Vietnam is a rice growing country with tropical monsoon climate and diverse topography, it’sgeographically divided into North, Central, and the South with considerable cultural differences.
And, the country is home to 54 ethnic groups; each of them has their own cooking traditions while sharing historical influences from the Chinese, the Khmer, and the French.
That geography and ethnology backgrounds allow fresh food to be produced all year around in Vietnam, and that form the variety and diversity of the Vietnamese cuisine – which is known for freshness, tempting flavors, and intriguing balance of tastes.
When preparing the food, we use variant fresh herbs like lemongrass, mint, cilantro, and scallions to add freshness and flavors to the dishes. While spices like lime, chili, garlic, shallot, and fish sauce are always used to balance the tastes.
As hard-working rice growers, most Vietnamese people eat rice 3 times a day, and a typical home meal often includes steamed rice with up to 6 side dishes to flavor it. Therefore, Vietnamese cuisine features the uses of fresh herbs and spices to cook flavorful and tasty dishes to support the eating of the steamed rice.
If you love Vietnamese food, you should know that Vietnamese herbs are the stars in any dish. From our different salads to sizzling pancakes to noodle soups, almost all recipes feature a generous use of fresh herbs.
Since many of clients of our food tours are new to Viettamese cuisine, it’s sometimes confusing for them to identify many of the herbs. Hence, in this post as a humble beginner’s guide, we listed out the 12 most common herbs in Vietnamese cuisine.
1. Sả (Lemon grass)
The woody texture and freshly citrusy aroma of the lemon grass make it one of the most popular herbs in marinading and cooking broths, but a platter of fresh herbs sometimes includes lemon grass to be eaten raw during the meal.
We bruise the stalk with the back of a knife then drop it into the pot when boiling the chicken, orsteaming a fresh water fish. Mince of lemon grass are used to marinate the pork patties before grilling when making bún chả dish.
2. Húng lủi (Spearmint/mint)
Both spearmint and mint are used interchangeably throughout Vietnam, depending on what’s available, and they’re commonly used in salads, noodle soups, and fresh summer rolls.
3. Rau mùi (Coriander/cilantro)
All parts of the delicate Rau mùi are edible with its pleasing flavor reminiscent of parsley and citrus, and they’re used in both cooking and garnishing dishes. Therefore, the herb appears in many of our famous dishes, including phở and bánh mì.
4. Hành lá (Spring onions/scallion)
Spring onion or scallion is called hành lá in Vietnam, and it’s one of the most popular ingredients in noodle soups, such as phở bò (beef noodle soup) and phở gà (chicken noodle soup). The use of scallion adds oniony flavor and a touch of green color to a dish, while the bulb stems are often seen on our platter of fresh herbs to eat raw during the meal.
5. Xà lách (Lettuce)
Xà lách, or lettuce, is most eaten raw in Vietnam. It’s often used for salads, but it’s also seen in other kinds of food, such as bánh mì, bún chả, sandwiches, summer rolls, and other wraps.
6. Rau ngổ (Rice paddy herb)
Rau ngổ features a light bitter taste and delicate cilantro-like flavor. It’s used as an ingredient added in the end of the cooking of our canh chua (sweet and sour fish soup), or as a garnish many other dishes like bún chả and bún riêu. The herb is often seen growing in flooded rice fields, and sold in almost every fresh markets.
7. Rau răm (Vietnamese Coriander/Vietnamese mint)
Rau răm, or Vietnamese coriander, has a mix of mint light spicy aftertaste, hence it’s also called Vietnamese hot mint. It’s ussually added at the end of the cooking of our fish soup, like shellfish dishes and miến xào lươn. Rau răm is also used to make chicken salads, or to eat raw with fertilized duck eggs. Rau răm is often seen growing on dry farm or gardens, and sold in fresh markets.
8. Tía tô (Vietnamese Perilla/Sesame shiso)
Tía tô, or Vietnamese perilla, provides a peppery and minty flavor. On daily cooking, tía tô is used for our bún ốc (rice paddy snail noodle soup) and cháo tía tô (rice porridge), or eaten raw like other herbs.
9. Kinh giới (Vietnamese Balm/Vietnamese lemon mint)
Kinh giới has a similar shape and size to the Tía tô leave mentioned above, but with green color with a more pungent and bitter taste. The green herb is used in nộm bò khô (green papaya salad with beef jerky), or as a side dish for noodle soup.
10. Húng quế (Cinnamon basil/Thai basil)
Húng quế, or cinnamon basil, has a slight cinnamon and anise flavor. It’s used as a condiment to many vietnamese dishes, such as Bún bò Huế. This vibrant green herb is referred to as the quintessential of Vietnamese cuisine and Thai cuisine. We’ll always grab this herb to get our bite a punch in taste and flavor.
11. Diếp cá (Fish mint)
Diếp cá is a strong and fishy taste herb. Its distinctie flavor may off-putting to those trying it for the first time. The herb is often used in our Bánh xèo (sizzling pancake) or blended for fish mint juice.
12. Thì là (Dill)
Thì là is almost always seen in fish dishes in Northern Vietnam, where it’s more popularly seen than in the South. Together with scallion, fresh dill is an important herb in the Hanoi’s signature dish – Chả cá lã vọng.
Hope the 12 herbs commonly used in Vietnamese cuisine mentioned in this post is useful to you. As the number one local food tour provider in Hanoi, join our private walking food tours and taste the best street eats Hanoi has to offer. Contact us to book your tour today.
