Detailed Gluten-Free Restaurant Card — Vietnam

The noodles are fine — watch the broth and the sauces

Vietnamese cuisine is rice-based — bún, phở noodles, and rice-paper rolls are all gluten-free in themselves. The danger lives in the broths, marinades, and dipping sauces: soy sauce (nước tương in the south, xì dầu in the north) contains wheat, and hoisin usually does too. Most phở broths are fine, but some kitchens add soy sauce or seasoning cubes — so I always verify.

What’s on the card

• An explanation of celiac disease in Vietnamese
• What I can’t eat and where gluten hides: hoisin (tương đen) served with southern-style phở, northern fried spring rolls in wheat wrappers, bánh xèo batters that sometimes mix in wheat flour
• What’s usually workable: phở with a verified broth (no soy sauce, no seasoning cubes) and gỏi cuốn fresh rolls — once you’ve checked the dipping sauce
• The kitchen questions — including “Is the phở broth made without soy sauce or seasoning cubes?”

What’s in the travel companion (page 2)

• How I choose: asking phở shops about the broth before sitting down, being extra careful at vegetarian (chay) restaurants that use soy sauce and wheat-gluten mock meats, and checking Find Me Gluten Free and Foody.vn reviews
• Six dishes worth ordering, shopping notes (San-J tamari and imports at Annam Gourmet, Schär at premium supermarkets, nước mắm typically gluten-free — check the label), and where options cluster — District 1 and Thảo Điền in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi’s Old Quarter, Da Nang and Hoi An
• If you get glutened: the nhà thuốc (green cross) with your hotel helping translate; emergency numbers are 115 for an ambulance and 113 for police

The honest certification picture

Vietnam has no celiac association and no local gluten-free certification. “Không gluten” appears mostly on imported products at expat-focused supermarkets such as Annam Gourmet. Nobody certifies a restaurant bowl of phở — the card carries that conversation in Vietnamese instead.

Format

Instant download. Two-page PDF — print it or show it from your phone.

This card helps communicate your dietary needs. It does not guarantee a gluten-free meal or eliminate cross-contact risk. Always use your judgment, and when in doubt, do not eat. Not medical advice.