Shadowing Practice: Weird Food Rules in Vietnam (That Actually Make Sense) - Learn English Speaking with Video
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You don't need me to tell you Vietnamese food's great.
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A bowl of pho, a bite of bang mi, it's an explosion of flavor that speaks for itself.
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But there's a lot of thinking behind that food, and if you don't know about it, you're only seeing part of the picture.
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It's been over 30 years since I first traveled to Vietnam, 16 years since I moved to Hanoi, and believe me, food was part of the reason.
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Thanks to my wife, Vietnamese food has become my home cooking, and it still amazes me how much meaning is packed into every meal.
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learned.
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Balance, heat, freshness, Even ancestors, beliefs that turn everyday dishes into something deeper.
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Number 1.
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Beef's hot, watermelon's cool, and that has nothing to do with temperature.
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It comes from a system called Umzulung, yin and yang, the idea that every food affects your body's "hi" or energy.
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This way of thinking came to Vietnam centuries ago, through Chinese medicine and Taoist philosophy.
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Over time, it blended with local traditions and shaped how people understand balance, health and the body.
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Some foods are naom, warming and stimulating.
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Others are Matt, cooling and calming.
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And good health comes from keeping these forces in balance.
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So instead of grouping foods by carbs, proteins or fats, Vietnamese cooks classify them by how they affect your energy.
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Chicken, onion, jackfruit, or Gnome or stimulating duck bean sprouts watermelon matte or calming
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And you can see it in how meals are built.
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Duck, which is cooling, gets paired with a sweet sauce that contains ginger and chilies.
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Or a dish like bunzi okua, where crab and tofu are cooling, balanced by fried toppings and chili, which are warming.
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And all those herbs people love at the Vietnamese table?
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They follow this logic too.
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Clams are cooling, so you eat them with zao zham, a stimulating herb.
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Or take bun cha.
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The grilled pork is warming, and it's always served with a big plate of herbs.
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Some cooling, some warming, so you can balance each bite yourself.
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So, that basket of herbs is not just about flavor.
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It's part of a belief system passed down through generations to keep the body in balance one meal at a time.
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And that brings us to number two.
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The enemy's meals always follow a certain structure.
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But rather than me explaining it, I'll let the real expert in our family tell you.
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In Vietnam, a meal has five parts.
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First, rice.
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Because if there's no rice, it's not a proper meal.
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Second, protein.
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Some fish, meat, or tofu.
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Third, vegetables.
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They can be boiled, stir -fried, or fresh.
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Fourth, soup.
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Called "dang." Usually a light broth to help with digestion.
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And finally, condiments fish sauce, chili, pickles, something to tie everything together.
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Rice isn't just one part of a meal.
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It's the center of it.
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In Vietnamese, the phrase "an gom" means eat rice, but usually means have a meal.
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You ask someone, "an gom chua." Have you eaten rice yet?
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But what you're really asking is kind of like What's up?
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And the five parts aren't just for variety.
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They connect back to the um -zoom balance you learned about earlier.
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Soup cools the body, especially if the protein is fried or spicy.
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Vegetables lighten the heavier dishes.
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The herbs fine tune, no in -map.
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And rice anchors everything.
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So that's the structure of Vietnamese meal.
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Back to you, Dad.
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16 years ago when I started dating my wife, I was surprised to see her boiling vegetables.
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ever to do this because it leaches nutrients.
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But then she served the broth with dinner, and suddenly the meal had a vegetable dish and the required soup without any extra work.
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And I learned something.
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In Vietnam, a proper meal isn't just rice and sides.
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It's rice and soup and sides, full balance altogether.
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Which brings us to belief number three.
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Meals need the right components, but they also have to be fresh.
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Traditionally, people went to the market twice a day, morning and afternoon.
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That came from an agrarian life and a time before refrigeration, when food was eaten as soon as it was harvested or slaughtered.
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Over time, that necessity became an obsession.
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stalls overflowing with produce, herbs dripping with water, fish moving, poultry sold live.
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The floors are wet, the butchers are chopping, the place buzzing with haggling, gossip and commerce.
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This is freshness made visible and audible.
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And it matters because for many Vietnamese, trust comes from seeing the animal or the produce in its natural state.
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And that's why markets like this are still thriving in modern Vietnam.
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Now in cities that is starting to shift.
