Buzz
Quang Ngai, located in the coastal region of Central Vietnam, enchants travelers with its beautiful natural landscapes and traditional, humble cuisine. Let Mytour take you through the top 10 specialties of Quang Ngai that you must try when visiting.
1. Mirror candy
Mirror candy, a specialty of Quang Ngai, is a popular choice among tourists as a gift for loved ones after each trip. It's named mirror candy because of its resemblance to crystal, being thin and fragile with an eye-catching golden hue. Made from malt, sugar, peanuts, and undergoing various meticulous processing steps, mirror candy offers a crispy texture and is sold at an affordable price. Enjoy it with a cup of tea for a delightful experience.
2. Kẹo gương
Mirror candy is a must-try specialty of Quang Ngai. It is thin, fragile, and has an eye-catching golden color resembling crystal. Made from malt, sugar, peanuts, and undergoing meticulous processing, mirror candy offers a crispy texture and is sold at an affordable price. Enjoy it with a cup of tea for a delightful experience.
2. Dishes made from don
Don is a type of mollusk, with a shell consisting of two flat and long pieces just over 1cm. Inside, the flesh is light yellow and naturally sweet. Found mainly in the Tra and Ve rivers (Quang Ngai province), don has long been used as an ingredient to create popular specialties in Quang Ngai. Here, don is cooked stir-fried with onions or used to make porridge, vegetable soup, water spinach soup... Additionally, boiled don broth is used as a dipping sauce for grilled rice paper.
3. Corn silk cakes
Corn silk cakes are a famous specialty in the Central region, especially in Quang Ngai, where they are a source of pride for the locals. The main ingredient for making corn silk cakes is young corn silk. The corn silk is finely shredded, mixed with spices, and especially must include scallions (or can be substituted with spring onions) and shallots. Then, the mixture is wrapped in rice paper to form small round cakes, which are then deep-fried in hot oil until golden and crispy. The crispy corn silk cakes have a sweet corn flavor and a subtle fragrance of scallions, black pepper, and shallots. Corn silk cakes are served with fresh, crisp vegetables, rice paper, and sweet and sour garlic chili fish sauce.
4. Um tuna noodle soup
For the people of Quang Ngai, um tuna noodle soup has long been a familiar dish. Tuna from the sea of Quang Ngai is always fresh, with sweet and firm flesh. A bowl of um tuna noodle soup typically consists of a few slices of fresh, simmered tuna with pineapple, served with fresh noodles, raw vegetables, and a bowl of chili fish sauce, which delights many tourists. Enjoying hot um tuna noodle soup with fresh vegetables including lettuce, thinly sliced bananas, a few sprigs of mint, and some bean sprouts. When eating, you'll taste the slightly sour flavor of the broth, the spicy heat of the chili powder, along with the fragrant, rich tuna melded with fresh noodles and raw vegetables.
5. Bánh bó
Bánh bó is made from simple ingredients such as tomatoes, carrots, mashed bananas, ginger, pineapple, and glutinous rice. After grinding the glutinous rice into flour, other ingredients are sautéed with sugar over low heat until firm. Finally, the dough and all the ingredients are rolled into a stick. Bánh bó has a sweet, rich flavor and is a specialty of Quang Ngai often seen during Tet.
6. Lý Sơn garlic
Lý Sơn garlic is renowned throughout Vietnam. It is a small, fragrant, firm garlic that is highly valued for its medicinal properties and economic benefits for the local people. Lý Sơn garlic is mainly cultivated on Lý Sơn island district (Quang Ngai province). It is not only used in cooking to enhance the flavor of dishes but can also be pickled with vinegar, sugar, or eaten raw. When visiting Lý Sơn, you can buy garlic as gifts for your loved ones and friends.
7. Braised Tra River carp
When visiting Quang Ngai, you must try dishes made from Tra River carp. The small, delicious carp is caught in the Tra Khuc river. The carp can be cooked in various ways, but the best is braised carp with pepper. After catching the carp, clean it, then sauté with fish sauce, sugar, add chili, pepper to create a thick sauce. This dish is often served with steamed rice or rice porridge.
8. Sa Huynh Barnacle
Sa Huynh barnacle is the local name for a type of crab living along the coast. It is a crustacean, resembling crabs, with a hard shell, claws, and legs in a pale yellowish hue. Barnacles are rich in nutrients and highly favored. After catching barnacles, they are cleaned and grilled with spices for enjoyment. Additionally, they are used to prepare various dishes such as steamed barnacles with lemongrass, tamarind-flavored roasted barnacles... or used in hotpot. When in Quang Ngai, you can taste barnacles at restaurants in Quang Ngai city, Sa Huynh.
9. Fermented Horseshoe Crab
Fermented horseshoe crab is made from horseshoe crabs. After catching horseshoe crabs, they are cleaned, removed from the shell, then mixed with salt and sun-dried. After about 15-20 days of drying, you'll have extremely fragrant and delicious fermented horseshoe crab. Fermented horseshoe crab has a light red color, thick texture, and rich flavor. You can enjoy fermented horseshoe crab with boiled pork or boiled vegetables. The longer it is fermented, the better it tastes.
10. Exploding Rice Cake
Exploding rice cake is an indispensable specialty during traditional Tet holidays in the region. It is named 'exploding rice cake' because when cooked, the rice grains burst out beautifully. The ingredients for making exploding rice cake include glutinous rice, sugar, and ginger... When you taste it, you'll feel the crispiness and deliciousness of the rice, captivating many diners.
As per Mytour
***
Reference: Mytour Travel Guide
MytourMay 19, 2023
