Quietly sitting in the shadow of pho are vermicelli and rice. Like pho, vermicelli bowls and rice dishes can be customized into numerous different combinations. But unlike pho, they don’t garner the glory they deserve. In this article, I’m referring to the dry vermicelli combinations, and not the vermicelli soups, and rice as the steamed white rice served on plates.
Part One: Vermicelli Combos
A basic bowl of vermicelli comes with the noodle, lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, pickled daikon and carrots, and a bowl of light fish sauce, nuoc cham. Combination choices include different types of meats, and spring rolls.
| English | Vietnamese | Description | Texture | Taste | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meats | B.B.Q. Pork/Beef/Chicken | Thit Nuong, Bo Nuong, Ga Nuong | marinated steak is barbequed, then cut into smaller pieces ready for consumption | toughness vary between the three, but still very tender | very savoury. hints of sweet and salt |
| Spring Roll | Cha Gio | deep fried, crunchy roll stuffed with meat and vegetable | very crunchy on the outside, with various texture on the inside due to stuffing | various flavours are detected as each ingredient in the stuffing is different, but very light with hints of saltiness | |
| Shredded Pork | Bi | strings' of pork meat and pork skin mixed in rice powder | the meat is soft whereas the skin is a bit chewy | meat is unmarinated, but often the scent of rice powder dominates the taste buds | |
| Raw Pork | Nem Chua | bright red slices of pork | combination of soft and chewy | light tasting, with hints of 'sourness' | |
| Grilled Meat Ball | Nem Nuong | sometimes come in 'ball' form, sometimes in a cigar shape on a skewer | usually 'rough' on the outside, but once bitten into the inner layer, the meat is very soft | very much like B.B.Q. Pork | |
| Minced Shrimp | Chao Tom | minced shrimp wrapped around a sugarcane stick | a lot like grilled meat balls | lightly marinated, yet still retains the natural flavours of shrimp | |
| Grilled Shrimp | Tom Nuong | often sit on a skewer | shrimpy | cooked shrimp with hints of fire smell | |
| Veggies | Lettuce | Cai Xanh | |||
| Tomatoes | Ca Chua | ||||
| Cucumber | Dua Leo | ||||
| Pickled Daikon | Dua Cai Trang | thin strips of "white radish" | less crunchier than regular daikon | hints of sourness | |
| Pickled Carrots | Dua Cai Do | thin strips of carrots | less crunchier than regular carrots | hints of sourness | |
| Sauce | Fish Sauce | Nuoc Cham | accompanies the vermicelli to be poured over noodles as desired | hints of salt, lime and sugar |
Like pho, the different choices can actually overwhelm those who are new to the dish, but if you have an idea of which combo you want to try, then it’s just a matter of finding it on the menu. Some restaurants do offer “Special Vermicelli Combo”, which basically include a large combination of most of the ingredients listed here. Ordering this bowl will give you a chance try several of the meats at a time, thus giving you a better idea of what you might or might not like.
Next up: Rice Combos.
Would love to be added to the list too!
vermicelli!!! “can’t go wrong with”
Thanks for this post. been looking for something similar. i have yet to try the bright red slices of pork with my vermicelli
it’s actually amazing that the vietnamese have designed all their foods to be compatible with their fish sauce.