Quang noodle, so good speciality

Knowing Vietnamese noodles can be extremely helpful, as “pho” is to Hanoi and beef rice noodles is to Hue, Quang noodles is very popular in Quang Nam and Da Nang.


Quang noodle soups differ than most normal noodle soups in that the soups have just enough broth to barely cover the noodles. Unlike other Vietnamese noodle soup bowls whose broth will cover the noodles almost completely, Quang noodle broth is barely enough to slurp during the meal. If you do not eat a Quang noodle bowl fast enough, the broth will generally quickly be soaked up by the noodles. Quang noodle soups are generally pork and dried shrimp broth based, although some regional and family recipes will use chicken and even duck. What makes Quang noodle soups unique is the richness of the broth, the lack of it and the crushed peanut toppings on the noodles.

The mystery of Quang noodle is in that pot above. This is ‘nuoc sot mi quang’ or Quang noodle sauce. This makes the stock slightly sweet and a smidgen spicy. This dish's ingredients include rice, vegetables and meat. After being soaked in water, the rice is ground to a fine powder and made into attractive smooth white noodles. Accompanying vegetables are water morning-glory, cress, young banana flowers and herbs. Especially, the famous Tra Que savory of Quang Nam Province will give the dish more flavour. You can use pork, chicken, fish, crab or shrimp to make the broth. If chicken is chosen, the meat is separated, seasoned and stir-fried while the bones are stewed. Finish the stock by adding cooked chicken meat.

There are many Quang noodle restaurants in Quang Nam and Da Nang. Each area is famous for one certain recipe. For example, Thanh Chiem Village in Dien Ban District, Quang Nam Province is known for shrimp noodle, while chicken noodle is at its best in Tuy Loan, Hoa Vang District, Da Nang City.

A traditional version says: “I make for you, darling, green tea and Quang noodles to express my feelings”. Thus, you can visit a Quang noodle kiosk in Danang City to enjoy the typical flavor of the soups, for instance: Ngan Quang Noodle at 108 Dong Da Street, Lu Quang Noodle at Ham Nghi Street, Vi Quang Noodle at 155 Trung Nu Vuong Street and so on.

“Bun goi da”

“Bun goi da” is a special noodle soup which is one of the most appreciated by visitors to Soc Trang Province.

The strange dish is originated in My Xuyen Town, Soc Trang Province. Leaving the city of Soc Trang some 5 km to My Xuyen Town, you can see a board "bun goi da" suspended before the small stall. While waiting for the dilicious dish moved out, you can view the cool green trees, smelling the fragrance of delicious dishes.

The best “bun goi da” is served at a small and shady stall in a quiet street at old Bai Xau, a site which used to be buoyant port serving the 6 Southern provinces. The shop-owner Trinh Thi Nu, is a retired school teacher in Can Tho City. She takes a very good care to ensure the best quality of the dish which requires a number of ingredients including rice noodles, pork, prawns, soybean paste, sliced red chilli and some herbs. Having put these things into a decoratively presented bowl, a flavoured hot broth, the most important thing to decide the taste of the dish, is added to the mixture.

“Bun goi da” is even more appealing with some fresh vegetables. It has been one of the favourite dishes for both locals and visitors in Soc Trang Province. Each bowl is a mere 12,000 to 15,000 VND. For many years, “bun goi da” have made the journey to Ninh Kieu District, Can Tho City, help to improve people’s living standard. Moreover, “bun goi da” is also served in Hoang Cung Restaurant of Saigon - Can Tho Hotel. Although the price is 20,000 to 25,000 VND for a bowl of “bun goi da”, the luxurious seat will help you delight in watching the street and the bowl of “bun goi da” is much more delicious.

Not only the favourite for many visitors, “bun goi da” is one of traditional dishes in Soc Trang Province. Once enjoying and you can feel the typical fragrance of the dish.

“Cốm” - Autumn’s special gift

"Cốm" (green sticky rice) is a delicacy that is made only in autumn and cherished by all Vietnamese. For Hanoians, nothing evokes autumn like the taste of young rice from Vong village, the grain so sweetly scented that they left a lasting impression...


Served with red persimmons or ripe bananas, "Cốm" is truly delicious. Vong village, on the outskirts of Hanoi, is said to produce the best "Cốm" in northern Vietnam. When autumn comes, Hanoians everywhere always remember the special taste of "Cốm" which is a special gift from the soil made by hard-working peasants, holding a simple and fresh fragrance.

Every autumn, when the cool north-westerly wind brings a cold dew, the sticky rice ears bend themselves into arches waiting for ripe grains because these rice grains are at their fullest and the rice-milk is already concentrated in the grains, and the local farmers will know it is time to make “Cốm” – a specialty made from young green sticky rice.

"Cốm" is often eaten by hand, directly from the lotus leaves, a pinch at a time. When eating “Cốm”, you must enjoy slowly and chew very deliberately in order to appreciate all the scents, tastes, and plasticity of the young rice which is sweet, nutty and buttery.

