Vietnamese are able to perform any sort of action by keeping the equilibrium on their scooter. Reading a newspaper, eating noodles, sleeping, or just watching the tourists (as the guy in the photo above) are just some of the most common on-the-scooter activities. Amazing How to transport anything in a scooter In the meal, Vietnamese do not eat too much or too little and neither too fast or too slowly, to enjoy the food as well as to show their education. Furthermore, they usually leave a little bit of food or drink as a sign for politeness as you are not a glutton. Chopsticks In interviews with 400 consumers in Vietnam, up to 35% of people who eat at more than 3 times / week (HCMC: 51.4%, Hanoi 18.6%); 50% said they eat errands throughout the day instead of previously only eat 3 meals. Meanwhile 70% of children are not eating a balanced diet. Brian December 18th, 2014 at 9:02 PM . Bingo :) Eugene January 10th, 2017 at 10:50 AM . I'm sort of in the same boat. I'm engaged, and my wife is chubby. In general, people have breakfast before 09:00 AM and the food might be sweet or salty, which can be Vietnamese sandwich, “Pho” (noodle soup with beef or chicken) and sticky rice. Regarding lunch, it is nutritive which is often eaten before 01:00 PM. People working in the office can take a break and have lunch at the local eateries or Vietnamese people often have a habit of hoarding too much food for a few days of Tet holiday but not anticipating the health risks. Stock up too much food during Tet. In the Northern provinces, the Lunar New Year often has drizzling rain, wet weather creates favorable conditions for bacteria and mold to develop. As a result of their unique eating habits, Vietnamese people tend to socialize more during meals. During dinner, Vietnamese people enjoy chatting and small talk. Parents inquire about their children’s school days, partners discuss their jobs, grandparents tell their grandchildren stories, and so on, creating a wonderfully pleasant atmosphere. The eating habits of Vietnamese have changed in recent times due to economic development and easy access to processed food and snacks. Whatever, fish sauce is still the major condiment in Vietnam. Some of the first impressions on the local dining habits might be that they are sitting on the plastic stool to have a meal from the street vendors. Vay Nhanh Fast Money. How do Vietnamese people eat? Is there anything different from the eating habits of Vietnamese to some other Asian countries? Let’s find out about Vietnamese eating customs. Thanks to that you will better understand the eating customs and habits of the Vietnamese be like. Let’s Find Out About Vietnamese Eating Customs 1. Special features in Vietnamese eating customs Eating is an indispensable part of life. Each person living in different regions and in different countries has a difference in eating habits. The Vietnamese, too, have some eating habits that aren’t exactly the same as some other countries in the same region. 2. Rice plays an important role in daily meals The first thing that all foreigners feel quite surprised when coming to Vietnam is that every meal of the Vietnamese always have rice or dishes cooked from rice. As a country with agricultural characteristics, rice is an indispensable agricultural product for the Vietnamese. That is the reason why rice appears quite much in their meals. This creates a special eating habits of Vietnamese people. 3. Meals included fresh vegetables The next special thing in the Vietnamese eating customs is the meal has plenty of green vegetables. Thanks to the tropical climate, fresh vegetables are available all year round. As a result, dishes with fresh vegetables become familiar to every Vietnamese family. Some popular dishes are soup, lotus salad, papaya salad, morning glory, … With different cooking methods, different dishes have been made, are very popular and gradually widespread throughout the country. And it can be seen that for Vietnamese family meals there is always have vegetables. 4. Eating habits vary by region Vietnamese cuisine reflects its geographical position and history. Geographically, it consists of two large river deltas separated by a mountain on different regions, there are different eating habits. If the North Vietnamese like to eat salty, the Central people like to eat spicy, while the Southern people love to eat is also an advantage when creating diversity in Vietnamese cuisine. 5. Abundant and varied cooking styles It is known that the cooking style of Vietnamese people is diverse. They are constantly exploring and creating new delicacies to cater to their dining needs and others. Their way of cooking is expressed in different ways from fried, fried, boiled to steam, distilled, steamed. Unlike China, Vietnam uses less oil when cooking. The purpose is to preserve the freshness and natural flavor of the food as much as possible. Therefore, Vietnamese cuisine is often considered one of the most healthy foods in the world. 