Vietnamese foods frequently use rice, fish sauce, soy sauce, fresh herbs and spices, fruits and vegetables. The most frequently used meats are beef, pork, chicken, shrimp, cockles, and different kinds of seafood. A typical Vietnamese family meal includes individual bowls of rice, boiled, steamed, grilled or stewed meat or fish, vegetable dish, Vietnamese-style soup, and fish or soy sauce for dipping. Vietnamese immigrants in Australia, Canada, and the United States also help popularize Vietnamese cuisines in the west and in some Southeast Asian countries like Thailand, South Korea and Laos.

Popular Vietnamese dishes are the following:

• Rice dishes – Com chien Duong Chau (Chinese fried rice dish), Com ga rau thom (mint chicken rice), Com hen, Cơm tấm (grilled pork)
• Meat dishes – Bo kho (beef and vegetable stew), Bo la lot (spicy beef roll), Bo luc lac (marinated beef cubes), Bò 7 Món (7 courses of beef), Cha lua (sausage), Ga nuong sa (grilled chicken with lemon grass), Nem Nuong (grilled meatballs), Nem Nguoi
• Noodles – Banh Hoi (unique Vietnamese noodle which is very thin and woven into intricate bundles), Bun thit nuong, Bun cha, Bun Cha Gio, Cao lầu, Mì Quảng, Mi xao don
• Noodle soups – Bún bò Huế (spiced beef noodle soup), Bun Mang Vit (blend of bamboo shoots and duck noodle), Bun Oc (Vermicelli with snails), Bánh canh, Bún riêu, Mi bo vien, Phở (beef noodle soup)
• Soups and porridges – Sup mang cua (buttery bamboo-crab soup), Vietnamese hotpot, Cháo gà (chicken and rice porridge), Chao (rice congee), Canh chua (sour soup)
• Dumplings and pancakes – Banh bao (steamed bun dumpling), Bánh bèo, Banh Bot Chien, Banh bot loc, Banh xeo,
• Wraps and rolls – Bánh cuốn (rice flour rolls stuffed with ground pork), Bánh tráng, Bi cuon, Bo bia, Chả giò (spring roll), salad rolls (summer rolls)
• Desserts – Chè (sweet pudding), deep-fried banana, flan, Sinh tố (fruit smoothie), yogurt, various cakes and confections
• Beverages – Bia hơi (specialty draft beer), Cafe sua da (strong iced coffee), Nước mía (sugar cane juice), slushes and tropical sorbets.