This super easy, super tasty, super cheap to make drink is also super fun to make! Often served in Vietnamese restaurants, it's a refreshing and cooling addition to a spicy hot or boiling hot meal with just a few simple ingredients.
This drink is found in many Vietnamese restaurants. Some will serve it to you already mixed up and ready to drink. Others will pile the ingredients into a cup with ice and make you do the stirring.
This drink differs from salty lemon soda, where the lemons are salted and preserved, then chopped and served in a glass with sparkling water.
That one is salty. This one is sweeter and much easier.
Serve this simple beverage with Vietnamese "fried" fish with tomato sauce or everyone's favorite garlic noodles!
Ingredients
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions
Other citrus fruits you could make this with are:
- limes
- grapefruit
- oranges
- calamansi
- yuzu
Optional fruits and herbs that could be muddled into the glass along with the citrus are:
- strawberries
- blackberries
- raspberries
- blueberries
- cherries
- plums
- peaches
- basil
- rosemary
- thyme
- Thai basil
Sparkling Water vs. Club Soda
Either sparkling water or club soda will work for this drink.
Both are fizzy but sparkling water has natural minerals that enhance the flavor of the water, while club soda can be a slightly salty and is generally used for mixed drinks.
| Sparkling Water | Club Soda | |
|---|---|---|
| Source | Natural springs or carbonated water | Carbonated water with added minerals |
| Mineral content | Naturally occurring minerals | Added artificial minerals |
| Flavor profile | Crisp, clean, neutral | Slightly salty or mineral taste |
| Common uses | Drinking straight or mixing | Cocktail mixer, adding flavor |
Instructions
After the ingredients are set up, you really don't have to do very much.
- Step 1: Fill the glass with ice, lemon juice, and sugar. Pour in the sparkling water.
- Step 2: Stir in a pinch of salt if you please. It is traditional to add salt to many Southeast Asian desserts, and it will bring out the sweetness of the drink.
- Step 3: Drop in your fruit and herb garnishes of choice, if using.
Hint: Instead of using refined sugar, use date sugar or coconut sugar.
Tips & Variations
- Add in rum, vodka, or other spirit of choice.
- Similarly, you can muddle in other fresh fruit and herbs of your choice.
- A pinch of salt brings out the sweetness and flavors of the lemon.
- If you don't have ice, just make sure your sparkling water is cold.
- For a more traditional version, find Vietnamese salted lemons instead of regular lemons.
Recipe
DIY Vietnamese Fresh Lemon Soda Chanh
Ingredients
- 1 c ice
- 1 Tb lemon juice about ½ - 1 lemon squeezed
- 1 Tb cane sugar or sweetener of choice
- 1 tiny pinch of salt
- 12 oz sparkling water this is about 1 can or 1 bottle
Instructions
- Fill glass with ice. Ad lemon juice and sugar.
- Gently stir in the sparkling water while mixing to dissolve the sugar.
- Serve right away. Add more sugar to taste.
Notes
- Add in rum, vodka, or other spirit of choice.
- Similarly, you can muddle in other fresh fruit and herbs of your choice.
- A pinch of salt brings out the sweetness and flavors of the lemon.
- If you don't have ice, just make sure your sparkling water is cold.
- For a more traditional version, use Vietnamese salted lemons instead of regular lemons.
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