The Top 8 Various Noodles in Vietnam to Taste

Noodles in Vietnam are a traditional and familiar dish for the local people. Everywhere, you can find noodle shops, from rural to urban, from the streets to upscale restaurants.

Noodle is a common name for many variations, including Phở, Bún, Hủ Tiếu, Mì và Cao Lầu in Vietnamese.

Most visitors to Vietnam want to try some kinds of noodles to know more about the culinary culture of this beautiful country.

Here, Vietnamdrive will introduce you to the top 7 Vietnamese noodle versions that you should try, and we also recommend places to enjoy them.

1. Pho (The Vietnamese Noodle Soup)

From a traditional dish attracting many people who Vietnamese food, Pho – one type of Vietnamese noodle soup – has become a world-famous culinary brand, representing the most unique essence in Vietnamese cuisine.

Classic Pho always has a typical flavor, cooked with beef, clear, and sweet broth. The meat is crunchy, not chewy, and the noodles are soft but not crushed.

When serving it, on the table, you can find a dish of lemon, chili, onions, fresh herbs, and pepper to add to the noodle soup to make it tasty.

The ingredients to cook Pho can be found in most markets in Vietnam; however, to create a unique and passionate taste is not easy.

Pho requires a sophisticated, multi-stage, time-consuming process. The chef needs to master each step of cooking it and has to add a little passion and national pride to create a great flavorful dish.

Not only conquering the Vietnamese, but Pho is also highly praised by plenty of tourists and world-famous people such as former US President Bill Clinton and the late Senator John McCain.

Although this Vietnamese noodle comes from North Vietnam, typically Hanoi, it has become an attractive dish in different regions of the country. Even Pho has crossed the national border, following in the footsteps of Vietnamese people around the world.

2. Bun Rieu Cua Hanoi (Crab Noodle Soup)

Bun Rieu Cua originates from the Northern Delta region, and Hanoi is a prominent place.

The original Bun Rieu consists only of crushed crab juice cooked with tomatoes, adding a little vinegar to create a slightly gentle sour taste.

Crab is stir-fried with dried onions and crab meat to create pretty shiny colors.

The color of the vermicelli bowl is full of green, red, and yellow, which looks eye-catching and delicious.

Typically, a noodle bowl often comes with a fresh vegetable plate, including plenty of Vietnamese herbs, including perilla leaves, banana flowers, green herbs, and lettuce.

Above is a traditional crab noodle soup. Today, this food has some changes by adding many various ingredients, becoming a flavorful bowl with more nutrients.

There are more tofu fried and cut into square pieces, thinly sliced ​​beef, pork, and bean sprouts. Also, its broth adds a few young ribs to sweeten it.

When eating Bun Rieu Cua, you can see various ingredients in one bowl, such as white vermicelli, a little crab meat, yellow fried tofu, undercooked beef, meat pie, spring onions, tomato, and ribs in the hot broth.

With the eating trend changes, most restaurants have different pieces for diners according to their favorite taste. When ordering it, the eaters can select more or fewer ingredients.

3. Bun Cha Hanoi (Meat Pie Noodles)

Bun Cha Hanoi is a very famous flavorful food that almost every visitor to this city wants to try. 

This dish is also on the list of the top 10 tastiest street foods in Vietnam and the world. You can find Bun cha in street eateries and large restaurants in the capital of Vietnam.

The noodle dish is quite sophisticatedly processed, bringing the traditional cuisine of the Hanoians.

Although each restaurant has its own way of preparing it, in general still retains its original delicious taste.

• Noodles are the main ingredient, cutting into small pieces for one bite.
• Raw vegetables include lettuce, coriander, basil, oregano, and perilla.
• The dipping sauce is also an indispensable part when eating Bun Cha. The sauce is prepared nicely with full of sour – spicy – salty – and sweet. And, there are papaya and carrots soaked in vinegar to add a rich taste.
• The best part of Bun Cha Hanoi is the grilled meat and pork patties.

Pork patties are made into balls and pieces. For pork balls, the chef uses lean meat minced and marinate it with spices salt, pepper, Vietnamese fish sauce, etc. Then, roll into round balls and grill them on charcoal. And the pork pieces come from the meat under the armpit and the bacon with both flesh and fat.

Bun Cha is very tasty, so if you travel to Hanoi, you should not miss the opportunity to enjoy this food.

4. Bun bo Hue (Hue Beef Noodles)

Among the most flavorful foods of Vietnamese cuisine, besides regular dishes such as rice, Pho, and Banh Mi Vietnam, Hue beef noodles is also well-known. And the interesting thing are this dish can be eaten every time from morning to evening.

Bun bo Hue is a specialty of Hue cuisine. The main ingredients of the dish are vermicelli, beef, pork, and a distinctive broth. Sometimes the restaurant also adds undercooked beef, pork balls, and other ingredients, depending on the favorite taste of each person.

The special flavor of this dish mainly comes from spicy, lemongrass in the soup, creating an unmistakable Hue flavor that makes people remember this food forever.

To have great soup, choosing ingredients is very important. The beef must be bright red, fine-grain, fragrant-beef smell, light yellow. The chef also uses beef bones to stew broth to get a naturally sweet taste.

Specifically, in the broth, Hue people like to add a little shrimp sauce, contributing to the unique flavor of Hue beef noodles.

Usually, each person eats a bowl and can feel full. When enjoying Bun Bo Hue, you can find out the unique skills of Hue chefs.

