This is a list of historical Vietnamese sources referring to Vietnamese cuisine. For thousands of years, Vietnamese women have been the "ladies of the house" and skilled homemakers, capable of preparing a great variety of dishes, from the rustic bánh đúc, bún riêu cua, and bánh đa to the most exquisite delicacies.
There have also been talented male chefs cooking for the royalty, such as those from Ước Lễ village in Thăng Long (Hanoi) or Phước Yên village in Phú Xuân (Huế). Furthermore, Vietnam has produced many legendary gourmets and food writers, including Tản Đà, Thạch Lam, Vũ Bằng, Nguyễn Tuân, Băng Sơn, and Nguyễn Duy.
It is estimated that Vietnamese cuisine has more than 3,000 different dishes.
Title Vietnamese title Date Author DescriptionA Detailed Record of Essential Botanical StudiesUnknownA manuscript written in chữ Nôm, contains 189 purely Vietnamese dishes which were consumed across all social classes.A Comprehensive Guide to Women's Domestic Arts1760Lê Hữu Trác (alias Hải Thượng Lãn Ông)A collection of traditional folk dishes of Đại Việt. (Essay on the Tonkinese)1907Georges DumoutierDescribes numerous foods and drinks in Northern Vietnam at the beginning of the 20th century.Poetic Description of the Customs of Cochinchina1906Contains 7,000 verses in lục bát form.One Hundred Food Recipes1913Trương Đăng Thị BíchUses poetry to describe the preparation of 100 dishes.
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