Top 10 Specialty Dishes of Nghe An

When visiting Nghe An, tourists cannot miss this dish. Nghe An's Bánh Mướt bears some resemblance to the rolled cakes in the North and the wet cakes in the South, yet it carries a distinct flavor of Nghe An, unforgettable and unique. Bánh Mướt is usually as long as an adult's index finger, rolled or stretched out and then cut with scissors. It is made from finely ground rice flour, fermented for several hours, then drizzled with a bit of scallion oil. Bánh Mướt is typically finger-length, white, and soft, non-sticky because it has been coated with oil when rolled. When served hot, the plate of cakes emits a very fragrant aroma.

Bánh Mướt can be found everywhere in Nghe An, whether in roadside eateries in Vinh city or in baskets lined with banana leaves at rural markets. When enjoying, simply dip it in a bowl of sweetened lime juice with a few slices of thinly cut chili to satisfy your hunger. You can pick up each piece of cake, dip it in fish sauce, then slowly bring it to your mouth, and enjoy it with a bite of porridge for a rich flavor. For a tastier experience, you can enjoy it with duck broth or fried spring rolls.

Nhút is a traditional, rustic dish enjoyed by every family in Nghe An. This dish is made from young jackfruit or the core of ripe jackfruit mixed with white salt. Despite its simple ingredients, nhút is tangy, crispy, and slightly salty. There are many dishes that can be made from nhút, such as nhút dipping sauce, stir-fried nhút, nhút salad... People from Thanh Chương are proud of this traditional dish, as expressed in the lyrics: Don't hesitate to return to our village, whether it's because of your poor home, or because you think I'm clumsy, our land of Thanh Chương is known for its salty and sour nhút.

For a long time, Nhút Thanh Chương has become a 'specialty' that any visitor to the land of 'salty nhút, sour tomato' remembers and cherishes. Nhút is a familiar term for locals, it is a dish made from salted young jackfruit eaten year-round, similar to pickled vegetables in the North or kimchi in Korea. To make delicious and fragrant nhút, meticulousness is required in all stages of preparation. First, the young jackfruit is peeled, thoroughly washed to remove all resin. The white core inside is then sliced into small long strands and sun-dried. The intense sunlight of the Central region helps dry and firm the jackfruit strands, enhancing the flavor when making nhút.

Nghệ An is renowned for its eels, Nghệ An's field eels are slender, firm-fleshed, golden in color, with a long black stripe running along the back, offering a balanced taste of savory and sweet. They are caught using traps or nets, although the productivity is not as high. If farmed, the eels are dark in color, large, fat, but with flabby and bland flesh. To create a flavorful and aromatic pot of Nghệ An eel porridge requires meticulous care from the chef, starting with selecting the ingredients, ensuring the eels are field eels and the rice used for porridge is the finest variety. Then, they skillfully handle the fishy smell before cooking.

Eels are cleaned of mucus using stove ash, then the flesh is dissected using bamboo knives, removing the head and guts. The eel meat is marinated with spices before stir-frying. A key ingredient is turmeric, which not only gives the dish an attractive yellow color but also enhances the richness, aroma, and sweetness of the eel meat while reducing the fishy smell. The eels are stir-fried with finely chopped chili, fried shallots, peppercorns, and most importantly, the indispensable fragrant and pungent bunches of spring onions unique to the Nghệ An, Hà Tĩnh region. The finished product should consist of large, square, intact pieces of eel meat, soaked in the fragrant and spicy flavor of spring onions, chili, pepper, the golden color of turmeric, and the green hue of spring onion leaves and cilantro, enticing at first sight.

Similar to those in Huế, Nghệ An steamed rice cakes always carry the aroma of onions, basil, garlic, and coriander. The traditional steamed rice cakes of the people in Nghệ An often boast a rich flavor from the cake base, the harmony of seasoned pork, and the slightly sweet taste of river shrimp, along with the tangy, spicy, salty, and sweet flavor of the dipping sauce, making it irresistible. People in Nghệ An pay great attention to the elasticity and chewiness of the cake crust, hence the mixing process of the flour for the cake crust is crucial.

Different from those in Huế, Nghệ An steamed rice cakes are made from tapioca flour. The dough must be kneaded thoroughly to make delicious cakes. The filling of the steamed rice cakes can be shrimp or meat; if it's shrimp, carefully selected shrimp are cleaned and stir-fried with shallots and lard. The better the shrimp is stir-fried, the tastier, sweeter, and more flavorful it becomes. Nghệ An steamed rice cakes carry a rich and delicious flavor that cannot be found elsewhere when enjoyed with dipping sauce, basil, etc. Eating a piece of steamed rice cake, you will experience the chewiness of tapioca flour, the richness of shrimp or meat, and the freshness of raw vegetables.

Soy sauce is one of the traditional products of the people of Nam Đàn - Nghệ An, it is an indispensable specialty of the land of Nghệ. Like other soy sauces, Nam Đàn soy sauce is also made from familiar ingredients such as soybeans, soybeans, glutinous rice, salt... However, Nam Đàn soy sauce is a chunky type, meaning that the soybeans are crushed into pieces rather than finely ground like Bần soy sauce, so the appearance of Nam Đàn soy sauce is also characteristic.

This type of soy sauce is of high quality, very delicious, with a rich sweet taste, many soybeans (the best type of soybeans, not mixed, ensuring the health of consumers) processed by the traditional craftsmanship of farmers with over 30 years of experience in making traditional soy sauce. Especially now, with the assistance of the Jica organization from Japan, the traditional soy sauce production base in Nam Đàn has applied advanced scientific, technical, and technological advances to production, improved product models, types, enhanced product quality and competitiveness, bringing products with packaging designs that are both traditional and modern, suitable for use as specialty gifts.

