--- title: "Shellfish, Fish, Peanut Allergy in Vietnamese Food" description: "Fish sauce is fish, mắm tôm is crustacean, the roll dip has peanut, satay can carry dried shrimp. Telling the kitchen, the 31-dish table, what we cannot do." canonical: https://nhahang.thenexova.cloud/en/journal/allergies-shellfish-fish-peanut-vietnamese-food lang: en last-updated: 2026-10-05 --- [Vegetarian, spicy, allergies](/en/journal/topic/diets-and-allergies) # Shellfish, Fish, Peanut Allergy in Vietnamese Food > Fish sauce is fish, mắm tôm is crustacean, the roll dip has peanut, satay can carry dried shrimp. Telling the kitchen, the 31-dish table, what we cannot do. Nguồn / Source: https://nhahang.thenexova.cloud/en/journal/allergies-shellfish-fish-peanut-vietnamese-food Fish sauce is fish, mắm tôm is crustacean, the roll dip has peanut, satay can carry dried shrimp. Telling the kitchen, the 31-dish table, what we cannot do. [Mai Thanh Vân](/en/team/mai-thanh-van) · Sous chef, vegetarian dishes and allergens · Published 30 Jul 2026 · Updated 5 Oct 2026 · 5 min read ![A bowl of shelled red-skinned peanuts and peanuts in the shell, a hand reaching beneath it](/_astro/journal-allergy.qCBEJo3t_frHnD.jpg) In Vietnamese cooking, shellfish, fish and peanut tend to sit where you cannot see them: in fish sauce, in a dipping sauce, in a fermented paste, in the sprinkle on top. Our table lists 8 dishes with crustaceans, 16 with fish and 9 with peanut, out of 31\. The kitchen is shared, so we cannot promise there are no traces; the table tells you what a dish is cooked with, nothing more. ## Fish sauce is fish Nước mắm (fish sauce), fermented fish and mắm nêm (a fermented anchovy dip pounded with pineapple and chilli) all count as fish. That is why 16 dishes carry the fish label, and many of them do not mention fish in their name. The crispy spring rolls, the pork belly braised in coconut water, the stuffed bitter melon soup and the beef in betel leaf are all listed under fish. Rau muống xào tỏi (morning glory with garlic) is seasoned with fish sauce, so it is too; the vegan version uses soy sauce and lists soy instead. ## Mắm tôm and dried shrimp are crustaceans Our crustacean group means prawn, crab, mắm tôm (shrimp paste) and dried shrimp. Eight dishes carry it: fresh rolls with prawn and pork, crispy spring rolls, bánh khọt with prawn, lotus stem salad, grilled tiger prawns, kho quẹt with boiled vegetables (it has dried shrimp), bánh xèo with prawn and pork, and the lẩu mắm (fermented-fish hotpot). Squid, snail and oyster sauce are a different group, molluscs, and we list them separately. ## Peanut hides in dips and toppings Nine dishes list peanut. Three come with a peanut dipping sauce: the two fresh rolls (prawn and pork, and mushroom and vegetable) and the grilled pork skewers you roll in rice paper. The lotus stem salad and the grilled banana carry roasted peanuts, and so do the grilled aubergine and the coconut ice cream. The grilled squid with satế lists peanut too. One dish does not mention peanut in its description but still lists it: the green mango salad with dried gourami. So do not read the name of the dish; read the allergen column. The Vinmec article (updated 12 March 2025) says peanut allergy affects about 0.5 to 1% of children. We quote it only as background. A restaurant cannot judge how severe anyone’s allergy is. ## Satế and oyster sauce Our satế (a lemongrass and chilli sauce) is made in house, and the table lists molluscs and peanut for it, not crustaceans. Satế elsewhere can be made differently, and may contain dried shrimp, so ask each place. Oyster sauce is a mollusc: the beef with tonkin jasmine flowers lists that group. ## The table by three groups | Group | Dishes | Which dishes | Left when you filter the group out | | ----------- | ------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------- | | Crustaceans | 8 | Fresh rolls with prawn and pork, crispy spring rolls, bánh khọt, lotus stem salad, grilled tiger prawns, kho quẹt, bánh xèo, lẩu mắm | 23 dishes | | Fish | 16 | Crispy spring rolls, bánh khọt, grilled pork skewers, lotus stem salad, green mango salad with dried gourami, cá lóc nướng trui, beef in betel leaf, cá lóc kho tộ, pork braised in coconut water, sour soup with snakehead, stuffed bitter melon, morning glory with garlic, salted fish fried rice, kho quẹt, bánh xèo, lẩu mắm | 15 dishes | | Peanut | 9 | Fresh rolls with prawn and pork, mushroom and vegetable fresh rolls, grilled pork skewers, lotus stem salad, green mango salad, grilled squid with satế, grilled aubergine, grilled banana, coconut ice cream | 22 dishes | | Molluscs | 3 | Grilled squid with satế, beef with jasmine flowers, lẩu mắm | 