Vietnamese Hot Pot (Lẩu): Types, How to Eat, Dipping Sauces

Lẩu is a way of eating more than a single dish. Most types share the same routine: a pot on a burner, a tray of raw ingredients, and a small bowl of sauce at each seat. What changes is the broth and what goes with it. This guide covers the main types, the order to cook things in, and which dipping sauce goes with which pot.

What Vietnamese Hot Pot Is

According to Local Vietnam, hot pot cooking began in Mongolia and China, and Vietnam adapted it with local ingredients and flavors. Once tied to celebrations, it has been an ordinary restaurant meal in Hà Nội and Hồ Chí Minh City since the late 20th century.

Plan on 90 minutes to two hours at the table. It is not a solo meal. For a comparison of the wider cuisines, see Vietnamese food vs Chinese food.

Main Types of Lẩu

Lẩu Thái is the sour, spicy pot built like a tom yum. Delightful Plate lists galangal, lemongrass, red chilies, kaffir lime leaves, tomato, tamarind, and fish sauce over a shrimp stock. The same page admits it is unclear whether lẩu Thái is a Thai dish or a creation of Vietnamese restaurants. Swap notes are in our guides to galangal and tamarind paste.

Lẩu bò comes in several styles. Grooviet names lẩu bò nhúng dấm, with a broth of vinegar, water, and coconut water or milk, plus pineapple, lemongrass, and herbs. It also names lẩu bò satế (a red, chili-lemongrass broth) and lẩu bò Đà Lạt.

Lẩu gà lá é is a sweet, fragrant chicken broth eaten with lá é (a perilla-type leaf) and rice vermicelli. Local Vietnam ties it to Đà Lạt, while another Vietnamese guide gives Phú Yên as its origin, so sources disagree.

Lẩu mắm is the Mekong Delta pot, built on fermented fish paste, usually mắm cá linh or mắm cá sặc, with pork, catfish, and shrimp. Dulichviet lists rau đắng, bông súng, and rau nhút among the vegetables, and says the dish came from Cambodia. It is a different pot from the seasonal lẩu cá linh bông điên điển.

Lẩu cá is a southern sour fish pot with tamarind, tomato, pineapple, and herbs, close to a canh chua served at the table. Lẩu riêu cua đồng is Hải Phòng’s orange crab pot, eaten with bánh đa; see bún riêu and bánh đa cua for crab in noodle-bowl form. Lẩu dê (goat) from Ninh Bình uses turmeric, lemongrass, and coconut water.

How to Eat Vietnamese Hot Pot

Order the pot, the raw tray, and the herbs. The broth is brought to a boil at the table, and diners add ingredients gradually, starting with things that take longer to cook, such as meat or seafood, then vegetables and noodles.

Cook small batches. Local Vietnam gives thin beef as under a minute, vegetables as two to three minutes, and fish balls and tofu as longer. Rice vermicelli (bún) goes in last, and the meal ends with the concentrated broth. Grooviet says it may also finish with egg noodles or rice.

Dipping Sauces for Each Lẩu

The sauce depends on the pot. Pasgo gives measured recipes for three broths, while the other pairings come from Grooviet and Dulichviet. Fish sauce is the base for most; our guide to nước chấm explains the balance, and how spicy Vietnamese food is covers the chili.

At a lẩu gà lá é place in Đà Lạt, the leaves came piled on a separate plate. The chicken went into the clear, slightly sweet broth first. The lá é went in by the handful near the end, and the bún was the last thing into the pot.

Kelly Thuy — field notes, Đà Lạt

When and Where to Eat Lẩu

Local Vietnam describes Hồ Chí Minh City as the city with the widest variety and Hà Nội as the place with peak demand from November to February. It gives 150,000 to 350,000 VND per person for buffet-style meals, and prices vary by restaurant. For typical costs, see what food costs in Vietnam.

Share the pot and take your time. Manners for group meals are covered in our Vietnamese food etiquette guide.

Frequently Asked Questions