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Why do Vietnamese eat tons of fresh herbs with their food?

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Herbs taken with food is to inhence the flavor of the dishes bring to the higher level of the senses. Also herbs for Vietnamese people have medicinal purposes. It can be healing and brings about cures so Vietnamese food is healthy .

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Because of the following reasons:

Our transitional cultural food:

The Vietnamese doesn’t like to eat frozen meat. We like to eat the fresh meat. Some meat has not good smell so if you used it with some appropriate fresh herbs, the smell of meat will not bother your enjoyment.

The combined of your food with some special fresh herbs made it more delicious with many tastes when you ate????.

The Vietnamese concerned food as something healthy, it must be combined between hot and cold, between food and fresh herbs, vegetables are very good for your health, providing vitamins, cellulose beside the protein, a lot of fresh herbs got the same effects like natural medicine and help you avoid many diseases. It can help you have an easy digestion, balance the hot and cold in your body.

It has been used to decorate the dishes so it made well looking.

Can be used in cooking to make the food more delicious.

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I’m not Vietnamese but I can answer that since I too eat a ton of fresh herbs (and veggies) together with my food.

Herbs and Greens add Flavor and Variety to Food. A Meal consisting of Rice and Meat tastes kind of Bland. It would be better to throw in those Veggies and a Bowl of Soup to make your Rice meal more Appetizing. They also make your Tummy feel Full for Longer since Fiber from Greens gets burned by the body slowly as compared to Carbs coming from White Rice that gets burned instantly. Finally, Herbs and Greens offer Numerous Vitamins, Minerals and other Health Benefits to those who eat them. Perhaps thats why many Asians remain “Svelte” because they consume a lot of these.

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Firstly, the Vietnamese are living in a hot climate.

Secondly, the habit of eating fresh herbs is built in their DNA for generations.

I am Vietnamese, an American citizen. I eat a lot of herbs and other salads in my meals, and little meat. My doctors - who are white Americans who have no idea of my diet - told me to eat less meat in regard to my health. Hearing their sayings, I decided not to eat meat any more.

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I think Kim Huynh makes a good point that this issue is not at all about

The issue is not at all one of nationalist ideology.

People all over the world add some fresh local plant to the food they consume.

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Vietnamese coriander (scientific name: Persicaria odorata), also known as Vietnamese coriander and laksa leaves, is a spice plant of the Polygonum genus, and its leaves are often used in food preparation in Southeast Asia.

In Vietnamese cuisine, it is often used in lettuce salads or in spring rolls. Vietnamese coriander is also added to boiled beef noodles to add colour and flavour. Vietnamese cilantro is also often added to duck eggs.

In Singapore and Malaysia it is known as laksa leaves

Chopped laksa leaves are used to make a spicy soup base called laksa, which is made from laksa leaves, hence the name of the soup in the region.

Studies by the University of Natural Sciences in Vietnam have shown that consumption of Vietnamese coriander reduces the sperm count of rats and may have a similar effect on humans. In many Vietnamese herbal remedies, Vietnamese coriander is used to suppress sexual desire. In Vietnam, there is a saying "Vietnamese coriander, bean sprouts", which means that Vietnamese coriander has a lowering effect on fertility, while bean sprouts have the opposite effect. There is also another saying that 'Vietnamese coriander can eliminate sexual desire'.

Vietnamese coriander is not related to mint, nor is the labiatae family of the mint family, but its general appearance and aroma are reminiscent of them.

It is not only the Vietnamese who include it in their dishes, but also the Guangxi people in China, as well as the Laotians, Cambodians, Malaysians, Burmese, Indonesians, Filipinos, Indians, Sri Lankans and many others.

This is not at all a product unique to Vietnam. So there is no need to bring nationalistic overtones to the issue.

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Hi everyone.

I think the reason is simple because it makes the food tastier, fresher . More vegetables, less fat will help us eat more

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Using fresh herbs is one of the easiest (and cheapest) ways to take a dish from basic to brilliant. But for the home cook, incorporating fresh herbs can be daunting and probably raises some questions.

What do they taste like, when should you add them in the cooking process and what flavors go well together? With this guide to ten common fresh herbs (and a little help from our chef experts), you’ll no longer walk right past the fresh herb stand at your local farmers market.

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I lived in Houston, and had many Vietn aza mese friends and acquaintances.

Fresh herbs taste good. Medicinal, yes, but that's a side benefit:)

Fresh herbs are planted in some of my friend's yards in great quantity and, offer great quality.

It's the same reason I have a herb garden outside my kitchen. Everything tastes, looks and smells better with lots of fresh herbs.

I'd love a good bowl of pho this morning. 12F. A bowl of sunshine and warmth, and nothing is better post work out:)

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Because it adds flavours to the dish. It is fresh and soothing especially on hot days. It's also super healthy and good for your skin and health.

