Vietnamese cuisine is distinct. It amalgamates various Asian cuisines. It features farm-fresh ingredients from the baskets of Vietnamese farmers. It also holds some little-known influence from French cuisine. Connections Between French Cuisine and Vietnamese Cuisine From 1887 until 1954, Vietnam was under French rule. A colony of France, the land recognized today as Vietnam was once the home of many French soldiers. Here, they lived and shared language, culture, and more. In total, France had rule over Vietnam for nearly 70 years. Two whole generations of people had come and gone by the time the French withdrew. By the end of their colonial rule in Vietnam, a lot of French influence had already taken root in Vietnamese culture, art, religion, and architecture. One area where there was an undeniable mark on Vietnam was in the food. Despite their independence declaration in 1954, there was forever a mark on Vietnamese cuisine from decades of French-style living.

Read more: You Wouldn’t Have Vietnamese Cuisine As We Know It Without A French Influence

Vietnamese cuisine is known for many things. Gluten-free dishes. Broth dishes like pho. Summer and spring rolls. Salted fish. Unique herbs and spices. Rice flour. There’s so much to appreciate about cooking, food preparation, and cultivation in this ethnic cuisine. As tasty and healthy as it is, in Canada, we don’t often see or hear of edible flowers used in Vietnamese cooking. In Vietnam, however, they form a key component of a wide variety of dishes. Flowers are seasoned and cooked in salads and soups to such an extent that Vietnam is recognized as the country with the most dishes made from flowers in the world. As of 2020, it’s a world record!

Read more: Delicious Edible Flowers in Vietnamese Cuisine Have Set A World Record!

An all-veggie Vietnamese cuisine in Toronto is available at TorontoPHO. Although we do appreciate our meats and all the unique flavors that come with that, vegetarian Vietnamese tastes delicious – especially when done right. We try to keep as close to plant-based as we can. Sometimes that involves using tofu as a substitute, however. A modern take on the family recipes of traditional Vietnamese fare, you can find a whole vegetarian menu with dishes like stir-fried noodles, tofu pad thai, fried rice, salad rolls, spring rolls, spicy noodle soup, mango salad, and deep-fried vegetarian spring rolls.

Read more: How Can I Make Vietnamese Cuisine Vegetarian – see here!

“Feels like home.” For Asian refugees coming to Canada, it’s a whole new experience that many aren’t fully prepared for. The winters are cold. The jobs are different. The culture is new. For many, adapting to this new environment can take time. Coming to Canada, most refugees don’t come with a lot of money or much of anything. Everything one can carry, their culture, their family, and their commitment are their only possessions.

Read more: Pho is the Vietnamese Noodle Soup that has Fed Newly Arrived Refugees in Canada for Years

Toronto, Ontario is a beautiful multicultural city. Arguably Canada’s greatest example of multiculturalism, the GTA is filled with very tasty cuisines, a wild array of lifestyles, and healthy cooking trends. When talking specifically ethnic cuisines, Vietnamese is among the top in both taste and healthiness. In taste, you have all sorts of spices and herbs swirling around in dishes like pho. On health, you have minimal fat, high-protein, and a strong emphasis on whole foods and farm vegetables. TorontoPHO has brought authentic Vietnamese cooking to the Toronto marketplace, using traditional spices and herbs to achieve the perfect taste as opposed to reaching for oil. Eating Vietnamese, the characteristic tastes of lemongrass, fish sauce, veggies, and broth are just a few you’ll find. For a flavor-packed brunch, lunch, dinner, or after-hours snack, you can trust Vietnamese to hit the mark.

Read more: Vietnamese is the Healthiest Flavor-Packed Cuisine You Can Get in Toronto

You go to your local farmer’s market. Look around. What you see are loads of delightfully fresh vegetables and fruits, and dishes made from those same farm-fresh ingredients. In North America, this sort of paradise of fresh foods is usually only common at the local marketplace. By the same those same veggies reach our grocery store aisles, they’re not the same. Some of the freshness has been lost and a lot of those items have been commercially grown, prioritizing output over nutritional health.

Read more: What Makes Vietnamese Cuisine So Delicious?