In the domain of food, the small Southeast Asian country of Vietnam has a lot to offer. Vietnamese cuisine comprises of a variety of unique and flavorful dishes made from fresh local produce, meat, and seafood.
For lovers of seafood, Vietnamese cuisine is nothing short of paradise. Being surrounded by water-bodies such as the Gulf of Thailand, the Gulf of Tonkin, and the Indian Ocean, Vietnam has, over the centuries, developed amazing and mouthwatering dishes made from various kinds of seafood.
The Features of Vietnamese Cuisine
Not only is Vietnamese cuisine delicious, but most dishes originating from the country are also known for being extremely healthy. Vietnamese dishes are typically gluten-free, low in fat, and packed with minerals and vitamins.
Eating Vietnamese food regularly will help support and enhance your immune system against external threats and diseases. Vietnamese food is also known to facilitate weight loss while making a person more energetic.
After a night of heavy drinking, eating a light and healthy Vietnamese breakfast will also help diminish the effects of a hangover, such as headaches and nausea.
So, if you are a health-conscious seafood lover, then Vietnamese cuisine is ideal for you. But even for the rest of us, the cuisine of Vietnam has much to offer, both in terms of taste as well as health benefits.
Read on to know all the reasons why you consider seeking out the best Vietnamese restaurant in Orange County for those days when you really don’t feel like cooking!
The Benefits of Eating Vietnamese Food
- Age Slowly: Vietnamese soups and salads are made from ingredients packed with Vitamins A and E. Delicious fresh herbs, spices, vegetables, and lean proteins are included in most of the dishes.
All of these fresh ingredients contain antioxidants that delay the symptoms of aging, such as wrinkled skin and the appearance of fine lines around the eyes. Moreover, Vitamin E works against free radicals in the human body, which cause premature aging.
On the other hand, Vitamin A speeds up the healing of scars and cuts and prevents permanent scarring. It also helps keep wrinkles at bay.
- Stronger Immune System: Vietnamese cuisine consists of numerous dishes that are chock full of essential minerals and vitamins, all in one bowl. It may take an experienced chef over ten hours to prepare some types of original Vietnamese stock like the broth of Pho that is made with more than 15 ingredients.
A well-prepared Vietnamese meal can be a great source of more than ten essential nutrients, including iron, magnesium, folate, and vitamins C, B3, and B6. All these nutrients can help reducing fatigue, making you more energetic on a day to day basis.
Vietnamese salads, such as the prawn papaya salad, contain biotin, zinc, magnesium, copper, potassium as well as huge quantities of vitamins B and C. These nutrients boosts your immune system without adding significantly to your daily calorie intake.
- Controlled Wheat and Sugar Consumption: Dishes made from refined grain can spike the blood sugar levels, which would then be followed by a massive drop. This process causes you to become hungry within hours of consuming a meal, as the digestion of refined grains is easy and quick.
As Vietnamese cuisine prominently features rice grains and rice noodles, the usage of wheat is minimal, as a result of which most of their dishes are naturally gluten-free.
Most Vietnamese dishes are also low in sugar, containing less than 5 grams of it per serving. Hence, eating Vietnamese food regularly will definitely help you cut down your sugar intake.
- Lots of Vegan Options: If you don’t like eating meat or are ethically opposed to it, then Vietnamese cuisine is your friend. The food originating in Vietnam is very diverse and there are plenty of vegan and vegetarian options to choose from.
Even the Vietnamese dishes that do feature meat can easily be tweaked slightly to be made without any meat-based products. You should, however, be sure not to accidentally order a dish made with shrimp sauce or fish sauce, as this is a pretty common ingredient used in the Vietnamese cuisine.
However, requesting the chef to avoid shrimp sauce in your order will get you in the clear quickly enough.
- Digestion and Weight Loss: Vietnamese dishes are made using a plethora of fresh and restorative herbs such as mint and coriander. Most dishes originating in Vietnam are flavored with fresh herbs.
Moreover, popular dishes like Pho are served with a massive side helping of herbs and veggies, which you can add to your soup as you see fit. These herbs can naturally improve the efficacy of your liver and digestive system while also providing relief from nausea, indigestion, and stomach aches.
Low in fat and calories, Vietnamese cuisine can also help you reduce your weight if consumed regularly. This is because Vietnamese cuisine uses flavored herbs and spices instead of dairy and oil-based ingredients, which contain much more calories and fat.
In Conclusion
Now that you know all about the benefits of eating Vietnamese food, you can seek out the best Vietnamese restaurant in Orange County to get your daily helping of delicious and low-calorie meals straight from the shores of Vietnam!
