In addition to familiar dishes such as sticky rice and boiled chicken, the tray also displays a variety of delicious dishes such as fried fish, fried shrimp, goat meat with garlic, stir-fried veal with bamboo shoots... Among those dishes, Ms. Ngoc Quyen likes the dish of braised soft-shell turtle with banana the most.
This dish is prepared quite similarly to snails braised with banana and beans, but the ingredients are replaced with soft-shell turtle meat that has been chopped into bite-sized pieces, both increasing the delicious flavor and providing additional nutrition.
“In the West, the wedding feast usually includes hot pot. In my husband’s hometown, the wedding feast usually includes dishes made from goat meat and braised soft-shell turtle with banana,” said Quyen.
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Coming from the West to marry into the North, Ms. Quyen admitted to being surprised by the unique customs in the daily life and wedding culture in her husband's hometown.
In the 5 years she has lived here, she has attended the weddings of her husband's relatives about 3-4 times, experiencing everything from the secondary ceremony to the main ceremony.
According to the observation of the bride from the West, depending on the conditions of each family, the wedding feast in her husband's hometown (old Ha Nam province) will display different dishes with the quantity of 10-12 main dishes (not including desserts and drinks).
The tray still ensures some familiar dishes that often appear in weddings in the North such as sticky rice, boiled (or steamed) chicken, soup (vermicelli or bamboo shoots, bones).

In addition to the main wedding feast, the bride was also impressed with the banquet (before the wedding day) in her husband's hometown. Although the dishes in this feast were simpler and more rustic, they were still full, fresh and delicious, imbued with the local culinary culture.
Among them, there is a dish that Ms. Quyen has never known before but after tasting it for the first time, she immediately liked it. That is plum sap (depending on the place, it is also called plum wine, plum machete). This dish is made from pork or dog meat, marinated with a little wine to remove the smell, making the meat soft and juicy.
During the cooking process, people must add thick blood, boil until the meat is tender, the broth is thick, dark brown like the sap of plum trees secreted at the roots, trunk, and branches when they are eaten by worms.
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Ms. Quyen said that in addition to the wedding, the death anniversary is also an opportunity for her to experience delicious dishes and specialties from her husband's hometown as well as explore traditional cuisine of the North.
She had the opportunity to enjoy some specialties such as Vu Dai village braised fish, Phu Ly rice rolls... In addition, she also tasted fish salad, dipped in fish sauce, which was very delicious.
“In Chau Son ward (old Kien Khe town), my husband’s hometown, there is also a famous rice cake dish. When I went to the North to see my daughter off to her husband’s house, my biological parents got to try this dish and fell in love with it.
Occasionally, I still buy Kien Khe rice paper to send to Vinh Long for the whole family to enjoy," the Western bride shared more.
Photo: Quyen in rented house
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/dau-mien-tay-du-dam-cuoi-ngoai-bac-thich-mon-dac-san-la-trong-mam-co-ninh-binh-2421294.html
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