Mặn Mòi highlights Huế cuisine

HCM CITY – Lovers of the ancient capital of Huế as well as its culture had a chance to experience the best of Huế cuisine, exquisitely handcrafted and served during a special culinary event held last Saturday in Thủ Đức City of HCM City.

Titled Huế, Remembering our Mothers in Old Days, the event is a part of the ongoing Vietnamese culinary programme Taste of Home which Mặn Mòi Restaurant has designed to celebrate and promote specialty dishes of each region across Việt Nam.

Mạ Thương presents how to make tasty and delicious bánh Huế (steamed rice cakes,and steamed rice dumplings ).VNS Photo Thành Chương.

Aside from popular traditional favourites like bánh canh tôm Huế (prawn noodles of Huế style), bánh bèo (steamed rice cake), bánh nậm (flat steamed rice dumpling) and bánh lọc (rice dumpling cake), on offer was also the delicious delicacy bún giấm nuốc (sour vermicelli soup), a signature of Huế.

Like no other, the broth of the specialty was made from nuốc, the glass blue sea creatures in the same family as jellyfish, best caught in the waters near Huế, and Huế vinegar  with hand-ground crab cake, shrimp, tomato, crackers and herbs on top when served.

When it comes to desserts, lovers of Huế cuisines should not miss chè or sweet soups and the must tries at the event were chè đậu ván (broad bean sweet soup) and chè đậu xanh hạt (whole green bean sweet soup), considered Huế’s best sweet soups. Most notably, sweet soups of Huế style are never served with coconut milk.

Huế’s traditional sweet cakes used to be served to royal family members are exquisitely made and wrapped. VNS Photo Thành Chương

Traditional sweet cakes, that used to be served to royal family members, were also available including bánh tế điều (green bean cake), bánh phục linh (arrowroot powder cake) and bánh bó mứt (rice cake with mixed, shredded fruit jams).

Mạ Thương (mother Nguyễn Thị Thương), a veteran cook from Huế, joined the event's opening to present how to make tasty and delicious dishes and cakes. Tik Toker of Huế culture review Đào Hữu Quý also shared with guests stories of preserving the memories of ancient Huế in daily life.

Quý, among the young people preserving and promoting Huế culture and its culinary tradition in modern times, showed eaters the art of making objects for decoration or packaging cakes by folding sheets of paper into shapes. Similar to Japanese origami, the art is still very popular among Huế people.

Those interested in Huế culture and cuisines now can enjoy the best food of Huế at Mặn Mòi Thảo Điền and Mặn Mòi Võ Văn Tần restaurants in HCM City. VNS