Bun Cha
Delicous
Hanoi capital is not only a land of ancient beauty and a "food paradise" of the North in particular and of Vietnam in general. Anyone who has ever set foot in this land will find it hard to forget the unique and impressive taste of the dishes, especially the vermicelli dish with its unmistakable delicious taste.
There’s a saying that Vietnamese eat with all our senses. And trust me, you will understand this if you are to sit down at a bún chả street stall during busy lunch hour. First, you can already smell the mouth-watering grilled pork patties and pork belly approaching the stall. Then, you can hear the sizzling meat, the occasional ‘pop’ when the melting fat hits the coal. The sound of people coming and going on motorbikes, shouting orders and chattering and slurping creates a unique ambience of Hanoi’s street food stalls. A lady (usually) would put in front of you a plate of pearly white rice vermicelli, a basket with all sorts of greens, a bowl of dipping sauce with some sliced pickled carrots and green papaya, and of course, those beautifully charred pork pieces. Grab a pair of chopsticks and take some rice vermicelli noodles to dip into the sauce. A perfect bite consists of a bit of noodles, a piece of pork and a slice of pickles; all well soaked. As soon as the bite hits your tongue, you will taste how perfectly balanced in sweetness and sourness that dipping sauce is, how the noodles wonderfully complements it, how crunchy and tangy the pickles cut through the fatty pork and how the marinated pork just melts in your mouth.
Although originally a street food specialty, to me there is nothing that can beat my mom’s homemade bún chả. On a weekend that was quite special, she would get a small charcoal stove and grill the meat in the small patio in front of our house, and the whole street would be filled with a mouth-watering smell. I would, as a child, cheekily sneak a hot piece of meat freshly out of the stove, and that would always be the best piece of the whole batch. The pork marinade and the dipping sauce in this recipe is adopted from my family favourite, and I hope that it will soon become your favourite as well !
Ingredients
A. Vietnamese Caramel Sauce
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70 grams (5 tbsp) sugar
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150 ml (1/2 C + 2 tbsp) hot water
B. Grilled Pork
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450 grams (1 lb.) pork shoulder or pork belly (choose a fatty piece to prevent the meat from drying out while being grilled)
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450 grams (1 lb.) minced pork (similarly, choose minced pork with at least 10% fat)
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50 grams shallots (about 6 – 8 shallots)
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15 grams garlic (3 – 5 cloves)
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Fish sauce
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Oyster sauce
D. Dipping sauce and Noodles
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25 grams (1.5 tbsp) sugar
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15 – 18 ml (1 tbsp) lemon juice/rice vinegar
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175 ml (3/4 cup) water
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15 – 20 ml (1 – 1.5 tbsp) fish sauce
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Garlic, chilli, black pepper – to taste
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1.5 kg fresh rice vermicelli noodles or 0.5 kg dried rice vermicelli noodles
Bun Nhan Muc
Astringent
Noodle Nhan Muc is a dish originating from Nhan Muc village, a village in Hanoi. The clear, sweet and elegant broth is stewed from pork bones and pork ribs. The wonderful, round wood pellets are made from raw ham, scallions, shiitake, black fungus and seasoned with seasonings to taste. The bowl of vermicelli is served with a few slices of sliced cinnamon rolls, just looking at it is enough.
This dish comes from Moc village (Nhan Muc village), Nhan Chinh, now in Thanh Xuan district, Hanoi. This dish has the ingredient of raw spring rolls, also known as carpentry, so it is called vermicelli.
Vendors arrange slices of white vermicelli noodles in a tray that is already spread with green banana leaves. When there are guests, they put that slice of vermicelli in a large bowl, pour bone broth and add slices of cinnamon rolls, sprouted with a pinch of herbs. That alone is enough to make the guest crave, let alone touch the chopsticks.
The guests sat comfortably on the stool, inhaling the hot, spicy aroma of the broth and the cool taste of the vermicelli... In the cold of early winter, they enjoyed a bowl of hot, fragrant vermicelli like that. what else is equal!
