Vietnamese Cuisine

Vietnamese cuisine is a style of cooking derived from Vietnam with fish sauce, soy sauce, rice, fresh herbs, fruits and vegetables all commonly used. Vietnamese recipes utilize a diverse range of herbs, including lemongrass, mint, Vietnamese mint, long coriander and Thai basil leaves. Traditional Vietnamese cooking is greatly admired for freshness of the ingredients and for the healthy eating style.
The most common meats used in Vietnamese cuisine are beef, pork, chicken, fish, and various kinds of seafood. The Vietnamese also have a strong vegetarian tradition influenced by Buddhist values.
Typical Vietnamese family meals
A typical meal for the average Vietnamese family would include:
    * Individual bowls of rice
    * Meat, fish or seafood (grilled, boiled, steamed, stewed or stir fried with vegetables)
    * Stir-fried, raw, pickled or steamed vegetables
    * Canh (a clear broth with vegetables and often meat or seafood) or other Vietnamese-style soup
    * Prepared fish sauce and/or soy sauce for dipping, to which garlic, chili, ginger or lime juice are sometimes added according to taste.
All dishes apart from the individual bowls of rice are communal and to be shared.

Outside of Vietnam, Vietnamese cuisine is widely available in countries with strong Vietnamese immigrant communities, such as Australia, the United States, Canada, and France. Vietnamese cuisine is also popular in Japan, Korea, Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, and Russia, and in areas with dense Asian populations.
In recent years, Vietnamese cuisine has become popular in other Southeast Asian countries such as Laos, and Thailand.
Dishes that have become trademarks of Vietnamese cuisine are phở, gỏi cuốn (spring/summer rolls), bún, and bánh mì (Vietnamese baguette).
Television shows featuring Vietnamese food have increased its publicity. On The Great Food Truck Race, a vietnamese sandwich truck called Nom Nom Truck received the most money in the first five episodes. Anthony Bourdain wrote for the Financial Times in 2005, “A year from now, I plan to live here. I will move to a small fishing village in a coastal area of Vietnam near Hoi An. I have no idea what I'm going to do there, other than write about the experience. I plan only on being a visual curiosity, the lone westerner in a Vietnamese community; to rent a house, move in with few, if any, expectations and let the experience wash over me. Whatever happens, happens.” (Source: Wikipedia)