Desserts in Vietnam today are highly diverse, from available-prepared dishes to those made at home or in restaurants.
In the past, Vietnam did not have any desserts because most people came from a poor agricultural country, and a full meal was great, so they did not think of desserts.
However, with economic and social development, people’s living standards have improved, so today, dessert has become popular in family meals, especially at parties or weddings in Vietnam.
In this article, Vietnamdrive introduces the favorite Vietnamese desserts you may find when traveling here or enjoying a meal with a family.
1. Fresh fruits
Across the country, from the North to the South, you can easily find sweet soups, also known as Vietnamese Che. It is a famous dessert and favorite snack of many people in Vietnam.
A plate of fresh fruit not only helps to clean the food stuck on the teeth but also can provide a variety of vitamins, helping the body stay healthy.
2. Sweet soup
Across the country, from the North to the South, you can easily find sweet soups almost anywhere. Che – sweet soup – is not only a favorite snack of many people but also a popular dessert in Vietnam.
Cooked from many ingredients, but mainly beans with sugar, it is very high in energy. Many people like to use ice to cool it down because Che is sweet, creating a tasty dish to eat after a meal.
3. Various cakes
Cakes are also on the list of desserts in Vietnam because of their convenience, ease of eating, and added sweetness after a salty meal.
Family members usually prepare these pastries. So, store-bought pastries are not an option in this case. The cakes for dessert include egg sponge cake, baked banana cake, cream cheesecake, fruit yogurt cake, etc.
4. Jelly
Jelly cakes made from seaweed are a delightful snack after dinner or lunch. Jelly is refreshing and easy to clean the oral cavity, provides more nutrients, especially iron (100 grams of jelly is estimated to have about 21 mg of iron), and is rich in calcium, vitamins, and fiber to help laxative for the body.
Jelly is transformed into many attractive desserts, such as simple jelly cooked with sugar, more sophisticated than jelly cooked with fruit, milo jelly, and panda jelly with cheese.
5. Yogurt dish
Yogurt is very familiar to most people and available from most groceries in Vietnam to big supermarkets. This dessert attracts not only children but also adults.
In addition to traditional yogurt consisting of fermented milk, many types of yogurt combined with other nutritious ingredients such as aloe vera, strawberry, and fruit yogurt create a variety of flavors for consumers. For many Vietnamese, yogurt with a milky color is a source of vitamins and helps the digestive system work well.
6. Mung bean fruit cakes
A beautiful dessert from Hue City is mung bean fruit cakes. It is because the shapes of cakes are all fruit-shaped and beautifully crafted, with the main ingredients being mung bean, jelly, and sugar. When arranged on a tray, they look like real fruits prepared for worshipping.
This dessert dish is not only enjoyed with the taste but also admires the attractive visual beauty. Perhaps, these cakes come from the Hue Royal Court, so they require sophisticated and careful processing.
At present, a few establishments in Hue City specialize in making mung bean fruit cakes for parties or Tet holidays. Many locals also buy them for dessert from Dong Ba Market.
7. Ice cream flan
Flan ice cream does not originate from Vietnam, but many people still like to use this dish as a snack and dessert. The milky color from the egg with milk and dark caramel layer splitting down creates a tasty flan ice cream.
The milky color of the egg with milk and dark caramel layer covering it creates a tasty flan ice cream.
The price of flan ice cream is quite low, only about 5,000 VND per small box, so almost anyone can buy it to taste.
However, most ladies in Vietnam want to make this tasty ice cream with their own hands and store it in the refrigerator for children and family members to use gradually.
8. Chewing gum
A rather unexpected dessert in Vietnam is chewing gum. This unique one is indispensable when you eat vermicelli with shrimp sauce in Hanoi or noodles with shrimp paste in Hue.
The reason is that these foods use heavy Vietnamese fish or shrimp sauce. Thus, chewing gum will help you get rid of bad breath.
If you eat at the restaurant, you will see chewing gums on the plate of food that the owner brings out. Hopefully, you won’t be surprised to see these candies.
9. Banana ice cream
Like other ice creams, banana ice cream is good in hot weather, especially in the summer in Vietnam.
This ice cream not only cools the body but also contains many vitamins B6 and C, and minerals Potassium and Magnesium, so it is good to supply energy and micro-nutrients for the body.
Banana ice cream is so easy to prepare to make at home. Mixed ingredients include ripe bananas, condensed milk, water, and coconut milk.
This food is stored in the family refrigerator and can be cut into slices or small pieces on a plate when eaten. This one is cold, so you need to be careful if you have eaten hot dishes or just eaten Vietnamese hot pot.
This introduction to desserts is commonly used in Vietnam, so we do not mention their recipes.
With these suggestions, you can understand what they are, providing a foundation to learn more about unique Vietnamese cuisine.
When traveling to Vietnam, please take the time to taste one of these popular desserts to enrich your culinary experience. Thank you!