Vietnamese recipes
Easy Vietnamese Recipes to Cook at Home
Vietnamese cooking is built on balance. Salty fish sauce, sour lime, a little sugar and fresh chilli season almost everything, and cooked food comes to the table with a pile of raw herbs, crunchy vegetables and rice noodles so everyone can adjust their own bowl or roll.
These recipes are written for home kitchens anywhere. They need only a few pantry staples, mainly fish sauce, rice noodles, rice paper and hoisin sauce, plus herbs you can buy at a regular supermarket, and each one gives a substitute for anything harder to find, such as Thai basil or daikon radish.
3 recipes · Updated
Quick answer
Savour has three Vietnamese recipes. The quickest is fresh spring rolls (goi cuon), ready in 45 minutes with poached shrimp, rice noodles and herbs. Lemongrass pork banh mi takes 70 minutes, including 30 minutes of marinating and pickling. Chicken pho (pho ga) takes 1 hour 40 minutes, most of it hands-off simmering for a clear, spiced broth.
- Recipes
- 3
- Average total time
- 1 hr 12 mins
- Quickest
- Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls (Goi Cuon) (45 mins)
- Rated Easy
- 2 of 3
- Average calories
- 522 per serving
- Newest
- Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls (Goi Cuon)
All Vietnamese Recipes (3)
Frequently Asked Questions
What pantry staples do I need for Vietnamese cooking?
Start with fish sauce, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, flat rice noodles for pho, thin rice vermicelli and round rice paper wrappers. Add whole star anise and cinnamon for pho broth, and buy limes, chillies and fresh coriander, mint and Thai basil when you cook.
What can I use instead of Thai basil and other Vietnamese herbs?
Mint and coriander (cilantro) carry most Vietnamese dishes on their own. If you cannot find Thai basil, use regular basil with a few extra mint leaves. The dish will taste slightly less of anise but still fresh and bright.
Which Vietnamese recipe should I make first?
Start with the fresh spring rolls. They need no special equipment, the only cooking is poaching shrimp and softening noodles, and they are ready in 45 minutes. Banh mi is a good next step, and chicken pho is perfect for a slow weekend afternoon.
Is there a substitute for fish sauce?
Fish sauce gives Vietnamese food its savoury depth, so use it if you can. For a vegetarian version, use soy sauce with a pinch of sugar or a vegan fish sauce. Check labels if you avoid gluten, because some fish sauces and most hoisin sauces contain wheat.