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I think the answer, or part of it, is as simple as "because it is what was readily available to the common folks".

It's cheap. It's right there in your backyard. It adds spice and flavour to the dish. And when you don't have much, you get inventive.

Vietnamese cuisine is reflective of the Vietnamese lifestyle , from the preparation to how the food is served. Going through long phases of war and political conflict, as well as cultural shifts, the vast majority of the Vietnamese people have been living in poverty. Therefore, the ingredients for Vietnamese food are often very inexpensive but nonetheless, the way they are cooked together to create a yin-yang balance makes the food simple in appearance but rich in flavor.

Due to economic conditions, maximizing the use of ingredients to save money has become a tradition in Vietnamese cooking. In earlier decades and even nowadays in rural areas, every part of a cow is used, from the muscle meat to the intestines; nothing is wasted. The higher quality cuts from farmed animals (cows, pigs) would be cooked in stirfry, soup or other dishes, while the secondary cuts would be used in blood sausages or soup. The same goes for vegetables like scallions: the leafy part is diced into small bits which are used to add flavor to the food while the crunchy stalk and roots are replanted.

- Vietnamese cuisine

Imagine it.

You have a family to feed, probably a big one too, with lots of children. Meat is expensive and hard to come by. Or maybe most commodities are rationed. Rice, flour, cloth, salt, sugar, milk, whatever. You don't have much of anything. You have to make a little go a long way .

So you start looking around for things that you can use. Points if they don't kill you. Bonus points if they taste rather good.

Thanks to the tropical climate, at least you have fresh herbs and vegetables all year round. You can boil them, AND make two dishes: the broth and the steamed veggies, to go with your steamed rice, and maybe some fish.

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Another pic of the typical poor family's meal:

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Or

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The correlation between what's in a region's cuisine and what's available in its environment is even more easily observed if you compare the Southern Vietnam and the Northern Vietnam. The North has a colder climate and less fertile soil, which means that spices, fruits, herbs, and fresh vegetables are not as readily available as in the South. You will notice that the foods in the North are also less, well, bold. Not as sweet, not as salty, not as spicy. It's a bit more bland.

(I remember my first visit to the North, years ago, and how bewildering the blandness tasted to me. You keep expecting this burst of flavours and this rainbow of colours in your bowl, yet there is none. I didn't stay for long enough to appreciate the taste of the Northern cuisine, and I wouldn't be surprised if my friends who were born and raised there thought that my Southern food was also odd. We think of anything that's unfamiliar to us as strange and incorrectly done.)

Herbs are also served fresh, on its own , so you can add as much or as little as you like - a "choose your own adventure" reinvention of every mouthful. They are aromatic, colourful, they make every dish fun. As one writer once said, the fresh herbs are integral to the layering of flavors in Vietnamese cuisine, as well as the "have it your way" Vietnamese dining philosophy.

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Traditionally, meal time means time with family

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Additionally, rural Vietnam is also heavily influenced by the "food as medicine" school of thinking . Edible plants and herbs are (or were) used widely for medical as well as dietary purposes. Food, feed or medicine: The multiple functions of edible wild plants in Vietnam

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Question: Why do Vietnamese eat tons of fresh herbs with their food?

Answer: I think that they love it - Fresh herbs together with other fresh vegetables are added to their foods or eaten directly with their fish sources. It is really cool and makes the Vietnamese cuisines different from other countries. Also, Each kind of food shall have some certain kind of fresh vegetable/Fresh herbs eaten together themselves.

Here are some popular fresh herbs in Vietnam and I have the habit to enjoy them directly with the fish sauces

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(Making the Fish sauces with chilly, onions)

Răng cưa/Mùi tàu

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2. Hành Lá

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3. Rau mùi

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4. Rau răm

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It often is eaten with the Trung Vit Lon.

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5. Rau ngổ

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6. Lá nốt

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They often use them to mix with the egg before being fried.

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7. Húng tép

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8. Lá bạc Hà

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You will see them in that food of Vietnam

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9. Húng lủi

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10. Húng Quế

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Many kinds of foods could be eaten with the Hung Que

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11. Húng Chanh

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12 Hung láng

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13. Kinh Giới

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14. Tía tô

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15. Thì là

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16. Diếp cá

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17. Xả

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18. Lá gừng

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Of course, there are many other vegetables and other things to be added to the Vietnamese food and make them more favorable and delicious.

19. Lá mơ

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Lá mơ is used with the dog meat in Vietnam

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20. Hoa Chuối tây

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21. Cây chuối

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22. Giá đỗ

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For example Lá mắc mật

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Roasted Duck with the La mắc mật

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23. Rau Ma

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24. La Dinh Lang

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(Simple breakfast made by someone)

Lusia Millar

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