6. There are many family meals One of the Vietnamese eating customs is family meals. This is a difference in Vietnamese food culture. Family meals help to bring more family members closer also reflects the habit of the Vietnamese people are always looking forward to more family ties. 7. Best Halong Bay Cruises for Food Lovers You will experience Halong Bay in true style eating on board with delicious foods, the quiet ambient, the panoramic view. This foods will absolutely make you fall in love with Halong Bay, so you must be sure that you will try them at least once. Join in a Halong Bay Cruise with a local foodie and try the best tasting on the bay. There are many fun things to do with such as sharing your first feeling when you eating at the first time, telling many funny stories,... Eating nice foods, meeting awesome people, visiting one of world heritage sites and sharing memorable moments with your beloved, how could it be more incredible! Leave a Reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked* Vietnam has a diverse range of agricultural products. It is this diversity and variety that makes their food healthy and balanced. Dishes and ingredients used in Vietnamese cuisine can cover all the dietary needs on protein, lipids, vitamins, carbohydrates and minerals. In addition, the culture of eating multiple dishes and chewing slowly improves digestion and assimilation of nutrients, without overloading the digestive system. However, the eating habits of Vietnamese have changed recently due to economic growth and availability of more and more processed food, loaded with added sugar, sodium, and fat. This is the reason why the number of Vietnamese people with cardiovascular diseases and metabolic disorders, obesity, cancers, has considerably increased. Also, the increased consumption of alcohol among men results in the increasing number of liver and digestive system cancers. Therefore, the reputation of Vietnamese food as healthy is only true to traditional diet when rice is the staple of the diet and cooking methods often involve steaming or stir-frying. 2 out of 3 meals of the day often consist of steamed rice with side dishes of vegetables, meat, fish or tofu. Their favourite breakfast contains usually rice-based food such as noodle soups, sticky rice, steamed rice rolls, porridge… Pork and meat are the most common protein in the Vietnamese diet. They are cooked in a lot of ways fried, sauteed, steamed… A common Vietnamese meal has at least 4 side dishes 1 vegetable dish, 2 salty dishes and 1 kind of soup. The most used condiment is nước mắm fish sauce made from fermenting fish. It is the staple ingredient for seasoning in Vietnamese cuisine. In order to add aroma, flavour and colour to their dishes, Vietnamese people often use herbs as integral ingredients. When you order a Vietnamese dish, especially noodle soups like phở, bún riêu, hủ tiếu… your dish always comes with a basket of aromatic plants and vegetables. In terms of nutrients, the herbs contain many vitamins and antioxidants which can promote general health and slow the development of several age-related diseases. The most frequently used herbs are coriander, Thai basil, lemongrass, sawtooth, spearmint, peppermint… Despite the fact that Vietnamese food is naturally healthy, nutrient, and full of flavours, the trend is towards artificial-tasted, industrially processed and lack of nutrient-enriched food. Pay attention to where you eat and the ingredients used in the preparation of the dishes. A bowl of phở is healthy because natural ingredients are used, yet, the nutrient might be reduced if the restaurants use food enhancers. VIETNAMESE EATING HABITS Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are the only meals in Vietnam. Vietnamese people have breakfasts by 9 am and they prefer it completely salty. Lunch is a quick but nutritive meal which usually has to be eaten between 12-1 pm The main meal in Vietnam is dinner with the attendance of the whole family. Dinner time is after 6 pm and before 8 pm. Not all of the families in Vietnam have a dining table. Vietnamese like watching the news on TV in their mealtime Except for rice served in single bowls, the other dishes are placed on separate plates. People share food together. The middle-aged like to drink tea after meals. Young family usually dine out at weekends. Check Also Proposal to Extend Vietnam E-Visa Duration to 3 Months The Ministry of Public Security has put forth a proposal to extend the validity period … 46% of Vietnamese Gen Y & Gen Z consumers cited COVID-19 as