Shrine Kitchen

Mindful Home Cooking

Northern Vietnamese Cuisine

Centered in Hanoi and the surrounding areas, Northern Vietnamese cuisine is the cuisine of the Vietnamese people in northern Vietnam.

Northern Vietnamese cuisine has been influenced by neighboring Tai ethnic groups as well as French colonial powers and Chinese control.

Ingredients

Japonica rice(gạo tẻ) is a staple food. Sticky rice(gạo nếp) is an important ingredient for many traditional dishes.

mung bean

dong leaf(lá dong) used for wrapping banh chung, banh te

banana, fruit and blossom used, leaf used

pandan(lá dứa)

sesame

peanut

pepper

pork

Dishes

  • steamed sticky rice(xôi), varieties include dau xanh, colored red with gac, or colored green with pandan
  • banh cuon(bánh cuốn): sticky rice flour roll, usually with meat filling and dipping sauce
  • banh chung(bánh chưng): sticky rice cake
  • banh te(bánh tẻ): rice flour cake
  • rice noodles(bún): rice noodles, often topped with pork or other meat, herbs, vegetables, and fish sauce
  • nuoc cham(nước chấm)[匿㴨]: dipping sauce, commonly made with fish sauce; usually a mix of sweet, sour, salty, savory, and spicy flavors
  • spring roll(nem cuốn): rice paper roll with herbs, rice noodles, and shrimp or other meat, served with dipping sauce
  • nom hoa chuoi(nộm hoa chuối): banana blossom salad
  • pho(phở): meat soup with rice noodles and condiments
  • sweet mung bean porridge(chè đậu xanh)

Recipes

  • Banh Chung

    Banh Chung

    Banh chung(bánh chưng)[餅蒸] is a sticky rice cake from northern Vietnam wrapped with leaves in a square shape. Banh chung is usually filled with mung bean and pork. This simple version uses sticky rice and mung bean though no pork. Banh chung is traditionally eaten for Tết or lunar new year, also known as Vietnamese…

  • Do Chua

    Do chua(đồ chua) is Vietnamese pickles, typically daikon and carrot. Do chua is commonly added to banh mi and other dishes. Recipe Ingredients Directions

  • Nuoc Cham

    Nuoc cham(nước chấm)[匿㴨] is a category of Vietnamese dipping sauce. It generally has a watery consistency and combines sweet, sour, salty, savory, and spicy flavors. It is sometimes called fish sauce, though it is not to be confused with the common ingredient fish sauce(nước mắm). Nuoc cham is generally made with fish sauce, sugar, and…

  • Salad Roll

    A salad roll(gỏi cuốn / nem cuốn), also known as fresh spring roll or nem roll, is a Vietnamese dish with rice paper(bánh tráng) wrapped around filling, typically lettuce, herbs, and rice noodles with shrimp or another topping. Salad rolls are generally served with flavorful dipping sauce. Salad rolls are known as goi cuon(gỏi cuốn)…

  • Xoi Gac

    Xoi Gac

    Xoi gac(xôi gấc) is steamed red sticky rice colored with a type of gourd called gac(gấc). Gac is also known as red baby jackfruit, perhaps because gac sounds like jack. However, the name gac comes from Vietnamese, as the fruit is native to Vietnam. Because gac can be hard to find, substitutes like annatto are…