Differences in Chinese and Vietnamese Food

[Suet Seung]

Vietnamese Food has a lot of influences from Chinese, French and Mongolian foods, and I think the other country that receives a lot of influences from other countries in their food is the United States. The food here is a mixture of Italian, French, and etc its hard to pinpoint what's completely American food without the dish having to trace its roots come from a European dish or so.

I think a lot of people who aren't familiar with Asian food tend to confuse different Asian countries' cuisine together like Chinese and Vietnamese dishes. For most of you who are familiar with Chinese and Vietnamese dishes, what do you think differs between two ethnic cuisines? Taste? Flavor? Cooking?

Let's take something simple, how about an Eggroll? How is the Chinese version different from the Vietnamese version?

[Sugar]

I would say Vietnamese cuisine use more fish sauces, more fish based, and more fresh herbs. More fresh veggies and all.

[oGaKirA]

Chinese is more greasy/oily from my experience. Always got to watch what I eat or heart burn.

[Ren Wo Xing]

Differences? Well...Chinese food tastes good.















I'm kidding!

[PJ]

Vietnamese offers more soup-based delicacies.

[shen diao xia]

One difference that I can think of is Vietnamese is a mixture of Chinese food and French (thus giving it a style of its own), whereas Chinese food is made of many different styles; ie Szechuan, Shanghainese, Cantonese, etc. Definitely, more variety.

[Sugar]

Chinese is more greasy/oily from my experience. Always got to watch what I eat or heart burn.

Well, I don't think Viet food has as much fat and grease because it is a hot country. You don't really need that much grease for warmness

[oGaKirA]

wow, I never thot of it that way.

[HuangYushi]

I generally find Chinese food comparatively richer due to the type of oil/fat used, and the types of food that the Chinese consider "delicacies". It also tends to be more varied due to the expanse of the country. In places with long histories of affluence and/or nobility, a lot of thought and effort goes into the naming and presentation of the food.

On the other hand, I feel that Vietnamese food is more rustic, with robust flavours that come from a particular combination of herbs, spices and textures that are seldom used in Chinese cooking (e.g. basil, raw onions, chillies and beansprouts in pho).

Since I enjoy more pungent flavours, I'd be pleased with a bowl of beef pho any day over a bowl of Shanghainese la-mian (hand-pulled noodles)!

[Ren Ying Ying]

seeing how chinese cooking has an extremely wide range, it's rather hard to pinpoint the exact differences (aside from the french influences in vietnamese food). for example, food from say, the shandong province, will contrast much more greatly with vietnamese food than say food from the Yunnan province...

of course, i won't say i'm extremely familiar with vietnamese cuisine either.

[idolove]

Vietnamese food are more healthy. Chinese food have more oil etc.

[Sugar]

Vietnamese food are more healthy. Chinese food have more oil etc.

I wouldn't say Chinese food is all greasy.. the types of Chinese Cuisine is so vast.. can't generalized that all used oil

[hkopinions]

Vietnamese food uses lots of herbs and fermented fish/shrimp paste and fish sauce. Depending on the region, the main staple food is rice and some type of veggie. Meat is saltier since it costs more. The vietnamese food that we are use to is the "higher end type." If you ate pho in Vietnam, it is bland since beef cost a lot more than in the US.

[LuNaR]

vietnamnese food? fish sauce. they use it in everything

[jadebunny9]

Vietnamese Food has a lot of influences from Chinese, French and Mongolian foods, and I think the other country that receives a lot of influences from other countries in their food is the United States. The food here is a mixture of Italian, French, and etc its hard to pinpoint what's completely American food without the dish having to trace its roots come from a European dish or so.

I think a lot of people who aren't familiar with Asian food tend to confuse different Asian countries' cuisine together like Chinese and Vietnamese dishes. For most of you who are familiar with Chinese and Vietnamese dishes, what do you think differs between two ethnic cuisines? Taste? Flavor? Cooking?

Let's take something simple, how about an Eggroll? How is the Chinese version different from the Vietnamese version?

Chinese and Vietnamese dishes are pretty different. I've been told by my boss, who's Taiwanese, that Taiwanese food is more like that of Vietnamese food than mainland Chinese food. Not sure how true this is.

Vietnamese offers more soup-based delicacies.

Yeap, Vietnamese people love eating soup-based dishes. There's a huge variety: pho (the super overrated dish that everyone knows) and its ten million variations, bun bo Hue, bun rieu, bun mam, bun moc, banh canh, mi Quang, canh bun, etc. etc.

