Here are three Vietnamese cooking ingredients lists for you to consider as you begin cooking Vietnamese dishes at home. The A lists consists of ingredients used so often that it's worth keeping them on hand. Note that it is quite short, and that most of if not all the items are easy to find.

Vietnamese Cooking Ingredients Lists - A

baguettes, chili-garlic sauce or dried red chili flakes, dried rice noodles, fish sauce

fresh herbs - cilantro, mint, basil, dill, or a combination

garlic - heads, peeled whole cloves, or chopped

green onions, limes or lemons, peanuts (roasted and salted), soy sauce

standard pantry items - salt, pepper, sugar, vegetable oil, white vinegar, onions, rice and eggs.

The B list consists of ingredients used frequently in Vietnamese cooking, and therefore well worth stocking if you plan to make this food part of your repertoire. Some are used more than others: bean sprouts, lemongrass, and sesame oil will be called for more often than star anise, hoisin sauce, and tamarind liquid. No need to track down each and every item. You can acquire what you need as you go through the recipes and pick out dishes you want to cook.

Vietnamese Cooking Ingredients Lists - B

aromatic rice - jasmine, basmati, and other naturally fragrant types

basil - Asian basil (rau que) or any other type of basil

bean sprouts, bean thread noodles, caramel sauce

chilies - fresh, hot green and red ones, from relatively mild jalapenos to tiny, incendiary Thai ones

Chinese dried mushrooms (also called dried shiitakes), cilantro, cinnamon sticks, cloves, coconut milk (unsweetened)

coffee - dark roast, such as domestic Cafe du Monde or imported Trung Nguyen Coffee

curry powder, dill, ginger (fresh, chopped or pureed), hoisin sauce, lemongrass (fresh or frozen), mint, mung bean centers, pineapple (fresh or canned), rau ram, rice noodles (fresh or frozen), rice paper wrappers, sesame oil (Asian style, toasted and brown), sesame seeds (white), shallots, star anise, sticky rice (long-grain), sugarcane (water-packed in 48-ounce cans), sweetened condensed milk

tamarind - liquid or pulp, or Indian-style tamarind chutney

tapioca pearls (small ones)

The C list contains ingredients used occasionally and worth having if you want to extend your knowledge of Vietnamese cuisine. Many ingredients in these lists are ones you know well and may already have on hand. You will probably find most of them in a good Asian market near your home. Or plan a shopping expedition to a nearby metropolis or a community with a large Asian population.

Vietnamese Cooking Ingredients Lists - C

anchovy paste, banana leaves (available frozen), brown bean sauce (also called fermented soybean paste), Chinese chives (also called garlic chives), oyster sauce, pickled mustard greens (such as Tiensien preserved vegetable), roasted rice powder, shrimp (dried), shrimp paste sauce (also called mam tom or mam ruoc), soy sauce (dark), squid (dried)

These days, many of things you need for Vietnamese cooking await you in your nearest well-stocked supermarket or health food store. This is a grand time to be cooking Vietnamese food.