Top 10 Vietnamese Dishes: MUST-TRY Famous Food in Vietnam

It’s time to honor the must-try famous food in Vietnam that nurtures us, energizes us, satisfies us and comforts us. This list will compile the top 10 Vietnamese dishes that have our hearts and our tummies, that provided an experience equal to our other adventures during our time in Vietnam, and that will certainly tempt us back to the Southeast Asian country soon enough. 

Our summer trip to the stunning country of Vietnam blended:

• unforgettable adventure, in the form of rainy Sapa trekking
• shock and disappointment, in the form of a sudden typhoon that cancelled our Halong Bay/Bai Tu Long Bay cruise
• redemption, in the form of a last minute and yet glorious trip to the scenery of Tam Coc

It also included some of the best food in Hanoi, Vietnam (and around the country) we could’ve hoped for.

All these seemingly disparate threads had one common denominator—they all involved some delectable traditional Vietnamese food dishes enjoyed throughout our entire trip!

Famous Food in Vietnam

We’ll go into the best food in Vietnam, be it breakfast food, vegan or vegetarian food, street food, or just the essential traditional Vietnamese food you absolutely cannot miss. There’s so much to Vietnamese food culture to admire (and drool over)—but our absolute favorite is the street food of Vietnam. If you’re not comfortable navigating street food on your own, we recommend joining one of the street food tours of Vietnam.

All of the traditional Vietnamese food dishes we ate left behind a scrumptious impression (sans one stale hours-old banh mi Ben ate in a rush on our way to the Da Nang airport), making happy customers out of us. And during the hours in between meals, we whined to each other how we couldn’t wait to be hungry again so we could stuff our lumpy faces even further.

From that kick-in-your-chest chili spice, to the spine-tingling sour lime and tamarind, the rootiness of lemongrass, a richer, silkier soy sauce, and, of course, the god-send staples of cilantro and garlic garlic everything…we must say:

Dear traditional Vietnamese food, You had us at “Hello.”

From the pho you already know, to the bun bo you should know—here’s a list of the top 10 Vietnamese dishes you must try!

1. Bún Bò Huế

Bún Bò Huế features a particular regional preparation of the beef and rice vermicelli noodle soup—most notably the fragrant zing of lemongrass, making it an exotic food in Vietnam you must try.

In fact, the taste of the lemongrass flavored the dish so well, you almost didn’t need any lime!

We enjoyed this bowl of Bún Bò Huế at a small local eatery at our first stop in Hue, with a bowl of herbs, although we did have to request chili sauce because we like our Vietnamese food spicy.

Our bowl came with thin slices of beef, but it’s not uncommon to see the bowls of beef soup accented with oxtail chunks, pig’s knuckles, and congealed pig blood! If you’re not crazy about that, make sure to specify what will come in your bowl before you order it.

Bun bo was our first taste of street food in Vietnam. We discovered it at a small restaurant somewhere in a local backstreet in the Old Quarter of Hanoi. You’ll quickly find that Vietnamese food in Hanoi is AMAZING. In our experience, Hanoi had the best food in Vietnam. This flavorful bowl of bun bo was no exception.

🧑‍🍳 Take a Hanoi Cooking Class with a master chef

Our steaming hot bowls of rice vermicelli noodle soup came with beef (bo) and fried tofu, as well as a side bowl of herbs, a pile of calamansi limes, and some spicy chili sauce. All together, the dish was divine, and we felt so lucky to have tasted some of the best food in Hanoi, Vietnam immediately after arriving.

Watch our experience eating Bun Bo in the Hanoi Old Quarter here:

2. Canh Chua Tôm

We tried this Vietnamese sour soup with prawns at a sea-side restaurant along the Hon Gai harbor as we attempted to distract ourselves from the cancellation of our Halong and Bai Tu Long bay cruise. The cruise was a bust, but this delicious soup certainly wasn’t!

With a similar flavor profile to Thai cuisine’s Tom Yum Goong, Canh Chua Tôm comes from the Mekong Delta in the southern portion of Vietnam. The zest of tamarind blesses the broth of this soup with its sourness, making it an exotic food in Vietnam we adore.

We had it served with tomatoes and some (likely) un-traditional shiitake, topped with some thinly sliced scallions. As the first course of a five-course meal for us, the Canh Chua Tôm certainly highlighted the dinner. In fact, its only real flaw was the small size of the bowl. We would’ve happily foregone the other courses for a giant bowl of this tasty sour shrimp delight!

READ MORE| Weed on a Sapa trek in Vietnam?!

3. Pho

If I’m thinking of the most famous food in Vietnam for our list of the top 10 Vietnamese dishes, I can’t miss pho.

This much is true: you can’t go to Vietnam without trying pho (pronounced “fuh”).

