Gluten-free diets are becoming increasingly popular, even for those without celiac disease or gluten sensitivities. Approximately 1% of people worldwide have celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder triggered by gluten. However, 6-8% of the global population is estimated to have non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Avoiding gluten provides significant health benefits for these individuals. Luckily, Vietnamese cuisine offers many naturally gluten-free dish options.
What is Gluten?
Gluten is a group of proteins found in wheat, barley, and rye. Specific proteins include gliadin in wheat, hordein in barley, and secalin in rye. When flour from these grains is mixed with water, the gluten proteins form an elastic network that gives bread its chewy texture. People with celiac disease or non-celiac gluten sensitivity cannot digest these proteins properly. When they eat gluten, it triggers an immune response that causes inflammation and damage to the small intestine.
Foods That Typically Contain Gluten
Since gluten comes from wheat, barley, and rye, any foods containing those grains are likely to have gluten. Obvious sources of gluten include:
- Breads
- Pasta
- Cereals
- Crackers
- Baked goods like cakes, cookies, muffins, and donuts
However, gluten can also be found in less obvious places, including:
- Beer
- Soy sauce
- Salad dressings and sauces thickened with wheat flour
- Gravy
- Breaded or floured foods
- Processed meats containing filler
It’s important to vigilantly read ingredient labels, since gluten can be used as an additive for flavoring or as a stabilizer. When eating out at restaurants, communicating with your server about how dishes are prepared can help identify hidden sources of gluten.
Naturally Gluten-Free Grains
While traditional breads, pastas, and baked goods rely on wheat flour, gluten-free options can be made with naturally gluten-free grains and starches like:
- Rice
- Corn
- Potatoes
- Tapioca
- Sorghum
- Millet
- Buckwheat
- Quinoa
- Amaranth
- Arrowroot
Vietnamese cuisine relies heavily on rice products like rice noodles, rice papers, and rice flour. This means there are many Vietnamese dishes that are naturally gluten-free. Keep reading to learn more!
Vietnamese Soups
Vietnamese soups are flavorful and often naturally gluten-free. Here are some delicious options:
Pho
Pho is a comforting Vietnamese noodle soup made with a deeply flavored broth and rice noodles called bánh phở. Traditional pho contains slices of beef or chicken, along with herbs like cilantro, basil, sliced onions, and lime. The broth is flavored with aromatics like charred ginger and onion, as well as spices like cinnamon, star anise, and clove. Fish sauce adds a savory umami kick. Pho is a naturally gluten-free dish.
Bún Bò Huế
Bún bò Huế is a popular spicy beef noodle soup from the city of Huế in central Vietnam. It contains thin rounds of rice vermicelli, beef (usually brisket or shank), and pork knuckles in a rich, fiery broth made from lemongrass, shrimp paste, and chilies. Bún bò Huế is also topped with herbs and lime wedges. Like pho, this soup can be enjoyed gluten-free.
Cánh Gà Sốt Vang
Cánh gà sốt vang translates to chicken wings in wine sauce. This gluten-free soup features braised chicken wings in a broth seasoned with fish sauce, black pepper, shallots, garlic, and sugar and thickened slightly with cornstarch. Chicken wings are a good source of protein and make this soup filling.
Bánh Canh
A simple but tasty Vietnamese soup, bánh canh features thick udon-style rice noodles and a seafood-based broth made from shrimp, crab, pork bones, onions, and garlic. Optional toppings include shrimp, pork, chicken, crunchy pork rinds, cilantro, and green onions. The soft, chewy noodles soak up the flavors of the broth.
Cháo
Cháo is Vietnamese rice porridge made by simmering rice in a broth with chicken, seafood, or pork. Often eaten for breakfast, this gluten-free soup can be seasoned with fish sauce, black pepper, green onions, and other aromatics. It’s a comforting option when you’re feeling under the weather.
