Signature Vietnamese Dishes for Flavorful Daily Meals
Vietnamese cuisine entices globally with signature flavors that skillfully balance salty, sweet, sour and spicy elements. Luckily, many classic yet straightforward Vietnamese recipes can easily elevate home cooks’ daily meal routines. Incorporating traditional preparation techniques and ingredients like fish sauce, lemongrass and lime lends weeknight staples like soups, noodles bowls, and grilled meats satisfying new dimensions. With a few easy substitutions and additions, cooks can capture Vietnam’s culinary essence in any daily dish.
Pho Bo – Beef Noodle Soup
This classic brothy noodle soup makes an easy weekday dinner full of Vietnamese flavor. Simmer beef bones for 8 hours with charred onions, ginger, star anise and fish sauce to develop a deeply satisfying base. Cook rice noodles and thinly sliced beef flank steak to serve in the aromatic broth garnished with basil, bean sprouts, lime and chili slices.
Grilled Lemongrass Pork Chops
Marinating pork in lemongrass, garlic, fish sauce and pepper lends succulent grilled pork chops incredible Vietnamese flavor. Blend lemongrass, garlic, fish sauce and brown sugar into a paste. Rub onto pork shoulder chops then grill until caramelized. The quick marinade elevates the smoky pork simply.
Shaking Beef with Watercress
This quick weeknight stir-fry dubbed ‘shaking beef’ combines marinated sirloin steak with watercress. Toss cubed sirloin and garlic with soy sauce, black pepper, oil and sugar for 10 minutes. Sear in a hot pan. Add watercress; toss until wilted. The steak gets incredible caramelization and flavor.
Banh Mi Sandwiches with Tofu
These Vietnamese sandwiches can pack a flavor punch at lunch with marinated lemongrass tofu. Marinate cubed tofu in soy sauce, lemongrass, garlic and chili. Grill until charred. Layer the tofu in crusty baguette with cucumber, cilantro, mayo and pickled carrot and radish for an easy vegetarian banh mi.
Coconut Curry Braised Catfish
Braising catfish in an aromatic coconut curry sauce makes an easy, impressive dinner with Vietnamese spirit. Brown cubed catfish coated in curry powder, then simmer gently in a sauce of coconut milk, vegetables, ginger, lemongrass, lime, and fish sauce until tender and fragrant. Ladle over jasmine rice.
Sizzling Rice Crepes with Shrimp
These Vietnamese rice flour crepes filled with shrimp offer a quick gluten-free meal option with lighter flavors. Make thin rice flour crepes. Fill each with pork, shrimp, herbs and lettuce. Roll them up to put on the grill or in a skillet briefly until the wrappers get crispy and the shrimp cooked through. Enjoy with nuoc cham dipping sauce.
Caramelized Fish Hot Pot