Culinary Experiences of the World: Vietnam Essay examples

Three quarters of Vietnam is made up of mountains and hills, and densely forested highlands, with level land covering no more than 20 percent of the area.(Vietnam) Vietnam is an “S” shaped country stretching over 1,000 miles. It is divided into four geographic regions the highlands and the Red River Delta in the north, the Truong Son Mountains form the Central Highlands running almost the full length of Vietnam along its borders with Laos and Cambodia, the coastal lowlands, and the Mekong River Delta in the south.(Vietnam) The geographical aspects of Vietnam allowed for physical and mental exhaustion, fear of location, and fear of safety in the The Things They Carried .

Around the globe there are many different types of unique and delicious food. In America it’s extremely diverse, people around the world come to America to share and spread their cultural food so that Americans can enjoy. There are several Vietnamese restaurants in America that Americans love to visit once or twice every week. Vietnamese food are usually defined as inauthentic in America. Vietnamese food in the U.S are highly different than the ones in Vietnam. In Vietnam, the food texture, taste, and color are authentic because the ingredients are freshly made. Moreover, in America the spices and recipes are not like the original ingredients. The taste and color of the food is exceedingly essential because if people come in and eat, they wouldn’t want to pay for foods that are plain boring, colorless, and tasteless. That would be awful.

     Vietnam has a very rich and cultural diverse background dating all the way back to 1066 when William the Conqueror invaded and paved the way for English colonization.

Hmong culture relies on many different methods for cooking meals and they are stir frying, boiling, steaming and roasting over an open fire. Vegetable oils and pork fats are the primary fats used in cooking if an oil is needed. Seasoning are also an essential part of cooking, they use soy sauce, hot peppers, ginger, garlic, coconut and lemon grass which are all quite commonly used. The Hmong culture does not usually use salt and pepper, since it was not readily available in Laos. But it is been found in more and more of American Hmong kitchens.

According to the staff of History.com, Vietnam, a small Southeastern Asian nation, was controlled under French colonial rule since the 19th century. Following Japan’s defeat by the Viet Minh in World War II, there was a split in Vietnamese ideas. The nation as a whole wanted Vietnam to come together as a unified populace, but different regions had different ideas for how they wished to be governed. The northern region believed that the best idea for government would be that of one modeled after communism, but the southern region believed the exact

After doing all my research on the Vietnamese food, I now want to travel there and try it all!! In the 1800’s, during the Nguyën Dynasty, the French established a colony in Vietnam and they brought along their own food, which shortly became a huge influence on the Vietnamese cuisine. Foods like carrots, potatoes, lettuce, and others are all a few of the ingredients the French introduced to the Vietnamese that they now use on a daily basis in their cuisines. Coffee and baguettes are two of the mostly influences foods introduced by the French, along with several others (Wiens, Mark, 2013).

Another big difference of both countries is food. Vietnamese foods include: rice or noodles, meat, and vegetables in every meal. Almost every Vietnamese meal is sit down rather than grab and go. Vietnamese cuisine mostly focuses on varieties of vegetables and herbs in every dish. A Vietnamese dinner normally includes white rice, a small plate of typical sauce, a bowl of soup, a dish of vegetables, and two dishes of animal meat, which could be pork, beef, fish, and chicken. The vegetables can be made with plenty of different methods: boil, steam, fry, grill, or sometimes we eat raw. The main spices Vietnamese people use to make their food are garlics, peppers, sugar, monosodium glutamate, chicken bouillon, and fish sauce. That makes a harmonious mixture of sweet, spicy, salty taste.

Vietnam when it was first found was dominated by China. But when China went through turmoil, Vietnam rebelled and declared independence. But it was after all of the years under the ruling of China, the culture of Vietnam were very similar to China. Even the way of the politics was related. “The new Vietnamese state, ruled by an emperor, retained Chinese political institutions and values"(Authentic History Center). Many entertainment purposes made from the Vietnam War were subtly reflecting off of the crisis raised by Vietnam during the time.

For centuries Vietnam had been under Chinese rule. The Vietnamese people were an oppressed society and were exploited by the Chinese. Forced labour was brought upon the Vietnamese people, and there were many tyrannical Chinese governers along with constant demands of tribute for the Chinese rulers. There had been many revolts by

Vietnam endured many trials and tribulations throughout its history. For thousands of years, Vietnam had to struggle under the rule of others, mainly under China and France's influence. In the beginning, France originally came to the country so the French wouldn't be seen as weak compared to other European countries, which meant they needed to expand their colonies for their own economic gains and preventing Britain from doing the same. At the time when Vietnam had just gone through a civil war, France saw an opportunity to invade the country and colonize.

The country of Vietnam is shaped like an S and borders China, Laos and Cambodia. It’s beautiful tropical landscape is formed by rolling hills, mountains, valleys, waterfalls, rainforests and beaches. The people of Vietnam consist of approximately 54 different ethnic groups. Most of the ethnic minorities live in the hills of central highlands and are indigenous people. The French called the indigenous people living in the hills, Montagnards, which is French for mountain people. The Jarai tribe is one of the largest ethnic minority group and one of the oldest tribes of Vietnam.

Vietnam was a country divided into two by communism in the North and capitalism in the South. The Vietnam War, fought between the years 1959 and 1975, was, in essence, a struggle by nationalists in the north to unify the nation under a communist government. This was a long standing conflict between the two sides that had been occurring for years. It wasn’t until 1959 when the USA, stepped in, on the side of southern Vietnamese, to stop the spread of communism. It was a war that did not capture the hearts and minds of the American people as it was viewed as a war that the US army couldn’t win and so the government lost the peoples support for the war. This ultimately led to the withdrawal of the US army from Vietnam. Some people, like

After this fortunate door-opener, Vietnam was known as one of the most rapid- growing economies worldwide.

Pho is the most popular dish among the Vietnamese society. What is pho? Well Pho is a Vietnamese noodle soup, but there are two type of common pho and that is Pho Bo (beef noodle soup) and Pho Ga(chicken soup). Pho Bo is beef broth and that is made by the stewing of a cow bones in a large pot for quite some time. Pho Ga is very similar to Pho Bo. Instead of beef broth is made of chicken broth and that is made from stewing chicken. The noodle itself is made from varieties of rice. However, the ingredients and toppings may vary a slight bit in the North and the South. And that is topped with numerous herbs like: lime, bean sprout, mint leaves, basil green onions, and several other vegetables or fruit. This dish is absolutely refreshing and warming for the soul. With the brutal cold, pho was home of the North. Pho is normally eaten for breakfast, but many of people eat at lunch, or even dinner.

People are for the most part clueless when it comes to food. God forbid you might actually cook something at home. Have you ever noticed the size of the frozen food sections at grocery stores? They are fucking huge! Throwing a pizza pocket in the microwave is NOT cooking. I constantly see people with their shopping carts overflowing with yummy frozen goodness. LAZY FUCKS!! Included in that demographic are those who rely on the food delivery industry. Ther isn’t much you can’t have brought right to your front door these days. I have a neighbor who I would bet has food delivered at least four days a week. How lazy can you get?! I guess it has a lot to do with how you are brought up. If your parents sucked at cooking