May 16, 2024
HANOI – Phở trộn (mixed noodle), nộm (salad) and gỏi gà (Vietnamese Shredded Chicken Salad) are placed among the top 100 salads in the world by TasteAtlas, an international food website.
It compiled this list based on a combination of diner preferences and expert opinions, with nearly 12,437 ratings.
Phở trộn is a classic Vietnamese phở variety, securing the 30th spot. This type of phở is dry, meaning that it doesn’t contain broth – instead, it’s a salad with meat (beef or chicken) and noodles, according to TasteAtlas, elaborating that the dish is typical of Hà Nội and especially popular during summer.
The sliced meat is marinated in salt, ginger, pepper, garlic, lime juice, and five spice powder. It’s then browned in a pan and mixed with fresh greens (mint, Thai basil, lettuce, cilantro, bean sprouts), fried shallots, rice noodles, and a dressing consisting of vinegar, fish sauce, sugar, and tamarind paste. The noodle salad is often garnished with chopped peanuts and red chili peppers, while lime wedges are usually served on the side.
Nộm is a traditional Vietnamese salad and ranked 42nd on the list. It’s made with a combination of fresh, grated vegetables such as cabbage and turnip, along with papaya, green mango, banana flowers, cucumber slices, and sometimes even shredded boiled pork. Other common ingredients include hot chili peppers, roasted ground nuts, and grated carrots to make the salad more visually attractive and colourful.
Nộm is the name in the North, while in southern Vietnam, the salad is known as gỏi. The salads are usually dressed with nước chấm (sauce), and they’re often served with prawn crackers on the side.
Ranking 94th, gỏi gà is a traditional Vietnamese salad. This sweet, savory, crunchy, and tangy salad is made with a combination of cooked shredded chicken, carrots, onions, cilantro, mint, and sometimes cabbage. All the salad ingredients are placed in a bowl, mixed, then drizzled with a dressing consisting of lime juice, fish sauce, chili peppers, garlic, and sugar. The salad is usually topped with roasted peanuts and crispy fried shallots before serving.
Topping the list is Greece’s Dakos, a traditional Cretan dish consisting of a dry barley rusk called paximadi that is topped with crumbled myzithra cheese, chopped ripe tomatoes, whole olives, capers, fresh oregano, and a few generous splashes of high-quality olive oil. It was followed by Mechouia, a Tunisian salad made with grilled, coarsely chopped onions, peppers, tomatoes, and garlic, and China’s smacked cucumber, a traditional Asian dish that’s usually made with a combination of cucumbers, garlic, sesame oil, black vinegar, and soy sauce.