Vietnam has a tropical climate; this helps Vietnam can grow a lot of green vegetables. If you are looking to find out about Vietnamese vegetables, I think you are in the right place
Table of Contents
1. Sweet Potato Buds (Rau Lang)
Sweet potato buds are popular in Vietnam. The plant grows in many rural areas. At first glance, the vegetable looks quite similar to morning spinach. However, sweet potato greens are more challenging and more resinous. They have crunchy and sturdy stems, which are significant for cooking a dish.
Many sweet potato buds cost only about 4-5 thousand VND and can be stored for a long time in the refrigerator. Therefore, it often appears in Vietnamese meals.
Sweet potato buds are also suitable for bones. They can prevent constipation and provide a lot of fiber for the body.
2. Beansprouts (Gia Do)
Beansprouts is one of the popular Vietnamese vegetables sold at large and small markets in Vietnam, from the South to the North. It is white, crispy, sweet, and easy to use. People often use bean sprouts as fresh vegetables to enjoy with some Vietnamese dishes such as Banh Canh, Pho, Hu Tieu, etc.
Besides, Vietnamese people also use it to eat rice by stirring bean sprouts with beef. This food is good for these people facing osteoporosis, suffering from poor digestion, or stroke. Women who eat bean sprouts will have good skin and body.
3. Bamboo Shoot (Mang)
Bamboo shoots are Vietnamese vegetable dishes that are often found in the meals of Vietnamese families. They are popular both at home and in restaurants. Bamboo shoots have many types: sour bamboo shoots, sweet bamboo shoots, bitter bamboo shoots, etc. Homemakers often use it to stir-fry pork heart and stir-fry with vermicelli. Besides, you can also use this vegetable for cooking sour soup, duck soup, and bone stew.
This is a straightforward kind of vegetable but offers excellent flavor. In particular, when traveling to highlands like Ha Giang or Lao Cai, you can see local people selling bamboo shoots along the road or at the market. This is a familiar dish and a feature of the highlands.
4. Vietnamese Spinach (Rau Mong Toi)
Malabar Spinach is a great vegetable to eat when Vietnam enters summer. This vegetable has a soft body, dark green leaves, and a thick stem. Vietnamese people often cook soup with shrimp. Eating a bowl of rice with spinach soup is always a delicious meal in the eyes of Vietnamese people. Do not miss this dish if you travel to Vietnam and want to experience life with the locals.
5. Morning Glory/ Morning spinach (Rau Muong)
We can say that this is the most famous vegetable in Vietnam. It not only appears in the meals of small families, but it is also on the menus of many large restaurants and is famous for the name Stir-fried morning glory with garlic.
Morning glory is perfect for the body because they help stabilize blood pressure. It also provides fiber, replenishes blood, and prevents constipation. In short, having come to Vietnam, you must enjoy this vegetable. However, if you are injured, you should not eat water spinach because it can leave scars later.
6. Cucumber (Dua Leo/ Dưa Chuot)
Cucumber is very popular with Vietnamese people. It is easy to use and prepare for the meal. It can be eaten raw, used for different salads, or as raw vegetables for vermicelli, spring rolls, kimbap, etc.
Many places also use cucumber to enjoy with soup. Although this vegetable is very delicious, the drawback is that the two ends can cause bitterness. So, when choosing cucumbers, it is necessary to cut off the two ends to avoid irritation.
7. Cabbage
Cabbage in Vietnam is very diverse. You can find cabbage, mustard greens, chrysanthemums, bok choy, spinach, Chinese cabbage, Brassica integrifolia, Kale, etc. Each type of this vegetable has a different shape and nutrition.
The common point of these vegetables is that they are dark green and perfect for our health. You can boil them, stir the vegetables or use them in a hot pot. They are also suitable for salad, such as shrimp salad, pork salad, etc.
All types of cabbage are rich in K vitamins. They can improve immunity very well. If you can travel to Vietnam, you should try some dishes from these vegetables, such as soup cooked with minced meat, fried cabbage, boiled cabbage, sauteed cabbage with garlic, kimchi, etc.