the main motivator for healthy food consumption in a recent whitepaper by Decision Lab & Vero. The consumer landscape in Vietnam sustained various changes in the post-pandemic world. Decision Lab has shown that digital consumption in Vietnam, for instance, was heavily dependent on the COVID-19 pandemic. In a recent whitepaper by Vero and Decision Lab, the COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam was shown to determine other aspects of Vietnamese consumers’ lives. According to the whitepaper, which captured the voices of 828 Gen Z & Gen Y consumers in major cities in Vietnam, the COVID-19 pandemic is one of the leading factors that make consumers reconsider their eating habits. The publication also reveals new trends in vitamin consumption and the difficulties consumers face in eating healthy. The COVID scare The COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam introduced devastating human loss and prolonged lockdowns to many areas in the country. Therefore, it’s no surprise that 46% of Vietnamese Millennials and Gen Z cited COVID-19 as the leading factors to make them reconsider their eating habits. According to the whitepaper, cooking was one of the ways in which Vietnamese cope with the pandemic. Memberships of cooking-focused social media groups increased significantly over this period. At the same time, ensuring sufficient nutrition uptake is also a way to boost immunity, a crucial weapon against the Coronavirus. Supplements and vitamins As consuming good food is associated with better health, Vietnamese consumers are also taking more supplements and vitamins. 46% mentioned taking vitamins or supplements as a popular health activity outside of healthy eating. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Millennials 50% utilize supplements and vitamins more than Gen Z 43%. After all, Gen Y consumers may face more health problems than Gen Z, while having more disposable income to spend on vitamins than their younger counterparts."Healthy food is expensive" Despite its physical and mental health benefits, healthy eating introduces considerable costs to consumers. In a monetary sense, healthy food is perceived as pricier than typical food. 41% of consumers cite "healthy food is expensive" as a barrier to healthy eating. This sensitivity to price is especially true for Millennials, 46% of whom cited price as a barrier to healthy eating. Only 37% of Gen Z shared the same concern. Healthy eating also is perceived as costly in terms of resources. 45% of consumers think they lack time to cook and prepare healthy food. This should prompt F&B brands to make healthy food options more readily consumable. In general, brands should strive to capitalize on healthy eating trends among consumers. The "specter" of the global pandemic has made health the top priority for young Vietnamese consumers. Healthy eating and vitamin consumption are key ways in which consumers can achieve good health. For more insights, download the full "Helping Brands tap into Vietnam's changing eating habits" report for FREE here. To get in touch about our entire suite of agile marketing products, reach out to one of our expert consultants today. RELATED ARTICLES For those who have travelled to Vietnam and enjoyed the vast variety of Vietnamese food, one could wonder what lies beneath the diversity of its cuisine. Despite the colonization and influence in Vietnam by various empires and countries throughout history, its traditional and famous cuisine kept their own unique characteristics from the cooking method to even garnishes. There are many aspects to the Vietnamese cuisine that makes it distinctive from the sophistication and creativity of Vietnamese food culture may not be simply explained in one single article, however, exploring these 8 different characteristics may help you understand why travellers love Vietnamese food so much. 1. Historical diversity2. Low in fat3. Rich in flavour4. Good mix of ingredients and spices5. Delicious and healthy6. Use of chopsticks7. Serve in a tray8. Sense of community1. Historical diversityVietnam is an agriculture-based country, thus, Vietnamese food culture has been influenced by the Wet Rice Civilization for thousands of years. Rice plays an important role in the life of Vietnamese people. Besides being located in SouthEast Asia with favorable conditions of nature, climate and geography, Vietnamese people have been producing an abundance of eatables, which provides good conditions for the creativity of cuisine in Vietnam. In the course of building and developing the country, Vietnam suffered from a series of long-lasting wars and dominations, especially a 1000-year Chinese domination as well as the French colonialism, the Vietnamese food culture, therefore, was influenced