Southeast Asian food & cooking

A tour of Indochina is going to include food in some way, shape or form and it's basically up to you what you want to eat and where you want to eat it. Air-conditioned sit down restaurants with English language menus might well be more familiar, but will you really be treated to a truly authentic Southeast Asian experience or just a more expensive homogenised alternative?

Getting out into the streets and sampling freshly cooked food will tickle your taste buds in ways you'd never thought possible. The smells of Southeast Asian food are just so evocative and it’s the smoke, steam and sizzle of street food that many travellers keep coming back for. Sometimes all that's needed is to be brave, smile and point to what you want. Pulling up a plastic pew, alongside local patrons at a street food stall in Southeast Asia is definitely an authentic experience worth trying at least once.

It’s the same as anything really, as soon as you break the ice and go for it there will be no stopping you. Street food shopping with a phrase book really opens doors and widens smiles, and it’s easy to learn and practise a few words as you find out your new favourite foods. Organised tours are also an excellent means of building confidence and street smarts as you explore cafes, stalls and markets with a guide before being let loose to go it alone.

Some restaurants in Vietnam also have a strong French accent although, if you're looking for far healthier, dairy free alternatives nothing beats the balance of fresh herbs and vegetables found in classic Vietnamese goi cuon (spring rolls). In the mountains of central Vietnam, the local people tend to favour hotter dishes such as spicy beef and vermicelli noodle soup (bún bò Hue). Whereas down south, on the streets of Ho Chi Minh City, you'll find hu tieu nam vang (seafood, pork, noodle and egg soup) which actually originates from over the border in Cambodia. Black pepper in Cambodia, especially in the province of Kampot, is the country’s heater-upper of choice and more widely used than in Vietnam where chillies still reign supreme.

It’s worth remembering: these are still very poor countries. Local people, especially in rural areas, live off the land and rely heavily on traditional farming methods for food. Religious and cultural customs, as well as colonial and Communist influence, have also helped to shape many of the dishes that you’ll find today. For instance, the quantity of food production under the Communists was often considered of greater value than the quality, and eating out was deemed a bourgeois act not to be undertaken by the masses. Travelling from one Indochina country to the next is the best way to taste the difference and compare which dishes are same/same but different – as the ever popular catchphrase goes.

Amok is more of a cooking process than an actual dish and refers to a variety of curries traditionally wrapped and steamed in banana leaves. Coconut cream, fish, pork or chicken, rice, lemongrass, garlic and galangal (similar but not the same as ginger) are all classic amok ingredients to send taste buds soaring.

Where to try: check out the street food stalls in Angkor night market, Siem Reap.

Spring or salad rolls are the quintessential Vietnamese dish and always include raw vegetables, bean sprouts, cooked cold prawns and freshly cut herbs all wrapped up in squidgy rice paper parcels. Peanut, fish, soy or sweet and sour dipping sauce will usually be served on the side – feel the fresh.

Where to try: on board an overnight small ship cruise boat in Halong Bay.