More Vietnamese, Please!

Have you tried Vietnamese food?

I am a fan of almost all ethnic cuisine. I love Indian food, Ethiopian, real Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, etc etc. Besides being delicious, many true ethnic foods are rather healthy...especially if you know what to look for or look out for.

While I don't know as much about it as many of the others, Vietnamese food seems to be a really healthy option for those looking to try something new. Many dishes contain seafood, tofu, lean meats, and lots of veggies (but not all at the same time necessarily.)


My favorite dish is Pho (pictured above), pronounced like "fun" without the "n." It's a noodle soup with a broth base. The broth is very complex and the noodles are small and light. From there it will contain whatever you order. I like either veggie, tofu or seafood pho. When it comes to your table you will get a large bowl of soup and several additions on the side including fresh herbs, jalapeno, bean sprouts, lime, etc so that you can add as much or as little ask you like.

It is a very light yet filling dish...and you typically get a large portion for you money.

I also love summer rolls. These are the rolls you may have seen at the grocery store in the sushi section. They resemble egg rolls, but are wrapped in a thin, translucent rice paper and are not fried. They usually contain spring, herbs, cucumber, etc and are served cold with a peanut dipping sauce. So refreshing on a hot day! (But good in the winter too.) ;)



But today I am having something new, a vietnamese sub sandwich. I'm eating it as I type and it is soooo good. Mine has freshly baked bread like a baguette. Then it has a layer of grilled tofu that you would think was marinated chicken (I promise it's unlike anything you consider tofu-ish). Then it has pickled carrots, pickled daikon, cucumber, fresh cilantro and fresh jalapenos. It's served warm. Soooooo good! Sooooo much better than a certain other typical sub option (although that can be good too for a light meal.)

If you have not had Vietnamese food, I highly recommend it. If you are in the Raleigh area, I'd be happy to dine with you, to help you navigate the menu (same for any ethnic cuisine that you may be unfamiliar with.) I know where many of the better restaurants are and I'm pretty familiar with many of the dishes.

What is your favorite ethnic food? (And no, taco bell tacos don't count.)

What is your favorite ethnic restaurant? I'm always looking for new places to try.