3742

T-Wa Inn
555 S. Federal Boulevard
Denver (303) 922-4584

Connecticut

New Haven

Saigon City Restaurant
1180 Chapel
New Haven (203) 865-5033

Greater District of Columbia

Germaine's Asian Cuisine
2400 Wisconsin Avenue
Washington (202) 965-1185

Viet Garden Restaurant
211 King Street Alexandria
Virginia (703) 683-2232

Vietnam Georgetown Restaurant
2934 M Street, N.W.
Washington (202) 337-4536

Florida

Miami/Miami Beach

Mekong Chinese and Vietnamese Restaurant
18073 S. Dixie Highway
Miami (305) 238-3500

Little Saigon
16752 N. Miami Avenue
Miami Beach (305) 653-3377

Georgia

Greater Atlanta

Thieu & Thanh Vietnamese Restaurant
4300 Buford Avenue, NE Avenue
Atlanta (404) 315-9923

Vietnamese Cuisine
3375 Buford Highway, NE
Atlanta (404) 321-1840

Song-Huong Bella Restaurant
4795 Buford Highway
Chamblee (770) 451-2944

Hawaii

Honolulu

A Little Bit of Saigon
1160 Maunakea Honolulu (808) 528-3663

Annam House
1505 Kapiolani Boulevard Honolulu (808) 944-3796

Maxime Vietnam Restaurant
1134 Maunakea
Honolulu (808) 545-4188

Illinois

Chicago

Mekong Restaurant
4953 N. Broadway
Chicago (312) 271-0206

Orchid Restaurant
4614 Diversey Avenue
Chicago (312) 685-8363

Pho Hung Restaurant
1129 W. Argyle
Chicago (312) 275-1112

Iowa

Des Moines

Mekong Vietnamese Restaurant
1328 Martin Luther King Parkway
Des Moines (515) 244-9431

Saigon
1254 14th Street
Des Moines (515) 262-1827

Louisiana

New Orleans

Pho Bang Restaurant
4655 Michoud Boulevard
New Orleans (504) 254-3929

Pho Quang Restaurant
4611 Alice Fortier Boulevard
New Orleans (504) 254-3690

Massachusetts

Greater Boston

Pho Bank Restaurant, Inc.
7 Beach
Boston (617) 422-0501

Ha Long Restaurant
35 Dunster
Cambridge (617) 354-4445

Ham Giang Restaurant
1155 Dorchester Avenue
Dorchester (617) 436-6688

Minnesota

Minneapolis

Mi Trieu Chan
2218 E. Lake Street
Minneapolis (612) 721-8567

The Lotus Restaurant
113 W. Grant Street
Minneapolis (612) 870-1218

Vina Vietnamese Restaurant
6401 Nicollet Avenue
Minneapolis (612) 866-5034

Missouri

Kansas City

May Vietnamese Restaurant
8841 West Overland Park
Kansas City (913) 648-1688

Trinh Villa
10400 Mastin
Kansas City (913) 888-8820

St. Louis

Pho Grand Restaurant
3191 S. Grand Boulevard
St. Louis (314) 664-7435

Viet Nam Cafe
3216 S. Grand Boulevard
St. Louis (314) 772-9988.

