Different Types of Vietnamese Foods
Tinh Nguyen
Nufs 144
29 September 2014
Different Types of Vietnamese Foods It is amazing how diverse the various types of culture can be. From country to country, even down to the different states and regions within the same nation. Culture is said to have five basic characteristics; it is learned, it is has symbolic structure, it is shared, and it has the ability to adapt. It is a system consisting of variables that constitute a rational way of life (Vien, 2003). A change in social environments results in a change in culture as well, which is why Vietnam has three different regions. Many times, food is a factor that differentiates cultures from various areas. Within
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Each region is known to have its own specialty dishes that were influenced by its surrounding environment. Climate plays a huge factor in foods that are popular amongst these areas. Climate affects the food in several ways, such as direct effects production of crops, which leads to food supply (Gregory, Ingram, & Brklacich, 2005). Each of these groups has its own distinctive culture and is associated with a specific environmental setting (Vien, 2003). Also, another factor to consider on the different types of food from each region is the influences from the neighboring countries. The first region is North Vietnam; Bac Bo. China influences many of Bac Bo’s dishes. That’s why many of the dishes tend to be more stir fried and include egg rolls, soy sauce and MSG (Destination, 2014). Their dishes tend to have delicate flavors. The weather in North Vietnam is a bit colder; therefore they cannot grow much herbs and spices (Destinations, 2014). Their dishes have less vegetables, fish and meats compare to other areas in Vietnam (Destinations, 2014). Since they don’t cook with chilies, use black pepper and they use less sugar in their dishes. A popular dish that originated from Bac Bo is Banh Cuon. Banh Cuon is a paper-thin rice pancake rolled with ground pork and mushrooms with a side of dipping sauce with herbs and sausages.
Southern Vietnam, Nam Bo, is also hugely influenced by China. However, influences from India, France, and Thai have also made an impact on
Vietnam is known for many things such as their culture, traditions, cuisines, landscape, war, and their people. Vietnam includes many different landforms as well. Vietnam’s absolute location is 14.0583 N and 108.2772 E. As for its relative location it is surrounded by three countries and the Pacific Ocean, the three countries surrounding Vietnam is Cambodia and Loas to the West, while China is to the North. Some physical features of Vietnam are the Red River Delta that is fronted by the hills that rise into the high mountains in the Northwest, the coastal lowlands and the Mekong River Delta in the Southern regions, and the Annam Highlands which covers up most of the central landscape. About twenty percent of low-lands covers the country.
After doing all my research on the Vietnamese food, I now want to travel there and try it all!! In the 1800’s, during the Nguyën Dynasty, the French established a colony in Vietnam and they brought along their own food, which shortly became a huge influence on the Vietnamese cuisine. Foods like carrots, potatoes, lettuce, and others are all a few of the ingredients the French introduced to the Vietnamese that they now use on a daily basis in their cuisines. Coffee and baguettes are two of the mostly influences foods introduced by the French, along with several others (Wiens, Mark, 2013).
Culture is one of the most relevant elements that can define not only a society but also a country’s cumulative beliefs and system. Often noted as the origins of a country, culture is definitive in the sense that it harbors all the elements that can provide justification on the traditions and norms set by the society for its members. More often than not, the society members follow norms in order to create a harmonious community, and the beliefs and the traditions serve as the poles or grounding rules for each member to follow. Culture is very dynamic in the way that it can change over a variety of foreign influences but what is permanent about it is that original elements about it often lingers with the influences, therefore making it multi-faceted and broad. More importantly, culture serves as an individual and unique trait each society has, and therefore sets it apart from other countries and other societies.
Curriculum and how it is influenced: This is one concept that stood out to me because I have never stopped to think about the perspective that I am receiving information from. Curriculum is an important piece of gathering information to every educator and for years very few have made changes to it. The problem that schools are facing is the fact that this curriculum hasn’t been changed and that the same way of doing this has been continuing. The voices of many women, people of color and different ethnicities have not been granted to voice their opinions about certain points because society has focused on gaining information from a Eurocentric perspective. According to Becoming a Multicultural Educator, “Eurocentric is a perspective
According to Kashima (2010), defining what culture means is a difficult task. Culture can be considered the individual differences of identity. Culture is established by numerous things such as ideology and beliefs. While categories of culture are not limited to only country, a common classification of culture is that of different countries. Vietnam’s culture is diverse, influences from many countries have played a role in shaping Vietnam’s culture. Years of Chinese rule, French imperialism, social conflicts and war have given Vietnamese culture a unique richness of language, music and history.
