Love Phuong Lang wet rice cakes, Quang Tri bed sheet porridge

Phuong Lang wet rice cake is one of Quang Tri's specialties - Photo: HO LAM

The story at a restaurant specializing in Quang Tri dishes begins with the saying: "As delicious as mother's cooking".

The best dish in life is rice cooked by mother.

The owner, Mr. Thuan, said that he chose this as his first slogan because, for him, his mother's cooking is the taste of home. That is what he always misses when he sets foot in Saigon.

"When I first came to Saigon, I wasn't used to the food here. So sometimes we students would ask our parents to send us food from the countryside.

Spicy dipping sauce, mixed separately to serve with rice paper, boiled meat, and raw vegetables - Photo: HO LAM

For those living far from home, the feeling of missing their homeland never fades.

"I think rice cooked by mother is the best dish in life" - he confided.

Anyone in Quang Tri must have heard of Phuong Lang village's rice paper, which has existed for about a hundred years.

Some diners say that with Quang Tri cuisine, Phuong Lang wet rice cake is the most worth-trying dish.

Mr. Thuan said this type of rice cake does not stick to your hands when you hold it, is chewy, and has a sweet, rustic taste.

Side dishes are usually pork, raw vegetables and a specially mixed dipping sauce.

This is also one of the first Quang Tri dishes that Mr. Thuan sold. For him, Phuong Lang wet rice cake is an unforgettable part of his childhood memories.

Photo of Phuong Lang field. Each grain of rice from this field makes the typical wet rice cakes of Quang Tri people - Photo: HO LAM

He recalls: "When I was young, my house was next to Phuong Lang rice cake village. At that time, children often sat and waited for their mother to come home from the market.

In my mother's shopping basket, there would always be a few portions of banh uot. Even though there was no meat to go with it, we still sat down and ate heartily.

Quang Tri people, wherever they go, always remember snakehead fish porridge.

In addition to Phuong Lang rice paper, many diners consider snakehead fish porridge to be a famous dish of Quang Tri.

Snakehead fish porridge, also known as bed flap porridge, is a famous specialty of Hai Lang district, Quang Tri province. Quang Tri people even have a folk song:

“Remembering like porridge on the bed edge/ Standing dreaming of the smell of incense, sitting missing the smell of onions/ Hai Lang sells porridge on the bed edge/ Tri Buu sells tiles, Xuan Truong sells melons”.

Although it is called "porridge", in appearance, this dish is long noodles, resembling bamboo bed slats.

A full bowl of snakehead fish porridge - Photo: HO LAM

Mr. Thuan said snakehead fish porridge is one of the dishes that Quang Tri people always remember no matter where they go.

The "soul" of the dish is fresh, delicious snakehead fish with firm meat.

In addition to the main ingredients, snakehead fish porridge is also cooked with shallots which have a characteristic spicy and aromatic flavor.

"People often joke that Hue people add shrimp paste to everything they cook, while Quang Tri people also add chives to everything they cook, and even have a famous dish called chive sweet soup.

In addition to adding a unique flavor to the dish, the compress also has a very good effect in relieving colds and fever.

Shallots are an indispensable spice in Quang Tri snakehead fish porridge - Photo: HO LAM

"If I feel tired or have a cold, my mother will immediately cook a bowl of porridge with a lot of garlic. After eating, I will feel refreshed and much less tired" - Mr. Thuan explained.

Mr. Thuan also exports snakehead fish porridge to the West in packaged form so that people far away from home can enjoy the true Quang Tri dish.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/thuong-banh-uot-phuong-lang-chao-vat-giuong-quang-tri-20240301215005552.htm