Are you a Master Chef of your kitchen kingdom willing to explore the world’s wonders? Then this blog post will take you to the land of the Vietnamese Cook Cave. From Vietnamese cooking terms to Vietnamese food and cuisine vocab, this blog has you covered from every corner to make your trip to Vietnam filled with the essence and knowledge of rice noodles to rice porridge, and you will not miss out on any important terms that you should know.
So, if you are interested in understanding some of the basic and essential cooking vocabulary and food words, start learning Vietnamese with us right away!
What Does Vietnam Have To Offer?
Before we get started with our cooking terms and sentences, let us witness the beautiful food culture of Vietnam. Vietnamese food has always secured a safe position in millions of people’s a heart, and there is nothing that can deny such a fact.
Like many Asian countries, Vietnamese people take three regular meals consisting of their traditional food platter or main dish that emphasizes rice, boiled vegetables with soupy broth, chopped meat, or fish. The cooking techniques often involve stir-frying or cooking steaming.
However, from fish sauce to a spring roll, every Vietnamese food is embedded with the utmost cultural taste and essence, making it pure and ethnic. It is a land in southeast Asia full of unique food combinations and cooking techniques that every soul on earth craves to behold the beauty through their own buds.
While Banh mi (baguettes), chicken noodle soup, grilled pork, and special Vietnamese noodle soup with veggies are some extremely famous Vietnamese food known worldwide, there are even more savory dishes such as fried rice, fried shallots, shredded pork, sticky rice, and bò Kho beef stew that are equally amazing and worth craving for.
Thus, we can see that Vietnam is a pool of ultimate staples that one can never have enough of. Once you land in Vietnam, you will constantly engage with native food-related terms. So, learning some cooking words will only help you communicate more precisely.
Vietnamese Cooking Terms
Learning some of the known food items made this learning journey already exciting and fun. So, let’s get acquainted with the cooking vocab that will help identify the techniques on how a particular dish is made. Especially if you’re traveling to Vietnam intending to explore their food culture, these terms will come in handy in many situations.
English | Vietnamese |
Boil | Sôi lên [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Sôi lên[/Speechword] |
Bake | Nướng [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Nướng[/Speechword] |
Beat | Tiết tấu [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Tiết tấu[/Speechword] |
Cut | Cắt [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Cắt[/Speechword] |
Peel | Bóc [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Bóc[/Speechword] |
Stir | Khuấy động [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Khuấy động[/Speechword] |
Fry | Chiên [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Chiên[/Speechword] |
Heat | Nhiệt [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Nhiệt[/Speechword] |
Microwave | Lò vi sóng [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Lò vi sóng[/Speechword] |
Steam | Hơi nước [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Hơi nước[/Speechword] |
Roast | Thịt nướng [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Thịt nướng[/Speechword] |
Poach | Poach [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Poach[/Speechword] |
Grill | Nướng [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Nướng[/Speechword] |
Saute | Áp chảo [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Áp chảo[/Speechword] |
Steam | Hơi nước [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Hơi nước[/Speechword] |
Cooking Verbs In Vietnamese
For a more precise and clear understanding, it is important to know how to use the cooking terms to convey the right message. So, to help you communicate with the locals of the famous ho chi Minh city, this section will introduce some cooking words in their verb forms.
English | Vietnamese |
To cook | Nấu ăn [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Nấu ăn[/Speechword] |
I am cooking | tôi đang nấu ăn [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]tôi đang nấu ăn[/Speechword] |
To bake | Để nướng [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Để nướng[/Speechword] |
She is baking | Cô ấy đang nướng [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Cô ấy đang nướng[/Speechword] |
To mince | Để băm [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Để băm[/Speechword] |
He is mincing | Anh ấy đang cắt nhỏ [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Anh ấy đang cắt nhỏ[/Speechword] |
To chop | Chặt [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Chặt[/Speechword] |
They are chopping | Họ đang chặt [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Họ đang chặt[/Speechword] |
To grease | Tra dầu mỡ [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Tra dầu mỡ[/Speechword] |
I am greasing | Tôi đang bôi trơn [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Tôi đang bôi trơn[/Speechword] |
To slice | Để cắt [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Để cắt[/Speechword] |
She is slicing | Cô ấy đang cắt [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Cô ấy đang cắt[/Speechword] |
To barbeque | Đến đồ nướng [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Đến đồ nướng[/Speechword] |
To mix | Trộn [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Trộn[/Speechword] |
To stew | Hầm [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Hầm[/Speechword] |
