When mentioning Vietnam, global food critics and fans can’t help praising ‘pho’ and ‘bun cha’ – its most distinctive savoury delicacies. But regarding Vietnamese desserts, people don’t have much impression of them. In this article, we’ll walk you through 15 of the tastiest and most widely loved desserts in Vietnam.
1. Sticky Rice Balls In Ginger Syrup (Che Troi Nuoc)
Che Troi Nuoc is a sweet soup with sticky rice balls filled with mung bean or sesame paste, soaked in ginger sauce. The balls are the size of a ping-pong. When taking the first bite, you can feel the sweet paste inside the sticky cover. The flavourful soup has the sweet taste of rock sugar, combined with light spicy and heat from fresh ginger.
Che Troi Nuoc is one of the most preferred traditional Vietnamese desserts, especially when served hot in the winter. The rice balls are sticky, and the syrup is hot. Ginger keeps your body warm and prevents you from catching a cold. It can be served with ice, but the balls can be hardened if soaked in the cold soup for too long.
Price: 15,000 VND to 25,000 VND (about $0.64-$1.07)
2. Vietnamese Fruit Shakes (Sinh To)
Sinh To is a creamy fruit blend made from fresh fruits, sweetened condensed milk, and ice. This Vietnamese drink is available in roadside drink stalls. Sinh To is loved by Vietnamese people, especially girls and women. It is affordable and tasty. Also, it is good for your health.
Price: 20,000 VND to 50,000 VND ($0.85 to $2.15)
3. Vietnamese Sweet Corn Soup (Che Ngo)
Che Ngo is a humble sweet soup made with sweet corn and glutinous tapioca starch and topped with a tablespoon of coconut milk. Just like most Vietnamese desserts, Che Ngo is the best when served with ground ice.
As it doesn’t involve expensive ingredients and sophisticated processing, Che Ngo is cheap and easy to make at home. You can find this Vietnamese pudding at almost every sweet soup shop all around Vietnam.
Price: 15,000 VND – 20,000 VND (about $1.65 to $0.85)
4. Vietnamese Three Colour Desserts (Che Ba Mau)
Che Ba Mau is literally translated to ‘Three Colour Dessert’ (che meaning ‘dessert’ or ‘sweet soup’, ‘ba’ meaning ‘three’, and ‘mau’ meaning ‘ colour’). Its name refers to three layers with three colours of the dessert when looking from the outside of a transparent cup. The layers include one of yellow mung bean paste, red beans, and green pandan jelly, topped with coconut milk, and finally, ground ice. However, there are many diversions of Che Ba Mau, which consists of different layers of different colours.
Price: 15,000 VND to 20,000 VND (about $0.64-$0.85)
5. Vietnamese Doughnut (Banh Tieu)
Vietnamese Doughnuts (Banh Tieu) can be served as Vietnamese desserts or snacks. Besides, some people have them for breakfast, depending on their preference. Unlike the American doughnuts, Banh Tieu doesn’t have a hole in the middle. It’s more like a round piece of bread instead. On the surface, people sprinkle sesame seeds to add flavour and to decorate.
Banh Tieu is favourable among many people because it’s not too sweet. It is the most delicious to be served hot, when the outer is crunchy, with a strong baked sesame aroma. Meanwhile, the inside is soft and fragrant.
Price: 5,000 VND to 15,000 VND (around $0.20-$1.65)
6. Steamed Layer Cake (Banh Da Lon)
Despite its name (Banh Da Lon is literally translated to Pig Skin Cake), this Vietnamese dessert doesn’t contain any pork or pig skin. It has this name because each layer of the cake has the thickness of a pig’s skin. Banh Da Lon has layers of chewy tapioca flour and soft mung beans, with a natural green colour made from pandan leaf extract.
Price: 40,000 VND for 500 g (~$1.70)
7. Vietnamese Honeycomb Cake (Banh Bo)
Banh Bo is an appealing dessert in both taste and appearance. The chewiness, mild sweetness, and aroma of pandan are loved by both adults and kids. Like many Vietnamese desserts, the main ingredients are flour and sugar; and the food colouring is natural pandan leaf extract.
Price: 40,000 VND to 120,000 VND (approx.$1.70-$5.12) (depending on the size)
8. Sweet or Salted Dried Fruit (O Mai)
As traditional Vietnamese desserts, salted or sugared dry fruits were traditionally enjoyed during the Tet holiday or special occasions. But nowadays, people consume them on a daily basis.