Vietnamese Noodle Dishes
Rice noodles and rice papers are used extensively in Vietnamese cuisine. Here are some classic Vietnamese noodle dishes that can be enjoyed gluten-free:
Bún Chả
Bún chả consists of seasoned grilled pork with vermicelli noodles and fresh herbs. The dish originated from northern Vietnam. The tender sliced grilled pork often includes both pork belly and pork shoulder. It’s served over room temperature rice vermicelli noodles and topped with herbs, chili sauce, chopped peanuts, and a vinegary dipping sauce.
Bún Thịt Nướng
Bún thịt nướng features grilled pork and rice vermicelli noodles with the addition of fried spring rolls. Like many Vietnamese noodle dishes, it’s accompanied by herbs, salad greens, bean sprouts, chili sauce, and nuoc cham dipping sauce. The light yet filling ingredients make this a refreshing and gluten-free meal.
Bánh Cuốn
Bánh cuốn consists of delicately rolled rice flour crepes filled with ground pork, wood ear mushrooms, and minced shallots. The stuffed crepes are served with greens and herbs and drizzled with nuoc cham sauce. This is a great gluten-free dish for breakfast or brunch.
Bún Riêu
Bún riêu is a noodle soup made with a shrimp and tomato broth flavored with fish sauce, served over vermicelli noodles. Ingredients can include tomatoes, shrimp, crab, fried tofu, and pork. Toppings of bean sprouts, herbs, chili, and lime make it even more scrumptious. Enjoy this gluten-free soup any time of day.
Vietnamese Salads & Wraps
Vietnam’s warm climate and abundance of fresh produce make for great salads and wraps. Here are some stellar options:
Gỏi Cuốn
These fresh spring rolls are made by wrapping herbs, salad greens, sliced pork, shrimp, rice vermicelli noodles, and sometimes bean sprouts in moistened rice paper sheets. What’s inside the rolls varies by region. The wraps are served chilled with nuoc cham dipping sauce and make an excellent gluten-free appetizer or light meal.
Nộm
Nộm refers to Vietnamese salad. These bright, refreshing salads combine thinly sliced vegetables and greens like cabbage, carrots, rau ram (Vietnamese coriander), and cucumbers with rice vinegar dressing and crunchy peanuts. Seared beef or pork can be added too. It’s a light, gluten-free accompaniment to heavier dishes.
Bò Bía
Bò bía is a Vietnamese snack featuring thinly shaved boiled pork, fried onions, egg, dried shrimp, julienned cucumbers, cilantro, and sauces wrapped in rice paper. The accompanying dipping sauce contains soy sauce, vinegar, chili, and lime. Bò bía makes a fantastic gluten-free appetizer or snack.
Bánh Xèo
Bánh xèo are Vietnamese stuffed savory crepes made from rice flour batter filled with pork, shrimp, mung bean sprouts, and coconut milk. They’re served alongside lettuce, herbs, chili sauce, and nuoc cham. To eat them, the crepes are wrapped up in lettuce along with the greens, then dipped in sauce. Bánh xèo are naturally gluten-free and delicious.
Vietnamese Rice Dishes
Gluten-free rice serves as the base for these yummy Vietnamese rice platters:
Cơm Tấm
Cơm tấm means broken rice – it’s made from fractured rice grains left over after harvesting long-grain rice. While simple, it’s incredibly tasty paired with grilled, barbecued, or curried meat and served with fresh veggies. The meat is often pork chops or steamed chicken. An over-easy fried egg tops it off. Cơm tấm is served with nuoc cham for dipping and is gluten-free comfort food at its finest.
Cơm Gà Xối Mỡ
Cơm gà xối mỡ translates to fatty chicken rice. It consists of rice topped with boiled or roasted chicken accompanied by a sunny-side fried egg. The dish gets its name from the drippings of fat and sauce from the chicken that are poured over the rice. Optional sides include cucumbers, lettuce, fresh herbs, chili sauce, and fish sauce. Simple but delicious, this dish is naturally gluten-free.
