Southeast Asian American Food: Vietnamese

With the fall of Saigon (renamed Ho Chi Minh City) to the North Vietnamese in 1975, refugees began arriving in the United States. Many live in southern California, while others have settled in Houston, Boston, Denver, the Pacific Northwest, and Florida. Some of these concentrations are reflections of resettlement from the original remote locations designated by the federal government.

Vietnamese food is more restrained than Thai, with a combination of beef and salads that is closer to American. There is little use of high-fat coconut milk and a strong vegetarian tradition with an herbaceous trait—basil, mint, and cilantro. Vietnamese food is not very hot, sweet, or pungent. Shaped by French colonization, the cuisine includes a Vietnamese bouillabaisse and sizzling, savory rice-flour crêpes filled with shrimp, pork, and bean sprouts. The blending of fresh and cooked flavors in each mouthful and the combination of meat, fruits, and vegetables in salads are hallmarks of Vietnamese cuisine. Food is often wrapped in lettuce leaves and combined with herbs.