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Supermarkets are gaining ground, especially with younger families drawn to hygiene, convenience, and air conditioning.
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But as of 2024, about 84 % of food retail in Vietnam still flows through small grocers
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and wet markets like this because the idea of freshness shapes what people expect to see.
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Wet markets show how deeply freshness is woven into everyday meals and how food culture is changing.
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But one thing isn't changing in Vietnam, you still need a hot meal.
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In Vietnam, a proper meal to be hot.
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Hot food is healthy, satisfying, and real.
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That belief runs so deep it even shaped battlefield survival.
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During the war against France, Soldiers in the jungle needed hot rice and soup. But...
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Fires gave off smoke.
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and smoke gave away their position.
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The French could simply watch for smoke, then send in the planes.
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But still, Soldiers kept cooking hot meals.
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Thank you.
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Commander's new hot meals mattered for energy and morale.
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But for many years there was no solution and lots of casualties as a result.
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Then came the Bep Huan Kham, the smokeless stove named after the soldier who designed it.
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It was dug into the earth with a fire pit below ground and long narrow tunnels that carried the smoke sideways.
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Along the way, the smoke passed through underground chambers where it settled and cooled before moving further down the tunnels.
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This simple design saved lives and preserved the meal.
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Rations may have been simple, but they were hot.
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And that gave Vietnamese soldiers the lift they needed for what came next.
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Hot meal was so essential that soldiers were willing to risk their lives for it.
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And that brings us to the final belief: food isn't just about survival, it also connects us to our ancestors.
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In many Vietnamese homes, a meal doesn't start at the table.
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It begins at the altar.
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Food here is a bridge across generations, nourishing the living while honoring the dead.
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On ordinary days, families place simple offerings on the altar: a bowl of rice, a cup of tea, maybe some fruit.
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But on Zoh 'o, the anniversary of an ancestor's death, the offerings expand into elaborate feasts as if the ancestors themselves are joining the meal.
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Even in modern cities you'll find altars tucked into small apartments.
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Children grow up seeing food offered before anyone eats.
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No one touches the meal until the incense burns down, a sign the ancestors have had their fill.
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Some families keep it simple.
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Just fruit, maybe a pot of tea, but the act itself endures.
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Because it's not about the size of the offering, it's about the connection.
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From hot and cold foods to rice and soup, wet markets, smokeless stoves, and offerings for the dead, Vietnamese meals carry a lot more than flavor.
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They carry balance, memory and survival.
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A meal here is never just for the body, it's for the soul and for those who came before you
Why practice speaking with this video?
Watching and practicing with this video on Vietnamese food rules provides an engaging context for speaking practice. You not only learn about a fascinating culture but also get the chance to improve your English speaking skills in a real-life scenario. By embracing the concept of shadow speech, you can mimic the speaker's intonation and rhythm, enhancing your fluency and confidence. Moreover, discussing food is a universal topic that can easily lead to conversations in IELTS speaking practice. Using this video, you can practice describing foods, expressing opinions about cultural differences, and explaining unique customs, all of which are beneficial in daily conversations.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
The speaker utilizes various grammatical structures that are essential for conveying complex ideas clearly. Here are some key points to note:
- Use of comparatives and superlatives: Phrases like "some foods are warming and stimulating" highlight how to compare different food properties, which is crucial in both speaking and writing.
- Complex sentences: The speaker often employs complex sentences with clauses, such as "good health comes from keeping these forces in balance," which helps articulate nuanced thoughts.
- Descriptive adjectives: Words like "cooling," "stimulating," and "balancing" provide vivid imagery that enriches the conversation. Using descriptive language effectively can make your speech more engaging.
Common Pronunciation Traps
When shadow speaking this video, pay attention to these tricky words and phrases that might be challenging to pronounce:
- "Umzulung": The unique pronunciation of this term may be difficult for some learners. Focus on the syllable breakdown to master the sound.
- "Dang" (for soup): This short word can easily be mispronounced; practice saying it clearly with emphasis to avoid confusion in conversations.
- "Zao zham": Another culturally relevant term, it’s essential to get the tonal pronunciation accurate, as it can change the meaning significantly.
By honing these pronunciation skills, you’ll not only improve your accent but also boost your overall confidence when conversing in English. Incorporate these strategies into your shadowing practice for a well-rounded approach to mastering English pronunciation.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.