Enjoy vermicelli with vinegar, banh bo jam, banh te dieu... at 'Hue, remembering my old mother'

Ma Thuong wrapping cakes at the Hue event - Remembering our mother of yesteryear - Photo: HO LAM

The event took place in Thu Duc City (Ho Chi Minh City) on the evening of June 22nd.

Guests attending the event had the opportunity to experience making traditional cakes and enjoy 10 signature dishes from Hue, prepared by two guest speakers and the Mặn Mòi culinary team.

These include tapioca dumplings, steamed rice dumplings, shrimp noodle soup, vermicelli with vinegar dressing, mung bean sweet soup, mung bean sweet soup, jam-filled rice cakes, sweet potato cakes, Poria cocos cakes, and lotus tea.

People in Hue eat vermicelli with vinegar sauce at lunchtime.

Ma Thuong moved from Hue to Nha Trang more than 50 years ago, but whether in Nha Trang or anywhere else, she still carries with her the fond memories and longing for Hue cuisine.

Despite her age, she still enjoys making Hue-style dishes for her children and grandchildren to enjoy.

For dishes like banh nam and banh loc, she usually goes to the market herself to buy the flour, banana leaves, and other ingredients, then kneads the dough, cuts the dough, and makes the fillings herself.

She said that the process of kneading the dough and cutting the leaves for wrapping the cakes is always important.

Kneading and cutting the dough must be done evenly, and the banana leaves must be wiped clean before wrapping. Don't wrap too much so that when you eat it, you can feel just the right amount.

Meanwhile, Dao Huu Quy, a native of Hue, often makes videos on TikTok introducing Hue's culture, cuisine , and traditional crafts to diners, showcasing bun giam nuoc, a dish he learned to make from his grandmothers and aunts.

Rice noodles with vinegar and fish sauce is a dish that cools the body and helps reduce internal heat - Photo: HO LAM

Huu Quy shared that bun giam nuoc (rice noodles with vinegar and fish sauce) is considered a precious delicacy, a dish once reserved for the aristocracy in Hue.

"The sea snail is a gift from nature because people only get to eat it once a year, during the summer in the brackish waters of Hue. Therefore, it's also called a summer dish," he said.

According to Huu Quy, vermicelli with vinegar and fish sauce has a cooling effect, making it refreshing to eat. Therefore, people in Hue often eat this dish after lunch.

To make authentic and delicious vermicelli with sea snails, striped shrimp and chewy, crispy sea snails are essential ingredients - Photo: HO LAM

The unique and elaborate aspect of this dish lies in the preparation of its two broths. One is made from liver combined with fermented soybean paste, peanuts, and sesame seeds, and the other from goby fish from the Perfume River.

People in Hue combine these two types of broth with rice noodles and ingredients such as sea cucumber, hand-ground crab paste, shrimp, a little rice paper, fresh vegetables, and Hue's characteristic spicy chili sauce to create a dish called "bun giam nuoc" (rice noodles with vinegar and sea cucumber) with a refreshing sweet and sour taste.

White sesame rice paper with potato filling, thinly spread and left overnight, then fried to create a rich and savory dish that pairs perfectly with rice noodles and vinegar sauce – a truly unique and delicious combination. - Photo: HO LAM

Use your hands to make the jam-filled buns to feel the heat.

At the event, Huu Quy also recreated the process of making banh bo jam (a type of Vietnamese jam-filled cake). According to him, this is a traditional folk cake often made for family gatherings, parties, or ancestral commemorations.

Dao Huu Quy makes candied fruit cakes for customers to watch - Photo: HO LAM

Or, simply, when there are many ripe fruits in the gardens of Hue people, and the mothers feel it's a waste not to eat them all, they will use them to make cakes. Or, when making jam for Tet, any leftover scraps will also be put to good use.

According to Quy, when wrapping this type of cake, people in Hue don't use gloves but instead use their bare hands to feel the temperature of the food.

Hue-style jam-filled rice cakes are usually hand-tied and wrapped in cellophane – Photo: HO LAM

Banh bo jam is typically made from six types of jam: three types of dried jam, three types of wet jam… The flour used is made from the finest rice from Huong Vinh region.

The cleaned flour is roasted with pandan leaves until fragrant, then ground into a very fine powder. Depending on the season, locally available fruits are used to make the jam, and the sugar content varies for each type of jam.

Banh te dieu, banh bo jam, banh phuc linh are specialty cakes of Hue - Photo: HO LAM

The fruit is cut into strips and soaked in sugar for 8 hours, then simmered in a jam over low heat until the liquid evaporates, and then allowed to cool.

Next, sprinkle a layer of glutinous rice flour, choose your favorite jam, a little of each, mix the flour and jam together while wrapping until the jam inside and outside is dry. Let the cake rest overnight, then cut into square pieces and wrap in cellophane.

Huu Quy shared: "The square box of five colors symbolizes the earth, and will be placed on the offering tray along with the round cake symbolizing the sky…"

The cake box is made with six colors, including five colors from the basic color palette of Hue people and one neutral color, white.

The box of five-colored cakes offered as a sacrifice symbolizes yin and yang, the five elements, and the harmony of all things in heaven and earth.

The "Flavors of the Homeland" culinary event series, organized and operated by Mặn Mòi restaurant since the end of December 2023, aims to honor and introduce characteristic dishes from all regions of Vietnam to a wider audience.

Following a series of events including: Delicious dishes made from rice noodles from three regions, Western Vietnam's cakes and pastries, Western Vietnam's vermicelli with fermented fish sauce, Can Gio's delicious dishes, Binh Phuoc's delicious dishes, Hue - Remembering Our Mothers of Yesteryear, this is the 6th event organized at Man Moi.

Shrimp noodle soup is also a Hue dish that many diners love - Photo: HO LAM

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/thuong-thuc-bun-giam-nuoc-banh-bo-mut-banh-te-dieu-o-hue-nho-ma-ta-xua-20240622232544068.htm