Van Phuc Silk Village

During their stay in Hanoi, most tourists insist on a trip to Van Phuc Silk Village, the famous silk village of Hanoi to contemplate the genuine traditional silk-making industry.

Van Phuc Silk Village is situated on the banks of Nhue Thi River, Nguyen Trai Road, near Ha Dong city, 8 km southwest of Ha Noi. It takes you only 30 minutes by motorbike to go there from the centre of Hanoi. The village has been much well known for its traditional sericulture, weaving, and silk products. Tourists coming here are lured by various beautiful shirts, crafts, ties, dresses and many other things made of silk available in the village. What is special is that the silk is made by very simple looms, which is the genuinely traditional Vietnamese way of making silk.

For centuries, silk has always been considered an extreme luxury, on par with rhinoceros horn, ivory and precious handworks in Vietnam. It has long been a universal byword of luxury, often worn by the richest, most powerful citizens. Most visitors somehow have heard about the significant role of this kind of material in Vietnam, yet might wonder where the cradle of Viet silk is. The mentioned Van Phuc Silk Village is proud to be the origin of best silk and silk-making industry of Vietnam, which is attached to a long-lasting history of more than two thousand years. Though passing by lots of ups and downs, during the recent years, the village’s craft has enjoyed revival due to a surging demand for silk in both the domestic and foreign markets.

Today, the fine and lustrous cloth that originates from the cocoon of the silkworm is more affordable for "ordinary" folk. Furthermore, silk is currently enjoying a fashion renaissance, particularly since its many varieties can be made into a wide range of designs suitable for all facets of modern life. Should you intend to have a silk pair of formal clothes made, just come here and select your suitable materials, and professional tailors here will bring you satisfaction!

Like other visitors to the village, you will be surprised at this “silk shop town”, where almost all houses along the paths have been turned into shops selling silk products. Specifically, the village is now home to 1,280 households, 90% of whom are involved in silk production and business. The village makes more than 2 million meters of silk per year. Yet, more than that, you are offered a good chance to explore the Vietnamese traditional industry of silk-making.

No tourists here are uncontented with the glisten of various silk products. They are always confronted with an initially bewildering array of silk products, from raw materials, to garments, and a myriad of silk accessories. The local silk is known for its smooth and lightweight appearance, and qualities that enable it to be dyed more colors to suit a variety of skin tones. In order to cater for the changing demands and tastes of customers, Van Phuc silk producers are expanding their silk and garment repertoire: traditional glossy, embroidered silks, double layers, wrinkled silks, and of course, more colours, hues and weights, for which they have invented new techniques in dying and thermo-processing the threads.

If you are going to buy something from Vietnam as gifts for those at home, silk and clothes made of silk are available around in the village for your choice. Though the days when Vietnam's silk was reserved for nobility are long gone, what would never change is the sense of romance and luxury imparted by silk, a luminous cloth type. With 2000 years of history behind them, the silk weavers of Van Phuc Silk village are still busy, weaving dreams.

How to get there? With a view to reaching Van Phuc village, tourists should travel south west out of Ha Noi on Nguyen Trai Street until they reach the border of Ha Dong District. Then turn right and dive for about 3km. The village is on the left, some 8 km from central Hanoi. Motorbike, bus, or taxis are all of good use.

Or, tourists can book a day tours visiting handicraft villages around Hanoi to visit this village. Almost every handcraft or culture tours in Hanoi include Van Phuc silk village. As these tours offered are usually just one day tour from Hanoi, it is easy for tourists to arrange their time. 

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Bronze casting village of Ngũ Xã

Ngũ Xã village is located on the side of Trúc Bạch Lake in Ba Đình District nowadays, and it is known as the craft village with traditional bronze casting profession.

Legend has it that Zen Buddhist Grand Monk named Không Lộ who lived in the Lý Dynasty (1009-1225) was progenitor of the profession. He took best workers of five villages from the original Kinh Bắc area (Bắc Ninh Province today) to Thăng Long to establish a copper casting village called Ngũ Tràng Xã.

Since the 17th century, Ngũ Xã Village has become famous with many domestic appliances such as boilers, trays, and basins. Other famous products made by Ngũ Xã Village include Buddha statues, bells, incense burners, among which the greatest work is the bronze statue of Trấn Vũ God in the Quán Thánh Temple in Hà Nội.

The statue is 3.96 meters high, four tons in weight and was completed in 1677. In the temple of the village, there exists a Buddha statue with 5.5 meters high, weighting 14 tons, completed in 1952. In the 19th century, there were 90% of households in the village which ran the same copper casting job with some sophisticated technologies and know-how handed down from generation to generation.

Through many ups and downs of history, Ngũ Xã Village still preserves the traditional profession. Many high quality fine art products of Ngũ Xã have been exported, and many art works by famous artists have been made in the village.

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Bát Tràng ceramic village

Bát Tràng, a small village in the north of Việt Nam, is about 13 kilometers southeast of Hà Nội center, on the other side of the Red River. The village is famous for ceramic and pottery products of high quality.

If you have known about Việt Nam, you may not be surprised that Bát Tràng’s vases, bowls, dishes, and many other kinds of ceramic products have been exported worldwide.

Bát Tràng Village is said to be established in the 14th or 15th century in several documents.

However, according to the villagers, the village perhaps appeared earlier. There are always two stories concerning the village’s origin. One of these tells that under Lý Dynasty, in 1100, when the nation was in its independence and initial growth period, there were three scholars who came back from their mission trip to China bringing the ceramic craft industry learned there back to Việt Nam and taught the people of Bát Tràng.

In the other story, the village history dates back to the 10th century, when King Lý Công Uẩn relocated the capital in Thăng Long. With the establishment and development of the capital, many businessmen, crafters from many areas come to settle down here to work and trade. In Bát Tràng, there was a lot of white clay, so that many potters…

Accordingly, Bát Tràng has gradually changed from a normal ceramic and pottery village into a famous ceramic and pottery center until now.

