Famous for its lively, fresh flavors and artfully composed meals, Vietnamese cooking is the true "light cuisine" of Asia. Abundant fresh herbs and greens, delicate soups and stir-fries, and well-seasoned grilled dishes served with rice or noodles are the mainstays of the Vietnamese table. Even the beloved snacks or desserts are often based on fresh fruits served with sweetened rice or tapioca. Rarely does any dish have added fats.

Along with its delicate freshness, Vietnamese cooking is also subtle and sophisticated. Consider the basic dipping sauce nuoc cham, which is as commonplace on the Vietnamese family table as salt and pepper are in the West. Made from Vietnamese fish sauce, or nuoc mam, plus sugar, chilies, garlic and lime juice, it is at its best when its flavors are balanced between salty, sweet, sour and hot—and this is true of Vietnamese cooking as a whole. Cooks strive for a balance of flavors so no one taste outranks any other. And nuoc cham is not the only irresistible sauce that the Vietnamese use, for one of the hallmarks of their cuisine is the generous use of fresh herbs and dipping sauces served on the table to enhance and unify all the flavors of a meal. Another hallmark is the Vietnamese love of wrapping up parts of the meal in rice paper and leafy lettuce, a unique concept for many Westerners accustomed to knife-and-fork eating.

While the cuisine relies on fresh vegetables, subtle seasonings and rice, Vietnamese cooking also reflects strong Chinese and French colonial influences and it has numerous regional differences. In the south, look for plentiful fresh seafood; in the colder north, you'll find slightly heartier meals featuring beef. In central Vietnam, around the ancient royal capital of Hue, the food contains influences of the former court cooks.

But regardless of the region, homestyle Vietnamese cooking calls for an array of simple dishes that make complementary partners at a communal family meal. Dinners customarily call for a soup, followed by a platter of leafy greens accompanied by rice papers and a dipping sauce, seafood or grilled meat or poultry, a vegetable stir-fry, and rice or noodle dish in some form—with hot tea as the preferred beverage. While such meals may look complex to outsiders, most dishes come together easily, although some call for advance preparation to avoid last-minute conflicts. And, as in any type of cooking, planning ahead makes putting together meals much easier.

Modern cooks with well-equipped kitchens and handy appliances will find preparing a Vietnamese meal both rewarding and relatively easy. And with the widespread popularity of Asian foods, locating ingredients is not a challenge—most supermarkets now carry such basics as fresh ginger, lemon-grass and chilies, canned or packet coconut milk, bottled fish sauce and dried Asian noodles.