I generally find Chinese food comparatively richer due to the type of oil/fat used, and the types of food that the Chinese consider "delicacies". It also tends to be more varied due to the expanse of the country. In places with long histories of affluence and/or nobility, a lot of thought and effort goes into the naming and presentation of the food.

On the other hand, I feel that Vietnamese food is more rustic, with robust flavours that come from a particular combination of herbs, spices and textures that are seldom used in Chinese cooking (e.g. basil, raw onions, chillies and beansprouts in pho).

Since I enjoy more pungent flavours, I'd be pleased with a bowl of beef pho any day over a bowl of Shanghainese la-mian (hand-pulled noodles)!

You need to check out other dishes besides pho, my friend.

Vietnamese food are more healthy. Chinese food have more oil etc.

I don't think Chinese food is necessarily more healthier than Vietnamese food. I mean, with all the MSG that Vietnamese people dump into their foods, I wouldn't be too sure.....



Chinese food is obviously very very diverse because there are so many different regions with different climates and topography. But for such a small country, Vietnamese food is rather diverse. I'll be doing a post to try and summarize Vietnamese dishes....so be warned.

Dishes are usually divided into the three regions where they come from: Northern, Southern, and Central. Generally speaking, dishes from the north are saltier, with a lot being boiled and caramelized, for lack of a better word (and usually not with a lot of sugar, but mostly fish sauce and salt). Central dishes are usually spicy. Southern dishes usually fall on the sweet side more and has the most variety of dishes, simply because South Vietnam is more plentiful and fertile with more rivers, such as the Mekong, running through it. Overall, there is not a lot of oil or meat used (because it was expensive). Like what some people have mentioned above, Vietnamese dishes use a lot of herbs, and specific ones go with specific dishes. I remember having to go to the market with my dad because he would always buy the wrong ones. Having the wrong herb could completely kill a dish, believe it or not.

Like I mentioned before, Vietnamese in general are very fond of soup-based dishes and rolls such as bo bia, bo nhung dam, goi cuon, etc. etc. Anything can be stuffed into some herbs and then rolled with a thin rice-wrapper, then dipped into a sauce (usually sweet fish sauce).

Fish sauce. Yes, this is definitely an integral part of Vietnamese food culture. If you can't eat fish sauce, you'll be missing out on a lot of dishes. Besides the regular fish sauce that everyone knows of, there's also shrimp paste and many different types of fish paste. I know way too many Vietnamese Americans who can't eat these, and it's really such a waste. Oh well, more for me.


After saying all that, I love Chinese and Vietnamese food equally. Anything that tastes good gets my love.

[MrPhotastic]

variety: pho (the super overrated dish that everyone knows)

Hey!! I resent that remark!! It's not overrated it's just good for the soul. Who wouldn't want to sit down to a nice bowl of pho?
I know I couldn't resist, I've been eating pho ever since I was in my mama's womb.

[JamesG]

Hey!! I resent that remark!! It's not overrated it's just good for the soul. Who wouldn't want to sit down to a nice bowl of pho?
I know I couldn't resist, I've been eating pho ever since I was in my mama's womb.

How is the word 'pho' pronounced? I was in a local [very small compared to the ones in Calgary] Asian 'supermarket' and I asked if they had one of my favorite 'just add hot water' soups 'Pho Ga'. The store is owned by a Vietnamese family and the wife got one of those funny looks when I asked about it. My pronunciation was obviously waaaay off.

[MrPhotastic]

How is the word 'pho' pronounced? I was in a local [very small compared to the ones in Calgary] Asian 'supermarket' and I asked if they had one of my favorite 'just add hot water' soups 'Pho Ga'. The store is owned by a Vietnamese family and the wife got one of those funny looks when I asked about it. My pronunciation was obviously waaaay off.

LOL funny story. It's pronounce "fuh" a soft P. Now you could go back to the store and ask her the right way...

[jadebunny9]

Hey!! I resent that remark!! It's not overrated it's just good for the soul. Who wouldn't want to sit down to a nice bowl of pho?
I know I couldn't resist, I've been eating pho ever since I was in my mama's womb.

While genuine homemade pho is indeed good for the soul, I still think it's overrated because that's all people ever think of when they think of Vietnamese food. We have such a great variety, and personally I love banh canh and bun mam much more than pho.

[JamesG]

LOL funny story. It's pronounce "fuh" a soft P. Now you could go back to the store and ask her the right way...

Thanks. My ears may be off but I thought the lady said 'far' when she asked her husband to check.
He brought back four cartons of different Vietnamese and Thai 'just add water' dishes and I bought two of each. No Pho Ga but Pho Bo.