Vietnamese Food 101: Why Pho-to-Go Will Be Your New Lunch Delivery Favorite
Posted by Sara on Wednesday, June 18th, 2014 with 5 Comments
Pizza. Chinese. Thai. If this takeout trifecta is wearing itself out in your office, it’s time to spice up the food delivery routine… literally! When it comes to flavor, there’s no cuisine quite so qualified as Vietnamese to inject a little excitement into the workday. Bright, bold ingredients like chiles, citrus, and savory spices, combined with influence from both French and Chinese cooking, make Vietnamese a unique yet incredibly approachable option for group takeout and pleasing a wide range of palates. Many dishes are customized right at your table, so adventurous eaters can pile on the chiles while pickier eaters can stick to the familiar — yet flavorful — array of soups and sandwiches available on many Vietnamese menus.
Want to get started — or introduce your officemates — to the wonders of Vietnamese food delivery? Try one of these dishes to get off on the right foot with this colorful cuisine:
Pho is popular, delicious, and customizable – perfect for office lunches!
Image source: Flickr user Gary Stevens
Perhaps the best-known Vietnamese dish is pho, the vermicelli noodle soup traditionally made from long-simmering beef-bone broth — although chicken broth pho (called pho ga), lighter and more delicate, is also available in some traditional Vietnamese restaurants… and vegetarian varieties can be found in non-traditional ones. Most pho includes a choice of meat, ranging from thinly sliced round steak to beef meatballs (bo vien), with more adventuresome options like brisket (nam), tendon, and tripe. Pho is also served with separate add-ins like basil, lime, cilantro, jalapeños, bean sprouts, and hoisin sauce. Sriracha is also a frequent accompaniment, but pho purists believe that’s the equivalent of putting ketchup on a steak: it ruins the flavor of the delicate soup. Order up a bowl with your meat of choice, and add in the fresh herbs and chiles to taste — perfect for large groups with varying palates or sensitivity to spiciness.
The French-influenced banh mi is a lunchtime classic.
Image source: Flickr user stu_spivack
For the lunch crowd that loves a good sandwich, another can’t miss Vietnamese food delivery option is banh mi, which literally means “baguette.” A product of the French colonial influence on Vietnam, these sandwiches consist of tender pork, pickled daikon, cucumber, cilantro, jalapeños, mayonnaise, and thinly sliced carrots stuffed into a crusty baguette. While gio, a pork pate, is often used in banh mi, and yet another example (along with the baguette) of the French influence, many restaurants will also offer chicken and even vegetarian banh mi.
For a step further into Vietnamese cuisine, try bun bo hue – a very flavorful and spicy noodle soup that’s considerably bolder than its more popular counterpart. Bun bo hue is a soup studded with pork hock, sliced beef shank, and thicker rice vermicelli noodles, all topped with a spicy red chili paste.
On the other hand, those who shy away from spice should opt for bo kho – a beef stew with familiar ingredients (tomato, carrots, onions, chunks of beef shank) with delectable Vietnamese spices (star anise, ginger, and lemongrass). This hearty stew is usually served with crusty bread, and so often called “banh mi bo kho.”
Goi cuon, Vietnamese spring rolls, make a fantastic appetizer to share at the office.
Image source: Flickr user stu_spivack
For a crowd-pleasing appetizer to share, order up a plate of goi cuon, the Vietnamese take on spring rolls: rice paper wraps stuffed with sautéed shrimp or pork, thinly sliced vegetables, and vermicelli noodles, usually served with peanut sauce.
Too hot for a noodle soup? Go for bun: the general name for a rice noodle salad, consisting of a pile of vermicelli noodles (like the ones found in pho) served chilled on top of greens, like lettuce and cucumber. Then, hot meat is added (the usual array of grilled pork, beef, or chicken), along with briny fish sauce, sweeter hoison, or spicy Sriracha for extra flavor.
Rice plates are another beginner-friendly option for Vietnamese food delivery.
Image source: Flickr user Elsie Hui
For a simple and straightforward dish, look for a com dia, or rice plate, on the menu. It’s essentially rice and meat, whether that’s grilled pork, chicken, or beef. Usually, rice plates are accompanied by sauce and a bowl of garlicky broth, but can be kept fairly mild for beginners.
Whether you’re a pro at slurping pho or a newbie that’s never tasted fish sauce, Waiter.com can help your office discover the deliciousness that is Vietnamese food delivery! Easy online ordering and convenient delivery make it easy to enjoy Vietnamese cuisine right in your break room!
When it comes to feeding employees and coworkers, make your company's food program really count! If your workplace dining plan needs to take it up a notch — or if you don't have one at all — Waiter.com is here to help. From Virtual Cafeteria Service to diverse menus to local takeout & delivery, Waiter.com offers customizable dining solutions for every business and budget. Contact us today to get started!
I have always wondered what exactly ‘Pho’ food is, thanks to this article I finally have an answer! I made the mistake of reading this article when I was hungry, your descriptions of the dishes are so vivid that along with the pictures I could almost taste them. I think I am going to find a Vietnamese restaurant to try out now! I had also never heard of waiter.com before and I am glad to learn of it. I think tomorrow I may try to use waiter.com to order some ‘Pho’ for me and my coworkers. Thanks for a great article Sara!
Oh my goodness, I LOVE Vietnamese cuisine. I’d most especially love to have it during the workday. It’s so flavorful and colorful, I know lots of my co-workers would enjoy it as well. It’s mostly easy on the stomach as well, not as weighty as some other types of food like pizza, Chinese or Indian, but still very satisfying. Adding this to the office lunchtime options would be an awesome way to introduce people to excellent ethnic food options that many don’t even know exists.
Bradley, you’re so right – Vietnamese tends to be much lighter than other takeout options! Yet another reason to give it a try!
I absolutely love Vietnamese food. Not only is it delicious and different but it is extremely healthy. I love Pho – it is perfect for those cold winter days where you are trapped in the office and dont want to go out in the snow. I usually get mine with shrimp. I have been trying for years now to get everyone in my office into Sriracha. I literally put in on everything. Even the most boring of lunches can be spiced up with Sriracha. I have never tried bahn mi but a few of the food trucks by my apartment offer that. Goi Cuon looks like a delicious alternative to the traditional fried spring roll. I like that it incorporates sea food and vegetebles.
Shrimp + Sriracha = a winning lunch! Let us know what you think of your first banh mi 🙂 They aren’t quite as light as many other Vietnamese dishes (again, French influence!) but are a fantastic treat.