Culture & Cuisine

Following a Saigon breakfast: from banh mi to cloth-filter coffee

Culture & Cuisine - Regional specialties - Breakfast in Saigon happens fast but is not careless: a banh mi finished in a few minutes, a cup of cloth-filter coffee dripping from years of practised rhythm, and a low stool that is enough for a ..

21/09/2026
5,061

The southern Vietnamese table: open-handed flavour from sour soup, braised fish and a basket of garden greens

Culture & Cuisine - Regional culture - The southern Vietnamese table tends to impress through its openness: a pot of sour soup, braised fish, a plate of greens and a bowl of dipping sauce set in the middle for everyone to share. The swee ..

20/09/2026
4,890

Tuong Ban of Hung Yen: from soybeans and toasted glutinous rice to the taste of the northern delta

Culture & Cuisine - Regional specialties - Tuong Ban is a thick amber-brown sauce, salty and sweet at once, with the fermented aroma characteristic of Ban Yen Nhan in Hung Yen. From soybeans, glutinous rice, salt and water, the makers build ..

18/09/2026
5,030

What can you eat in Hanoi for a day on a budget of about 300,000 dong?

Culture & Cuisine - Regional specialties - Three hundred thousand dong is not a fixed figure for every occasion, but it is enough to plan a day of eating in Hanoi with breakfast, lunch, a light bite and dinner — provided you pick modest plac ..

17/09/2026
5,188

How to make com tam with grilled pork chop: tender, fragrant, neither dry nor burnt

Culture & Cuisine - Cooking guides - An appealing plate of com tam needs rice that is loose but not dry, a golden-brown chop with just enough charred edge and flesh that is still moist, a clear sweet-and-sour fish sauce, and green, fra ..

17/09/2026
4,971

How to cook bo kho: tender beef, a clear glossy sauce and deep flavour

Culture & Cuisine - Cooking guides - A good bo kho has beef that is tender without falling apart, sinew that has turned just translucent, carrots that keep their shape, and an orange-red broth fragrant with lemongrass, star anise and c ..

16/09/2026
4,716

The Tay table in north-east Vietnam: five-coloured sticky rice, khau nhuc and stilt-house memory

Culture & Cuisine - Regional culture - The Tay table in north-east Vietnam is built from sticky rice, forest greens, meat, stream fish, local seasonings and the rhythm of the farming year. Five-coloured sticky rice and khau nhuc are the ..

16/09/2026
4,975

All About Vietnamese Burial Customs (Part 3)

Culture & Cuisine - Regional culture - This is a common question from many families: - In a year with many death anniversaries: father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, great-grandparents, great-great-grandparents, etc., which anniversa ..

15/09/2026
5,067

How to cook pho bo at home: a clear broth, fragrant and sweet from the bones

Culture & Cuisine - Cooking guides - A good bowl of pho bo does not need an over-rich broth or a heavy hand with the sugar. What you want is a clear liquid with a deep sweetness drawn from bones and meat, the scent of charred onion and ..

15/09/2026
4,944

How to cook bun bo Hue: deep flavour, lemongrass aroma and a broth that stays clear

Culture & Cuisine - Cooking guides - A good bun bo Hue has a broth that is reasonably clear but deep in flavour, fragrant with lemongrass, with the shrimp paste melting into the base rather than standing out on its own, and an orange-r ..

14/09/2026
4,689

How to cook thit kho tau: tender rich pork, a clear sauce and eggs that stay soft

Culture & Cuisine - Cooking guides - A good thit kho tau has square pieces of pork that keep their shape, tender lean meat and fat that has turned translucent without being cloying; the eggs take on colour outside while the yolks stay ..

13/09/2026
4,695

How to cook ca kho to: deep flavour, whole pieces of fish and a glossy sauce

Culture & Cuisine - Cooking guides - A good ca kho to is more than fish with an attractive brown colour. The pieces have to stay whole, the flesh just cooked and still moist, the sauce lightly glossy but not thick and gluey, and the ba ..

12/09/2026
4,800

How to cook chicken braised with ginger: warm and fragrant, tender meat and skin that stays put

Culture & Cuisine - Cooking guides - Chicken braised with ginger is an easy home dish, but three things go wrong very easily: the meat dries out, the skin turns flabby, or the ginger is sharply hot without being fragrant. The trick lie ..

11/09/2026
4,914

Southern Vietnamese sour fish soup: no fishy smell, vegetables still crisp

Culture & Cuisine - Cooking guides - A good canh chua ca loc has a clean sourness from tamarind, a gentle sweetness that is nothing like sugar water, fish that is tender but still in whole steaks, and vegetables that are fresh and cris ..

10/09/2026
4,689

Three Regions' Specialties & Country Gifts - Part 3: Southern Specialties

Culture & Cuisine - Regional specialties - Ola88's cross-Vietnam specialty discovery journey has finally reached its destination. The final region we visit is the South; Saigon and the Southwestern provinces are not only ideal tourist destin ..

15/08/2026
4,998

Characteristics of Northern Vietnamese Cuisine

Culture & Cuisine - Regional specialties - Vietnam is divided into three geographical regions: North, Central, and South. Although they share common traits in their dining styles, each region retains distinct characteristics, creating a uniq ..

07/08/2026
4,895

Southern Delicacies. Part 13: Tay Ninh

Culture & Cuisine - Regional specialties - Although Trang Bang tapioca noodle soup and pork-rolled rice paper have appeared in many places, come all the way to Tay Ninh to savor the authentic taste of the Southeast region. Trang Bang rice pa ..

07/08/2026
4,922

Cooking secrets to help "preserve" vitamins in food

Culture & Cuisine - Cooking guides - You may have chosen healthy, nutritious, and best-for-health food sources, but due to a few incorrect steps during cooking, the nutrition in the food will not be retained. As we know, during the coo ..

07/08/2026
5,130

Tet market in Ha Giang rocky plateau

Culture & Cuisine - Regional culture - The year-end market session in Dong Van town (Dong Van district, Ha Giang) is as lively as a festival, filled with the colorful attire of the Dao, Hmong, Tay, Nung ethnic groups... Goods are also mo ..

05/08/2026
4,856

Southern Delicacies. Part 11: Kien Giang

Culture & Cuisine - Regional specialties - Kien Giang Fish Noodle Soup An indispensable ingredient in this dish is fish, but it must be wild snakehead fish. The fish entrails are cleaned to simmer the broth, while the cooked fish meat, strip ..

05/08/2026
4,930