Vietnam, a country of rice-lovers, for rice-lovers

Vietnam is located in Southeast Asia, a region well-known around the world for its culture of wet rice cultivation. Rice has become an indispensable food in the daily meals of the people of this region, such as the Vietnamese, Thai, Laotian, Indonesian and Cambodian cultures.

Many Vietnamese people feel unhealthy if they do not eat any rice (called “cơm” in Vietnamese) within a given day. Their bodies depend on rice to provide enough nutrients for their physical health in the same way that Mongolian people depend on meat.

A lot of Vietnamese cuisine, such as stewed fish, fried fish, soups, sautes, etc., are made to accompany steamed rice. Some dishes, like Vietnamese braised fish or braised pork cannot be savored without rice. Thus, appreciating rice in Vietnam means not only eating the rice itself, but also the food that comes with it. Rice lovers who want an authentic experience enjoying rice in Vietnam must learn how to use chopsticks to pick up each mouthful from the bowl.

Rice paper is an essential ingredient to make spring rolls—an outstanding Vietnamese dish. Rice-lovers should especially sample the spring rolls of southern Vietnam, the king of spring rolls. There are hundreds of kinds of spring rolls in Vietnam, each with different ingredients rolled inside the rice paper, such as meat, fish, green vegetables, noodles, eggs, etc.

Rice powder is also a versatile ingredient within the world of Vietnamese food. Bún, bánh canh, phở, hủ tiếu, bánh hỏi, bánh ướt, etc., are all different varieties of Vietnamese noodles made from rice powders. They lend their names to the dishes that incorporate them, such as bánh canh chả cá, phở, bún chả, hủ tiếu, bún bò, and so on. Besides noodles, many other Vietnamese dishes and desserts are made of rice powders.

Vietnamese people regard rice as a wonderful blessing. In Vietnam, grandparents and parents usually teach their children not to waste any of this precious gift, with warnings and instructions like, “You should eat up all the rice in your bowl,” or “Don’t let a single grain of rice fall to the table or the ground,” or “Farmers diligently planted this rice!” In Vietnam, many people often share rice with the poor as a way to express their compassion.