Xinh Xinh Vietnamese Restaurant
7930 Olive Boulevard
St. Louis (314) 863-7070

Nebraska

Omaha

Little Saigon
5139 S. 24th Street
Omaha (402) 733-7173

Saigon Restaurant
108 N. 39th Street
Omaha (402) 551-4500

Nevada

Las Vegas

A Touch of Ginger
4110 S. Maryland Parkway
Las Vegas (702) 796-7779

Pho Chien
3839 W. Sahara Avenue
Las Vegas (702) 873-8749

New Jersey

Jersey City

Miss Saigon Vietnamese Restaurant
249 Newark Avenue
Jersey City (201) 792-4768

New York

New York City

Little Saigon
59 1st Avenue
New York (212) 548-9898

Pho Bang Restaurant, Inc.
3 Pike
New York (212) 233-3947

Saigon House Restaurant
89 Bayard
New York (212) 732-8988

Trieu Tran Restaurant
89 E. Broadway
New York (212) 608-5021

North Carolina

Raleigh

Saigon Restaurant
2259 New Hope Church Road
Raleigh (919) 876-7797

Ohio

Cincinnati

Song Long Restaurant
1737 Secton Road
Cincinnati (513) 351-7631

Cleveland

Minh-Anh Restaurant
5428 Detroit
Cleveland (216) 961-9671

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City

Miriwa Restaurant
825 N. Western
Oklahoma City (405) 843-1527

Pho Hoa Vietnamese Restaurant
2431 N.W.
Oklahoma City (405) 557-1477

Oregon

Portland

Pho Van
707 N.E. 82nd
Portland (503) 253-2694

Saigon Kitchen
829 S.E. Division
Portland (503) 236-2312

Vietnam's Pearl
1037 S.W. Morrison
Portland (503) 241-4740

Pennsylvania

Philadelphia

Pho Hoa Vietnam Restaurant
4829 N. Broad Street
Philadelphia (215) 457-5898

Saigon Palace
6212 Woodland Avenue
Philadelphia (215) 727-3365

Vietnam Palace
221 N. 11
Philadelphia (215) 592-1163

Tennessee

Memphis

Pho Saigon
2946 Poplar Avenue
Memphis (901) 458-1644

Saigon Le
51 N. Cleveland Street
Memphis (901) 276-5326

Texas

Dallas

Pho Bang Restaurant
3565 W. Walnut
Dallas (214) 487-6666

Pho Huy
110 S. Greenville Ave.
Dallas (214) 235-9729

Saigon Bistro
1115 E. Pioneer Parkway
Dallas (817) 461-9530

Houston

Nam Vietnamese Cuisine
2727 Fondren Road
Houston (713) 789-6688

Saigon Chef
17637 El Camino Real
Houston (713) 286-9022

Vietnam Restaurant
3215 Main
Houston (713) 526-0917

Utah

Salt Lake City

The Orient (Vietnam Cafe)
4768 S. Redwood Road
Salt Lake City (801) 966-3559

Washington

Pho So #1
1207 S. Jackson
Seattle (206) 860-2824

Viet My Restaurant
109 Prefontaine Place
Seattle (206) 382-9923

Vietnam Restaurant
660 S. King
Seattle (206) 467-6426

Cookbooks

Books in Print lists only nine Vietnamese cookbooks. Compare that to the list of 31 books on Thai food and you can understand why you may have trouble finding them at your local bookstore. Partially filling the void, some of the books on broader South-East Asian cuisine include respectable chapters on Vietnam.

The Best of Vietnamese and Thai Cooking:
Favorite Recipes from Lemon Grass Restaurant and Cafes
by Mai Pham

Beautifully designed and highly personal, this book provides information about the basics and a wide range of unintimidating recipes. The book mixes authentic recipes with reverse fusion cuisine -- Asian chef incorporates western techniques into her classic style instead of the other way round. Upon leafing through, I immediately dug in and started cooking.

The Classic Cuisine of Vietnam
by Bach Ngo and Gloria Zimmerman
The authors provide lists of necessary ingredients and kitchen equipment, explain the differences between the three different regional cuisines and the culinary techniques used in Vietnamese cooking before launching into 150 delicious sounding recipes from all over the country.

Cuisines of Southeast Asia
by Gwenda L. Hyman

Although this book includes recipes, it is principally a book about food as opposed to a cookbook. More than half of it is text devoted to history, geography, culture and cuisine. A fascinating book for those interested in the relationships between food and broader society.

The Foods of Vietnam
by Nicole Routhier

This gorgeous hardbound book won awards from both the IACP and the James Beard Society. Almost every page is bedecked with a sprig of cilantro or a bit of ginger in additional to the glorious color photos. An introduction describing food and culture precedes 150+ recipes.

Living and Cooking Vietnamese: An American Woman's Experience
by Paula Tran

A modest and highly personal account, this book tells the author's tale of moving in with a Vietnamese family while recording her mother-in-law's recipes. Approximately one-fourth to one-third is text, while the remaining consists of relatively simple recipes.

The Noodle Shop Cookbook
by Jackie Passmore

Although this book surveys noodle recipes from seven different Asian countries, the 16-page section on Vietnam is a helpful entrÈe into the world of Vietnamese cooking since, as the author says, "Perhaps no one in the world eats as many noodles as the Vietnamese."

Southeast Asia Cookbook
by Ruth Law

This book surveying the cuisines of Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, The Philippines and Vietnam is the one cookbook anyone interested in South-East Asian food really must have. Lengthy introductions to each chapter describe the nature and origin of ingredients followed by detailed recipes, 300 of them.

More cookbooks can be found in our
Food-Related Book Review Section

Nancy Freeman is a San Francisco-based freelance writer whose food stories have appeared in the San Francisco Magazine, The Contra Costa Times, Filipinas and Morsels, a publication of the American Institute of Wine and Food.

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