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Cuisine has become a unique cultural phenomenon, embodying the distinct essence of each region. When traveling to Hoi An, tourists embark not only on a journey of natural exploration but also on a quest for the local delicacies known as Hoi An specialties.
Quang Noodle
When mentioning the delicacies of Quang in the city of Hoi An, it would be a significant omission not to mention Quang noodle. Quang noodle is indeed a specialty delicacy of Hoi An consisting of simple, humble ingredients commonly found in daily life. The noodles are made from ground rice, stretched into long, chewy strands served with shrimp, pork, chicken, ribs... Quang noodle is often enjoyed with grilled rice paper and crispy, spicy green chili, creating a uniquely flavorful experience.
The broth for this dish is prepared from a variety of ingredients, accompanied by a diverse range of greens such as kale, water spinach, and basil. Though nothing fancy or luxurious, it symbolizes the most characteristic and popular cuisine of Quang Nam province.
Mixing together slices of various fresh greens: crab claws, bean sprouts, lettuce, bitter herbs, basil, you'll experience an enticing aroma blending with the soft, chewy texture of noodles, in the gentle fragrance of meat, the nuttiness of roasted peanuts, garnished with some shallots or a few quail eggs, all harmonizing miraculously to perfection. Some dining spots renowned for delicious food in Hoi An for Quang noodle are Tran Phu street, Cam Ha area, and Thai Phien street.
Cao Lau
When it comes to Hoi An's delicacies, many tourists who have visited Hoi An immediately think of a dish that is both familiar and strange, known as Cao Lau. It's another name for a unique type of noodles with a distinctive brownish-yellow color. At first glance, it may resemble Quang noodles, but upon tasting, one would realize it's not noodles and certainly not pho. The main ingredient that makes up Hoi An's Cao Lau noodles is rice processed with great care, soaked in ash extracted from the mangrove trees on Cham Island, mixed with water drawn from the ancient well of Ba Le - a water source that is not only fresh but also pure, creating a specialty.
Because of soaking in water infused with mangrove charcoal, the rice will have a pale yellow color akin to turmeric. The rice is ground into flour, drained, and kneaded until smooth. Cao Lau noodles are not boiled like regular noodles; instead, the chef rolls out the dough into thick sheets of predetermined thickness according to the recipe, then steams them with hot steam, followed by cutting the dough into thick strands resembling noodles.
This dish, although it has less broth compared to Quang noodles, is eaten with crispy crackers and the famous fragrant fresh greens from Tra Que village, succulent golden-charred barbecue, crispy fried pork skin, and fat cracklings. Depending on the chef, some places also add a special soy sauce, aromatic powder, and fresh greens. Tourists just need to mix everything evenly with chopsticks to blend the ingredients together and begin to enjoy. People from Hoi An often say that anyone who visits Hoi An street even once but has never tasted this delicacy of Hoi An will surely not fully appreciate the essence of this land.
Rice Cake
There is a saying about the traditional specialties of the regions passed down from generation to generation: 'Nem chả Hoà Vang – Rice cake of Hoi An – Sweet potatoes of Tra Kieu – Fragrant wine of Tam Ky.' The words of the ancestors are never wrong; rice cake truly carries a delicious aroma and a special taste that other types of cakes do not have.
The name 'rice cake' that the locals still use has an ancient resonance, evoking reverence for its origins. Rice cakes are only made a week before Tet, not on regular days. The cakes have a dark yellowish-brown color like the earth, poured into thick square molds.
The main ingredients for this delicacy of Hoi An are sugar and glutinous rice flour; sugar is either brown or dark brown cane sugar. The chefs carefully select the finest glutinous rice, with uniformly round grains, to ensure elasticity and fragrance. Along with these, two essential additives are sesame seeds and ginger. White sesame seeds are cleaned and sun-dried twice, then roasted evenly until golden. Ginger is finely crushed and filtered for its juice. After steaming, the cakes are removed and sesame seeds are evenly sprinkled on top. After about 5 minutes to cool, the cakes are stored in a cool place.
A delicious rice cake is neither too hard nor too soft; when sliced, the dough does not stick to the knife. Quang Nam rice cakes can be kept for a long time without worrying about moldy odors. On the contrary, the longer they are kept, the more chewy and flavorful they become. This depends largely on the secret techniques of the Quang people who make rice cakes.
What could be more delightful than sitting down with a cup of hot tea, enjoying a piece of rice cake, a nostalgic feeling for the roots surging from the rich, sweet flavor of the cake itself.
Shrimp Rolls
The shrimp rolls of Quang Nam land have unique flavors and cooking methods, simple and rustic.
The ingredients for making shrimp rolls usually include pork belly, freshwater shrimp, medium-sized nem rice paper, chicken eggs, along with various spices such as seasoning powder, salt, minced shallots, peppercorns, and green onions, garlic. The pork belly, thinly sliced, and the freshwater shrimp, cleaned but with shells intact except for trimming the beard and head, are marinated with spices, minced shallots, eggs, and especially ground pepper to create a fragrant aroma for the dish. The nem rice paper, cut in half, because each roll, when rolled up again, usually has a cute shape, just enough to eat.
This dish is often eaten with fresh greens from Tra Que village. Whether eaten with vermicelli or rice, shrimp rolls are suitable to become a specialty of Hoi An.
These ingredients are wrapped in rice paper, then fried over a small flame until evenly golden brown. When enjoying shrimp rolls, tourists will feel the rich, fragrant taste of the meat and the crispy texture from the shrimp with their shells still intact, complemented by the aroma of green onions combined with sweet and sour dipping sauce, adding a bit of spicy chili, tourists will perceive the wonderful flavor of shrimp rolls.
Wonton
The cuisine of Quang has quite a few delicious dishes, and one of them, a rustic yet irresistibly enticing dish that tourists cannot miss, is wonton - a delicacy of Hoi An. Wonton comes in two types: fried wonton and wonton in broth.
Fried wonton is made by folding flour dough into dumplings, then deep-frying them until golden and crispy. Once cooked, they are removed to drain excess oil, arranged on a plate with a layer of lettuce, thinly sliced tomatoes, and aromatic herbs for both decoration and accompaniment. When eating fried wonton, pouring tomato sauce and potato sauce on top creates a golden, square dish of wonton, with shrimp and meat filling, aromatic and visually appealing.
Delicious wonton soup is a bowl of wontons with just the right amount, not too few or too many, usually ranging from 5 to 10 pieces of wonton with half a duck egg or chicken egg, plus a few pieces of roasted meat, chives. Tourists can also enjoy it with chili sauce to enhance the flavor of the dish.
The cuisine of Quang in Hoi An is also a distinctive art form here and is the reason why it attracts many domestic and international tourists to come and enjoy the delicious specialties of Hoi An - dishes that evoke nostalgia and leave a lasting impression on both locals and visitors.
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