28 dishes | The lotus stem salad carries three groups at once (crustaceans, fish, peanut). Filter out crustaceans, fish and peanut together and eight dishes remain: chilli-salt chicken, honey-grilled pork chop, grilled straw mushrooms, sour soup with mushroom and tofu, beef with jasmine flowers, silken tofu in tomato, rice and sweet corn pudding. But the table has only nine groups, and people are rarely allergic to just three things. Filter for your own groups on the [allergen menu page](/en/menu/allergens). Four dishes list none of the nine groups: the chilli-salt chicken, the grilled straw mushrooms, the rice and the sweet corn pudding. That means the recipe uses none of the nine, not that traces cannot happen. ## How to tell the kitchen when you book 1. In step three of the [reservation form](/en/reserve), pick the groups you need to avoid from the nine, and write in the note who is allergic and how. 2. Name the substance. If you say “someone is allergic”, we will ask what it is; we do not guess. 3. We confirm by Zalo or phone and repeat each substance you listed. The confirmation page repeats it as well. 4. For a serious allergy, call 0963 929 241 before booking so we can read you what is in each dish and the kitchen knows ahead. 5. When you arrive, tell whoever lays your table. ## What we cannot promise - The kitchen is shared. We cook vegetarian dishes in a separate pan and on a separate rack where we can, but we do not promise there are no traces. - The table tracks nine groups only: crustaceans, fish, molluscs, peanut, soy, egg, wheat, sesame, milk. Tree nuts, celery and anything else are not tracked. The Vinmec article lists tree nuts among the main groups; we do not track that group, so if you are allergic to tree nuts, call and ask first. - A restaurant is not a doctor. For a serious allergy, ask your doctor first, then call us to find out what is in each dish. ## How we do it at Bếp Rơm The nine-group table for all 31 dishes is kept by [Mai Thanh Vân](/en/team/mai-thanh-van), who updates it whenever a recipe changes. If you are vegetarian with a peanut allergy, read [vegetarian days: booking ahead and ordering](/en/journal/vegetarian-days-booking-ram-mung-mot). The full guide to reading our menu is [reading a menu when vegetarian, avoiding heat or allergic](/en/journal/reading-a-menu-vegetarian-spicy-allergy). Nine groups are everything the kitchen tracks. We do not label any dish "fine" for a specific allergy: the table says what a dish is cooked with, not that the kitchen is free of traces. Updated 5 October 2026. ## Sources - [Vinmec, some foods that can cause allergy](https://www.vinmec.com/vie/bai-viet/mot-so-loai-thuc-pham-co-gay-di-ung-vi), updated 12 March 2025, read 5 October 2026. ## Hold a table Pick the party size, see free times, note diets and allergies in one form. [Reserve](/en/reserve) ## Sources checked 1. [Vinmec, some foods that can cause allergy (updated 12 March 2025)](https://www.vinmec.com/vie/bai-viet/mot-so-loai-thuc-pham-co-gay-di-ung-vi) (read 5 Oct 2026) ## Dishes in this article - [![Five fresh shrimp spring rolls showing through the rice paper, on a black plate with lettuce and basil](/_astro/cat-khai-vi.Cct-hWOH_ZRvChB.jpg)Fresh rolls with prawn and porkTwo rolls of tiger prawn, boiled pork belly, rice noodles and herbs, with peanut dipping sauce.68,000 VNDShellfishPeanutSoy](/en/menu/starters#mon-goi-cuon-tom-thit) - [Braises, soups and riceMorning glory with garlicMorning glory stir-fried hot with garlic and fish sauce. A vegan version with soy sauce on request.68,000 VNDFish](/en/menu/braises-soups-rice#mon-rau-muong-xao-toi) - [The grillGrilled squid with satếSquid grilled over charcoal with our own lemongrass chilli satế, salt and lime to dip.218,000 VNDHotMolluscsPeanut](/en/menu/grill#mon-muc-nuong-sa-te) ## Read next - [Vegetarian, spicy, allergiesThe 0 to 3 Spice Scale at a Vietnamese Restaurant: MediumLevel 0 no chilli, 1 mild, 2 medium, 3 hot. Which dishes can change level and which carry the chilli in the broth. The twelve dishes with heat at Bếp Rơm.](/en/journal/spice-scale-0-to-3) - [Vegetarian, spicy, allergiesReading a Menu When Vegetarian, Avoiding Heat or AllergicHow chay differs from vegan, why fish sauce is fish, where fermented fish and dried shrimp hide, what to tell staff. Our 31-dish table is the example.](/en/journal/reading-a-menu-vegetarian-spicy-allergy) - [Vegetarian, spicy, allergiesVegetarian Lunar Days in Saigon: When to Book, What to OrderVegetarian restaurants fill on rằm and Vu Lan. Booking early, the 4-seat vegan mâm at VND 570,000, and what Mrs Sen's family ordered with a peanut allergy.](/en/journal/vegetarian-days-booking-ram-mung-mot)