From the complicated process...

Visitors to Hanoi during the "Cốm" making season are invited to go to Vong Village where they will have a chance to listen to the special rhythmic pounding of wooden pestles against mortars filled with young rice and see women shifting and winnowing the pounded young rice.

In Vong village, making “Cốm” used to be a common trade. People from Vong village are said to have the most complicated process for making "Cốm". Firstly, glutinous paddy is planted. To produce their famous "Cốm", residents of Vong village grow a special variety of sticky rice. The sticky rice must be harvested at just the right moment. When the paddy begins to ripen and still contains milk it is reaped but only at early dawn. The rice is plucked off manually so that the grains are not broken. Next, the choice grains are carefully selected, sifted and washed. At night, the grains are dried in a large pan
over a soft fire and then pounded in stone mortars. Following this, the young rice is removed from the mortar and winnowed before being poured again into the mortar and the process repeated. This is then repeated exactly seven times so that all the husk is removed from the young sticky grains. There is an art to this part of the process. If the pounding is done irregularly and in haste, or it is not repeated seven times, the green colour of the grains will disappear and be replaced by an unexpected brown colour. Then the whole process will have been to no avail because customers will refuse to buy such produce. This should go some way to explaining exactly how difficult the whole process of "Cốm" making is.

“Not every one can dry and pound "Cốm". It is a closely guarded secret in some families that is never revealed to the mothers or daughters!” says 72-year-old Pham Thi Nguyet, whose family still produces “Cốm”. After the “Cốm” has been pounded, the crystal spring rice is wrapped tightly in emerald lotus leaves to keep it from drying and allowing it to absorb lotus flavour.

...to other specialities

Better than any other person, peasants are the only ones who truly understand when the rice ears are ripe enough to be reaped to begin making “Cốm”. From then on, “Cốm” is still available, however, as it is used in different local specialties.

“Cốm” is an ingredient used in many specialities of Vietnam, including “Cốm xào” (browned green sticky rice), “Bánh cốm” (green sticky rice cake) and “Chè cốm” (sweetened green sticky rice paste) and so on.

“Bánh cốm” is the well-known as it is found at every engagement ceremony. The cakes are wrapped with bananas leaves into squares, tied with a red string and stamped on the outside with a Chinese character meaning "double happiness". With these characteristics, “Bánh cốm” is believed to be a symbol of steadfast and eternal love.

Green sticky rice cakes are sold on Hang Than Street. Sticky cakes stuffed with green rice are sold on Hang Dieu Street and Quoc Huong green rice paste is sold on Hang Bong Street. Restaurants also offer dishes involving “Cốm”, such as chicken stewed with herbs and green rice, or green rice served with fried shrimp.
Nowadays, thanks to convenient means of transport, many Hanoians send Vong Village’s "Cốm" to their relatives in other parts of the country, and even abroad, as a special gift. By this way, the delicious taste of "Cốm" always stays in the hearts of Hanoians wherever they live. To those who have ever been involved in farming, eating "Cốm" often reminds them of a fresh and fragrant paddy.

“Banh it” - sticky rice cake

It is true that “Banh it” is a must try specialty of the Central Region in Vietnam!

Commonly, there are two kinds of “Banh it”. The first one is “Banh it la gai”, which is sticky rice cake with coconut or green bean stuffing wrapped in pinnate leaf. The second one is “Banh it tom thit” - glutinous rice cake with meat and shrimp, its name means “little meat shrimp cakes”, the stuffing is made of ground pork and shrimp mixed with spring onion and other spices.

A popular saying goes: "If you wish to eat banh it la gai, get married to a Binh Dinh man to increase your life experience". It shows how essential “Banh it la gai” is to the people in the central region. Originating in Binh Dinh Province on the central coast, “Banh it la gai” has become a veritable specialty of that region of Vietnam.

"Banh it la gai" is made from five ingredients - sticky rice, "la gai" (a type of thorn leaf popular in the central region), sugar, green beans (or black beans) and a banana leaf. The “la gai” is boiled and then ground in a stone mortar until its green colour turns black. The sticky rice is ground into flour. The sugar is dissolved in water and then boiled down to make syrup. Then the three ingredients are mixed together to make the dough. Meanwhile, the green beans are soaked in water for hours and then whipped before steaming. After that the well-done beans are ground and rolled into balls used as fillings for the dough.

The dumpling can also be made with sweetened ground coconut instead of beans. Either way the banana leaves are usually put quickly on the fire or dipped in hot water to make them soft so that it is easier to wrap the cake with them. The little packages usually are shaped like pyramids with square bottoms. Then people arrange the packets into a pot for steaming.

Visiting Binh Dinh, tourists can discover how “Banh it” often stands right in the centre of locals' lives. In death anniversaries, it is acceptable for there to be no fish or meat, but there must be “Banh it la gai”. In marriage rituals, a tray of “Banh it la gai” is the gift of the bride’s family to that of the groom to show the skillfulness of the bride who has made the Banh it together with other villagers.

