Vietnam is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. Vietnamese cuisine uses trace amount of oil and many vegetables. The main dishes are often based on rice, soy sauce, and fish sauce. Vietnamese cuisine are typically sweet (sugar), spicy (serrano peppers), sour (lime), nuoc mam (fish sauce) and often liberally flavored by a variety of mint and basil and a diverse range of other herbs, including lemongrass, mint and Vietnamese mint.

The most common meats used in Vietnamese cuisine are pork, chicken, shrimp, and various kinds of seafood. Duck and goat are also used, but beef is less common. The Vietnamese also have a number of vegetarian dishes, influenced by Buddhist beliefs.