There are so many popular Vietnamese foods known world wide now ,lets explore the rice grain:

The popular summer roll or goi cuon : this has to be the most popular amongst Westerners, easy to make light and delicious. One word though if you are used to dipping these into nuoc nam try dipping into the vietnamese style peanut sauce. Much better!

The cant stop at one bahn xeo! The filled crisp yellow pancake filled with shrimp beansprouts, coriander and usually pork. Small pieces are broken off with your chopsticks and wrapped in a curly leaf lettuce with mint, asian basil and lots of fresh hot hot chillie and then dunked in a hot nuoc nam dipping sauce. Warning this is so addictive I usually eat these every day when in Vietnam and have my favourite bahn xeo lady! She makes the best in Vietnam and runs a clean shop. We used to love to watch her just making the pancake with about 10 smoking woks around her , the heat must have been incredible! She made each one exactly the same and to watch her it looks easy......believe me it isnt .. it is such a skill.

Dont forget buon cuon the soft silky rolled crepe with delicious filling of many things but traditionally minced pork and black fungus,again wrapped and eaten with vietnamese herbs and chillie and dipping nuoc nam. Again a personal Banh cuon lady who skilfully spreads the batter out with one chopstick! and makes it look effortless.

Rice also appears in the form of numerous shaped noodles that complete all Vietnamese phos, and the numerous rice cakes that are filled, or wrapped or just shaped and served with other items .

But what makes this so incredible is how each region took the simple grain of rice and made it into a unique form for a creative dish for the region. Sometimes due to climatic forces, sometimes due to restrictions due to environment. The decisions made to form the rice grain into a sustainable and lasting food source to get through the less bountiful seasons.

When in Vietnam I found it very safe to eat from the street, and also found the food more flavoursome, I did go to quite a few of the top restaurants as recommended by expats, but found the food to be sanitised , very good and achieving a very high standard, but it had lost its soul.

When I cam back after my first visit I put 2 Vietnamese style dishes on the menu, though I had to adapt them to suit our clientele, they were very popular. One was a small bahn xeo and the other was a duck with rice noodle which will be published in my next hub.

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