Ngào Cake is made from the main ingredients of glutinous rice flour and molasses. When cooked, each cake is covered with a lot of golden sweet molasses on the outside, so it is called ngào cake. Many people also call ngào cake as molasses cake. Ngào cake is a rustic specialty of the people of Nghệ. Taking a bite of the shiny golden cake, the sweet taste of molasses, the chewiness of glutinous rice, and the fragrant aroma of ginger will attract you right from the first try. Ngào cake also has a sweet taste like the affection of descendants expressed in each dish every Tet to show the gratitude of the people of Nghệ.

The ingredients for ngào cake are very simple, you just need to prepare fragrant and delicious glutinous rice flour, molasses (choose molasses with red and yellow color, shiny and smooth will make the cake taste better), roasted peanuts, and ginger. Ginger is also a very important ingredient when making ngào cake because just a few slices of ginger, when eating ngào cake, you will fully feel the deliciousness of the cake. When turning off the stove, the fragrant smell of ginger will spread throughout the house, making everyone crave for it.

Xã Đoài Orange is a special variety of orange, fragrant and sweet, considered the king of fruits in the famous land of Nghệ. Xã Đoài Orange is not only famous domestically but also honored in the French dictionary, appearing in the Laotian proverb 'Xã Đoài Orange, Thà - Khẹc Mango' and entering Vietnamese literature. Xã Đoài Orange is a specialty of Nghi Diên commune, Nghi Lộc district, Nghệ An province. The delicious taste of the oranges has captured the hearts of those who taste it, to the point where it becomes a sweet image in poetry. Poet Phạm Tiến Duật wrote:

'Xã Đoài Orange, juicy
Golden drops like honey
Breaking oranges outside the front door
Fragrance wafts into the house'.

Xã Đoài Orange becomes a specialty because it has a uniquely delicious taste, thin skin, and plenty of juice. When planting, people will choose clean seeds that are not affected by pests or diseases. Xã Đoài Orange ripens before Tet but from October, November, many people have already placed orders. Oranges can be soaked in alcohol to produce a sweet and refreshing liquor, or used as an appetizer to boost health.

Black sesame crackers are a specialty of Đô Lương district, Nghệ An province. There is a craft village here specialized in producing crackers, which are widely distributed throughout the country. Surely anyone who has tried it once wants to taste it again. These crackers are made from rice flour, black sesame seeds, and spices like pepper, garlic, chili... all are natural and safe because they are made by the locals and are very good for health. The diameter of the crackers is about 20 cm, when fried or grilled, they emit a fragrant aroma of delicious rice, the nuttiness of black sesame, the spiciness of pepper and garlic, combined with chili sauce, making them delicious beyond words. Therefore, they are very suitable for gatherings with friends, or for snacking with family and children.

Making black sesame crackers requires a lot of skill. Fresh, good-quality rice is used, along with tapioca flour... The rice is soaked overnight and then finely ground into rice water. The flour is mixed with ground black sesame, ground coconut, and spices to create a mixture that is both soft and firm enough. This mixture is then spread onto a cloth-lined tray placed over a pot of boiling water. After that, the crackers are dried in the sun. Many tourists say that black sesame crackers are rustic and flavorful, just like the life and character of the Vietnamese people.

This is a signature dish of Vinh city that you should definitely try. The main ingredient for making canh porridge is wheat flour, which is kneaded until smooth and then cut into small round strands. The 'soul' of the dish is the broth cooked from pork bones and spices, with a thick texture and complex aroma. Typically, the broth is always simmered from early morning, the longer the bone broth simmers, the sweeter it becomes. Served with strands of dough, accompanied by slices of pork, sausage, boiled quail eggs, fish or shrimp, depending on the region.

A bowl of canh porridge is always served hot, garnished with a few sprigs of cilantro, scallions, and crispy fried shallots, making it visually appealing. The best way to enjoy this dish is in the early morning, blowing and eating at the same time is even better. When enjoying, don't forget to squeeze a few slices of lime or add a bit of chili to enhance the flavor.

River Giang Freshwater Fish is an incredibly delicious and enticing dish, which has become the 'Number One Specialty' of the countryside in Nghệ An. This fish dish has brought about many delightful experiences for locals as well as tourists visiting Nghệ An, leaving a lasting impression after just one taste. The Giang River, stretching over 100km around the Pu Mat National Park (Con Cuông - Nghệ An), is where this fish originates. The River Giang Freshwater Fish is a small species, with the largest ones weighing just under 1kg. The peak season for this fish is usually in the eighth lunar month every year. Fresh River Giang Fish is cleaned, leaving the intestines intact, marinated with spices including garlic, chili, and sugar, then simmered or stewed until the fish meat becomes tender and sweet. This fish dish tastes best when accompanied by Nam Đàn soybean paste.

River Giang Freshwater Fish, whether simmered or fried, is as simple as other types of fish. First, fry some lard until crispy, then fry the fish until golden brown, and it's ready to eat. However, the way it's cooked in the Central region involves crushing garlic, slicing chili, mixing pepper with delicious fish sauce or Nam Đàn soybean paste, then pouring it all into a hot pan of fish, stirring well to let the flavors blend. At this point, the pan emits a fragrant aroma. River Giang Fish can also be grilled, but it requires skewering each fish with fresh bamboo sticks from head to tail, placing them over a clay pot filled with hot coals covered with an iron grate, then grilling and flipping them evenly on both sides until they turn golden and release a fragrant aroma.