Occasionally, the main ingredients for this dish are dry plums, kumquat, or apricots. After rinsing, people salt and dry the fruits, then stir fry them with additionals, mainly sugar and salt. The taste of the outcome is a combination of salty, sweet, and sour mixed with a bit of a kick from ginger strings.
Price: 25,000 VND to 50,000 VND (approx. $1.07-$2.15)
9. Black Sesame Soup (Xi Ma)
Xi Ma attracts eaters at first sight by its black colour, which is from the main ingredient, black sesame. This is one of the most popular Vietnamese desserts in Hoi An and is usually available on street food stalls. Xi Ma is not too sweet, pretty tasty, dense, and served hot.
Price: 10,000 VND (around $0.43)
10. Mung Bean Cake (Banh Pia)
Mung Bean Cake, or Mung Bean Mooncake (Banh Pia in Vietnamese), is a mooncake-shaped dessert or treat. Unlike regular mooncakes, which are available only at a particular time of the year, Banh Pia can be found all year round.
Banh Pia stands out from other Vietnamese desserts due to its thin and flaky exterior and a big, red stamp on the surface. Each cake is filled with mung bean cream, durian paste, or even salted eggs in the core. Banh Pia with creamy durian gives off a strong and characteristic aroma. Meanwhile, those with salted egg yolk filling are new and have a different taste from the overall sweetness of the cake. Some cakes include both durians and salted eggs.
Price: 60,000 VND to 80,000 for 500g (approx. $2.50-$3.42)
11. Tofu Dessert in Ginger Syrup (Tau Hu Nuoc Duong)
This dessert includes a tofu pudding in the middle of a bowl, surrounded by small sticky balls, and sometimes jellies. It is soaked in ginger syrup. There are different versions of tofu desserts or various flavours of syrup. Usually, this dish is served hot and cold depending on the eaters’ preference.
Price: 10,000 VND to 20,000 VND (about $0.43-$0.85)
12. Mung Bean Pastries (Banh Dau Xanh)
Banh Dau Xanh has its roots in and is a delicacy of Hai Duong, a northern province of Vietnam. It is a delicately ground mixture of mung beans, flour, and sugar, moulded in the shape of rectangles. This cake is yellow in colour, and powdery, with small pieces similar to the shapes of chocolate candy. Put one piece in your mouth and it melts right away with strong sweet flavors. There are two types of mung bean pastries: dry and wet and fermented ones.
Price: 25,000 VND to 50,000 for 500g (approx. $2.50 USD-$3.42)
13. Green Sticky Rice Sweet Cake (Banh Com)
Banh Com is among Hanoi delicacies and the most praised Vietnamese desserts and snacks. The green doesn’t come from food colouring but from immature rice kernels, which are regularly roasted over low heat. Inside the layer of the sticky green rice lies sweet mung beans and fragrant shaved coconut. Fresh Banh Com is provided by some roadside vendors and stores in Hanoi at a particular time of the year – usually autumn. Meanwhile, processed ones are sold all year round in stores and supermarkets.
Price: 60,000 VND for 500 g ($2.56)
14. Banana Tapioca (Che Chuoi)
This naturally dairy-free dessert is ideal all year round: you can have it with ice on summer days or serve it hot in the winter. Che Chuoi is one of the Vietnamese desserts that is categorised as “chè,” meaning sweet soups and pudding.
This dessert contains ripe bananas, full-fat coconut milk, and tapioca pearls and sticks (optional).
Price: 10,000 VND (around $0.43)
15. Pig Ear Biscuit (Banh Tai Heo)
Just like Banh Da Heo, Banh Tai Heo (pig ear biscuit) is not made of pig ears but looks like them. That explains the name. The biscuits are crunchy, mildly sweet with a super light salty taste. Besides having a shape similar to that of a pig ear, this dessert is also fun-looking with its swirling pattern of light and dark dough.
Price: 20,000 VND to 30,000 VND ($0.85-$1.28)
Final Thoughts
Admittedly, Vietnamese desserts and snacks are not only tasty, easy-to-find, but surprisingly affordable. The majority of the desserts are freshly made, ideal for tourists to enjoy at the stalls, while some others are processed and packed, which you can buy as a souvenir.
Read more: Vietnamese Fruit: 14 Strangest And Most Delicious Types