Cơm Chiên Dương Châu
Cơm chiên Dương Châu is Vietnamese fried rice from the town of Yangzhou. This gluten-free rice dish includes meat such as chicken, pork, or Chinese sausage, eggs, onion, peas and carrots, raisins, and soy sauce. Thanks to the myriad ingredients fried up with the rice, cơm chiên Dương Châu is full of flavor.
Gluten-Free Vietnamese Desserts
While less well-known than savory dishes, Vietnam does have some tasty traditional desserts that happen to be gluten-free:
Chè
Chè refers to any traditional sweet Vietnamese dessert soup or pudding. It comes in an endless variety of flavors, often combining fruit, seeds, beans, tapioca, jelly, coconut milk, and ice. Some examples are chè bắp (corn pudding), chè đậu đỏ (red bean pudding), chè chuối (banana tapioca pudding), and many more. Chè makes an excellent light gluten-free dessert.
Chuối Chiên
Chuối chiên consists of sliced bananas dipped in rice flour batter and fried until crispy and golden. This delicious fried banana dessert can be topped with honey, coconut flakes, sesame seeds, or ice cream. Enjoy this gluten-free treat on its own or paired with chè for dessert.
Kem
Kem refers to ice cream in Vietnam. While Western-style ice creams are becoming more common, traditional kem flavors use local tropical fruit, herbs, and beans, like avocado, black sesame, durian, lychee, coconut, and pandan leaf. Check ingredient labels carefully to find gluten-free options.
Sữa Chua
Sữa chua is Vietnamese yogurt. It has a lighter, more liquid texture than Western yogurt. Natural or flavored sữa chua makes a cooling gluten-free dessert or snack on a hot day. You can also enjoy it with fresh fruit or granola if you use a gluten-free variety.
Chè Trôi Nước
Chè trôi nước features chewy glutinous rice dumplings in a sweet ginger syrup. It’s served warm or cold with crushed ice. The dumplings contain a mung bean paste filling. This pudding-like dessert is naturally gluten-free and perfect for any time of day.
Tips for Ordering Gluten-Free Vietnamese Food
Here are some useful tips for enjoying gluten-free Vietnamese cuisine:
- Rice noodles, rice papers, rice flour wrappers, and rice-based noodes are all gluten-free.
- Ask if soy sauce has wheat. Tamari is a gluten-free substitute.
- Ensure soups and broths are thickened only with pure cornstarch, not wheat flour.
- Request for meat, poultry, and seafood dishes to be prepared simply without breading, wheat-based sauce, or marinades.
- Ask about hidden ingredients in dipping sauces and dressings.
- Request beef pho instead of chicken pho, as the latter may contain trace wheat from chicken feed.
- Check that dessert toppings like coconut flakes, peanuts, and sesame seeds are not contaminated with gluten from processing.
- Look for fully gluten-free restaurants or chains like The Gluten Free Gang.
With some minor adjustments, those with celiac disease and gluten sensitivities can enjoy the full range of delicious Vietnamese dishes. The cuisine’s reliance on naturally gluten-free ingredients like rice, coconut milk, vegetables, herbs, meat, seafood, and fruit makes it an ideal option for gluten-free eaters.
Conclusion
Vietnamese food offers incredible variety that is largely gluten-free by nature. Soups like pho and bún riêu, rice noodle dishes like bún chả and bánh cuốn, and stuffed wraps like gỏi cuốn can all be enjoyed without gluten. Even desserts like chè and chuối chiên are rice-based. With classic dishes relying on gluten-free ingredients like rice, coconut milk, meat, seafood, and produce, Vietnamese cuisine makes it easy for those avoiding gluten to savor flavorful, nutritious meals. Just be mindful of hidden glutens like soy sauce and dessert toppings. Overall, Vietnamese food provides a delicious array of gluten-free options that can be a healthy part of any diet.
