Veteran female journalist shows off her cooking skills, meticulously rediscovering the 'old taste' of Hanoi cuisine

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Vietnam Revolutionary Press Day, journalist Luong Thi Bich Ngoc and journalist Vinh Quyen share stories about their careers, lives and traditional Hanoi culinary culture in the middle of Saigon.

The workshop (roughly translated: knowledge exchange) Journalists and cooking took place on the evening of June 11 in Ho Chi Minh City. The friendly meeting was organized by journalist Luong Thi Bich Ngoc.

Journalist Vinh Quyen and journalist Luong Thi Bich Ngoc (from left to right) during a friendly meeting

Journalist Luong Thi Bich Ngoc, content consultant of VietNamNet Newspaper, said that she organized this workshop to connect and express gratitude to some close brothers and sisters, writers, journalists, and experts who have accompanied the contest Stories of the Rivers and the film Tunnels: Sun in the Dark in the past time.

“We want to celebrate Vietnamese Journalists' Day on June 21 in a unique way, which is to organize a culinary workshop, where everyone can enjoy special dishes prepared by journalist Vinh Quyen - former Deputy General Director of National Assembly Television”, journalist Luong Thi Bich Ngoc shared.

According to Ms. Ngoc, good journalists do not necessarily cook well, and good chefs rarely write good articles.

“There are few people who are good at journalism and cooking like journalist Vinh Quyen. In particular, Ms. Quyen has devoted much time to researching the cuisine of old Hanoi . I want to give my dear friends in Ho Chi Minh City a beautiful memory by inviting Ms. Quyen to join this workshop,” Ms. Ngoc said.

Journalist Vinh Quyen is busy preparing dishes.

Journalist Vinh Quyen chose the topic Journalists and cooking because he realized that journalists and cooking are very related.

For her, journalism is like cooking, it requires passion and emotion. If a reporter lacks emotion, he or she will write dry, boring articles that will not touch the reader’s heart.

On the contrary, whether a dish is delicious or not depends largely on the heart of the cook. From the preparation of ingredients, processing, to decoration, all fully demonstrate the quintessence of cooking skills.

During her journalism career, Ms. Vinh Quyen learned a lot from artisans and culinary experts in many different professions. From there, she researched and studied more deeply about the unique values ​​in Vietnamese culture in general and traditional cuisine in particular.

“The two fields of journalism and cuisine, which seem unrelated, are in my opinion closely linked. Perhaps if I didn’t work in journalism, I wouldn’t be able to cook the dishes I do now,” she told VietNamNet .

Dishes with rich Hanoi flavor are prepared and cooked by journalist Vinh Quyen himself.

The female journalist admits that she is not a professional chef, just a "frivolous woman" who loves to cook.

To prepare for the workshop, she went to the market, bought typical ingredients from Hanoi, then brought them to Ho Chi Minh City to prepare for the feast to entertain guests.

“Hanoi cuisine is characterized by its lightness, each dish has its own taste, and is not too much. Each dish is meant to be enjoyed, not to make the eater feel full,” Ms. Vinh Quyen revealed.

The typical flavors in traditional Hanoi dishes are light and not too strong in spices. Journalist Vinh Quyen also brings the rustic, simple spirit typical of old Hanoi into her cooking.

Each dish is meticulously and elaborately prepared by the female journalist, based on the “old taste” she experienced through the cooking skills of her mother and grandmother. She limits the ingredients, not trying to change the dishes to make them different or more unique.

Ms. Quyen's party menu includes dishes such as: Fried spring rolls, Phung spring rolls with fig leaves, banana flower chicken salad, vermicelli with crab soup...

For fried spring rolls, she keeps the traditional way of making them, with only meat and a few ingredients in the filling, no crab or shrimp. For banana flower chicken salad, she chooses delicious, firm chicken and banana flowers to mix with spices, creating a harmonious sour, spicy, salty, and sweet taste when eaten.

Nem Phung from Dan Phuong district, Hanoi, with ingredients including pork and pork skin, sticky and regular rice, fig leaves... The ingredients are simple and rustic, but the meticulous preparation is what creates the essence of this specialty.

Traditional vermicelli soup with crab soup is a favorite dish of journalist Vinh Quyen.

Journalist Vinh Quyen's favorite dish is vermicelli with crab soup, which, according to her, "cannot be found in restaurants outside of Hanoi today" because it does not have enough toppings such as fertilized eggs, ham, beef, pork rinds, etc.

Her bowl of vermicelli soup with crab has only hand-pounded crab, vinegar, green onions, tomatoes, and shrimp paste.

For her, a dish is not only made to be delicious, but above all to be enjoyed, to be a memory, a celebration, and to contain culture.

Journalist Luong Thi Bich Ngoc (2nd from left) is the organizer of the workshop.

Journalist Vinh Quyen chose to put traditional Hanoi dishes in the middle of Saigon space. She considers this a gift, a thought to send to her friends about the culinary culture of Hanoi that she has preserved for so long.

“Preserving traditional cuisine is a matter worth thinking about. How to contribute to diversifying the traditional cuisine of the Vietnamese people, I believe each person will find the solution for themselves,” she said.

Photo: HK, NVCC

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Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/nu-nha-bao-ki-cuu-tro-tai-nau-bep-ti-man-tim-lai-vi-xua-cua-am-thuc-ha-thanh-2410669.html