Hanoi (VNA) – Tomato and crab noodle soup (bun rieu) and crab meat and glass noodle stir-fry (mien xao cua), two iconic dishes of Vietnam, have secured their places on the world's culinary landscape, recently celebrated in TastAtlas’s top 100 crustacean dishes in the world.
Earning prestigious honours from the renowned global food mapping platform marks a significant milestone for Vietnam’s rich gastronomic heritage.
Bun rieu
Bun rieu represents the pinnacle of Vietnamese noodle cuisine, originating from the fertile Red River Delta region. This traditional dish is a symphony of flavours, characterised by its delicate broth crafted from bone marrow, tomatoes, and a distinctive crab paste that creates a harmonious balance of sweet and sour notes.
The rice vermicelli noodles serve as the foundation, accompanied by a diverse array of toppings like crab meat, pork, tofu, tomatoes, blood jelly, and a selection of fresh greens as perilla or bean sprouts.
The signature crab paste, meticulously prepared by grinding crab meat, is combined with such ingredients as dragon fruit, tomatoes, fish sauce, and aromatic herbs. Culinary enthusiasts often enhance the dish's flavour profile by adding shrimp paste and serving it with an assortment of fresh herbs such as banana flower, water spinach, and bean sprouts. The optional condiments of shrimp paste, fermented fish sauce, vinegar, lime, and chili allow diners to personalise their experience.
Bun rieu has become one of the favourite dishes of the country, present in every corner across the nation, from humble street-side stalls to elegant restaurants. Its reputation also transcends the boundaries, catching the attention of international publications like Vougue which featured it in a list of 29 must-try Vietnamese dishes.
Mien xao cua
Mien xao cua offers another glimpse into Vietnam's elegant cuisine. This stir-fried delicacy is a traditional Vietnamese dish of stir-fried glass noodles and crab meat. The preparation involves a complex blend of ingredients including wood ear mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, carrots, onions, and bean sprouts. Chefs carefully stir-fry these components in a large pan then dress with a combination of lime juice, minced garlic, sugar, water and fish sauce.
Once done, mien xao cua is garnished with chopped green onions and cilantro before serving. Soft glass noodles are coated in a glossy sauce, accompanied with vibrant crisp vegetables and fresh sea crabs.
Vietnamese cuisine has consistently impressed international food experts. Earlier, an array of Vietnamese dishes garnered honours from TasteAtlas. Notably, minced meat dishes, including bun cha (grilled pork meatballs with vermicelli noodle), bo la lot (grilled beef wrapped in betel leaf), and nem lui (grilled ground pork on lemongrass skewers) were highlighted in the platform’s top 82 Asian ground meat dishes.
Five Vietnamese street food items, ban my, pho, com tam (broken rice with grilled pork), cha gio (fried spring rolls) and banh xeo (crispy Vietnamese pancake), also made it to TasteAtlas’s top 100 Asian street food list. Particularly, banh mi was ranked third as it has won the international hearts. According to TasteAtlas, the crusty bread, condiments, and meats are all a legacy of French and Chinese colonialism, while cilantro, chili, and pickles reflect the Vietnamese taste for fresh vegetables and bright flavors. In the beginning, most banh mi sandwiches consisted of bread, meat, and seasonings, with no added vegetables./.