8. Bitter Melon (Kho Qua/ Muop Đang)
Bitter melon is a fruit that grows a lot in North and South Vietnam. The North calls this Muop Dang, while the South calls it Kho Qua. This fruit, as its name suggests, has a bitter taste. Not many people can eat the bitter melon just by boiling or making soup without anything.
Vietnamese people often put the minced pork inside or slice it to make a salad to eat bitter melon. They can also fry it with eggs to remove the bitterness. Although it is pretty picky to use, anyone who likes it will be addicted to this Vietnamese vegetable.
9. Lettuce (Xa Lach)
Lettuce is a raw vegetable used in many dishes in Vietnam. You can find this vegetable in Vietnamese bread and spring rolls. Besides, this vegetable is very suitable for hot pot.
Although there are not many ways to cook vegetables, lettuce has the advantage of being rich in vitamins. When enjoying this dish, you will be able to provide nutrition to the body.
10. Vietnamese Herbs
Vietnamese herbs include coriander, onion, basil, cilantro, chives, etc. Eating vermicelli or pho without these vegetables will lose half of the flavor. In particular, there are dishes with unique vegetables, such as pho Hanoi with basil.
When coming to Vietnam, many people are not comfortable using raw vegetables. But when enjoying them with a bowl of pho, they change their opinion and love the Vietnamese herbs. Also, you can try some other Vietnamese dishes combined with herbs, such as Lettuce rolls with shrimp or pork, Stir-fried beef with basil, etc.
Maybe you don’t know, Tra Que vegetable village in Hoi An is a famous vegetable village specializing in growing herbs in Vietnam
11. Amaranth (Rau Den)
Similar to morning spinach, amaranth is used a lot in Vietnam. It can be green or red. Amaranth can be used for many dishes. You can boil it to enjoy. You can also use it for soup.
You can cook amaranth with crab to have an excellent soup for summer. That dish is very yummy and nutritious. Amaranth soup cooked with taro is also an exciting dish to enjoy when traveling to Vietnam.
Besides all the above, the amaranth is a tonic for blood, suitable for people with diabetes. More than that, this Vietnamese vegetable is so good that it can prevent us from getting cancer.
12. Katuk (Rau Bo Ngot)
Katuk or Katock is a common vegetable in Vietnam. This vegetable has several other names, such as Sauropus androgynus. Katok has a slender but sturdy stem. The leaves grow on the stem; we can only use the leaves.
This vegetable is suitable for cooking porridge. You can also cook it with minced meat soup. Some regions even use loofah or fish for cooking with katuk. This is a very healthy vegetable and is popular with Vietnamese people.
13. Pennywort/ Gotu Kola (Rau Ma)
Gotu kola is a vegetable that grows on the ground. It is suitable for the climate in Vietnam. Gotu Kola can grow well in almost all regions in the country. It has many leaves on different nodes with soft and trim stems.
This vegetable is excellently suitable to use in summer. Gotu kola is terrific because you can enjoy it without cooking. Besides, people can also enjoy Gotu kola smoothies. When you go to the shops, you can easily see many places selling ready-made Gotu kola juice. Many people also use this vegetable for cooking soup, especially on summer days.
14. Peperomia Pellucida (Rau Cang Cua)
Another Vietnamese vegetable that foreigners should enjoy is Peperomia Pellucida. This vegetable has a slimy and soft stem. It grows wild and has heart-shaped leaves. It tastes sweet and a bit sour, easy to use for making delicious food.
Peperomia Pellucida is great for making beef salad, chicken salad, etc. Besides, you can also use this vegetable for cooking soup
15. Chayote (Su Su)
Su Su grows a lot in the North of Vietnam. The chayote is excellent because people can use both fruits and greens. Vietnamese people usually use it for cooking soup with bone or pork. Besides, you can also fry the chayote greens with chicken gizzards, beef, buffalo, pork, or squid. Those are all incredibly delicious dishes.
With the above 15 Vietnamese vegetables, I think you have gained more knowledge about common vegetables in Vietnamese daily meals. I hope you have many experiences engaging when the opportunity to travel to Vietnam.