Vietnamese cooking pervades all over the Hanoi and Saigon streets, but it has a delicate flavor. Taste must not be too spicy, sweet, salty nor sweet-and-sour. The chef is primarily requested to successfully pair the contrasting ingredients. Above all, a good Yin and Yang combination is necessary, to achieve the universal balance between the two complementary and opposing forces within all facets of life.

Yin represents Earth, feminine, dark, humidity, passiveness, while Yang symbolizes Heaven, masculine, dryness, warm, activeness. The Vietnamese try to apply the Yin-Yang theory to their cooking process in order to balance out all the ingredients; indeed, they believe balance is the key to well-being in life.

Raw and cold foods, like vegetables and fruit, are always Yin, while wholegrain cereals, root vegetables, white meat, red meat and ripe cheese are Yang. It's no surprise that salad is mixed with chicken and shrimps together. Seafood, which is 'cold', is usually paired with ginger sauce, lemon grass sauce, lemon or chilli peppers (warm).