Apart from being the most globally recognized dish of Vietnamese food, this early 20th century-originating dish is also just damn tasty! Take a gander at pho ga (chicken), pho bo (beef), or pho dau phu (tofu) at one of the seemingly infinite pho eateries that speckle the Hanoi landscape. There’s a reason it’s the most popular food in Vietnam!

Interestingly, pho is often consumed as a breakfast food in Vietnam. No matter the variety, every bowl of pho will come with a special kind of flat noodle known as bánh phở and a bone-simmered broth flavored faintly with spices such as cinnamon, roasted onion and ginger, star anise, fennel seed and cloves.

The best places will serve your pho with a generous side heap of bean sprouts, basil, lime, chili (sauce, pepper, or both) and hoisin sauce. You can make this Vietnamese food as spicy as you please by adding (or omitting) chili.

Though we sampled plenty during our time in Vietnam, the best was this bowl of Saigon-style pho bo (pictured above) served to us at a locals’ pho-dedicated vendor we stumbled upon in Da Nang. There’s a ton of great things to do in Da Nang–eating a great big ol’ bowl of piping hot pho just happens to be one of ’em.

And the other incredible part? It cost us less than a buck!

🍜 Interested in trying to cook a bowl of pho for yourself? Check out The Pho Cookbook!

4. Goi Du Du

You can’t go wrong with seafood in Da Nang. Or at least, that’s what it seems like with the hundreds of seafood restaurants that line the street in front of the My Khe beach—some of them giant, warehouse like buildings with rows and rows of tables filling up in the evenings with locals.

🍳 Take a Da Nang Home Cooking Class

We had our share of squid and shrimp in the beach-side Vietnamese city, and fully recommend you do the same (if seafood is your thang). One of the most picturesque seafood moments was this plate of Goi Du Du, or Vietnamese papaya salad.

Crunchy green papaya and carrot shreds tossed in garlic, vinegar, fish sauce, and lime, top a plate with juicy pink shrimp and thinly sliced chilies adding a kick of spiciness to this Vietnamese dish. The salty punch of peanuts and herbal kick of mint and basil complete the fresh dish, a healthy Vietnamese food ideal for a hot day spent at the beach!

5. Pho Xao

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Using the same flat bánh phở noodles, the Vietnamese food dish known as pho xao leaves out the broth we typically think of as pho. Instead, pho xao stir-fries the long noodles with vegetables and meat or seafood. And man, is it delicious.

This was actually the last meal we ate in Vietnam, at a local town about 25 minutes from the Noi Bai (Hanoi) Airport. We had a few hours to kill before our flight, so we hopped on the local bus 17 and got off at the first open restaurant with promise.

READ MORE| Trekking with the hill tribes in Sapa, Vietnam

The Vietnamese boy at the restaurant, probably in his early twenties or late teens, started preparing Ben’s pho xao in a gigantic wok in an incredible scene. Hurling the massive pan up in the air with an easy flick of the wrist above a raging flame, he tossed the noodles in oil with fresh greens, onions, shredded carrots, tomatoes, pieces of beef, and sauces.

The plate of steaming noodles came out to Ben first, my eyes widening with jealousy. I stole one bite. The tomato, juicy, hot, paired with the sauteed onions and greens and the saucy noodles—all of it together made my eyelids flutter, bringing to memory my favorite Thai noodle dish, pad kee mao.

I loved it so much, I ordered another plate of pho xao for myself. Girl’s gotta eat!

6. Bún Thịt Mọc Sườn

Another delicious testament to Hanoi’s street food and Vietnamese food at large, our bowl of bun thit moc suon made its way into our tummies at a small vendor in Hanoi’s Old Quarter. Bursting with flavor and bright acidity, this has to be on our list of the top 10 Vietnamese dishes in Vietnam.

A vermicelli rice noodle soup with meatballs, chicken, tomatoes, and green onions, this piping hot dish can be customized to the spice-level and sour-level of your choice with a jar of chili sauce and bowl of calamansi limes—which for me meant as sour and spicy as possible!

Bun thit moc suon was possibly the best food in Hanoi, Vietnam that we had—and to be honest, we weren’t even looking for it. If you’re comfortable eating street food in Vietnam, we highly recommend discovering some of the most famous food in Vietnam on your own simply by wandering the street food stalls.

Alternatively, you can join a street food tour in Vietnam with an expert local guide to take out all the guesswork. Having an expert guide can also be helpful in finding vegan food in Vietnam, if you’re having trouble locating it on your own. Either way, eating street food in Vietnam is one of the best ways to experience Vietnamese food culture!

