You’ve probably had a taste of Vietnamese Bun or come across it through social media, news outlets, or someone’s stories. But that’s just scratching the surface. Vietnamese Bun is, in fact, one of the most diverse dishes in Vietnamese cuisine when it comes to flavors. Let’s explore this with Geargru.com.
Vietnamese Bun is the dish boasts the most extensive collection of flavors in Vietnamese cuisine.
In Vietnam, Bun is a very familiar dish to Vietnamese people. Bun can be used in all meals of Vietnamese people, from elegant banquets to daily breakfasts. That’s why there are many types of Vietnamese Bun, each with its own flavor. Even the same type of Bun can have different flavors in different regions, creating a huge collection of flavors for Vietnamese Bun
Vietnamese Bun comes in a variety of flavors
Each type of Bun has its own flavor due to the delicate combination of main ingredients and various spices, resulting in bowls of Bun with refreshing sourness, intense spiciness, or rich sweetness. Vietnam has diverse terrain including hills, plateaus, plains, and long coastlines along with two main climate zones: tropical and subtropical. Some highland areas even have temperate climates. Therefore, Vietnam has a wide variety of spices to create a rich and diverse cuisine. Each region in Vietnam has had its own distinctive flavors since ancient times, and nowadays these flavors blend even more due to economic development and widespread cultural exchange, resulting in a wide range of flavors for dishes, most notably exemplified in Vietnamese Bun.
Broth is the most important element in creating the distinctive flavor of each type of Bun. Most of the spices that give Bun its unique flavor are added during the broth-making process, with the rest added just before serving.
Vietnamese Bun has the distinctive flavors of each region
In Northern Vietnam, Bun often has a more sour taste, so dishes with Bun always prioritize sourness. However, nowadays, sourness is often adjusted by the diners themselves by adding lime juice or pickled garlic. In the North, where the weather is often hot, sourness is a traditional and familiar way to cool off.
In Central Vietnam, Bun often has a spicier and saltier taste, perhaps because it’s a characteristic of coastal areas. Since ancient times, the lives of people living near rivers, lakes, or the sea in Northern Vietnam have always depended on fishing. They have to immerse themselves in cold water for long periods, so they eat salty and spicy food to help keep their bodies warm.
The Southern region has a more pleasant climate with mainly two seasons: dry and rainy. The terrain is full of rivers and streams, and the air isn’t too harsh, so the flavors here are often a mix. However, anyone who tries Bun in the South will notice a sweeter taste.
The various types of Bun in Vietnam
When it comes to Bun in Vietnam, there are many types such as seafood Bun, Bun cha, snail Bun, fish Bun with vegetables, mixed Bun, Hue-style beef noodle soup, chicken Bun, crab Bun… Many types of Bun, but they all have in common the use of Bun as the main ingredient combined with various meats and other ingredients, prepared in different ways. Here are some of the most popular types of Bun in Vietnam.
1. Hue beef noodle soup ( Hue beef Bun)
The ingredients for Hue beef noodle soup include pork hock, beef, beef tendon, Boiled pig’s blood, vermicelli noodles, and various herbs and spices. The broth for Hue beef noodle soup is simmered from beef bones combined with various spices. Broths for these kinds of noodles are generally elaborate, and famous brands selling Hue beef noodle soup often have their own secret recipes.
2. Grilled pork noodle dish ( Bun Cha)
The ingredients for making Bun cha include finely ground or thinly sliced marinated pork, grilled over charcoal. The dipping sauce is made from fish sauce combined with seasonings like sugar, garlic, chili… It’s served with various fresh herbs.
3. Seafood Bun
The ingredients for seafood Bun are various types of seafood like shrimp, squid, octopus… Seafood Bun is usually the most expensive among Bun types in Vietnam because the ingredients can be some high-value seafood species.
4. Bun Dau Mam Tom
This is a quite special Bun dish because the dipping sauce for Bun is Fermented shrimp paste. Fermented shrimp paste is boiled with cooking oil. Common ingredients to make Fermented shrimp paste with tofu include boiled pork knuckle, fried golden tofu, various types of sausage or pork patty, Grilled or boiled pork intestines.
Conclude
With the richness of flavors and diversity in preparation, Vietnamese vermicelli is not only a delicious dish but also an indispensable part of this country’s culinary culture. From cool bowls of vermicelli to bowls of vermicelli filled with spices, every time you enjoy vermicelli is a journey through the regions and flavors of Vietnam. With the blend of fresh ingredients and delicate processing techniques, vermicelli is not only a delicious meal but also a celebration of the profound culinary culture of Vietnam.