As time went by, the village’s products have become well known for their best quality, style and glaze, both inside and outside of the nation. Many of these are now customized for aristocratic families and religious needs. Their popular foreign markets are Japan, the Netherlands, the UK, Portugal, and Southeast Asia, etc.

To produce a complete product, one must follow three steps. The first step is making the product body. The artists select the suitable clay, treat it and start making a raw product. It must be repaired to get the best appearance. Secondly, they decorate and cover it with glazes. Last but not least, the raw products are baked in three days and three nights. There are several kinds of kilns, yet the temperature must be at 12000 or 13000. After baking, products are brought out, classified and repaired in case there are mistakes. And now we have perfect products.

Bát Tràng products are divided into three kinds based on the purposes of use such as utilitarian wares, cult wares and decorative objects.

Thanks to a long–lasting history and development, the village’s works have been accumulated with a lot of different special designs. One more thing that makes them distinguished is the glaze, which is of high quality and a variety of colors, such as blue, brown, white, moss green, in both breaking and melting glazes.

In fact, there have appeared a number of competitors both domestically and internationally who take advantages of high technology.

Yet most customers prefer the craft products that contain historical and traditional values. Hence, it is no surprise at all that Bát Tràng is still found in busy days and works. More importantly, the village is now so popular that it absorbs a huge annual number of tourists to visit and buy ceramic goods.

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Chuông Conical Hat Village

Located in Thanh Oai District, Ha Noi city, Chuông Conical Hat Village is well-known for its special product “nón” by many foreign and domestic visitors. This small village is crowded with people who not o­nly come here to place orders but also witness the process of making “nón”.

The main material for making “nón” is palm leaf. Chuông villagers have to choose the white shoots from Phú Thọ Province or “nón” leaf from Hà Tĩnh Province. Bamboo hammocks and conical hats must be imported from other provinces.

Not o­nly old people but also children in this village know how to make conical hats. They take advantage of leisure after harvest time to make “nón”. This occupation helps villagers increase their incomes, improve their living standards and contribute to bettering their home village.

“Nón quai thao”(a kind of conical hat with fringe hanging at both sides) has a unique beauty with pink fringes, 2 yellow and red silk tassels, which is suitable for girls in Spring festivals, village festivities, “chèo” and “quan họ” folk music festivals.

Many Chuông villagers are good at making “nón quai thao”, which is a special cultural feature of the Northern delta in Việt Nam. The conical makers must be meticulous, skillful and have experience as the process is complicated, including choosing, arranging palm leaves, then sticking them o­n the conical ring, and sewing colorful thread. It sometimes takes the artisan a whole day to complete a nice “quai thao” conical hat.

Not o­nly is “quai thao” conical hat ordered by artistic troupes but it is also foreign tourists’ favorite souvenir. Many visitors from Germany, France, England can’t help buying this unique souvenir when they arrive at Chuông Village.

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Tây Tựu flower village blossoms

Although the village of Tây Tự was one of the last to switch from traditional farming to cultivating flowers, following the lead of villages like Ngọc Hà and Quảng Bá, it has blossomed into being considered the flower granary of Hà Nội.

Tây Tựu has become famous for its large variety of beautiful flowers that not o­nly grace local markets but are also exported abroad, and all the households in the village have become involved in this industry.

Farmers in Tây Tựu used to specialize in traditional agriculture but this yielded a low income. In the 1990s, however, the farmers changed to growing flowering plants and spices.

These crops brought in good profits and the standard of living in the village improved markedly. The Tây Tựu villagers first planted daisies imported from Taiwan and Singapore, but now are concentrating on growing roses on a large scale. Roses currently account for 70 to 80% of all the flowers cultivated in the region.

The first stage in establishing a flower farm is to prepare the fields by marking furrows with a milling machine and growing seedlings. The second stage - the most important and difficult, as it determines whether a tree will survive or not - is grafting nodes onto the young trees after two months' growth. The grafted plants require special care for the next 20 days, after which the grafts' nylon coverings are removed to allow the grafted shoots to grow.

It takes another three months before the flowers can be harvested, during which time a lot of work such as weeding and spraying insecticide has to be done in the fields.

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Son Dong statue sculpturing village

Son Dong Village in Hoa Duc District, Ha Noi is known as the largest place for sculpturing statues of Buddha in Viet Nam. It is also famous for the traditional craft of carving red-lacquered statues in the ancient style.

For over 300 years, the craft has been preserved and developed by devoted and talented artisans. One of them was Nguyen Duc Dau (1898-1988). In 1986 when the national economy started the renewal process, Dau coordinated with Ha Noi College of Fine Arts to organize training courses in sculpturing statues for people in his commune. Since then, the craft has developed and the village now has 300 households engaging in the craft and about 4,000 skillful sculptors.

The main products of the village are statues of Buddha, saints, national heroes and sacred animals for worshipping, such as horses and cranes. Here, the artisans only use the core of jackfruit trees to create statues because this type of wood is quite durable and rarely cracks which is suitable for making worshipping objects. During sculpturing, each artisan has his own secret to make unique products. Particularly, the artisans in Son Dong have become famous for the technique of sculpturing the faces on the statues. Thanks to the artisans’ skillful hands, the statues look refined with details of soulful and merciful expressions.

In Son Dong, the technique on red-lacquer trimmed with good is rather sophisticated which uses gold and silver litmus. To further develop the traditional craft, the villagers have invested in modern machines and advanced technology, and specialized production. Each workshop takes responsibility for one stage, such as sculpturing, painting and designing.

Thanks to their unique beauty, the products of Son Dong Village are seen in most of the pagodas and temples in Ha Noi and the North. There are also exported to the US and the UK to meet the demand of overseas Vietnamese.

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Nem chua - Vietnamese fermented pork roll

Usually served as a snack with raw garlic, Nem chua is eaten all year round as an appetizer or a side. It is eaten especially for the Lunar New Year by many Vietnamese families.

