30 Vietnamese dishes to try, north to south

Việt Nam is long and thin, and its food changes every few hundred kilometres. Broadly, the north keeps things clean and savoury, the centre turns up the chilli, and the south adds sugar, coconut and herbs by the armful. Here are 30 dishes worth hunting down, north to south.

The North

• Phở: rice noodles in a clear beef or chicken broth, simmered for hours with star anise and charred ginger. Breakfast in Hà Nội.
• Bún chả: charcoal-grilled pork in a warm bowl of fish sauce, with cold rice noodles and herbs. Lunch.
• Bánh cuốn: rice sheets steamed in seconds, rolled around pork and wood ear mushroom and topped with fried shallots.
• Chả cá: turmeric fish sizzled at your table with fistfuls of dill and spring onion, eaten with rice noodles and peanuts.
• Bún riêu cua: rice noodles in a tangy tomato broth made with pounded freshwater crab, with tofu and soft curds of crab on top.
• Bún đậu mắm tôm: pressed rice noodles, crisp fried tofu and herbs, dipped in fermented shrimp paste whipped with lime and chilli. It smells fierce. Eat it anyway.
• Xôi xéo: yellow sticky rice with shaved mung bean and crispy shallots, wrapped to take away.
• Phở cuốn: uncut sheets of phở noodle rolled around stir-fried beef and herbs, with a sweet and sour dip. A Hà Nội invention.

The Centre

Huế, the old imperial capital, cooks small, fiddly and hot; our Huế food guide has more.

• Bún bò Huế: round rice noodles in a beef and pork broth with lemongrass, chilli oil and a little shrimp paste. In Huế, just bún bò.
• Bánh bèo: tiny steamed rice cakes in saucers, topped with dried shrimp and pork crackling. Order a dozen.
• Bánh lọc: chewy, see-through tapioca dumplings with a whole shrimp inside.
• Nem lụi: minced pork grilled on lemongrass sticks, rolled in rice paper with herbs and dipped in peanut sauce.
• Cơm hến: rice with tiny river clams, herbs, peanuts and crackling, with the clam broth on the side.
• Cao lầu: Hội An’s chewy golden noodles with sliced pork, greens and crunchy croutons, and barely any sauce.
• Mì Quảng: turmeric-yellow rice noodles in a splash of rich broth, with pork or shrimp, peanuts and a sesame rice cracker.
• Cơm gà: Hội An chicken rice, the rice cooked in chicken stock with turmeric, topped with shredded chicken and herbs.

The South

Sài Gòn eats all day, out on the street, with a big plate of herbs on the side.

• Bánh mì: a light, crackly baguette filled with pâté, cold cuts, pickles, coriander and chilli.
• Cơm tấm: broken rice with a grilled pork chop, shredded pork skin and egg meatloaf, with sweet fish sauce.
• Bánh xèo: a big, crisp crêpe of rice flour, turmeric and coconut milk, filled with shrimp, pork and bean sprouts. Wrap pieces in leaves and dip.
• Hủ tiếu: rice noodles in a clear, sweet pork broth with pork and shrimp. Order it dry (khô) and the broth comes on the side.
• Gỏi cuốn: fresh rice paper rolls of shrimp, pork, noodles and herbs, not fried, with peanut sauce for dipping.
• Bún thịt nướng: cold rice noodles with grilled pork, herbs, pickles and peanuts. This time you do pour the fish sauce over.
• Ốc: snails and shellfish cooked with tamarind, coconut, garlic or lemongrass, eaten with a beer after dark.
• Canh chua: the Mekong’s sweet and sour soup of fish, tamarind, pineapple and tomato, eaten with rice.

Sweets and drinks

• Chè: sweet soups and puddings in a glass: beans, jellies, tapioca, coconut milk and crushed ice.
• Cà phê sữa đá: strong coffee dripped through a phin onto condensed milk, then poured over ice.
• Cà phê trứng: Hà Nội’s egg coffee, under a cap of yolk whisked with condensed milk.
• Bia hơi: light, fresh beer brewed every day and drunk by the glass on Hà Nội’s street corners.
• Sinh tố: fruit blended with ice and condensed milk. Try avocado: here it’s dessert.
• Nước mía: sugarcane juice pressed on the spot, often with a squeeze of kumquat.

Start ticking them off with us

In Hà Nội, our Dawn Phở Run gives you two bowls of phở from two rival stalls and a plate of bánh cuốn at 6 a.m., and our Bia Hơi Corner Night brings fresh draught beer brewed that morning, five street snacks and a toasting lesson. In Sài Gòn, our Back-of-the-Bike Food Night rides you pillion through District 4 and District 5: six stops, six stools, from bánh xèo to snails to chè.