Ingredients
A. Making MOC
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1/2 spoon of sugar
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1/2 spoon of salt
B. Making soup
Carrots, white radish peeled, washed, cut into bite-sized pieces. Raw vegetables are picked, washed, and dried.
Pork bones and ribs are washed with dilute salt water and then cut into pieces, put in a pot, add water, carrots and radishes and bring to a boil, then drop in. Continue simmering over medium heat for about 1 hour. Add a little salt to the pot of broth when simmering the broth and often skim off the foam to make the broth clear and sweet.
When it's almost time to turn off the stove, season it again to taste.
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Raw spring rolls: 500g
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Pork bones: 500g
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Pork Ribs: 500g
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Fried silk rolls, fried cinnamon rolls: 500g
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Fresh vermicelli: 1kg
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Mushrooms: 50g
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Carrots: 3
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White radish: 1 bulb
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Banana cabbage: 25g
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Purple onion: 3 pieces
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Chili: 3
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Lemon: 2 fruits
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Green onions: 2 plants
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Coriander: 5g
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Bean sprouts: 25g
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Raw vegetables of all kinds
C. Dipping sauce and Noodles
Sausage, cinnamon rolls you wash and then fry until golden, cut into slices to taste. Red onion peeled, thinly sliced, fried, and set aside in a separate bowl. Wash bananas and bean sprouts, set aside. Scallions, coriander picked, washed, chopped.
Bun Dau Mam Tom
Aromatic
Noodles with shrimp paste with shrimp paste originated from Hanoi. This is a seemingly simple dish, but it is difficult to recreate the taste! This simple dish features vermicelli, fried tofu, spring rolls, boiled pork leg, marjoram and most importantly shrimp paste. It can be said that one of the things that makes this dish special is the dipping sauce. Shrimp paste is mixed with a little vinegar, alcohol, sugar and cooking oil. All dissolved together with a little minced chili and the juice of the kumquat.
And speaking of street specialties, it is impossible not to mention vermicelli with shrimp paste. Although rustic dishes are not new, in recent years, they have caused fever everywhere, even becoming a food trend that is whispered among young people.
Vermicelli with shrimp paste is a very satisfying menu, you can eat this dish at any time of the day. "Easy" is too much, but it's delicious!
Ingredients
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500g vermicelli
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50g shrimp paste
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4 teaspoons sugar
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600g tofu (about 3 long beans)
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2 teaspoons fish sauce
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1 tablespoon white wine
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2 tablespoons lemon juice
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garlic chili
D. Dipping sauce and Noodles
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25 grams (1.5 tbsp) sugar
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15 – 18 ml (1 tbsp) lemon juice/rice vinegar
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175 ml (3/4 cup) water
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15 – 20 ml (1 – 1.5 tbsp) fish sauce
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Garlic, chilli, black pepper – to taste
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1.5 kg fresh rice vermicelli noodles or 0.5 kg dried rice vermicelli noodles
Banh Da Cua
glazed
Whenever we mention the city of red phoenix flowers, Hai Phong, we immediately think of the famous crab cake. A bowl of crab cakes is always brilliant by the combination of many beautiful colors. The color of red rice paper, the color of copper crab, grilled meat wrapped in burnt green guise leaves, the color of a few pieces of red tomato. Embellished with a few stalks of green onions and a spoonful of fried onions.
Banh Da crab (local tradition always uses field crab and red rice paper) and crab spring rolls (local style or wrapped in a square shape like a banh chung on Tet) are considered by many to be two The dish is the most representative of the culinary style of Hai Phong.
Ingredients
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Red rice cake 400 grams
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Minced copper crab 400 grams
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Ribs 300 grams
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Minced pork 150 grams
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Fish cake - fat part - dried shrimp 100 grams
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G Spinach 50 tubes
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Wood ear 20 grams
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Lot leaves 10 grams
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Dried onion 10 grams
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3 lemons
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Green onion 10 grams
Pho
Comforting
Pho is a Vietnamese soup dish consisting of broth, rice noodles (bánh phở), herbs, and meat (usually beef (phở bò), sometimes chicken (phở gà)).Pho is a popular food in Vietnam where it is served in households, street stalls and restaurants countrywide. Pho is considered Vietnam's national dish.