Nem chua is a meat roll with a sweet, sour, salty and spicy taste which makes the mouth salivate with each bite. Nem chua possesses the local character of each region of Vietnam, due to the differing ingredients and sauces used. Most versions of Nem chua can be distinguished by their name, which is usually named after the area it originated from, such as nem Thanh Hoa, nem Dong Ba in the ancient royal capital of Hue, and nem Ninh Hoa in Khanh Hoa Province, nem Yen Mac in Ninh Binh Province, etc.

Traditionally, to make Nem chua, the main ingredient is pork thigh. Nem chua is made from minced pork, sliced pigskin and a mixture of seasoning and garlic. These contents are mixed thoroughly before being wrapped with aromatic, fresh leaves (usually in banana leaves) into small, boxy rolls before being stored for natural fermentation process for three to five days in a cool place before eating.

In the Lai Vung District of the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap, the locals take pride in their Nem chua recipe, which has been passed down through many generations. Called “nem Lai Vung” after the district, it became more widely known in 1975 when a local woman, Tu Man, made Nem chua for visitors. She used pork, but she also used pig liver, and then ground them into a mixture with rice, shrimp meat and seasonings. The characteristics of nem Lai Vung and other specialty foods from Lai Vung District are so distinctive and recognizable that they have been registered under a domestic brand name. Tourists to Dong Thap Province can take part in nem Lai Vung cooking classes to learn more about this regional specialty.

The northern areas also create their own favorite varieties of Nem chua. The famous one is Nem Yen Mac, which has been made for a long time in Ninh Binh Province. The number of locals in Yen Mac who can make this kind of Nem chua is small because the work requires not only secret formula but also passion for the work. Nem Yen Mac is eaten with guava leaves, fig leaves and aroma vegetables dotted into nuoc mam (fish sauce) which is mixed with mingled with garlic, lemon juice, pepper and chilli.

While many people prefer the more traditional method of preparation for Nem chua, others enjoy a grilled and unfermented variety of Nem chua. Both traditional and grilled Nem chua are usually served with uncooked sliced garlic and nuoc mam (fish sauce). Whereas nuoc mam adds saltiness and spiciness, some prefer to use chili sauce instead.

Nem chua is best known to the expatriate community and international tourists who have taken an interest in Vietnamese cuisine in recent years...

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“Mứt Tết”, very delicious preserved fruit!

In Vietnamese New Year party, beside traditional dishes, no family can forget to make a tray of "Mứt Tết”, a cup of tea, betel and areca ready to entertain their visitors.

“Mứt Tết” refers to fruits or vegetables that have been prepared and canned for long term storage. The preparation of preserved fruit traditionally involves the use of pectin as a gelling agent, although sugar or honey may be used as well. There are various types of fruit preserves made in Vietnam, and they can be made from sweet or savory ingredients.

“Mứt” is made from all sorts of fruit, including mandarin oranges, apples, banana, coconuts, persimmons and breadfruit. Vegetables like patatoes, carrots and squash are also turned into “Mứt”, as certain types of blossoms.

The most famous variety of “Mứt” is made from rose petals or peach blossoms. The raw materials are cleaned and peeled, then soaked in sugar and cooked until dry. Other types of “Mứt” have the sticky consistency of jam. Some varieties, like “cu lac” (peanut jam) are covered with a thick layer of sugar, but most have thin layer of sugar.

The colors are often quite intense and people serve different types of “Mứt” together, arranged in a colorful display.

In Hanoi, Hang Dieu or Hang Duong Streets in Old Quarter are famous for shops that sell “Mứt”. Preserved fruits are masterpieces in these shops. They make all kinds of preserved fruit such as ginger, waxy pumpkin, apple, orange, lemon and carrot in various shapes and colours.

To welcome Tet is to welcome the spring. However, in January, which is spring time, the weather in Vietnam is still cold. It is a good idea to warm up with a cup of hot tea and a slice of preserved ginger with golden yellow colour and a special flavour...

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“Banh Phu The”– Vietnamese conjugal cake

“Banh phu the” or the conjugal cake is one of the favorite traditional cakes in Vietnam, but it embodies the philosophy of yin and yang in the nation.

A specialty of Dinh Bang district, Bac Ninh province, the conjugal cake is known everywhere and has become a favorite choice for weddings and other celebrations.

In the past, only royal families and dignitaries could afford to buy this kind of cake as conjugal cakes were only on sale at some important events. Nowadays, thanks to their improved living standards, almost every family can go for such pairs of delicious and beautiful cakes.

“Banh phu the” is a Vietnamese sweet with a jelly-like texture made of tapioca, pandan, mung bean paste, sugar, sesame seeds and coconut milk. No flashy color, no fancy design, but once you eat them you simply can’t help being surprised with the flavor of this cake. The black sesame seeds are under the skin spots, wrapped in a square mold bread crust with coconut. It reveals the philosophy of yin and yang. The stickiness of the cake represents the stickiness of the marriage ties. Normally, a man would offer these to the girl he wants to marry. These cakes are still an essential part of a wedding banquet, or the gift packages that the groom’s family sends over to the bride’s family.

The philosophy of yin and yang is also reflected in the form of boxes made ​​of coconut leaves. The small, low inside box, also called yin, holds the cake and the bigger outer box, also known as yang, covers the yin box. Its message is the symbol of caring between a husband and wife. It is the harmony between the human and the earth, man and women. All of them blend together to create its very own flavorful cake. Once you taste it, you will remember it for the most gentle, sweet taste you have ever experienced.

Nowadays, many weddings choose this cake because of its exquisite harmony. Instead of using coconut leaves to make boxes like before, it is replaced by cellophane. In the joyful atmosphere of a happy wedding day, happy forever is always the message that conjugal cake gives to the bride and the groom on the most important day of their lives.

If you would like to know how to make this cake, you can visit Dinh Bang in Bac Ninh province. There you can give it a try.

