In Vietnam, rice has an important position on the menu. In the North and the South, rice grows abundantly. Also, as Vietnam has a long sea border, you will find a lot of fish, crab and shrimps. Furthermore, there is a lot of variation in Vietnamese cooking. You still see some French influence (the French ruled the country from mid-nineteenth century until World war II), in the use of herbs and French breads, which are sold in the streets. Hue, the ancient capital of the country, is the native city of many famous dishes, of which Hue pancake is one. The kings liked long dinners with lots of small, beautiful looking dishes. In the North, you will find influence from the Chinese kitchen (the Chinese ruled Vietnam until the 9th century), whereas in the South, dishes may look like Cambodian, Thai or Malaysian. Home cooking is also important, the kitchen forms a central place in many Vietnamese homes, and one of the examples is Thit chung trung
Special days and historical events in Vietnam, on which you may decide to serve these dishes, are 19 May, birthday of Ho Chi Minh (1890); 2nd of September, when in 1945 Vietnam became independent from Japan and France; Teachers Day on the 20th of November; and 22 December, "Armed Forces day". New Year, which is celebrated between mid January and mid February and called Têt, is celebrated with rice cakes, Bán Chu'ng. Click on culinary calendar for more links between cooking and worldwide history.