They can make the beef noodle broth have a perfect balance of taste, sweet – spicy – salty. All the flavors to form a nutritious dish are worth eating when visiting the romantic city of Hue.

Address to try this dish: Ba Xuan Restaurant, 11 Ly Thuong Kiet Street, Hue City, Vietnam

5. Bun Thit Nuong Hue (Grilled Pork Noodles)

Grilled pork vermicelli is present in many places in Vietnam, but the taste in Hue is different.

This food has the fatty feeling of grilled meat, beans, and sesame seeds blended with the aroma of Vietnamese vegetables, the cool taste of vermicelli, and the crunchy of papaya and carrots, making diners remember.

Hue grilled pork noodle looks simple, but it is not easy to get a delicious one. The most difficult is the process of marinating and grilling pork.

Put thinly sliced meat into a large bowl, and then add lemongrass, garlic, pepper, fish sauce, salt, oil, sugar, and a little white sesame to make the meat more fragrant when baking.

When grilling the meat, the worker has to turn it continuously. The bacon fat getting golden color makes it more eye-catching. When the meat is just cooked, the smoke rises to create the aroma, and everyone who smells it will feel rumbling in their stomach.

Eating Bun Thit Nuong must be filled with mixed sauce (Nuoc Leo) to become delicious. Nuoc Leo includes sesame, beans, onions, pork, pig liver, chili, cooking oil, and garlic.

A bowl of grilled pork noodles has enough colors of red carrots, yellow papaya, green vegetables, and white noodles, looking very eye-catching.

After visiting tourist Hue attractions, do not forget to stop at a shop to try this tasty food.

Address to taste Bun Thit Nuong: Tai Phu Restaurant, 02 Dien Bien Phu Street, Hue City, Vietnam.

6. Mi Quang (Quang Noodles) 

Quang noodle is a simple and rustic food in Da Nang and Hoi An cities, and present in street shops to large restaurants.

Quang Noodle is also made from rice like Pho but has its own distinctive flavor. The rice is not too sticky but must ensure adhesion. The noodles are bigger and thicker with white or turmeric yellow colors.

When serving it, vegetables also are available to eat with the noodles. Most people in Da Nang or Hoi An like to use herbs and vegetables from Tra Que village because they have a special aroma to make the noodles better.

When presenting a bowl of Quang Noodles also have their own characteristics. First, put vegetables in a bowl, then noodles and broth; after that, add green onions, cilantro, peanuts, fried shrimp, pork, and eggs on top.

You will feel the broth of Quang noodles is saltier and flavorful. Thus, when eating this food, never add the broth covering all the noodles, just a little enough to taste.

Quang noodle is a well-known street food, so it is not limited to strict requirements when enjoying it. And that is why Quang noodle has a strong vitality and exists popularly in many places on the Vietnam map.

7. Cao Lau (Dry Noodles in Hoi An)

Speaking of Hoi An local food, it is impossible not to mention Cao Lau, which attracts many domestic and foreign tourists.

Cao Lau has appeared for a long time, but the origin of Cao Lau is still under discussion until now.

Some diners think that Cao Lau originates from China, but the Chinese people living in Hoi An do not think this is their traditional dish.

But no matter where it came from, nowadays Cao Lau has become a typical dish in Hoi An Ancient Town, which gives a great savor to most tourists.

Cao Lau has the highlights of the chewy, big, crunchy noodles. These dry noodles are eaten with green vegetables from Tra Que vegetable village (Hoi An), bean sprouts, herbs, and chopped char siu with a little fat.

The noodles of Cao Lau are made very meticulously from rice, mixed with ash water. The water has to come from the Ba Le ancient well in Hoi An town. All of these make the noodles tastier.

There are many places to enjoy Cao Lau Hoi An, but you can go to the famous restaurant:

Van Loc Restaurant, 27 Tran Phu, Hoi An City, Quang Nam Province, Vietnam

8. Hu Tieu (Saigon Rice Noodles)

Hu Tieu is a rustic rice noodle, originating from Chinese food. This dish was introduced to Vietnam in the 1950s and has thrived in the Southern provinces, typically in Ho Chi Minh City.

With many decades of development, this dry noodle forms various types, such as beef ball noodles, beef stew, chicken noodles, pork bone noodles, etc.

Saigon rice noodle is a multi-style dish, processed into many different versions, including hot water noodles, dry noodles, crispy fried noodles, or noodles to cook soup. Each has its own typical taste. However, the rice noodle soup is more popular.

As the same with other noodles, the main thing to make Hu Tieu delicious depends on how to cook the broth. To get tasty soup, the chef often uses the bones of pigs, dried squid, and dried shrimp to create a savory broth.

When eating Saigon rice noodles, the servers blanch the dry noodles with boiling water and put them in a bowl. Add other ingredients on the top, then fill the bowl with broth to enjoy.

Saigon rice noodle is light food that causes less boredom, so the Saigonese eat it most of the time, from early morning to late at night.

If you have the opportunity to come to HCM, try this flavorful street food.

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Conclusion

Noodles in Vietnam contribute greatly to the diversity of local cuisine.

Although there are hundreds of different noodle dishes, the ones above are outstanding and worthwhile to taste.

For each place, the noodle dish will have its own flavor, so you should pay attention to the locations we mention so that you can enjoy the correct flavor of Vietnamese noodles.