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Jelly Fish Salad Recipe (Gỏi Sứa)

Enjoy last days of summer with one of stunning Vietnamese Salad Recipes. It is called Jelly Fish Salad (Gỏi Sứa). Trust me; you will totally fall in love with this food. Only one important step is cleaning jelly fish. 

You should be careful in this step if you do not want get itching in your throat. Including green mango, this food will create the flavor with a little crunchy, sour and sweet flow from your tongue to your throat and final destination is stomach. So, are you interested with one of amazing Vietnamese Salad Recipes like this one? I cannot control my drool when describing this food to you guys. And now let us start cooking if you feel free, ok?

Ingredients:

300g fresh jelly fish

Chicken meat

Green mango, cleaned and peeled

Onion, basil leaves; coriander

Roasted peanut, smashed

Deep fried glutinous rice with powdered shrimp (bánh phồng tôm)

Chili, pepper, vinegar, sugar, spices …

Process:

Step 1: The first important step to create one of stunning Vietnamese Salad Recipes is cleaning jelly fish. Clean well its slimy skin, soak into alum water in few hours; next use your hands to press out all water. Then slice small and soak in hot water in few minutes and pour them out on basket.

Step 2: Boil chicken until it is cooked, tear small

Step 3: Slice green mango into long and thin pieces. Peel off the cover of onion, slice fiber. Clean and slice basil leaves small.

Step 4: Making dipping sauce: Mix sugar + salt + pepper + vinegar + fish sauce + sliced chili, stir well and text again to suit your flavor. This sauce is required with a little sweet and sour.

Now, you finished basic steps from one of interesting Vietnamese Salad Recipes. For presentation, Mix jelly fish with chicken meat, onion, green mango, basil leaves and coriander together. Add more roasted peanut on top. When eating, pour more sauce in step 4 and serve with deep fried glutinous rice cakes. That is also my favorite way to enjoy it. Hope you will satisfy with this instruction and good luck for your Cooking.

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Rolled rice pancake (Banh Cuon)

Among Vietnam’s delicate specialties, "bánh cuốn” ranks top thanks to its softness, sweet fragance of cinnamon, dried onion and strong taste of minced meat and sources! 

Among other members of the extended noodle family, bánh cuốn almost ranks first. It is a paper-thin steamed rice flour pancake, much like delicate sheets of fresh rice noodles. The pancakes are plucked off of the linen steamer base, and immediately rolled with minced pork and mushrooms, then piled on a plate, sprinkled with deep fried shallots, snipped with scissors into bite sized sections, and topped with fresh herbs such as cilantro or Vietnamese basil. A plate of bánh cuốn is a light dish traditionally eaten as breakfast in Hanoi but now can also be found as a late night snack.

To eat, dip a section of rolled noodle goodness into the accompanying warm fish sauce broth, brightened with a squeeze of fresh lime. You can also pick the leaves off the herbs and add them to the dipping sauce, grabbing a leaf or two as you dip, or you can follow each bite with a chaser of herbs. Bánh cuốn are often eaten with different sides of pork sausages, including sheets of an orange hued, roasted cinnamon sausage called chả quế.

Where to find it?

A short walk north of Hàng Da Market and Hàng Điếu street will bring you to Bánh Cuốn Thanh Vân, just look for the bánh cuốn station—two large covered steaming pots—out front along the sidewalk. Just take a look! The practiced hands keep the bánh cuốn rolling out with experiences, alternating seamlessly between spreading the thin batter on the linen base of one steamer, then at right time, turning to the other to peel the delicately steamed pancake off the linen base with a bamboo stick. By the time the batter is spread on its newly emptied linen base, the pancake in the first steamer is ready and waiting. With only 6 tables nestled inside the small open storefront, the pace never slows. Serving 7AM-1PM and 5PM-11PM.

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Rice nooddle soup (Pho)

Pho, a typical dish of Hanoi people, has been existing for a long time. Pho is prepered not only in a sophisticated manner but also in the technique which is required to have sweet but pure bouillon, soft but not crasded noodle, soft and sweet smelling meat. Only in cold days, having a hot and sweet smelling bowl of Pho to enjoy would make you experience the complete flavor of the special dish of Hanoi.

The bouillon.

Boil 10 cups water. Burn the whole fresh onions over high heat until golden brown. Add beef spareribs or ox tail into the boiling water. Skim while cooking to make a clear broth. Add browned onion and carrots after 1 hour of boiling. Cook another hour. Then remove meat and vegetable. Strain the bouillon, season it with spices, salt, fish sause as indicated and keep boiling to server very hot soup. Add boiled water, if necessary, to have 6-8 cups of bouillon. This broth is very spicy and a little salty.

Slice tender beef finely and cooked beef coarsely. Soak dry rice noodles in hot water 10 minutes before cooking. Coolk rice noodles sparately until done (about 10-15 minutes), drain in hot water to remove the starch.

Server at once into bowl.

Beef soup, rare: cooked rice noodles 1/3 bowl, raw beef minced on top. Pour over them one cup boiling bouillon. Add bib lettuce, green onion and onion rings.

Beef soup, done: cooked rice noodles, cooked beef, bib lettuce, onion rings, green onion in top. Pour over all ingredients 1 cup boiling bouillon.

Provide the guests with spoons and chopstichs to take the soup.

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Perfume River mussel cooked rice (Com hen song Huong)

“Com hen Song Huong” is a dish served at room temperature, made with mussels and leftover rice. It is a complicated recipe that includes sweet, buttery, salty, sour, bitter and spicy flavors.

Com hen Song Huong (or Com hen in short) is the very simple and low-priced specialty of Hue, the ancient citadel of Vietnam. Accordingly, the way of serving this special kind of food is of great ancience, simplicity and deliciousness.

Com hen has a sweet-smelling flavor of rice, onion, and grease, as well as strange tastes of sweet, buttery, salty, sour, bitter, and peppery-hot. You have to arrive to Hen river-islet in the Perfume River to have the original Com hen. However, you can find out the dish on some streets in Hue City. It requires 15 different raw materials to prepare for the dish, including mussel, fried grease, watery grease, peanuts, white sesames, dry pancake, salted shredded meat, chilly sauce, banana flower, banana trunk, sour carambola, spice vegetables, peppermint, salad, etc.

