1. Onion (củ hành)
Onion is an important spice and a familiar vegetable in Vietnamese kitchens. When cooking vegetarian dishes, people use leeks, instead of onions. There are many kinds of onions: spring (or green) onions, flower onions, shallots, red onions.
2. Pandan leaf (lá dứa)
Panda leaves give dishes not only the natural green colour but also the special aroma. Pandan leaves are used when we make sweet soup, steamed sticky rice, agar – agar… We can also use pandan leaf extract instead of fresh pandan leaves.
3. Peanut (đậu phọng, lạc)
Fresh peanuts or fried peanuts are use commonly in Vietnamese dishes. When making salad, people often mix more pinched fried peanuts to have a nutty flavor. Peanut is used as a vegetables in meat dished like soup. It is also a favourite raw material when we make sweet dishes such as sweet soup, banana with coconut milk, etc.