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Cha Ca (Grilled minced fish):
A wide variety of fish can be used in this dish including sturgeon
and tuna. Tuna is low in fat, has an exquisite flavour, and few
bones. The bones are separated from the meat and put in saffron
water to be later used in a sauce. The fish is placed in salt to
marinate before being grilled.
Com (Grilled rice):
Grilled rice is mostly served in the fall. Grilled rice are found
everywhere in Vietnam, but the best one is found in Vong village,
5 km from Hanoi. Villagers still use traditional secret recipes.
They eat grilled rice with eggs, bananas, or sapodillas.
Banh Cuon (Rice flour steamed rolls):
Having banh cuon for breakfast is a great favourite among many
Vietnamese. Banh cuon is made of rice flour. Thoroughly selected
rice is soaked overnight, then ground with a stone mortar. Food
preservatives are put into the flour to make the rice sheets softer
and smoother.
A screen of cloth used to mold the rice sheets is fitted over the
opening of a pot of boiling water. Flour is spread on the screen
and covered with a lid. After a few minutes, a bamboo stick is used
to strip the thin layer of flour off the screen. Then it is rolled
up and sprinkled with fried onions.
Banh cuon is delicious when it is very thin, white, and sticky.
It is even tastier when dipped in a sweet, sour, and spicy sauce.
Mien (Vermicelli made of cassava):
Mien threads are very long and tough, made from a kind of tuber
plant called the cassava. When being served these long tiny flour
threads, the threads are cut into smaller pieces.
Like rice vermicelli, this kind of cassava vermicelli is used to
make several different dishes, the most popular being Mien Ga (chicken
cassava vermicelli), Mien Bo (beef cassava vermicelli), and Mien
Luon (eel cassava vermicelli).
Cassava vermicelli is also used for different dishes which is stirred
in fat, such as Mien Xao Thit (vermicelli and pork stirred in fat),
Mien Xao Long Ga (vermicelli and chicken tripe stirred in fat),
and Mien Xao Cua Be (vermicelli and sea crab meat stirred in fat).
Banh Tom (Crisp shrimp pastry):
This dish is available almost everywhere in the country, but it
is best to have it at the Nha Hang Ho Tay (Ho Tay Restaurant) on
the banks of Truc Bach Lake, close to Ho Tay (West Lake).
While connoisseurs are awaiting the arrival of the hot fried shrimp
pastry, they can enjoy the picturesque land and lakescapes offered
by the tree-lined Thanh Nien Road, and the vast expanse of water
from West Lake.
Nom (Salad):
This dish is a combination of a variety of fresh vegetables,
usually used in salads in Western countries. The main ingredients
of Nom includes grated pieces of turnip, cabbage, or papaya, and
slices of cucumber with grated, boiled, lean pork.
Other auxiliary ingredients includes grated carrot, slices of hot
chilly, and broken roasted groundnuts. These are used to make the
dish more colourful. All are mixed thoroughly before being soaked
in vinegar, sugar, garlic, hot chilly, and seasoned with salt.
Faifo Dainty (Da Nang):
The filling for dainty consists of lean pork and other condiments
that are stirred fried. Then, the dainty is cut into finger-long
pieces that are dried and grilled. Finally, the filling is put into
the dainty. For a saltier taste, one can add fish sauce. Chicken
meat cut in squares combined to small shrimps can also be added
to the recipe.
Tom Chua(Hue sour shrimps):
When Hue natives living outside the city return to their homeland,
they usually have sour shrimps. This dish can be prepared with every
kind of shrimps. The recipe includes a number of steps that must
be performed in a specific order.
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