Com hen is always attractive to many customers since it is tasty and, at the same time, economical to anybody.

What makes this simple kind of food popular is revealed in the great endeavor to adopt and process its main ingredient – mussel. Mussels are sea species, which must be dipped in water for a long while before being processed. Accordingly, people often say that com hen somehow expresses the strenuous work of the maker.

Where to find it? Very easy as it is popular everywhere in Hue and these days, elsewhere in Hue restaurants in Vietnam. More favorably, it is a low-priced specialy, thus you could eat it in luxurious restaurants in Hue or even in vendoring mobile shops on the streets.

“Visiting Hue could not miss Com hen, or else you have not come to Hue ever!” is the most common remark of visitors elsewhere to Hue. So, please come and enjoy it yourself!

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My Tho Noodle Soup (Hu Tieu)

My Tho noodle soup (Hu Tieu) is a traditional dish, so specific to Southern Vietnam. As a Chinese long-aged dish, this food was reciped to taste My Tho delta people to become well-known nationwide.

Back in the 1960s, a shop in My Tho, 70 km from Ho Chi Minh City started serving this dish. Ever since then, its reputation has grown to become a very well known meal in Vietnam. It is said that the most delicious noodle soup is made with Co Cat rice, from the most famous rice growing area of My Phong village, a suburb of My Tho City.

My Tho seafood noodle soup is different from Chinese noodle soup, Nam Vang soup, as well as Hue beef noodle soup. The intersting thing is its secret recipe. In stead of herbs and lettuce, you will be tried the flavour of soy bean, lemon, chili, and soy sauce.

How does it taste?

The sweet aroma of the broth comes from the meat, dried squid, and special condiments. Not less important is the broth to cook from shinbone, pork, squids, additives and seasonings to taste subject to family secret as revealed by Chef Ba Chau to a well-selling shop in Trung Trac Street, My Tho City.

Taken as a national dish and something to recollect the delta land of My Tho, this noodle soup reciped in the Southern cuisine is second to none in meeting with various appetites of both oriental and western diners.

Can you find a bowl of Hu Tieu in Ha Noi?

You are in Hanoi, and wondering if such a My Tho’s specialty appears in Hanoi or not. Of course, My Tho noodle soup comes up quite often in many streets of Hanoi. It is better to ask your hotel receptionist to recommend a place nearby or you can refer to the following reliable address: Arab Kebab, 9B Thai Van Lung Street, Ha Noi.

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Grilled minced fish ( Cha Ca)

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.

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…

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Minced Meat Rolls (Giò Chả)

On the Tet Traditional Tray of food according to Vietnamese Culture, with traditional dishes such as Chung Cake (Banh Chung), Chicken Meat, Spring Rolls and so on, Minced Meat Rolls (Giò Chả) is one of the Traditional Vietnamese Food. There are many types of Vietnamese Minced Pork Rolls such as: pork-pie, beep dumpling, pork and skin paste, lean and fat pork paste, fried pie. Each type has a particular taste but the most important thing to make Vietnamese Minced Pork Roll dishes really attractive is that the fragrance of banana leaves and fish sauce combined in the piece of Vietnamese dainty morsel in spring.

Fried Pie (Giò xào):

In all kinds of Vietnamese Minced Meat Roll (Giò Chả), Fried Pie is the easiest one to prepare, so families often make it themselves when Tet is coming. The main materials are parts of pork such as: ear, nose tongue, pork cheeks and cat’s ear mushroom (Mộc Nhĩ). The materials must be subjected to preliminary treatment, boiled through hot water, sliced, mixed with spices, pepper and fried.

After wrapping the fried pie, keep it in the refrigerator so that all the materials link together. The pie that is delicious must be wrapped carefully, raw materials must not be too dry and the dish will stir fragrance of the spices.

Beep Dumpling (Chả bò):

Also processed as fried pie, beep dumpling is often added for more fat so that it is not too dry. When cutting a piece of beep dumpling, it is slightly pink as the color of the beef. Especially, pungency and fragrance of pepper feature the typical characteristic of beep dumpling. This Traditional Vietnamese Food is more welcomed in Northern area.

Pork Pie ( Chả lụa):

Pork is chosen to make pork-pie must be lean, delicious and fresh meat. It is continuously ground until the meat is fine. These days, the meat is ground by machine, which makes the process more quickly and helps to save the maker’s strength.

However, the pork-pie is make in the traditional way remains the delicious flavor that is different from the one ground by machine, since the makers must use more strength so they take proper care of their product. Fish sauce for making pork-pie must also be tasty and fragrant. When being cut, the pie must have the color of ivory-white and the surface has some small holes, surely that the pie is so delicious. I really love this Traditional Vietnamese Food. I usually eat one or two of them in just three days.

So, what do you think? Is it amazing dish? There still have many other kinds of Minced Meat Rolls (Giò Chả) in Vietnam, so do not miss a chance to taste this Traditional Vietnamese Food whenever you come to Vietnam, especially on the Tet holiday. Hope you have an amazing trip with your friends and family in Vietnam. Good Luck.

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Green Sticky Rice - Autumn Special Gift (Cốm)

Green stick rice is the Traditional Vietnamese Food 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( Circle village); the grain so sweetly scented that they left a lasting impression.

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

Green sticky rice is often eaten by hand, directly from the lotus leaves, a pinch at a time. When eating green sticky rice, 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.

Visitors to Hanoi during the green sticky rice 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 Green sticky rice used to be a common trade. People from Vong village are said to have the most complicated process for making this Traditional Vietnamese Food .Firstly, glutinous paddy is planted. To produce their famous green sticky rice, 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 the entire 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 color of the grains will disappear and be replaced by an unexpected brown color. 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 Green sticky rice making is.

