Vietnamese Favorites

Graphics by Anya Sanchez

Trà Atisô (Artichoke Tea)

Artichoke tea doesn’t sound tasty, but it is! Personally, I would stay away from the bitter black artichoke tea, made from the stems, and, instead, would have the sweetened yellowish version of artichoke tea made from the flowers. The sweetened version has an elegant nutty flavor.

In Vietnam, it is believed that artichoke tea has detoxifying and liver-cleansing effects. The artichokes are grown in Vietnam’s Central Highlands, in Dalat, but packets of the artichoke tea can be found throughout the country.

Nước Mía

(Sugar Cane Juice)

Sugarcane juice has a naturally sweet taste, tasting like sugar water with some other subtle flavors, that is very refreshing on a hot day!

In Vietnam, it is found being sold by street vendors who squeeze the juice from stalks of sugarcane, using electric squashing machines. In the front of the vendor’s stalls, they advertise their drink with a bucket of sugarcane stalks. You can often even see the electric wringer mechanism juicing the canes right in front of you!

Sources: Seriouseats.com and Flavorsofhanoi.com

Cà Phê (Coffee)

In Vietnam, coffee is often prepared in two ways, as iced coffee with condensed milk or as iced black coffee. If you order iced black coffee, expect four or five teaspoons of sugar! Also, you can get your caffeine as yogurt coffee or egg coffee, that is made with a whipped egg yolk. To bring out chocolate notes in the local coffee beans, they are often roasted with fish sauce and butter. In Vietnam, you can’t walk a block without seeing someone enjoying a coffee. Locals often spend an hour (or more!) enjoying their coffee and the free iced tea that often comes with it! In their culture, coffee is seen as an excuse to sit and watch the world pass by, either outdoors, on a small chair, or from a window of a cafe.

Dừa Tươi

If you ever get a chance to try coconut water I would definitely recommend it! It can’t be packaged ones from a store, it’s got to be fresh as these are much sweeter, grassier, and more fully-flavored. A pro tip is that the smaller coconuts are usually sweet than the larger ones. Coconut water has been a popular drink in Vietnam for centuries. In Vietnam, it is the first drink they go to for rehydration. Locals believe that if you drink coconut water after 5 p.m, you will have trouble sleeping well. So, anytime before then is the perfect time for coconut water drinking!

Sinh Tố (Smoothie)

(Fresh Coconut)

Fruit smoothies are found everywhere in Vietnam! I’m talking about a whole range of fruit smoothies with fresh dragon fruit, apple, custard, jackfruit, and of course the basic strawberry-banana smoothies. These fruit smoothies are accompanied by ice and condensed yogurt or milk. Be adventurous and try a new, unique flavored fruit smoothie!