In the former imperial capital of Hue in Thua Thien-Hue Province, tourists can also find “Banh it la gai” and another type of “Banh it” called “Banh it tom thit”. The cake is a little ball of sticky rice flour stuffed with shrimp and pork. The tasty morsel is served plain or wrapped in banana leaves and is one of the indispensable dishes in the death anniversaries of a Hue family.

“Banh it” is also popular in the historic town of Hoi An in Quang Nam Province. There tourists can find “Banh it” not only at family parties, wedding ceremonies and death anniversaries but also at restaurants. Hoi An has two types of “Banh it”: one with green bean filling and wrapped in banana leaves called “Banh it la gai nhan dau xanh” and the other also filled with green beans but served plain called “Banh it la gai tran”. Unlike common “Banh it la gai”, “Banh it tran” usually is pink and smells like la dua (a type of leaf that smells when it is steamed). A famous “Banh it la gai”-making family lives on Nhi Trung Street in Hoi An. Stopping by their ancient house, tourists can learn all the stages of making “Banh it”. They can see how people prepare “la gai”, whip beans, grind sticky rice and form the dumplings. Above all, they can enjoy “Banh it” right after it is steamed.

Once visting the central region of Vietnam, you should not miss a chance to enjoy the so delicious taste of “Banh it”...

“Banh Phu The”– Vietnamese conjugal cake

In Vietnam,“Banh Phu The” is a special cake, which symbolises the loyalty of a husband and wife...

The conjugal cake is normally served at Vietnamese weddings and used as a wedding invitation or taken by the man’s family to the woman’s family on engagement day. The stickiness of the cake is said to signify the stickiness of the marriage ties. Traditionally, a guy would offer these to the girl he wants to marry. Now these cakes are still an essential part of a wedding banquet, or the gift packages that the groom's family send over to the bride's.

“Banh Phu The” is a Vietnamese sweet with a jelly-like texture made of tapioca flour, pandan, mung bean paste, sugar, sesame seeds and coconut milk. It is very unique with a leaf covering that looks like a tiny square box, made from coconut leaves. The reason it is called Banh “Phu The” is because of how it is wrapped: a box on the top fits perfectly with the box on the bottom. If you would like ton know how to make this special cake, you can visit Dinh Bang - a famous Vietnamese village in Bac Ninh Province

“Chè” - Vietnamese Sweetened Porridge

Black bean sweetened porridge
"Chè” is a Vietnamese term that refers to any traditional Vietnamese thick, sweet dessert soup or sweetened porridge. Sweetened porridge is a kind of sugary flavored beverage which is protein-rich.

As such, it may, with the addition of qualifying adjectives, refer to a wide variety of distinct soups or puddings, which may be served either hot or cold. Some varieties, such as “chè xôi nước”, may also include dumplings.

Chè are often prepared with one of a number of varieties of beans and/or glutinous rice, cooked in water and sweetened with sugar. Other ingredients may include tapioca starch, salt, and pandan leaf extract. Each variety of chè is designated by a descriptive word or phrase that follows the word chè, such as chè đậu đỏ (red bean sweetened porridge), chè đậu đen (black bean sweetened porridge) and so on.

In southern Vietnam, chè are often garnished with coconut milk. Chè may be made at home, but are also commonly available freshly made in plastic containers, in Vietnamese grocery stores

Cha ca La Vong (grilled minced fish)

Hanoi now has several stores selling Cha ca La Vong, but none of them can be equal to the Cha Ca Road’s in terms of quality and flavor. As a popular dish, La Vong grilled fish pie is indeed a remarkable culinary invention.
The long history…

In ancient days, there was a street selling paints, called the Paints Street. The Doan family, located at house No, 14 of this street, hit upon a new idea that sold fried fish pie served with soft noodles and seasoning. Encouraged by the appreciation of customers, the family specialized in this trade and the shop was called as "Cha ca La Vong store" as a wooden statue of an old fisherman (La Vong) holding a fishing rod and a string of fish stands at the door. As the specialty grew famous with every passing day, the street was renamed by the people as Cha Ca Street (fried fish pie street).

Imagine that you are one of the guests…

While you sit down at the table, the waiter starts laying there some seasonings includes a bowl of well - stirred shrimp paste sauce mixed up with lemon. After dropping the liquor, he will decorate the bowl with a few slices of red fresh pimento, a plate of grilled ground nuts of gold yellow color, various species of mint vegetables o­nions in small white slices.

To many customers, the sight of such seasoning already greatly stimulates their appetite. A few minutes later, fried fish, yellow in color and flagrant in smell put o­n a plate of anethum vegetable, is brought in. But that is not all. A few seconds more, as soon as a cauldron of boiling fat is brought in, the waiter starts pouring it o­n each bowl of grilled fish, thus producing a white smoke and sputtering noise.

Now, this is the time for picking and choosing what you like from the dishes on the table; sticking them into your bowl. Everything in all dishes should be eaten together. Let’s taste…