So, are you excited about this dish? Do not miss this Traditional Vietnamese Food when you visit Hanoi, especially the autumn time. Hope you have an amazing trip with family and friends in my beautiful country. Good Luck.

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Vietnamese Square Cake (Bánh Chưng)

Square cake (Banh Chung) is the most popular and delicious Traditional Vietnamese Food and irreplaceable cake of Vietnamese people in the Tet Holidays and King Hung’s anniversary (10th March Lunar). For the Vietnamese, making this cake is the ideal way to express gratitude to their ancestors and homeland.

The legend of Square cake (Banh Chung)

This cake was invented by the 18th Prince of Hung Emperor in the contest of looking for new Emperor. According to the legend, 3,000-4,000 years ago, Prince Lang Lieu, made round and square cakes, the round Day cake symbolizing the sky and the Square cake symbolizing the Earth (under the ancient Vietnamese perception), to be offered on the occasion of Spring.

In the ancient conception, the Earth is square; hence this cake's shape is square, too, to reflect the Earth shape. Since the cakes he offered were of special meaning and delicious taste, Lang Lieu was selected to be the next Emperor. Since then, in honor of this 18th Prince, Vietnamese people always make and have Square cake in the Lunar New Year.

Up to now, this Traditional Vietnamese Food has become the most famous and irreplaceable food in Tet Holiday. This legend aims to remind the next generations of the ancient tradition as well as the primary of Chung cake. Besides, it emphasizes the important role of rice and nature in water rice culture.

How to make a Chung Cake?

In contrast to the fast food in modern life, the process of making Square cake is time-consuming and requires the contribution of several people. Main ingredients are glutinous rice, pork meat, and green beans wrapped in a square of bamboo leaves that will give the rice a green color after boiling. The sticky rice must be very good and was soaked in water in the previous day.

Rice cake is wrapped in square shape, and the wrapping power must be neither tight nor loose. Then the cake will be boiled in about 12 hours by wood. The green has nutrition with an original tasty flavor and may be kept for a long time. Eating this food with soured chinese shallot (Củ Kiệu)  will bring you unforgettable taste! Do not miss this Traditional Vietnamese Food for the Tet holiday at Vietnam.

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Traditional craft villages in Vietnam

For a long time, craft villages have been important for the agricultural development in Vietnam. The first villages where the population at least seasonally pursued a craft were already found in the 11th century, particularly in the area of Hanoi. A wide variety of goods were manufactured ranging from food and everyday products to skilfully designed silk and religious articles. Products were directly sold at local markets or via retailers distributed to the capital or even abroad. From their beginning craft villages were closely interwoven with the economic network. In the communist era they remained to be a main pillar of the Vietnamese economy. Since the introduction of the economic reform policy workforce and production volume of craft villages are continuously growing.

Bát Tràng ceramic village

Bát Tràng, a small village in the north of Việt Nam, is about 13 kilometers southeast of Hà Nội center, on the other side of the Red River. The village is famous for ceramic and pottery products of high quality.

The 700-year-old Bát Tràng village is located 13km away from Hanoi's center. It's an ancient village, which is very famous for making ceramic products. Many of these ceramic products have been exported for years, as a result, they are a good income for the locals. There is a ceramic market in the village, where we can buy ceramic tile paintings, flower vases, tea pots and cups, bowls, plates, spoons, even ceramic dogs. Some famous characters in the Vietnamese literature like "Chí Phèo" and "Thị Nở" were also created in an amusing way, same as a traditional Vietnamese fortune teller wearing sun glasses. Not only the local houses where we can see how to mix material, make and paint ceramic products, but there are also classes where we can learn how to create a vase or anything from clay that we want, or just to paint the ready-made products.

Vạn Phúc – Silk trade village

Located on the bank of the Nhuệ River with velvety mulberry groves and rice fields, Vạn Bảo fiefdom has been known as mulberry planting and silkworm breeding village since the 9th century. According to a local legend, progenitor of the profession is Madam A Lã Thị Nương, the beautiful and well-mannered daughter of the land of Cao Bằng.She descended the profession to villagers and helped “seven villages of La and three villages of Mỗ” to become the leading silk weaving villages in the country. Since long ago, the local people have honored her as tutelary god for their villages. Specialty of Vạn Phúc textile village that is known everywhere include “lissome bud silk” with high durability, plain silk, embroidered silk, satin silk, etc. All the materials help people to feel their clothing airy and cool.

Son Dong statue sculpturing village

For over 300 years, the craft has been preserved and developed by devoted and talented artisans. One of them was Nguyen Duc Dau (1898-1988). In 1986 when the national economy started the renewal process, Dau coordinated with Ha Noi College of Fine Arts to organize training courses in sculpturing statues for people in his commune. Since then, the craft has developed and the village now has 300 households engaging in the craft and about 4,000 skillful sculptors. The main products of the village are statues of Buddha, saints, national heroes and sacred animals for worshipping, such as horses and cranes. Here, the artisans only use the core of jackfruit trees to create statues because this type of wood is quite durable and rarely cracks which is suitable for making worshipping objects. During sculpturing, each artisan has his own secret to make unique products. Particularly, the artisans in Son Dong have become famous for the technique of sculpturing the faces on the statues. Thanks to the artisans’ skillful hands, the statues look refined with details of soulful and merciful expressions. In Son Dong, the technique on red-lacquer trimmed with good is rather sophisticated which uses gold and silver litmus. To further develop the traditional craft, the villagers have invested in modern machines and advanced technology, and specialized production. Each workshop takes responsibility for one stage, such as sculpturing, painting and designing.