and more food became more sophisticated and various, partly influenced by Chinese cuisine, but kept its own unique features that represented Vietnam itself. It was the colonialism of the French contributed to the diversity of Vietnamese food mi Vietnam2. Low in fatVietnamese dishes are gluten-free, really low in fat, and jam-packed with lots of healthy and necessary minerals and vitamins, which helps boost the immune system, lose extra weight, and provide the human body with the energy it food mainly consists of fresh vegetables or fruits paired with various types of spices and herbs, making its calorie count and fat content a lot lower than the usual dish that may contain a lot of dairy, oil or carbs. Most Vietnamese dressings, authentic dishes, and sauces you will find in restaurants are very low in fat and calories. Even a giant bowl of Vietnamese noodle soup “Pho” just provides 300 to 600 calories, and contains less than 3 grams of fat per serving, meaning that you can eat one bowl of Pho every day for dinner or for lunch as part of a low-fat, calorie controlled Fresh Spring rollsCheck out this recipe if you want to make your own fresh spring rolls at home3. Rich in flavourVietnamese cuisine is considered one of the healthiest in the world. It focuses heavily on fresh ingredients, with a few touches of fat or oil to enhance the flavour. Herbs and spices are selected carefully for optimum flavour and there are fewer blends used to ensure a precise portion of spice in each dish handmade with care. It would be impossible to talk about Vietnamese food culture without talking about the use of sauces in the cuisine. Vietnamese cuisine is built on these rich, salty sauces for a base flavour, but cooks are also fond of using the sauces as a finishing sauce is a thick condiment used in nearly every Vietnamese dish available. You will find it squirted into pho, or on grilled pork dishes. It is also popular as a base for many soups and sauce is another component to Vietnamese food that deserves attention. Used often in vegetable dishes, soy sauce is full of salty deliciousness and umami sauce is another common ingredient. It provides a nice kick, but it also provides a nice reddish color to some light vegetable soups or sauce is a shrimp and salt paste used for sautéing and in marinating Sour Soup – Photo by Huong Nghiep A Au4. Good mix of ingredients and spicesVietnamese dishes usually include a variety of foods such as meat, shrimp, crabs along with vegetables, beans, and rice. There are also a combination of many flavours such as sour, spicy, salty, sweet…Vietnamese food culture varies by regions from the north to the south. In Northern Vietnam, Vietnamese food is characterized by light and balanced flavours as the harmonic combination of many ingredients. Northern Vietnam is seen to be the cradle of Vietnamese civilization in general and Vietnamese cuisine in particular with many notable dishes like Pho, Bun Rieu, Bun Thang, Bun Cha, Banh Cuon, etc. Then, food culture in Northern Vietnam became popular in Central and Southern Vietnam with suitable flavours in each region. In Central Vietnam, the topography is characterized by mountains, thus, the regional cuisine of Central Vietnam is famous for its spicy food, which differs from two other parts with mostly non-spicy food. Hue cuisine is typical Central Vietnam’s food culture. Dishes of Hue cuisine are decorative and colorful, which expresses the influence of Vietnamese royal cuisine in the feudal period. Food in the region is often decorated sophisticatedly and used with chili peppers and shrimp sauces, namely, Bun Bo Hue, Banh bot loc, or Banh beo, etc. In Southern Vietnam, the region is characterized by warm weather and fertile soil, which creates favorable conditions for planting a variety of fruits, vegetables and livestock. Thus, food in the region is often added with garlic, shallots and fresh herbs. In particular, Southerners tend to use sugar a lot and often add sugar in almost all their dishes. The Vietnamese cuisine also takes a lot of influence from other cuisines both Asian or Western, such as Chinese, Indian, French or – The iconic Vietnamese Beef Noodle5. Delicious and healthyVietnamese cuisine is a combination of dishes and flavours to create a unique feature. Although many of the ingredients are inexpensive, the meticulous and balanced preparation and taste of these meals shows the work that has gone into them for many Vietnam went through long periods of war and political conflict, it became a tradition to use fresh and local ingredients in order to save money, and not waste a thing. If an animal was purchased, every part was used in some way. Vietnamese cuisine is not known for its high quality cuts of meat and expensive organic fruits and