What makes Asian food tick, enhance your taste buds, and tingle your tongue with flavors especially authentic Vietnamese cooking? Is it the MSG (Monosodium Glutamate)? In fact after you review this article, you will discover three secrets about Vietnamese recipes that not everybody knows about, yet…

Yes, MSG is one of the ingredients in many Vietnamese recipes. MSG is the flavor enhancer. It accents the flavor in meat, vegetables, etc… However, there is a looming health concern in adding MSG because it could cause an allergy reaction to your body. Scientifically, a report from the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) compiled in 1995 on behalf of the FDA concluded that MSG was safe for most people when "eaten at customary levels." ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monosodium_glutamate ).

Can we make Vietnamese food without MSG and the food still tastes flavorful? The answer is yes.

MSG is not the only ingredient that brings out flavors. One ingredient that is unique to authentic Vietnamese recipes is fish sauce, Nuoc Mam . Fish sauce is consisted of anchovy extract, water, salt, fructose, and hydrolysed vegetable protein. My husband is a silly white guy who was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He loves Vietnamese food especially fish sauce.  He loved fish sauce so much that he wanted to put it on ALL Vietnamese food. Needless to say, he found out the hard way. Not all Vietnamese food tasted good with fish sauce, especially desserts. This is the same story I have shared with many of friends and family. I found it very endearing.

The last best kept secret to best tasting food in Vietnamese recipes is marinating. The meat or fish product is commonly combined with different sauces/condiments and allowed to set for at least an hour. This marinating process allows the sauce to soak deep into the core and enhance the flavor of the meat or fish product.

As you can see, there are more ways to enhance the flavors in your food with Vietnamese cooking. If you are interested in making simple (no additional MSG) and healthy Vietnamese food, we recommend ordering Ha Roda's Vietnamese cookbook: A Vietnamese Kitchen: Family Treasured Recipes. Click HERE!