How to cook a traditional Northern Vietnamese Tet feast.

On the YouTube channel "Cooking with Grandchildren," chef Nguyen Phuong Hai shares the secrets to cooking eight authentic Northern Vietnamese Tet dishes.

Pork head terrine, also known as "giò thủ," is a unique and very popular dish in Northern Vietnam during the Lunar New Year - Photo: Provided by the author.

"Have you ever wondered: If any dish is missing, it wouldn't be a Northern Vietnamese Tet anymore?"

On his YouTube channel "Cooking with My Grandchildren," which has 438,000 followers, chef Nguyen Phuong Hai guides viewers on how to cook an authentic Northern Vietnamese Tet feast consisting of eight dishes.

Besides the very familiar banh chung (Vietnamese sticky rice cake), there are also bright red gac fruit sticky rice, square banh chung, golden-brown boiled chicken wings, jellied meat, stir-fried pork sausage, bamboo shoot soup, pickled onions, and refreshing salads.

A Tet feast wouldn't be complete without stir-fried pork sausage.

- Ingredients for two small pork rolls: 500g cleaned pig ears, 500g pork leg meat, 400g pig snout, 100g dried wood ear mushrooms, 10g black peppercorns, 300-500g fresh banana leaves, cement paper, bamboo strips. Also needed are seasoning powder, bouillon cubes, MSG, black pepper, good quality fish sauce, cooking oil…

- Choose a very sharp knife and slice the pig's ears, nose, and leg meat into pieces that are neither too thick nor too thin (about 0.5cm). Then, add 1 tablespoon of seasoning powder (or fine salt), 2 tablespoons of bouillon powder, 2 tablespoons of MSG, 2-3 tablespoons of black pepper, and 2 tablespoons of fish sauce to the meat mixture and mix well. Marinate for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Slice the wood ear mushrooms into bite-sized pieces, roast the black pepper until fragrant, then crush it, mix well, and marinate the meat with the remaining meat.

Ingredients prepared for stir-fried pork sausage - Photo: Provided by the author

- Briefly heat or boil banana leaves, then dry them. Place a square piece of cement paper underneath, and arrange the banana leaves on top. Stir-fry each piece as you wrap it, until the meat is cooked through. Then add the wood ear mushrooms and stir-fry for about 20-25 minutes until all the liquid has evaporated. Pour into a pan and wrap while still hot.

- Once wrapped, hang the ham up to cool slowly.

Boiled chicken wings

- Choose a deep pot, wide enough to fit a whole chicken. Fill the pot with water to at least two-thirds full. Add 1/2 teaspoon of seasoning powder/salt.

- For ceremonial chicken, reduce the heat immediately after boiling and continuously skim off the foam. Boil for 5-7 minutes (depending on the age of the chicken), then turn off the heat and let it soak (simmer) in the pot for 20-30 minutes to allow the meat to cook thoroughly to the bone, avoiding the "red bones" while the outside remains glossy. Remove the chicken and rinse it with cooled boiled water.

The chicken offered as a sacrifice requires perfection in appearance: the skin must be taut and shiny, without cracks, and the meat must be evenly cooked from the inside out. - Photo: Provided by the author

- Presentation: A plate or bowl will do, arranged so that the chicken is elevated and stands upright. The sacrificial chicken is usually shaped like a fairy's wings, presented with neatly wrapped giblets and a red rose in its beak.

Refreshing papaya and carrot salad

- Ingredients: grated papaya, grated carrots, mint, coriander, perilla, chili peppers, garlic (not used in offerings, added later), lemon juice, rice vinegar, crushed roasted peanuts, crushed roasted sesame seeds (not finely ground). All herbs are chopped into 1cm pieces.

Papaya salad - a classic dish often found on Hanoi 's celebratory feasts, loved and enjoyed by many generations - Photo: Provided by the author.

- Preparing the dressing: Use a ratio of 1 level scoop of sugar : 1 tablespoon of fine salt : 1 scoop of rice vinegar (add a little lemon juice for aroma). Stir the dressing up and down to help the sugar and salt dissolve faster than stirring in a circular motion. The dressing should be thick, clear, and have a balanced sweet, sour, and salty taste.

- Mixing instructions: No need to pre-salt (to maintain natural crispness). Mix the dressing with the shredded papaya/carrots, let it soak for 5 minutes, then squeeze out the excess liquid. Mix a second time and squeeze again before adding the herbs and roasted peanuts.

Northern Vietnamese jellied meat

- Ingredients: 500g pork leg, 350g carefully prepared pig ears, 50g dried wood ear mushrooms (soaked until softened), seasoning powder/salt, bouillon cubes, fish sauce, MSG, black pepper, carrots…

There are many different types of jellied dishes such as chicken jellied, duck jellied, but the most delicious and traditional is still pork jellied - Photo: Provided by the author.

- Preparation: After marinating the meat, stir-fry it until it's firm. Then simmer the meat with 1.5 liters of water, keeping the lid open and continuously skimming off the foam/fat to keep the broth clear. This way, when the meat jelly is inverted onto a plate, the pieces of meat and wood ear mushrooms will appear and disappear behind the clear, jelly-like layer.

- Presentation: Use carrot flowers carved into shapes to line the bottom of the bowl before scooping in the meat mixture. When the bowl is inverted, the carrot flowers will rest on top of the translucent layer of jelly.

Gac sticky rice - perfect for the first day of the year.

- Choose ripe, smooth, evenly red gac fruit with small thorns. Mix in the rendered fat from free-range chickens (from steaming).

Among various dishes, gac fruit sticky rice is always a perfect choice for New Year's celebrations or other important Vietnamese holidays - Photo: Provided by the author.

- Sticky rice steaming technique: Mix glutinous rice with gac fruit and a little fine salt. Steam the sticky rice twice: The first time for about 45 minutes, then remove and mix with sugar and chicken fat, then steam again for about 10-15 minutes to keep the sticky rice soft and prevent it from becoming hard even after a day.

Note that the sticky rice should be placed in the center of the steamer, about 2cm from the rim, to prevent condensation from making the rice soggy.

Elaborate bamboo shoot and pork knuckle soup

- Preparation: Soak dried bamboo shoots in rice water for three days, changing the water daily. Then boil the bamboo shoots 5-6 times in water until the water is clear.

Chef Nguyen Phuong Hai next to a bowl of freshly cooked bamboo shoot soup - Photo: Provided by the chef.

- Preparation: Clean the pork trotters thoroughly before simmering. Slice the bamboo shoots and stir-fry them separately with dried onions and seasonings until they absorb the fat and become flavorful. Simmer the pork trotters for one hour, then add the bamboo shoots and simmer for another 45 minutes.

- Tip: It's best to cook it twice (simmer it once, let it cool, then reheat it) so the bamboo shoots and meat blend their flavors better. When serving, add a few strands of vermicelli and blanched onions to make the soup more visually appealing.

Pickled onions are white, crispy, and slightly sour.

- Preparation: Soak mature onions in rice water (or wood ash water) for a day to remove the pungent taste and whiten them. Do not cut the roots too deeply or peel off all the outer layers before pickling to prevent the onions from becoming soggy/soft.

Pork fat, pickled onions, red couplets/New Year's pole, firecrackers, green sticky rice cake - Photo: Provided by the interviewee

- Salt solution ratio: 1 liter of warm water (30-35 degrees Celsius) : 40g salt (4 teaspoons) : 10g sugar (1 teaspoon).

- Time: Pack the onions tightly in a jar for about a week before use. Only peel off the outer skin and trim the roots when you are ready to eat them.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/cach-nau-co-tet-chuan-mien-bac-20260214230009502.htm