Learn Vietnamese: Lesson 15: Vietnamese Food: How To Pronounce Pho, Banh Mi & More

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• published: 03 Jul 2012
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In this lesson we go over how to pronounce some of the most common Vietnamese Foods that you might see on a restaurant menu. Beautiful images are provided by our friends at Ravenous Couple (http://bit.ly/vietnamesefoodblog) a Vietnamese food blog. Check them out! Phở - A noodle soup with a rich, clear broth made from a long boiling of meat and spices. There are many varieties of phở made with different meats (most commonly beef or chicken) along with beef meatballs. Phở is typically served in bowls with spring onion, (in phở tai) slices of semi-cooked beef (to be cooked by the boiling hot broth), and broth. In the South, vegetables and various herbs are also added. Bánh mì - Vietnamese baguette or French bread traditionally with pâté, Vietnamese mayonnaise, cold cuts, jalapeños, pickled daikon, pickled carrot, and cucumber slices. While traditional cold cuts include ham, head cheese, and Vietnamese bologna, it is common to see varieties of stuffing such as eggs, canned sardines, shredded pork, fried tofu, and grilled meats. Sandwiches are often garnished with coriander leaves and black pepper. Cà phê sữa đá - Strong iced coffee, most often served with sweetened condensed milk at the bottom of the cup to be stirred in. The beverage is very popular among the Vietnamese. Gỏi cuốn - Also known as Vietnamese fresh rolls, or summer rolls. They are rice paper rolls that often include shrimp, herbs, pork, rice vermicelli and other ingredients wrapped up and dipped in nước chấm or peanut sauce. Spring rolls almost constitute an entire category of Vietnamese foods, as there are numerous different kinds of spring rolls with different ingredients in them. Chả giò - A kind of spring roll (sometimes referred to as egg roll) -- deep-fried flour rolls filled with pork, yam, crab, shrimp, rice vermicelli, mushrooms ("wood ear" variety) and other ingredients. The spring roll goes by many names - as many people actually use (falsely) the word "spring roll" while referring to the fresh transparent rice paper rolls (discussed below as "Summer Rolls"), where the rice paper is dipped into water to soften and then rolled up with various ingredients. Traditionally these rolls are made with a rice paper wrapper but in recent years Vietnamese chefs outside of Vietnam have changed the recipe to use a wheat-flour-based wrapper. Cơm tấm - In general, grilled pork (either ribs or shredded) plus bì (thinly shredded pork mixed with cooked and thinly shredded pork skin plus fried ground rice) over com tam ("broken rice" in Vietnamese) and sweet and sour fish sauce. Other types of meat, prepared in various ways, may be served with the broken rice. One can have barbecued beef, pork, or chicken served with the broken rice. The rice and meat are served with various greens and pickled vegetables, along with a prawn paste cake (chả tôm), steamed egg (trứng hấp) and grilled prawns. Bánh bèo - A central Vietnamese dish consisting of tiny round rice flour pancakes, each served in a similarly shaped dish. They are topped with minced shrimp and other ingredients such as chives, fried shallots, and pork rinds. Eaten with nước chấm. Bánh xèo - A type of crêpe made out of rice flour with turmeric, shrimps with shells on, slivers of fatty pork, sliced onions, and sometimes button mushrooms, fried in one or two teaspoons of oil, usually coconut oil, which is the most popular oil used in Vietnam. It is eaten with lettuce and various local herbs and dipped in Nước chấm or sweet fermented peanut butter sauce. Rice papers are sometimes used as wrappers to contain banh xeo and the accompanying vegetables. Bún bò Huế - Spicy beef noodle soup originated from the royal city of Huế in Central Vietnam. Beef bones, fermented shrimp paste, lemongrass, and driedchilies give the broth its distinctive flavors. Often served with mint leaves, bean sprouts, and lime wedges.