During the evolution of history, some countries have spread their cultures to other ones. The process of cultural integration has led to countries in the world influence each other in many ways. Therefore, nearby countries may have some similarities in their food cultures. Most people would think that the food cultures of Vietnam and Thailand seem quite alike because both of them are located in Southeast Asia, and they also share similar climate features. Although Thailand and Vietnam are close in geographic position, the food cultures of these two countries can be different in three aspects: flavors, cooking methods, and usages of tableware.
 

  Thai cuisine and Vietnamese cuisine have significant differences in the flavor. Thai cuisine tends to put emphasis on the piquancy and the sour. It combines features of Malaysian and Indian cuisines, and the taste of Thai dishes is spicy and intense. Thai people like to mix various kinds of spices and seasonings together, such as garlic, lime leaves, fish sauce, shrimp sauce, and chili; then, cook them with food. However, Vietnamese cuisine is relatively bland. Different from Thai cuisine, Vietnamese cuisine focuses on the original flavor of food. The Vietnamese dishes are similar to those in Chinese, but Vietnamese people like to season their cuisine with fish sauce and lemon juice. They do not like to put much oil into the dishes; sometimes, they add peanuts to cold dishes to replace oil. Therefore, Thai cuisine is always with a stronger taste, and Vietnamese cuisine tends to be lighter and more refreshing.

  Another difference is the cooking methods of the two countries. Take seafood for example, Thai people are rich in ways of cooking seafood. Their famous dishes include roasted crabs, roasted shrimps, and also curry crabs. Of course, the simplest way of eating seafood is also necessary; Thai people also have the seafood directly with the seasoning and eat it raw. However, In Vietnam, most people would just boil seafood directly and eat it with fish sauce. In addition, another way for them to cook seafood is to add it in the hot pot. Sometimes, they will also grill seafood. By and large, the cooking methods of Thailand focus more on seasoning, and those of Vietnam are simpler and more natural.

  The usages of tableware are also quite different between Thailand and Vietnam. Forks and spoons are the main tableware of Thai people. In Thailand, there are often iron boxes or plastic boxes on the tables of diners, and with iron forks and spoons inside them. As for how Thai people use forks and spoons, most people use their right hands to hold the spoons, and hold the forks with their left hands. Then, they use the fork to push food from the plate to the spoon, and eat the food with the spoon only, without putting the fork into their mouth. On the other hand, chopsticks are used as tableware in Vietnam. Chopsticks are the necessary tableware for Vietnamese people to enjoy dishes like noodles and rice soup. When picking up food for others, they always use the other side of the chopsticks in order to show cleanliness. Moreover, Vietnamese people have the taboo to use chopsticks of different lengths because they are considered as a symbol of bad luck. Thus, when having meals, people in Thailand tend to use forks and spoons, and Vietnamese people mainly use chopsticks.

  In conclusion, both Thailand and Vietnam have unique flavors of dishes, and various ways of making cuisine; also, they have their own usages of tableware, which is very interesting to know. Some people may prefer the Thai style of life or the living habits of the Vietnamese people. Whatever culture we like, we are living in a world with a great diversity of cultures. It is important to respect and embrace cultures from other countries. Those cultures may be different from our countries, but what is for sure is that the two different food cultures have their merits and fascination.

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