Chuông Conical Hat Village

Located in Thanh Oai District, Hà Tây Province, Chuông Conical Hat Village is well-known for its special product “nón” by many foreign and domestic visitors. This small village is crowded with people who not o­nly come here to place orders but also witness the process of making “nón”. The main material for making “nón” is palm leaf. Chuông villagers have to choose the white shoots from Phú Thọ Province or “nón” leaf from Hà Tĩnh Province. Bamboo hammocks and conical hats must be imported from other provinces. Not o­nly old people but also children in this village know how to make conical hats. They take advantage of leisure after harvest time to make “nón”. This occupation helps villagers increase their incomes, improve their living standards and contribute to bettering their home village

Bronze casting village of Ngũ Xã

Ngũ Xã village is located on the side of Trúc Bạch Lake in Ba Đình District nowadays, and it is known as the craft village with traditional bronze casting profession. Legend has it that Zen Buddhist Grand Monk named Không Lộ who lived in the Lý Dynasty (1009-1225) was progenitor of the profession. He took best workers of five villages from the original Kinh Bắc area (Bắc Ninh Province today) to Thăng Long to establish a copper casting village called Ngũ Tràng Xã.

Since the 17th century, Ngũ Xã Village has become famous with many domestic appliances such as boilers, trays, and basins. Other famous products made by Ngũ Xã Village include Buddha statues, bells, incense burners, among which the greatest work is the bronze statue of Trấn Vũ God in the Quán Thánh Temple in Hà Nội.

The statue is 3.96 meters high, four tons in weight and was completed in 1677. In the temple of the village, there exists a Buddha statue with 5.5 meters high, weighting 14 tons, completed in 1952. In the 19th century, there were 90% of households in the village which ran the same copper casting job with some sophisticated technologies and know-how handed down from generation to generation.

Dong Ho Painting Village

Folk painting is o­ne of the special cultural features of Vietnam. Since the ancient time, there have been a lot of painting villages, such as Dong Ho village (Bac Ninh province), Hang Trong village (Hanoi), Kim Hoang village (Ha Tay province), Nam Hoanh village (Nghe An province), Sinh village (Hue city), and other villages in the south and mountainous areas. Dong Ho is located on the southern side of the Duong river (40km to the east of Hanoi) is one of the villages that preserves ancient cultural relics of Kinh Bac area (Red river delta, north of Vietnam). Dong Ho painting is printed by hand on the surface of wooden plate. Each printing colour has its own engraved board. The black one is printed last. Thanks to this way, paintings are made in bulk and do not require sophisticated techniques.

Tay Tuu flower village blossoms

Although the village of Tay Tuu was one of the last to switch from traditional farming to cultivating flowers, following the lead of villages like Ngoc Ha and Quang Ba, it has blossomed into being considered the flower granary of Hanoi Tay Tuu has become famous for its large variety of beautiful flowers that not o­nly grace local markets but are also exported abroad, and all the households in the village have become involved in this industry. Farmers in Tay Tuu used to specialise in traditional agriculture but this yielded a low income. In the 1990s, however, the farmers changed to growing flowering plants and spices. These crops brought in good profits and the standard of living in the village improved markedly. The Tay Tuu villagers first planted daisies imported from Taiwan and Singapore, but now are concentrating on growing roses on a large scale. 

Dong Xam Silver Village

Dong Xam Silver Village is located in Hong Thai Commune, the north of Kien Xuong District, Thai Binh Province. From 1681 up to now, the silvercraft skills in Dong Xam villages (Hong Thai district, Kien Xuong province) are still reserved as secret, inherited skills and like other traditional handicraft, the silvercraft of Dong Xam village has had to face a lot of challenges. During the feudal regime, to be able to inherit and learn the silvercraft skill was very difficult, moreover, the difficulty in good exchange activities between areas within small consumption market at that time had limited the silvercraft development.

After the war, from 1954, Dong Xam craftmen joined together with great determination to revive the traditional workshops. Cooperatives were opened to produce goods for the State such as cigarette trays, standing oil lamps, and fine-art boxes. During this period, Dong Xam silver products were mainly exported to Eastern Europe and Russia.

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The traditional food in Vietnam

The unique setting of the land has long allowed Vietnamese to craft many fine cuisines. Some of the food have that utmost honor above all else. Once meant for kings and queens, these dishes contain vast nutritious amount and exhibit extremely fine exquisite tastes. These were once themselves the royalties of Vietnamese food.

Com (boiled rice)

In Vietnam, com is eaten at the main meals of the day (lunch and dinner). Rice is eaten together with a variety of different dishes and is made from different kinds of rice. Typically fragrant rice is used, such as Tam Thom and Nang Huong. An ordinary meal may consist of boiled rice and the following: 

Mon an kho (meal without soup) consists of dishes of pork, fish, shrimp, and vegetable cooked in oil, as well as vegetables, pickles, etc.

Mon canh (meal with soup) consists of a soup made with pork or spare-ribs, crab meat, and fish.

In the past several years, people in urban centers have begun to go out for lunch at the food stalls on the street. Consequently, there has been a proliferation of temporary food stalls along many sidewalks and public spaces in the cities. Some stalls are open until early in the morning to cater to regular customers. Around noon, owners can be seen arranging tables and benches along the pavement to form makeshift shop floors. After two or three hours, when there are no more customers, they begin to remove all of their wooden furniture, so that the place resumes its former appearance. A well served lunch for one is very inexpensive. 

Banh Chung (Sticky Rice Cake)

Sticky rice cakes are a Vietnamese traditional dish that must be part of Tet meals. As a matter of fact, every Vietnamese family must have sticky rice cakes among the offerings placed on the altar to their ancestors.

Bang chung is made of glutinous rice, pork meat, and green beans paste wrapped in a square of bamboo leaves, giving the rice a green colour after boiling.

According to the legend, under the reign of the Hung Kings, Prince Lang Lieu created sticky rice cakes and presented them to his father. Bang chung won high acclaims from the King who awarded the prince his throne.

Making sticky rice cakes is a very meticulous job. To obtain the best cakes, rice has to soak in water for an entire day. The pork meat must include skin and fat, the green beans must be of the same size, and the bamboo leaves must be fresh. Squaring off and tying cakes with bamboo strings requires skilful hands.

Sticky rice cakes are available at any time of the year, although one is sure to enjoy them with relatives and friends during Tet. During Tet, rice cakes are served with gio lua and hanh muoi lean meat pie and salted sour onions. 

