Vietnamese recipes for beginners: where to start

The easiest way into Vietnamese cooking is to stock a few staples (fish sauce, rice, rice noodles, garlic, shallots and fresh herbs) and start with simple dishes like nước chấm dipping sauce, fresh spring rolls and a fish sauce omelet. These teach the core flavors of salty, sweet, sour and fresh without any tricky technique.

The flavor idea behind Vietnamese food

Vietnamese home cooking is about balance. A good dish often mixes:

• salty, mostly from fish sauce
• sweet, from sugar or caramel
• sour, from lime, vinegar or tamarind
• spicy, from fresh chili, usually on the side
• fresh, from a big plate of herbs and greens

Once you can taste for that balance, many recipes start to make sense. There's a fuller explanation in what is Vietnamese food.

A beginner's pantry

You don't need much to start:

• Fish sauce (nước mắm): the backbone. See how to choose fish sauce.
• Jasmine rice: the everyday rice.
• Rice noodles (bún) and rice paper (bánh tráng).
• Garlic, shallots and fresh chilies.
• Limes and sugar.
• Fresh herbs: cilantro, mint, Thai basil and scallions are easy to find.
• Neutral oil and black pepper.

With these, you can make dozens of dishes.

What to cook first

A good order for beginners:

• Nước chấm: a five-minute sauce that teaches balance. See the nước chấm recipe.
• Trứng chiên: a fish sauce and shallot omelet, below.
• Gỏi cuốn: fresh spring rolls; no cooking skill needed, just rolling. See how to make gỏi cuốn.
• Đồ chua: quick pickled carrot and daikon for rice and sandwiches.
• Canh: a simple clear soup with greens, served with rice.
• A noodle salad bowl: rice noodles, herbs, a protein and nước chấm.

After that, move on to braises like thịt kho or a weekend pho.

Starter recipe: trứng chiên (Vietnamese omelet)

This everyday omelet is flavored with fish sauce and shallots and served with rice. It's quick, cheap and very forgiving.

Ingredients (serves 2 with rice)

• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons fish sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 2 shallots, thinly sliced
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons neutral oil

Steps

• 1. Beat the eggs with the fish sauce, sugar and a generous pinch of pepper until well mixed.
• 2. Heat the oil in a 10-inch (25 cm) skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and fry 2 to 3 minutes, until soft and lightly golden.
• 3. Stir the scallions into the eggs, then pour the eggs over the shallots. Swirl the pan to spread them evenly.
• 4. Cook without stirring for 2 to 3 minutes, until the edges are set and golden.
• 5. Flip the omelet in halves or quarters with a spatula, or slide it onto a plate and flip it back into the pan. Cook 1 to 2 more minutes.
• 6. Slice into wedges and serve with hot rice, sliced cucumber and a little extra fish sauce with chili on the side.

Variations: add a handful of ground pork cooked with the shallots, or chopped tomato for a softer, juicier omelet.

Simple techniques worth learning

• Making caramel sauce (nước màu): cooking sugar until dark for braises. It's the base of thịt kho and cá kho.
• Toasting aromatics: frying shallots and garlic before adding liquid builds flavor.
• Rolling rice paper: dip briefly; it softens as you fill it.
• Cooking rice noodles: boil, then rinse in cold water so they don't stick.
• Building a herb plate: pick a few herbs and wash and dry them well. See the guide to Vietnamese herbs.

Allergen notes

Many Vietnamese dishes use fish sauce, so they aren't suitable for fish allergies or vegetarian diets without swaps. Peanuts show up in sauces and toppings, and shrimp appears in rolls and soups. Read each recipe and swap with soy sauce, vegetarian "fish sauce" or tofu where needed.

A beginner-friendly week

• Monday: trứng chiên with rice and cucumber.
• Wednesday: a noodle bowl with leftover chicken, herbs and nước chấm.
• Friday: gỏi cuốn with shrimp or tofu.
• Weekend: try a soup, like chicken pho or cháo gà.

For more weeknight ideas, see Vietnamese chicken recipes for weeknights.

Make a jar of nước chấm first; once you have it in the fridge, almost every simple meal tastes more Vietnamese.