Free Essay Sample - Vietnam Culture

Vietnam is a country in the south of Asia, which has ventured mainly into agriculture due to favorable climate conditions and geographical factors. The Vietnamese food culture is derived from their particular way of food preparation. The Vietnamese prepare most of their dishes using rice as the main ingredient, and their main dish is ordinary rice. The use of rice is mainly because wet rice is the most preferable among them and has become a part of their culture, whereby rice is also used for devotion in the place of worship. The growth requirements of rice in Vietnam are favorable, thus making rice readily available to them. Due to Vietnamese migration to the United States, the Vietnamese food culture has been introduced in the United States and is becoming famous among Americans and Vietnamese (SarDesai 2018). The unique identification of the Vietnamese food civilization is the ability to dine together, which signifies harmony.

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Historical Development

The Vietnamese were involved in a war that began in 1950 and ended in 1975 when Saigon was seized. The Vietnamese underwent a lot of distress under the French, who colonized them, and the Chinese who governed them (Herzog2017). The colonization led to the diversification of their food civilization as they learned about other cuisines and implemented techniques to better their own. The United States provided military assistance to the Vietnamese to help them conquer the war. The Vietnamese immigrated and sought refuge in the United States. Later they started building hotels in the United States to enjoy their meals from home hence introducing the Vietnam food civilization in the United States.

Immigration History

The Vietnamese immigrated to the United States in different groups at different times. One group emigrated after the war ended in 1975, which included mostly soldiers and Americans for fear of being oppressed. Another group immigrated from 1977 to 1982, who involved people who were fleeing in boats to seek help from other neighboring countries. The last group included prisoners who had been captured and Americans.

Other reasons forced the Vietnamese to immigrate other than war. One of the reasons is famine, which increased due to political instability. Vietnam's supplies had been cut off, and they could not get enough food to feed themselves; hence couldn't withstand the hunger. There was also economic instability, which undermined their well-being since no country was willing to associate with them in terms of trade (Herzog 2017). Another reason for their immigration was the lack of security as the communist political power was oppressing them.

Food Civilization

Vietnamese restaurants are rising every day, making Vietnam cuisines in the United States. People from different ethnic backgrounds and even tourists have started embracing Vietnam meals leading to the growth of more Vietnam restaurants (Park 2017). The customary Vietnamese broth is known as pho, which is also prepared from rice as it became very famous, and this shows how much people are starting to appreciate Vietnamese food. Some American restaurants have also introduced Vietnam cuisine, which is served to both Americans and Vietnamese. In the future, Vietnam meals will become a significant part of the United States civilization. Vietnam cuisine will also be prepared in more American restaurants. Vietnamese have also combined various forms of meal preparation.

Conclusion

Vietnamese food culture has substantially been adopted in the United States and the food evolution is happening due to a combination of different ways of meal preparations. Vietnamese food civilization has also greatly evolved since the time before immigration to the United States (Park 2017). Food culture defines different ethnic groups.

References

Herzog, T. C. (2017). Vietnam war stories: Innocence lost. Routledge.

Park, K. (2017). Ethnic foodscapes: foreign cuisines in the United States. Food, Culture &Society, 20(3), 365-393.

SarDesai, D. R. (2018). Vietnam: Past and present. Routledge.