Gio Lua (Lean Pork Pie)

Lean pork pie is available in Vietnam only and has different names in the north and south. Foreigners as well as Vietnamese are fond of lean pork pie.

Gio lua consists of pork meat wrapped in fresh banana leaves. The little bundles are then boiled. The most delicious part of lean pork pie is the top layer since it absorbs the flavour of the banana leaves. 

Pho - Noodles

Pho is the most popular food among the Vietnamese population. Pho is commonly eaten for breakfast, although many people will have it for their lunch or dinner. Anyone feeling hungry in the small hours of the morning can also enjoy a bowl of hot and spicy pho to fill their empty stomachs.

Like hot green tea which has its particular fragrance, pho also has its special taste and smell. Preparations may vary, but when the dish is served, its smell and taste is indispensable. The grated rice noodle is made of the best variety of fragrant rice called Gao Te. The broth for Pho Bo (Pho with beef) is made by stewing the bones of cows and pigs in a large pot for a long time. Pieces of fillet mignon together with several slices of ginger are reserved for Pho Bo Tai (rare fillet). Slices of well done meat are offered to those less keen on eating rare fillets.

The soup for Pho Ga (pho with chicken meat) is made by stewing chicken and pig bones together. The white chicken meat that is usually served with Pho Ga is boneless and cut into thin slices. You could consider Pho Bo and Pho Ga Vietnam's special soups. Pho also has the added advantage of being convenient to prepare and healthy to eat.

Cha Ca (grilled minced fish)

 Grilled minced fish has been served in Vietnam for more than 100 years. The Doan family of Cha Ca Street in Hanoi first invented this dish.

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 into saffron water to be later used in a sauce. The fish is marinated in salt before being grilled.

What is interesting about this dish is that people can add their favourite condiments: coriander, mint, dill, shallots, and more. 

Com (Grilled rice)

Grilled rice is mostly served in the fall. After collecting the rice from the fields, several steps have to be performed to obtain excellent com. After removing the grains from their hulks, the rice is wrapped in lotus leaves to keep it from drying and to allow it to absorb the lotus flavor. Grilled rice can be found everywhere in Vietnam, but the best com is found in Vong village, 5 km from Hanoi. People in this village still use traditional secret recipes. People eat grilled rice with eggs, bananas, or sapodillas.

Banh Tom (crispy shrimp pastry)

Although Banh Tom is available almost everywhere in the country, it is best at the Nha Hang Ho Tay (Ho Tay Restaurant) on the banks of Truc Bach Lake, close to Ho Tay (West Lake) in Hanoi. While diners await the arrival of the hot fried shrimp pastry, they can enjoy the picturesque lake and landscapes offered by the vast expanse of water from West Lake and the tree-lined Thanh Nien Road. 

The dish should be eaten as soon as it arrives at the table. The fried pastry is topped with red shrimps and is eaten together with dishes of spicy vegetables mixed with sweet and sour sauce.

To remind you of the local shrimping business, waiters will often tell you that the shrimps that you have ordered for your meal have just been netted in nearby West Lake. This will be a memorable meal that will ensure that you remember your stay in Hanoi.

Nom (salad)

This dish is a combination of a variety of fresh vegetables, usually used in salads in Western countries. The make-up of Nom, however, is slightly different.

The main ingredients of Nom include grated pieces of turnip, cabbage, or papaya, and slices of cucumber with grated, boiled, lean pork. Other auxiliary ingredients include grated carrot, slices of hot chilly, and roasted ground nuts. 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.

The presentation of the dish is also very meticulous. The mixture of ingredients is put into a dish before being covered with vegetables. 

To try a mouthful of Nom is to enjoy a combination of all the tastes life has to offer, including sour, hot, sweet, salty, and fragrant tastes. The dish helps with digestion at meals and parties. It can become an addictive aid to assist the real connoisseur enjoy more food.

Nem Ran or Cha Gio (fried spring roll)

 This dish is called Nem Ran by northerners and Cha Gio by southerners. In Hanoi, the introduction of Nem Ran dates back to a time when Cha Ca had not existed. Although it ranks among Vietnam's specialty dishes, Nem Ran is very easy to prepare. Consequently, it has long been a preferred food on special occasions such as Tet and other family festivities.

Ingredients used for Nem Ran comprise of lean minced pork, sea crabs or unshelled shrimps, two kinds of edible mushroom (Nam Huong and Moc Nhi), dried onion, duck eggs, pepper, salt and different kinds of seasoning. All are mixed thoroughly before being wrapped with transparent rice paper into small rolls. These rolls are then fried in boiling oil.

Hu Tieu (My Tho Noodle Soup)

My Tho seafood noodle soup is different from Chinese noodle soup, nam vang soup, and Hue beef noodle soup, because it contains soy bean, lemon, chili, and soy sauce instead of herbs and lettuce. 

Back in the 1960s, a shop in My Tho, 70 km from Ho Chi Minh City, started serving this dish using a secret recipe for the rice noodles. Ever since then, its reputation has grown to become a very well known meal in Vietnam.

It is said that the most delicious noodle soup is made with Co Cat rice, from the most famous rice growing area of My Phong village, a suburb of My Tho.

The sweet aroma of the broth comes from the meat, dried squid, and special condiments.

My Tho noodle soup is a traditional dish specific to the south. 

Com Hen (Hue Mussel Rice)

Hot white rice is part of every meal in Vietnam, but only Hue mussel rice is served cool. Hue people, after deciding that no food should be wasted, have designed this dish using leftover rice.

This dish includes Chinese vermicelli, bamboo shoots, lean pork meat, and an assortment of green vegetables (banana leaves, mint, star fruit, etc.).

The broth obtained after boiling the mussels is used to flavour the rice. Ginger, sesame, and chili are also added to the broth. This dish is very spicy and it is not rare to see people with watery eyes and sweaty faces while eating it; nevertheless, everyone congratulates the cook for such a delicious meal.

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