People from the countryside cherish their hometown dishes.

Rice paper rolls with fermented fish sauce from Quang Nam province. Photo: Xuan Hien

Vietnamese cuisine is so diverse that even the same dish can have a unique flavor, preparation method, and eating style from each region, making it instantly recognizable. For example, the familiar rice paper wrapper has different ways of being made from different types of rice, and naturally, the way it's eaten varies from region to region!

Cracked rice paper - a unique way to eat

Thanks to my friends from Quang Nam, I was shown how to enjoy the famous Hoi An-style "banh trang dap" (cracked rice paper) right in the heart of Saigon. While people in the South have remained loyal to the way of eating grilled rice paper with salad for many years, people from Quang Nam have also adopted a unique way of eating it: grilled rice paper with Quang Nam noodles and "banh trang dap" dipped in the famous Hoi An-style fermented fish sauce.

Banh trang dap is a popular street food in Quang Nam province. A grilled rice paper sheet holds a freshly steamed wet noodle sheet, topped with fragrant fried onions and peanut oil, and then another grilled rice paper sheet is placed on top, creating three layers.

When eating, diners place their hand in the middle of the cake, press down, and gently break it apart (hence the name "broken cake"), then tear off small pieces and dip them in fermented fish sauce. At first glance, the wet cake looks like a Southern Vietnamese rice roll. But when placed between two layers of crispy grilled rice paper, it becomes the unique "broken cake" of Quang Nam province. When you pick up each piece of broken cake and dip it into a bowl of skillfully prepared anchovy fish sauce with a touch of authentic Quang Nam peanut oil, you'll truly experience the delicious flavor that permeates your taste buds!

In the heart of Saigon, there's an entire market dedicated to Quang Nam cuisine. Restaurants and food stalls selling everything from snacks to full meals from Quang Nam are also increasingly numerous along the streets. Large and small alleys alike are filled with eateries offering dishes from all over Vietnam.

But a true Saigonese person wanting to eat authentic, delicious Quang Nam cuisine definitely needs a guide from Quang Nam province. It's like when you arrive in a new place, you feel more at ease knowing you have a local to lead the way. When I go out to eat, I'm not afraid of getting lost because I have a friend to guide me on how to eat; I'm only afraid of getting lost amidst the countless dishes from my hometown with their unfamiliar names and being unable to resist their allure.

The first time you took me to eat "banh trang dap" (a type of Vietnamese rice paper snack), it was also the first time my culinary sensibilities were "enlightened" to another level: the three layers of rice paper—two dry and one wet—seemed contradictory but harmoniously blended together. The crispy, dry outer layers of grilled rice paper protected the wet inner layer, while the peanut oil and fried onions added a fragrant, nutty flavor. The wet layer seemed to soothe the dry layer; the crispness of the outer grilled dry layer paused slightly, perfectly complementing the soft, fragrant wet layer inside, further enhanced by the savory-sweet dipping sauce, a touch of ground herbs, and the intoxicating aroma of the peanut oil and fried onions.

Delicious dishes from my hometown.

In this bustling city, my friends from Quang Nam still cherish their hometown dishes. The dish called "banh trang dap" (cracked rice paper), whose origins are unclear, likely dates back to very old villages.

You mentioned that ever since you learned to spell, you've seen your grandmother sitting by the fire making rice crackers. The simple rice cracker is not just a childhood treat, but a meal that can be eaten instead of rice when the family hasn't had time to measure out rice. Now, rice crackers have become one of the best dishes in Hoi An, alongside cao lau. It's also a favorite among tourists exploring the local cuisine when they visit Quang Nam province.

Even when people from Quang Nam province leave to seek a livelihood far from home, they still carry the taste of their homeland with them. Their meals still encapsulate the flavors of home in every bowl of fish sauce, in the simple, rustic rice paper rolls, in the fragrant noodle soup with shallots fried in peanut oil, and in the hearty, flavorful Central Vietnamese braised fish dishes…

The way you savor each piece of rice cake, dipping it into the fish sauce until it's all gone... that's truly delicious! You said, "As a country person, if I don't appreciate the delicious food of my hometown, it would be a mistake forever." Hometown is the land where we grew up. We grew up nourished by the dishes of our hometown throughout our childhood, whether we had plenty or little, the flavors of those hometown dishes will stay with us for a long time!

When someone from the countryside cherishes their hometown dishes, and a Vietnamese person values the rich flavors of their homeland, every Vietnamese dish will forever remain a delicious treat in the hearts of those far from home! And from there, that delicious dish will spread further across the Vietnamese culinary map.

Source: https://baodanang.vn/nguoi-que-thuong-lay-mon-que-3265031.html