🛶 Check out our guide to a Tam Coc boat tour to see some of Vietnam’s most beautiful scenery

7. Com Nieu

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Com nieu, or clay pot rice, is a cherished Vietnamese rice dish that involves cooking rice in a clay pot to impart a distinct flavor and texture. The clay pot not only adds a unique earthiness but also creates a delightful contrast between the crispy layer at the bottom, known as “soc,” and the fluffy rice above.

In Vietnamese food culture, the act of sharing a pot of com nieu is not merely a culinary experience but a communal one. It brings people together, fostering connections and celebrating the diverse flavors that define Vietnamese cuisine.

The preparation of com nieu involves layering the pot with rice and a medley of ingredients such as meat, mushrooms, and sometimes seafood. The combination of flavors infuses into the rice during the slow-cooking process. The crispy soc, eagerly anticipated by enthusiasts, adds a delightful crunch to each bite. In the words of Tolkien’s Gollum, it is crunchable!

One of the remarkable aspects of com nieu is its adaptability to different dietary preferences. If you’re looking for vegetarian options or vegan food in Vietnam, this rice dish can be crafted to your needs incorporating plant-based proteins like tofu or vegetables.

Whether enjoyed in a bustling street-side eatery or a cozy family kitchen, com nieu encapsulates the essence of Vietnamese rice dishes, reflecting a harmonious blend of tradition and innovation in the vibrant tapestry of Vietnamese food culture.

READ MORE | Best Korean Food Dishes You Must Try

8. Rau Muong Xao Toi

One of my favorite dishes while I was studying in Chiang Mai, Thailand was the morning glory I’d seek nearly every day after class.

The rau muong xao toi is a very similar stir-fried morning glory dish with garlic common in Vietnamese food, and one of the top Vietnamese side dishes. If you’re wondering, is Vietnamese food healthy? Well, rau muong xao toi certainly is!

Vibrant green leaves and crisp stalks get sauteed in soy sauce and a generous helping of garlic and thinly sliced chili.

We enjoyed this side dish all throughout Vietnam—from our first night in Hanoi, to our brief stop in Hue, and finally as an accent dish to the squid we enjoyed in Da Nang.

For anyone who enjoys vegetables, you can’t go wrong! Stir-fried morning glory is one of the top Vietnamese side dishes you can enjoy if you’re looking for delicious vegetarian and vegan food in Vietnam.

9. Banh Mi

Another famous food in Vietnam, the banh mi is a kind of sandwich featuring Vietnamese ingredients mixed with the French influence lingering from the country’s French colonial days.

Typical ingredients from Vietnamese food, such as pickled vegetables, cilantro, cucumber, and meat (typically beef or pork), layer a crusty French-style baguette.

Banh mi is certainly one of the top things to eat in Vietnam if you’re on the go. Ben enjoyed his fair share of these eat-and-go sandwiches from street vendors, and I myself sampled a few breakfast egg varieties as vegetarian food options in Vietnam. Delicious!

🍽️ Join a street food tour of Vietnam

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10. Goi Cuon

Goi cuon, or Vietnamese spring rolls, is a delectable and refreshing dish that holds a special place in traditional Vietnamese cuisine.

These translucent rice paper rolls are typically filled with a combination of fresh herbs, vermicelli noodles, shrimp, pork, and sometimes other ingredients like lettuce or mint leaves. The dish is light yet satisfying, offering a delightful balance of textures and flavors. Goi cuon is often served with savory peanut or hoisin-based sauce.

Whether enjoyed as a quick bite of street food in Vietnam or as part of a formal dining experience, goi cuon remains a staple and beloved dish in Vietnamese culture, rounding out our list of the top 10 Vietnamese dishes you must try!

BONUS: Fruits o’ Plenty

Another highlight of the culinary delights offered by Vietnam is its tropical variety of fruit!

Yes, eating fruit while traveling sometimes carries a notorious rep for making the unwitting traveler get sick. I myself have never had this experience, but if your body is a little more sensitive, you might want to stay on the safe side and stick with fruit that you can peel yourself.

Luckily, that will still leave tons of options—just make sure to wash the outside well before you dig in! While we were in Da Nang, we went to the local markets and picked up some papaya, avocado, dragon fruit, and fresh coconut water and enjoyed eating them on the beach.

READ MORE: 3 Day Itinerary in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Freshly-scooped coconut and juice in a bag—perfect for the beach!

EVEN BETTER BONUS: BEER

Okay, maybe it’s not a food. But it’s everywhere. And at 50 cents or less a pop, you may love it.

From the remarkably cheap and light bia hơi (15 cents or so) you’ll find across Vietnam, to the more regional bottled varieties, beer is a permanent feature, and a delightful (perhaps unexpected) accompaniment to Vietnamese food. Enjoy a brew on the beach, or use it to cool your mouth down from some spicy bun bo!

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What is missing from our list of the top 10 Vietnamese dishes?

Let us know in a comment below!