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Hot fried dough sticks, savory salted donuts, and hot rice cakes are the ideal choices to help you dispel the early-season cold during your trip to Hanoi!
Romantic dates with affordable hot dishes while exploring Hanoi
The chilly weather in Hanoi often makes people crave for hot and affordable dishes. With just around 20,000 VND, you can beat the winter cold with the following suggestions.
Rice porridge with fried dough sticks
In the chilly weather, rice porridge with fried dough sticks is an ideal choice. With simple preparation, this dish is still easily enjoyable. The ingredients include ground rice, bone broth, and non-greasy pork ribs or ground meat.
In Hanoi, this popular and affordable dish is available in many places such as collective living areas, markets, near schools... Visitors can order a bowl of plain rice porridge, served with shredded meat or most commonly with fried dough sticks.
Grilled skewered meat
The aroma of sizzling skewered meat stalls is a memorable sight when talking about Hanoi winters. This is a favorite dish for many people, especially the younger generation. You can find grilled skewered meat most commonly in eating areas and near schools.
The reason why this dish is so appealing lies in the marinating process. Common spices used include lemongrass, fish sauce, pepper... This step may vary depending on the vendor. The ingredients are then skewered onto wooden sticks and grilled over charcoal stoves.
Grilled skewered meat can be eaten alone or with bread. Some famous places for this dish are Nguyen Quy Duc street, Lac Trung street, Chua Lang street, Ngoc Ha street... with prices ranging from 7,000 to 10,000 dong per skewer. Quang Trung street also offers this dish at slightly higher prices.
Savory salted donuts
The ingredients for this dish include glutinous rice flour, plain flour for the crust, and filling made from pork, glass noodles, wood ear mushrooms, and black pepper. Typically, vendors do not knead and fry the cakes in advance but wait for customers to ensure they are served hot and fresh. Going out for savory fried cakes is also a joy as you can watch the preparation process while chatting with friends.
The cakes are served with pickled vegetables, spicy dipping sauce, and optionally some chili sauce. In Hanoi, savory fried cakes are commonly sold on Lac Long Quan street, Ly Quoc Su street, Dong Xuan market, Tran Phu street, or Dinh Liet street, priced at 4,000-7,000 dong each.
Hot rice cake
A tempting winter treat, hot rice cake is made from glutinous rice flour, tapioca starch, and various fillings such as ground meat, wood ear mushrooms, dried shallots... In the capital city, this dish is complemented with special savory sauces, offering a mild sweet and sour taste instead of the usual round cake with peanuts and soy sauce like elsewhere.
The seasoning varies depending on each eatery. Some places add fragrant fried shallots while others incorporate fried tofu, or include fresh vegetables to balance the flavors.
A bowl of hot rice cake costs around 12,000-15,000 dong. You can visit streets like Minh Khai, Trung Tu, Le Ngoc Han, Goc De to enjoy this delicacy.
Hot pyramid dumplings
Pyramid dumplings are a dish enjoyed by both adults and children in Hanoi, characterized by always being kept warm in baskets. Streets like Nguyen Cong Tru, Thuy Khue, Ngo Thi Nham are places where you can easily find delicious pyramid dumplings.
Depending on the place, the dumplings are served with pickled cucumbers, Vietnamese pork sausage, or hotdogs. The soft, shiny crust, the rich flavor of pork and wood ear mushrooms inside, combined with spicy chili sauce, make everyone swoon.
Boiled or grilled corn
Among the cheap winter snacks, boiled or grilled corn is quite popular. From major streets to small alleys, you can find these vendors everywhere. To ensure delicious grilled corn, vendors must choose firm kernels, while for boiled corn, sweetness becomes more important.
In the cold of Hanoi, many people enjoy sitting by the roadside corn stalls, warming their hands over charcoal stoves, casually gazing at the streets while waiting for a delicious corn. The price of these corn types is quite affordable. A boiled corn usually costs around 7,000 VND, while grilled corn ranges from 5,000 to 10,000 VND.
Hot crispy dough sticks
The main ingredients of hot crispy dough sticks are wheat flour and some other additives to ensure even frying. Similar to savory donuts, they are fried only when there are customers, but for a much shorter time as they quickly cook. A plate of hot crispy dough sticks is served with a sweet and sour dipping sauce, sometimes with added papaya or jicama shreds.
According to VnExpress
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Reference: Travel guide from Mytour
MytourNovember 21, 2014
