Top Rice Noodle Soups in Vietnam

Top Rice Noodle Soups in Vietnam

Vietnamese people eat steamed rice as usual as Western eat bread. We have 8 million hectares growing rice and we love dishes made from rice such as rice cakes and rice noodles. Rice noodle soups are favorite foods around Vietnam because they are comfortable, healthy and flavorful. In each region, locals have created different recipes in their ways and we have a big family of rice noodle soups to satisfy any strict dinner. Although noodles have different shapes and tastes, they are all tender but chewy and made from rice flour. Most of them are served with broths with various tastes, vegetables and special sauces. Pho Noodle Soup is famous around the world for many years and it most of the tourists coming to Vietnam plan to eat this food first. Hue Noodle Soup, Crab Noodle Soup and other kinds of Vietnamese noodle soups are not less delicious and they are worth trying. Chopsticks and spoons are used to eat rice noodle soups and it may be a  to whom familiar with using forks. Enjoying Vietnamese Noodle Soups, feeling the tastes and immersing yourself into local life make your trip to our country more meaningful and memorable. Let’s learn more about the family of noodle soups in Vietnam and Top Rice Noodle Soups in Vietnam.

1. Pho

Certainly, the famous Pho must be in the list of Top Rice Noodle Soups in Vietnam. Originated in Northern Vietnam, Pho is the national dish of Vietnam and has become popular in Vietnam and other countries for its great taste. Pho noodles are cut from thin steamed rice sheet (Pho sheet) and they have linguine shape, it tastes fresh, tender but chewy. Cooked from bone, cinnamon, star aniseed, ginger, thao qua for some hours, the broth is very special and it’s the soul of Pho dish. There are various kinds of Pho for your choices such as Pho with chicken, beef ball, rare-cooked or medium-cooked beef… Pho is usually served with bean sprouts, sawtooth herb, bay leaf… Pho is usually eaten with soybean paste, chili paste and fish sauce. It isn’t a simple recipe, is it? Just try Pho and you will know why it’s famous.

2. Hue Noodle Soup (Bun Bo Hue)

The next dish I would like to introduce to tourists in Top Rice Noodle Soups in Vietnam is Hue Noodle Soup which is very popular in Central Vietnam. You can see hundreds of restaurants and food stalls serve this kind of food at any corner in the Central provinces. Hue Noodle Soup is served with Bun which is made by boiling thick cylinder-shaped rice noodles. The unique broth is not only tasty but also smelling and good-looking. Its fantastic taste and smell come from lemongrass, ginger, macerated fish and shrimp, annatto… It can make you eat until the bowl is empty. The dish is topped with chewy pork pie, tender well-cooked pork leg and beef slices. Assorted herbs, bean sprouts, shredded morning glory and banana blossom couldn’t be missed to have a perfect dish. Some prefer adding some lemon juice into the broth to make it sour and tastier. Hue Noodle Soup has won the heart of most foreign visitors for amazing flavor from Central Vietnam. How about you?

3. Crab Noodle Soup (Bun Rieu Cua)

Crab Noodle Soup is served with thinner rice noodles in comparison to Bun Bo Hue noodle. The broth is cooked from tomato, egg, pork and small freshwater crab living in rice paddies and lakes so that it’s rich and yummy. Crabmeat is removed from crushed body by using a strainer. It needs time and patience to make this food. To serve, deep-fried tofu, pork pie and pork are topped on the noodle in a bowl and then they are covered with the broth. Fresh herbs, bean sprouts, shredded morning glory and banana blossoms are served with Bun Rieu Cua to make it tastier. Lemon juice and chili are optional. Crab Noodle Soup has the origin from Mekong Delta and consists character of this peaceful and beautiful region.

4. Clear Rice Noodle Soup (Hu Tieu)

Hu Tieu noodle is dry so that the cook must poach it in boiling water to make it tender and ready to serve. The noodle has a linguine shape and it’s smaller than Pho noodle. It’s made by cutting large dry rice paper into long noodles. There is more than one kind of Hu Tieu in Vietnam. I would like to introduce the traditional Clear Rice Noodle Soup from My Tho city, Tien Giang province in Mekong Delta. The broth is cooked from pork bone and many kinds of vegetables to make it rich. Stir-fried ground meat, deep-fried onion, shrimp, boiled pork, pork liver and chopped green onion are added onto the noodle in a bowl. The broth is added at last. We often use chopsticks to eat the toppings with some fish sauce. Similar to Bun Bo Hue and Bun Rieu Cua, lemon juice and chili could be added at dinner’s wish.

5. Soup Cake (Banh Canh)

This is a very interesting Vietnamese food – Soup Cake which you should try to open your mind. The Soup Cake noodle is thicker and shorter than any kind of rice noodle in Vietnam. It’s as big as a medium worm. The noodle is chewy but tender. The broth is also different from others because it’s glutinous. Banh Canh can be topped with chicken, duck, pork leg or seafood. Chopped green onion and black pepper are added to make the dish good-looking, smelling and tasty. Soup Cake is one of the most favorites of many locals and visitors so that there’s no reason you won’t try it on your trip to Vietnam.

If you would like to enjoy some of Top Rice Noodle Soups in Vietnam when you are in Saigon but don’t know where to eat. Please do not hesitate to join a Saigon Food Tour by motorbike with our female tour guide. It’s a chance to learn more about the city, foods and culture.

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