Summer Gift

Red jellyfish - a summer delicacy in Northern Vietnam. Photo: Collected

Gifts from Northern Vietnam

It was a sweltering, hot afternoon in Hanoi . Wandering aimlessly through the Old Quarter, I suddenly realized I had inadvertently stumbled into an alleyway with a very long address full of numbers.

Suddenly, I felt a cool breeze under the shade of the trees, and the sun seemed to stop. Then I stopped at a roadside stall and ordered a bowl of noodles called "cold snail noodles." That's right, besides the delicious and refreshing bowl of water spinach soup with pickled green starfruit, there's also this cold snail noodle soup, a Hanoi summer treat.

The plump snails, with their translucent tails, are pre-shelled and placed in a bowl. The most distinctive feature is the clear, refreshing snail broth, infused with the aroma of fermented vinegar. Dip a handful of pristine white rice noodles into the broth, along with the snails and herbs, and you feel all the heat suddenly disappear with each sip of that tangy, refreshing broth.

Along the tree-lined streets of Quang Trung and Nguyen Du, up towards Hang Chieu or Thanh Ha, you can find stalls selling red jellyfish – a treat only available at the beginning of summer.

The translucent jellyfish are soaked in mangrove leaves, sedge leaves, and guava leaves. They turn a bright red color, like a young girl's lipstick, and are cut into small, jelly-like pieces.

A piece of red jellyfish sandwiched between grilled tofu, topped with a slice of mature coconut flesh and refreshing green perilla leaves, dipped into a perfectly seasoned shrimp paste sauce bubbling with lime juice. Take a bite, and all complaints about the heat, rising electricity prices, or overtime will vanish, replaced by sighs of delight at the refreshing coolness of the jellyfish.

Central Vietnamese delicacies

While the North has its red jellyfish, Hue is buzzing all summer with its sea cucumbers. The rise of food review videos on TikTok and Facebook has turned Hue's sea cucumbers into a trend – surprising even the locals.

Nuoc Hue - a summer specialty of Central Vietnam. Photo: Collected

Because Hue-style jellyfish is so familiar, every early summer, strolling through Dong Ba or Ben Ngu markets, you'll always find a basin of clear jellyfish freshly caught. Trust me, eating jellyfish the right way isn't about eating it from a frozen bag, then sitting in front of a camera, savoring it and making a video.

Eating Hue-style noodle soup is best done in the afternoon when the heat is still stifling. Head to a riverside eatery with a charming name like Cay Sung or Co Cu, and order a plate for around twenty thousand dong.

Freshly caught shrimp are soaked in ice water to make them extra crispy, then arranged on a plate with thinly sliced figs and dipped in Hue-style shrimp paste. The crispness and coolness blend with the refreshing river breeze.

Along the central coast, sitting under the shade of coconut trees, listening to the sea breeze, and enjoying a glass of agar jelly with sugar syrup – that's also a summer pleasure.

Xu xoa, rau xoa, rau cau are types of jelly made from seaweed harvested from the rocky reefs of Cu Lao Cham, or the reefs of Tam Hai, Tam Quang, and Ly Son. Also a summer jelly, sương sâm is a gift from the forest. The gentle vines wrap around ancient trees, and forest dwellers conveniently pick a bagful.

Then I kneaded it. I kneaded until my hands ached to get that dark green liquid. Nowadays, people use blenders to avoid the kneading, but I'm still convinced that the grass jelly made by hand-kneading tastes better and is more fragrant.

And the syrup, if done properly, should be made from a bowl of dark sugar, with Mom chopping it into small pieces while the kids huddle around waiting to... steal some.

These days, that bowl of dark brown sugar syrup isn't as readily available as it used to be. All we can do to soothe the summer heat is drink a glass of golden-brown syrup, topped with a few strands of fragrant ginger, and drizzled over a piece of soft, melt-in-your-mouth grass jelly, its coolness like the first rain of the season.

Heading south to welcome the summer rains.

Saigon in the summer, shaded by ancient trees around the park. Anyone far from Saigon will remember those sidewalk coffee stalls under the green shade. It's almost a "specialty" of Saigon.

It means ordering a glass of ice-cold water, then sitting on the green grass under the shade of the trees, watching the brown chestnut seeds spin in the wind.

Following the waterways, the Mekong Delta welcomes summer with rain. In the South, there is no summer; May is usually the beginning of the rainy season. Southern rain is peculiar; it comes and goes, capricious like a young girl, yet also clear and pure like a woman's laughter.

The rainy season arrives, bringing with it the rising water, the blooming of the water hyacinths, and the flourishing growth of the water spinach. Shrimp and fish also become more abundant. After summer, the sound of bitterns calling during the ebb and flow of the tides fills the air, alongside a pot of flavorful sour soup, perfect for summer gatherings.

I experienced the first rain of the season while wandering through the mountain town. People say Pleiku has two specialties this season: afternoon rain and sun-dried beef with ant egg salt dip.

Savoring a piece of tender beef dipped in tangy, spicy ant eggs, I gazed at the green hills sprouting new leaves as the rain fell, hearing giggling laughter in the rain.

As a reminder, as long as there are mountains, forests, rivers, and seas, summer will always be lovely with its delightful treats…

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