Specialty Foods in Vietnam (Part 2 – Central Specialties)

Specialty Foods in Vietnam

Vietnam is a country with rich cuisine with a wide range of foods in different regions. Traveling to this country, visiting many attractions and eating specialty foods are a good way to enjoy your life. It’s interesting to learn more about local life and culture through cuisine. Ha Giang province is famous for Buffalo Bacon, Nam Dinh province is well-known by Goat Meat. I’m going to write a post about Specialty Foods in Vietnam. There’s nowhere you can try them out of Vietnam. Let’s go around Central Vietnam and learn more about Specialty Foods in Vietnam.

11. Congee With And Eel Turmeric in Nghe An

Nghe An is the hometown of Ho Chi Minh – The Old Father of Vietnam and famous for many talented people. One of the specialty of this province is Congee With And Eel Turmeric. This congee is cooked from local ingredients such as eels which live naturally in lakes, “tiêu” onion, lemon grass, turmeric… Local cook uses bamboo to remove the eel meat from the bone. This is a traditional method to remove sickliness. The eel meat is stir-fried with spices before being cooked with rice. The congee is served hot and topped with green onion and black pepper. This is a perfect choice on a winter day in North Vietnam.

12. Hell Steamed Rice in Hue

Hue is the old kingdom of the Nguyen dynasty in Central Vietnam. The city is quiet and peaceful with many attractions as well as delicious food. Hell Steamed Rice is a dish you shouldn’t miss when you come to this city. A plate of Hell Steamed Rice consists of steamed rice, roasted ground shrimps, stripes of grilled pork, pork pies, fried eggs, cucumber and dipping fish sauce. The dish is not only good-looking but also flavorful. It’s worth a try.

 

 

13. Quang Style Noodle Soup in Quang Nam

Quang Style Noodle Soup originated in Quang Nam province, Vietnam but it has become more and more popular in Vietnam for its great taste. The noodle is similar to Pho noodle but yellow because the cook use turmeric powder to color it. The soup isn’t cover the noodle-like other kinds of noodle soup but only enough to mix the noodle with other toppings such as crackers, boiled egg, pork, shrimp and assorted herbs.

14. Grilled Deer Meat in Dac Lac

Dac Lac is famous for Grilled Deer Meat which is tender, hot and spicy. The meat is thinly sliced, marinated with oil from pork fat and spices before being grilled. This food is served with fresh ginger. It’s really spicy. Would you dare to eat?

15. “Lang” Fish in Dac Nong

Coming to Dac Nong, you’ll have chance to eat grilled “Lang” Fish wrapped in rice paper with many kinds of vegetables and rice noodle. It’s similar and even tastier than our famous spring roll.

16. Rice Noodle Soup with Fish Pie in Nha Trang

There’re dozens of rice noodle soup in Vietnam but the Rice Noodle Soup with Fish Pie in Nha Trang style is very special. The fish pie is cooked from fresh fishes which have just been caught so that the fish pie is really fantastic. Nha Trang is a very popular tourist destination with beautiful beaches. Do not miss

Not similar to other Vietnamese sweet soups, this kind of sweet are dried with only one main ingredient – mung bean. The mung bean is peeled, ground and mixed with so much sugar. The mix is cooked until it’s dried and chewy but still tender and soft. It’s better to eat with tea.

17. Grilled Rice Cake in Dalat (Lam Dong)

Dalat is called the thousands of flowers’ city because it’s an ideal place to grow flowers in Vietnam. Most of flowers sold in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and other provinces come from Dalat. Grilled Rice Cake is the specialty of Dalat which has been popular in the country. Rice paper and other toppings such as dried tiny shrimp, pork floss, quail egg, mayonnaise and chili sauce are grilled on charcoal until the rice paper becomes crispy and turns yellow. This exotic food must be eaten after being grilled.

18. Vietnamese Pancake in Phan Thiet (Binh Dinh)

Vietnamese Pancake has many versions in Vietnam such as the big Southern Style Pancake or Banh Khoai in Hue. Vietnamese Pancake in Phan Thiet is a very crispy crepe and smaller than other versions. The fillings are made from shrimp, pork and bean sprouts… To eat, dinners use rice paper of big leaves of vegetable (green) to wrap a piece of pancake and other herbs. Then the roll is dipped into a sweet and sour fish sauce dip. What a yummy dish!

19. Cudo in Hatinh

Cudo is a kind of crispy candy with many layers made from dry cake, peanuts, malt and sugar cane honey in Vietnam. Ginger is used to make the food is warm to eat. Vietnamese people usually eat Cudo while drinking tea and have leisurely chat. It may be a strange candy to you who comes from outside of Vietnam. Let’s try and love it, you can buy it to bring home and gift your family and friends.

20. Caolau in Hoian

Caolau is one of specialty foods in Vietnam you shouldn’t miss on your trip to our country. Caolau is a noodle soup originated in ancient town Hoian. The cook uses the ash of a kind of tree in Hoian to make noodle yellow. This dish is served hot and topped with pork, shrimp and local greens. Visiting the unique ancient town, do not miss the food and learn more about Hoian culture.

You might like this:

Specialty Foods in Vietnam (Part 1 – Northern Specialties)