Top 5 Vietnamese Salads

Top 5 Vietnamese Salads

Unlike many Western salads made from olive oil or mayonnaise, Vietnamese salads aren’t greasy but fresh and light. Most of them are made from fish sauce, some made from soy sauce such as Vietnamese Beef Jerky and Green Papaya Salad. Vietnamese salads is cooked to be sweet and sour to meet local taste. The ingredients to make salads are things Vietnamese people can find easily in their gardens such as banana blossom, coconut palm heart, green papaya, young lotus root… Enjoying these flavorful salads, tourists not only know about new foods but also learn more about local life and culture. Here are Top 5 Vietnamese Salads which any tourist shouldn’t miss on his trip to Vietnam.

1. Vietnamese Banana Blossom Salad

Photo by Scooter Saigon Tour

Vietnamese Banana Blossom Salad is one of the most well-known Vietnamese salads for its great taste and the interesting use of banana blossom. The cook must cut young part of banana blossom into thin light pink strings which must be soaked in water with lemon juice or vinegar to keep its beautiful color and delicious taste. The dressing is made from sugar, salt, fish sauce, lemon juice so that it smells of fish sauce and tastes sweet and sour. Other ingredients to mixed with banana blossom are pork belly, shrimp, herbs and chili (optional). Crushed peanuts couldn’t be missed to make the food perfect. Vietnamese Banana Blossom Salad is the best choice on hot day in Vietnam because it’s fresh, delicious and healthy. Other version of Vietnamese Banana Blossom Salad is cooked from shredded chicken is eaten with rice congee.

2. Vietnamese Coconut Palm Heart Salad

Coconut is everywhere in Vietnam, especially in Mekong Delta. Every parts of coconut is useful. Coconut water is one of the most favorite drinks, coconut meat is one of the most delicious dried candy fruits, coconut creme is ingredients of most Vietnamese traditional foods. In addition, coconut trees and coconut fruits are used to make many furniture and household items. The white, fresh and crisp coconut palm heart which is the best to make a refreshing salad. Other ingredients are pork belly, shrimp, garlic, cucumber, carrot and onion. The dressing is similar to Vietnamese Banana Blossom Salad’s dressing. The salad is better to eat with Vietnamese prawn crackers. Dinner just uses chopsticks to put salad onto the cracker and eats. Vietnamese Coconut Palm Heart Salad is not only eaten at home but usually served at wedding reception and “giỗ” ceremony.

3. Vietnamese Beef Jerky and Green Papaya Salad

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Vietnamese Beef Jerky and Papaya Salad is loved by Vietnamese people as a snack. Unlike other popular salads, the sweet and sour dressing of this salad is made from soy sauce. Shredded green papaya salad which has crisp texture and sweet taste is one of the best ingredients to make salad in Vietnam. Shredded beef jerky, dried beef lung and liver are mixed with shredded green papaya and topped with herbs and crushed peanuts.

Join a Ho Chi Minh Food Tour to enjoy the best foods including Vietnamese salads.

4. Vietnamese Chicken and Cabbage Salad

This is a perfect mix of garden chicken and smelling, spicy Vietnamese mint which are the best to come together. Garden chicken in Vietnam taste different from farm chicken because its meat is tougher, more flavorful and smelling. Vietnamese Mint and Chicken Salad is made by mixing shredded boiled garden chicken, shredded cabbage and Vietnamese mint with the dressing made from lemon juice, sugar, fish sauce, salt. Crushed peanut is added at dinner’s wish. Vietnamese people usually eat this salad with steamed rice and fish sauce or chicken rice congee.

5. Vietnamese Young Lotus Root Salad

Photo by Scooter Saigon Tour

This food is usually served as an appetizer in Vietnamese wedding feasts or eaten with steamed rice at home. Vietnamese Lotus Root Salad is made from main ingredients which are young lotus root, pork and shrimp. Young lotus root is washed carefully before being cut into 5-6 cm segments. Then lotus, boiled pork, boiled shrimp are mixed well with a sauce from sugar, lemon juice, salt, fish sauce and chili (optional). At last, crushed peanuts are topped to make the dish more delicious and good-looking. The sauce must play off the young lotus root and it tastes sweet and sour. Similar to Vietnamese prawn crackers are usually served with this salad.

Followings are some best places to eat Top 5 Vietnamese Salads:

• Ngon Restaurant, 160 Pasteur Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
• Com Nieu Sai Gon, 19 Tu Xuong, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City

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