vegetables, but for the way that simple staple ingredients can be used to create dishes with extraordinary of the most interesting parts of Vietnamese cuisine is their concept of opposites and balance, or yin and yang. Vietnamese cuisine observes five basic elements wood, fire, earth, water and metal. These elements in turn correspond with five flavour elements sour, bitter, spicy, sweet and salty. Each meal contains each of these different flavours, which are in turn balanced by each we think of opposites in a culinary sense, we typically think of colours, textures and temperature. When it comes to Vietnamese cuisine, individual types of food in the same category for example different types of meat can be considered either hot or cold. In a meal, a food is considered hot, cold, warm or cool. For every food that is considered “hot”, there must be a balancing food that is “cool” or “cold”.Sweet and sour salad6. Use of chopsticksPicking is an art, pick up properly, do not let food fall … The use of chopstick is an essential part of the Vietnamese food culture. Vietnamese chopsticks are used in every family meal, even in the BBQ party, Vietnamese people rarely use a fork to skewer food like the Western are used to transfer pieces of meat, fish or whatever from the communal dish to a small bowl of fish sauce and then to your bowl. It is definitely acceptable to bring the bowl almost to your lips and use chopsticks to scoop rice into your mouth. This way might prevent food from dropping in Serve in a trayA Vietnamese meal is the combination of many dishes which are laid on the tray at once. All family members will share daily meals together. There is no course in typical Vietnamese meals. Each member will have a bowl of rice, but eating other dishes, soup and fish sauce together. Vietnamese people use chopsticks and ceramic spoons in their meals. Family meal8. Sense of communityThe Vietnamese tend to eat in groups, rarely alone—in most traditional Vietnamese restaurants, you’ll be seated at a table with several dishes placed in the centre. The food in the middle of the table belongs to everyone; you’ll help yourself to your share of the dishes in the middle, filling your own plate as rivers, rice paddies, mountains and deep blue seas are deeply ingrained in the local culture. Because of this, it’s rude to leave food uneaten, especially when we are in someone’s home and they’ve cooked for us. LIKE THE ARTICLE AND WANT TO SEE MORE? Follow us on Instagram, and FacebookLilian NguyenLilian NguyenLilian loves cooking and working with children ever since she was young. She believes that food is a very powerful tool to connect with people. Lilian is a preschool teacher in Vancouver - Canada and spends her time cooking for her daily meals and dinner parties with family and friends. Eating habits of elderly Vietnamese in the United States A Tong. J Nutr Elder. 1991. Abstract A sample of 62 elderly from the Vietnamese Senior Citizens Association responded to a 24-hour dietary recall interview regarding their eating habits and food preferences in order to examine their health status. Results indicated that one-fifth of those sampled had milk at breakfast. The majority of elderly still consumed rice at both lunch and supper, and 94 percent did not snack. Thirty-one percent took vitamin supplements. The health problems most frequently mentioned were anemia, arthritis, hypertension, and diabetes. Research on food habits and diet in relation to diseases of this ethnic group is much needed. Similar articles Dietary habits and attitudes. Euronut SENECA investigators. Schlettwein-Gsell D, Barclay D, Osler M, Trichopoulou A. Schlettwein-Gsell D, et al. Eur J Clin Nutr. 1991 Dec;45 Suppl 383-95. Eur J Clin Nutr. 1991. PMID 1809572 An evaluation of a traditional Vietnamese diet in the UK. Carlson E, Kipps M, Thomson J. Carlson E, et al. Hum Nutr Appl Nutr. 1982 Apr;362107-15. Hum Nutr Appl Nutr. 1982. PMID 7107316 Impact of aging on eating behaviors, food choices, nutrition, and health status. Drewnowski A, Shultz JM. Drewnowski A, et al. J Nutr Health Aging. 2001;5275-9. J Nutr Health Aging. 2001. PMID 11426286 Review. Time allocation and dietary habits in the United States Time for re-evaluation? Fiese BH. Fiese BH. Physiol Behav. 2018 Sep 1;193Pt B205-208. doi Epub 2018 Feb 21. Physiol Behav. 2018. PMID 29474838 Review. Cited by A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial of a Lay Health Worker Intervention to Increase Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Among Vietnamese Americans. Jih J, Stewart SL, Luong TN, Nguyen TT, McPhee SJ, Nguyen BH. Jih J, et al. Prev Chronic Dis. 2020 Apr 30;17E33. doi Prev Chronic Dis. 2020. PMID 32352912 Free PMC article. Clinical Trial. MeSH terms

eating habits of vietnamese