Welcome to Việt Nam! Aka vegan paradise!
I recently spent several months in Việt Nam as you could guess from all the recipes released lately. The food was so amazing that I thought it would be interesting to create a little guide of all the different vegan options available there.
I hope it will help you discover many dishes and may encourage you to visit this wonderful country that is Việt Nam. Get ready for A LOT of deliciousness!
At the end of this post, you will also find a quick section of Vietnamese words that could be useful for your next trip.
HOW TO FIND VEGAN RESTAURANTS?
Finding vegetarian/vegan places is very easy, all you have to do is look for the word “chay” (with no accent) which means vegetarian. There are chay restaurants almost everywhere in big cities like Ho Chi Minh, Hanoi, Danang, Can Tho, Hue, etc. These places only serve vegetarian food, so you don’t have to worry about the ingredients used, even the nước mắm used there is vegan. Be aware though that some dishes may contain eggs, but it’s rare and you will know if you see the word “trứng” on the menu.
That’s about it, if you stick to chay restaurants, or smaller/cheaper places called “quán chay”, you won’t have to struggle explaining your food requirements. On the other side, by going to a regular restaurant, you may encounter some problems as they very rarely receive such requests.
Enough talking, let’s dive into what you are here for: the food! Here is a non-exhaustive list of my favorite Vietnamese vegan dishes! And yes, every dish listed below is vegan!
ENTREES
Bún Bò (Spicy Noodle Soup)
Probably one of my favorite noodle soup! This colorful soup is flavored with lemongrass and chili, and comes with “bún” which is a type of thick round noodles. It is usually served with many different toppings like mushrooms, fried tofu, vegan beef, and a ton of fresh herbs. A must-try!
If you want to make it at home, feel free to check out my recipe here!…
