Southern Vietnam

🍳Cooking Style

Sweeter than the north, more herbs and vegetables. Cambodian and Chinese influences. Coconut milk use.

📜Historical Context

The fertile Mekong Delta provided abundant produce, while French colonization left the banh mi legacy and café culture.

🌟Signature Dishes

Vietnam·Medium·1 hour 5 minutes

Bánh Mì

A classic Vietnamese sandwich featuring savory grilled pork, a rich pâté, crisp pickled vegetables, fresh herbs, and spicy jalapeños, all nestled within a light and airy baguette.

Vietnam·Medium·4 hours 30 minutes (including marinating)

Cơm Tấm

Cơm Tấm, a beloved Saigon street food, features fragrant broken rice served with succulent grilled pork chops, a perfectly fried egg, and a side of tangy pickled vegetables. It's a classic breakfast dish that's both satisfying and flavorful.

Vietnam·Medium·3 hours 15 minutes

Hủ Tiếu Nam Vang

A beloved Vietnamese noodle soup with Chinese-Cambodian roots, featuring a clear, savory pork and seafood broth, tender pork, succulent shrimp, and chewy rice noodles. This recipe focuses on building a rich, aromatic broth for an authentic taste.

Vietnam·Easy·50 minutes

Canh Chua

A vibrant and flavorful Vietnamese sour soup (Canh Chua) featuring a tamarind-based broth, tender fish, sweet pineapple, and crisp vegetables. This soup beautifully balances sweet, sour, and savory notes, making it a comforting and refreshing dish, especially popular in Southern Vietnamese cuisine.

🍽️More from Southern Vietnam

Vietnam·Easy·1 hour 5 minutes - 1 hour 15 minutes

Bánh Chuối

A comforting and sweet Vietnamese dessert cake made with ripe bananas and tapioca pearls, traditionally steamed or baked. It offers a delightful chewy texture and tropical flavor.

Vietnam·Medium·1 hour 15 minutes

Bánh Cuốn

Delicate, paper-thin steamed rice sheets rolled around a savory filling of ground pork and wood ear mushrooms. Traditionally served as a light breakfast or snack, accompanied by thinly sliced pork sausage (cha lua), crispy fried shallots, and a side of sweet and savory dipping sauce (nuoc cham).

Vietnam·Medium·2 hours 45 minutes

Bánh Bao

Fluffy, cloud-like steamed buns filled with a savory mixture of seasoned ground pork, Chinese sausage, wood ear mushrooms, and a whole hard-boiled quail egg. A beloved Vietnamese street food with Chinese culinary influences.

Vietnam·Medium·2 hours 30 minutes (including rising and cooling)

Bánh Bò

A delightful Vietnamese steamed cake known for its distinctive, airy honeycomb-like interior texture. It's wonderfully chewy, sweet, and often infused with pandan for a fragrant aroma.

Vietnam·Medium·1 hour 5 minutes

Bánh Cam

Bánh Cam are delightful Vietnamese deep-fried glutinous rice balls, traditionally filled with a sweet mung bean paste and coated in sesame seeds. They are known for their crispy exterior, chewy interior, and satisfyingly hollow center when fried correctly. A perfect sweet treat for any occasion.

Vietnam·Medium-Advanced·2 hours 15 minutes

Bánh Canh Cua

A comforting and flavorful Vietnamese thick noodle soup, featuring chewy tapioca noodles swimming in a rich, savory crab and pork bone broth, generously topped with sweet crab meat. A beloved specialty from Central Vietnam.