It would be in order to first examine the connotation and exact meaning of culture. Sociologists differ wide in their perceptions in explanting culture and its inter-related concepts. The best definition from the military view point is given by Leslie A. White, who quotes famous sociologists Frank Boas and Melville J. Herskovits. He writes “culture may be defined (as per Boas), as the totality of the mental and physical reactions and activities that characterise the behaviour of individuals composing a social group….”. He further quotes Herskovits and says, “When culture is closely analysed, we find but a series of patterned reactions that characterise the behaviour of the individuals who constitute a given group. Another writer Sapir quoted by Leslie white classified culture as the mass of typical reactions.’ Culture is best summarised as a way of life of the people. It is manmade part of environment. Cultures includes beliefs, ideas, religion, art, customs and other habits which the people acquire while living in a society. Another very important aspect of culture is that it is ever changing by learning and transmitting from one generation to other through a
It is not easy to define culture because culture is too broad a concept, can be both abstract and specific. However, what is agreed is culture covers all faces of our life as well as direct the way we behave, interact and communicate. (Liu et al., 2011). One popular definition is that “Culture is the total way of life of a group of people, comprising of the deposit of knowledge, experience, belief, values, traditions, religion, and notion of time, roles, spatial relations, worldviews, material objects and geographic territory”. (Liu et al., 2011, p.57). In this essay, I will analyse components and characteristics of culture, and based on that grounds, I will reflect on my own culture-being a Vietnamese. Dodd (1998) considered that culture is made up by three layers which consist of the core layer, the intermediate layer and the outer layer. I will examine what values and beliefs are considered important in my culture. Those are components of the inner core. Then, I will take some examples of the intermediate layer (expression of cultural activities by manifestation) such as communication patterns, customs and festivals.
When comparing cultures, one must form a definition of what culture is. Culture can be easily defined as the social behavior and normality’s found in human societies. It can also be easily made up of a composed arrangement of educated conduct and thought designs. Culture is a sorted out framework since it includes many parts. Throughout the world, there are many cultures that are both very different and also very similar. "Culture encompasses religion, food, what we wear, how we wear it, our language, marriage, music, what we believe is right or wrong, how we sit at table, how we greet visitors, how we behave and one million other things." (Cristina De Rossi.)
On one hand, Vietnamese gastronomy is not just about Vietnamese food; the gastronomes can try Chinese, Thailand, French food and many other dishes from different countries in the world right here in the Vietnamese restaurants. It is really a paradise of food bringing tourists to Vietnam. On the other hand, many Vietnamese restaurants located abroad contribute to present the image of Vietnamese gastronomy to the world. Misses Wendy Chan, an expert from Definity Marketing assumes that Vietnamese food is the most fashionable choice for the Americans.
The spiciest food is Central Vietnam. Here, everything consists of abundant spices like chili pepper and color food. The food here is hotter and spicier. Spring rolls and Bun Bo Hue are commonly eaten. A spring roll contains fresh meat or
Defining the meaning of culture is paramount to understanding how it can affect and shape a nation. Culture is defined by a set of customs, skills, courtesies, habits and lifestyle choices that develop as a result of a person’s environment. There are several characteristics that make up a nation 's culture, and set it apart from others. Geographical location greatly influences culture because it can determine profession, diet, as well as interaction with other individuals. Key infrastructure helps define a citizen’s access to resources such as clean drinking water, medicine, and trade items from other areas. Weather can take a monstrous toll on civilized nations, preventing them from expanding or limiting agricultural growth. Lines of communication throughout a nation are critical to ensuring that borders are maintained and cities well governed. Military conflicts often times determine government influence and can even destroy a nation’s way of life. Most notably
Africa is a continent that is rich and diverse in terms of culture and traditions. The continent is also considered to be the agricultural hub in the world. Due to this, most of African culture is ultimately intertwined with the foodstuffs that the land has to offer. In general, most of the inhabitants of Africa live within the rural areas and rely on subsistent farming to meet their day to day food needs. Fast food restaurants and supermarkets where processed and packaged food is sold are usually frowned upon and considered a waste of money and resources (AIG, 2011).
A country’s national culture dictates almost everything that is done on a daily basis within that specific country. Everything from the way people eat, the way they speak and the holidays they celebrate are all dictated by these established beliefs and traditions. Culture can be described as “the characteristic way of behaving and believing, that a group of people have developed over time and share in common” (Tarique). This can be easily
Street vending is one of the fanciest experiences visitors should take when they come to Vietnam. Imagine every morning when you wake up, somebody reaches your home and sells everything you need to cook today. The long existence of street vending proves that Vietnamese people are really open to old culture while adapting new shifting in their culture. Although the modernization of society has impacts on the activities of street vendors, Vietnam will lose its culture without street vendors.
Mauritius, being a welfare state, has to make sure that all the inhabitants are living in good conditions. The most important that has to be taken into consideration is the health of the people. Health is a greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship, said Buddha. The role of the Ministry of Health is to ensure that all the medical facilities are available to the population and improvements are being made as it is the main objective of the health system and there have been progressions in the health system over the past decades.