Hai Phong bride impressed with husband's hometown's food tray, with fragrant charcoal grilled dishes

The death anniversary feasts of many families in Thuy Nguyen (Hai Phong) are considered to be of high quality, with fresh ingredients, of which the most familiar dish is grilled meat.

After 15 years of being a daughter-in-law in Gia Duc commune, Thuy Nguyen district (now Bach Dang ward, Hai Phong city), Ms. Doan Thu Huyen (35 years old) is still impressed with the unique culinary culture of her husband's hometown, expressed through the feasts on death anniversaries, weddings, holidays, and Tet.

Ms. Huyen shared that every year her husband's family has several death anniversaries. On those occasions, family members or relatives gather together, cook, and prepare a neat offering tray to express their respect to the deceased.

The memorial tray of Ms. Huyen's family in Hai Phong city

According to her observations after many years of being a daughter-in-law, the feasts for death anniversaries are always prepared lavishly and thoughtfully with 8-10 dishes. Depending on the conditions of each family, the number of dishes can increase to 12-13, serving everything from main dishes to desserts.

In addition to the usual dishes on the traditional Northern feast such as sticky rice, vermicelli soup (or bamboo shoot soup, rib soup), ham, spring rolls, boiled chicken, etc., the feast for the death anniversary in Thuy Nguyen also has some unique dishes, prepared according to the preferences of each family.

For example: stir-fried squid, salad, raw goat meat with lemon, fried fish, fried crab, steamed crab or crab... Among them, grilled meat is the dish that impresses Ms. Huyen and finds most popular, because this dish rarely appears on the feast tray in other places, both locally and internationally.

Grilled meat is a familiar dish that often appears on the traditional trays of many families in Thuy Nguyen.

Here, people often make grilled meat from shoulder or rump. This type of meat is tender, with a suitable lean-fat ratio. After being grilled, the meat remains soft and juicy, not too fatty but not too dry.

Fresh meat is cut into small pieces and marinated with a few spices such as fish sauce, oyster sauce, shallots, garlic, etc. Depending on preferences and tastes, some families also add lemongrass, galangal, mac mat leaves, and five-spice powder to make the dish more fragrant and have an attractive color.

After marinating, the meat will be skewered onto bamboo sticks or long iron bars and grilled over charcoal for about 10-20 minutes. When the meat is evenly cooked, charred on the edges and gives off a delicious aroma, it can be enjoyed.

“This dish is best eaten hot, dipped in sweet and sour chili garlic fish sauce, served with vermicelli, raw vegetables, and herbs,” Ms. Huyen shared.

The Thuy Nguyen people's feasts are often lavishly presented.

The 35-year-old bride also commented that the feast at Thuy Nguyen is not only sumptuous, with each dish being full, but also has a harmonious combination of ingredient groups, ensuring a balance of nutrition and flavor between greasy dishes and light dishes, between liquid and dry dishes.

For example, spring rolls dipped in sweet and sour fish sauce with herbs, or vermicelli soup cooked with wood ear mushrooms, bamboo shoots or vegetable rib soup, help reduce the feeling of fullness when eating.

The tray of food is delicately and harmoniously arranged, expressing solemnity and traditional culinary spirit.

In addition, partly because of the salty eating habits of coastal people, the dishes on the trays here are often prepared with a richer, spicier taste, while focusing on the natural colors of the ingredients.

Examples include the red color of boiled shrimp, crab, and crab; the yellow color of chicken; combined with the green and orange colors of vegetables and tubers.

Each tray of food not only reflects the culinary culture of each locality but also shows the respect and gratitude of descendants towards the deceased.

According to Ms. Huyen, the culinary culture in Thuy Nguyen has an interaction with the neighboring locality of Quang Yen ward, Quang Ninh province (old Quang Yen town).

This is reflected in the fact that seafood dishes often take up the majority of the tray; the most popular are squid rolls, stir-fried squid, steamed cockles, boiled shrimp or shrimp in oil, jellyfish salad, boiled crab or crab...

Ms. Huyen affirmed that her family's feast does not represent all other feasts in Thuy Nguyen in particular and Hai Phong City in general.

Depending on the conditions and preferences of each family, each tray of offerings has its own unique features. Although there are flexible variations to suit current life, each tray of offerings on the death anniversary of each family still shows the sacred meaning of gratitude and respect of descendants towards grandparents and ancestors.

This is also an opportunity for members to gather, remind each other to preserve and promote the good traditional cultural values of the nation and family; becoming an indispensable part of the spiritual and cultural life of Vietnamese people.

Photo: Doan Thu Huyen

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Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/nang-dau-hai-phong-an-tuong-voi-mam-co-que-chong-co-mon-nuong-than-thom-nuc-mui-2430010.html