Common Phrases In Vietnamese
English | Vietnamese |
She loves to cook noodle dishes | Cô ấy thích nấu các món bún [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Cô ấy thích nấu các món bún[/Speechword] |
It is hard to cook sticky rice | Xôi khó nấu [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Xôi khó nấu[/Speechword] |
Northern Vietnamese cooking techniques are quite unique | Kỹ thuật nấu ăn miền Bắc Việt Nam khá độc đáo [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Kỹ thuật nấu ăn miền Bắc Việt Nam khá độc đáo[/Speechword] |
I want to stir fry noodles with soy sauce | Tôi muốn xào mì với xì dầu [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Tôi muốn xào mì với xì dầu[/Speechword] |
I would love to bake bread myself | Tôi rất thích tự mình nướng bánh mì [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Tôi rất thích tự mình nướng bánh mì[/Speechword] |
Steamed rice is just a boiled dish | Cơm trắng chỉ là một món luộc [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Cơm trắng chỉ là một món luộc[/Speechword] |
Add Vietnamese coriander while poaching eggs | Thêm rau mùi Việt Nam khi luộc trứng [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Thêm rau mùi Việt Nam khi luộc trứng[/Speechword] |
Deep-fried spring rolls are the bets | Chả giò chiên là món cá cược [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Chả giò chiên là món cá cược[/Speechword] |
She roasted a shaking beef | Cô ấy nướng thịt bò lắc [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Cô ấy nướng thịt bò lắc[/Speechword] |
Steamed rich broth is amazing | Nước dùng đậm đà hấp dẫn thật tuyệt vời [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Nước dùng đậm đà hấp dẫn thật tuyệt vời[/Speechword] |
I boiled sweetened condensed milk | Tôi đun sôi sữa đặc có đường [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Tôi đun sôi sữa đặc có đường[/Speechword] |
Mix oyster sauce with broken rice to make something unique | Trộn dầu hào với cơm tấm để tạo nên món ăn độc đáo [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Trộn dầu hào với cơm tấm để tạo nên món ăn độc đáo[/Speechword] |
It is easy to cook some of the main dishes of Vietnam | Rất dễ để nấu một số món ăn chính của Việt Nam [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Rất dễ để nấu một số món ăn chính của Việt Nam[/Speechword] |
Always add fresh vegetables to your steamed rice dishes | Luôn thêm rau tươi vào món cơm hấp của bạn [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Luôn thêm rau tươi vào món cơm hấp của bạn[/Speechword] |
The Vietnamese cuisine is very interesting to cook | Các món ăn Việt Nam nấu ăn rất thú vị [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Các món ăn Việt Nam nấu ăn rất thú vị[/Speechword] |
Vietnamese Cuisine
Now, although you are acquainted with the cooking terms, whenever you order food in Vietnam, you should not lack the ability to understand their standard terms. In fact, in many restaurants, Vietnam does not keep English menus.
They are very fond of their language, and it is an important prerequisite for pro-chefs and foodies like you to know their native terms. So, to help you with that, we will now touch upon some of the famous Vietnamese food vocab that is common and essential.
Learn these and order your rice vermicelli and chicken dishes like a real local.
English | Vietnamese Food |
Fresh herbs | Thảo dược tươi [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Thảo dược tươi[/Speechword] |
Rice Flour | Bột gạo [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Bột gạo[/Speechword] |
Bread | Bánh mì [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Bánh mì[/Speechword] |
Coffee | Cà phê [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Cà phê[/Speechword] |
Pickled carrot | Cà rốt ngâm chua [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Cà rốt ngâm chua[/Speechword] |
Rice paper | Bánh tráng [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Bánh tráng[/Speechword] |
Chinese broccoli | bông cải xanh Trung Quốc [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]bông cải xanh Trung Quốc[/Speechword] |
Flank steak | Sườn bò [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Sườn bò[/Speechword] |
Bean sprouts | Giá đỗ [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Giá đỗ[/Speechword] |
Thai basil | Húng quế [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Húng quế[/Speechword] |
Corn beef | Bắp bò [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Bắp bò[/Speechword] |
Boiled Pork | Thịt lợn luộc [Speechword voice=”Vietnamese Male” isinline]Thịt lợn luộc[/Speechword] |
Vietnamese Language With Ling
Ever since the French colonial rule, Vietnam has nurtured its culture and tradition into every inch of its customs and behavior. It can be seen by their food habits and traditional cooking techniques that the Vietnamese version of cultivation will never vanish.
From Fish sauce to the spices of star anise, spring rolls to northern Vietnam dishes, even the shrimp in the banana leaf displays a well-maintained cultural behavior. Thus, knowing some basic and common verbs and terms related to cooking and food will help you understand more about Vietnamese cuisine and its cooking habits.
Ling App by Simya Solutions is here with entertaining content such as 10+ Easy Vietnamese Buildings And Places Vocabulary and Vietnamese Zodiac: 12 Signs And Wonders to help achieve your dream of learning Vietnamese. Along with vocabulary and grammar, you will also see blogs on Vietnamese people and their culture with clear details and facts that will grow your skills further.
So, let go of your old books and start learning today with Ling free from your mobile screen!