Top 19 Most Delicious Street Foods in Thanh Hoa City

When mentioning Thanh Hoa, one cannot overlook the famous nem chua. Thanh Hoa's fermented pork roll has a unique taste, distinct from Hanoi-style or Hue-style nem lụi, and even more different from fried or dried nem. It's both sour and spicy, with a hint of saltiness from the seasoning, coupled with the sweetness of the meat, making it irresistible. People from Thanh Hoa, whether traveling south or north, always make sure to bring along some nem chua for their families or as gifts...

Nem chua is made from finely chopped pork skin, lean pork, roasted rice powder, and wrapped in guava or fig leaves, along with distinctive spices. To create authentic and delicious nem chua, one needs to follow traditional recipes. In Thanh Hoa, people have innovated many types and cooking methods for nem chua, offering diverse culinary experiences. You can find this delicacy on streets like Dinh Le, Ngoc Trao, and To Vinh Dien.

Rice Rolls are a typical breakfast and snack of the people of Thanh Hoa. With soft, warm rice sheets rolled with minced pork and wood ear mushrooms. When eating, adding a bit of sausage, sprinkling crispy fried shallots and fresh fragrant herbs on top. How can anyone resist? For travelers visiting here, not trying the Rice Rolls in Thanh Hoa is out of the question.

Rice Rolls in Thanh Hoa have a soft, chewy texture from the rice flour and a delightful aroma from the meat and wood ear mushrooms, combined with crispy fried shallots. You can enjoy a delicious and affordable plate of rice rolls anywhere in the city. The rice flour used to make the rolls is fragrant and sticky, so even when cooled, they remain delicious. People in Thanh Hoa often have rice rolls for breakfast. If you want to enjoy them at any time of the day, you can visit streets like Tong Duy Tan, Tran Phu, Le Quy Don...

Shrimp cake is a unique and exotic dish that delights diners from afar. The preparation is quite intricate and meticulous. Fresh shrimp paste, after being cleaned and deveined, is finely mashed using a mortar and pestle. To give the filling a beautiful pink color, a suitable amount of annatto seeds is added to the mixture of minced pork belly that has been sautéed with onions and garlic. The cakes are wrapped in small square sheets of rice paper by hand, arranged on a tray, and grilled over charcoal fire.

The sweet taste of shrimp filling combined with the gentle sourness of pickled vegetables, along with a hint of spiciness from fresh chili and refreshing raw herbs, creates an unforgettable flavor for this dish. It costs around 30,000 - 40,000 VND for two people. If you have the opportunity to visit this place, you should head to streets like Nha Tho, Dao Duy Tu, or the old Vườn Hoa market to enjoy shrimp cake!

Pillow cake is similar to floating cake or honeycomb cake in Nghệ An. The cake shell is made from smooth sticky rice flour, filled with green beans and shredded coconut. The cake is cooked with molasses and ginger, serving as a rustic delicacy to treat guests. Eating pillow cake on rainy days feels like warming your soul and stomach.

However, not every place has such exceptional specialties to enjoy like Thanh Hoá. When you stop by this land, satisfy yourself with pillow cake. One bite leaves a lasting impression for years to come. This dish is sold by street vendors or at Vườn Hoa market, priced at only 5,000 VND per bowl.

Rice Porridge Soup is a dish unique to Thanh Hoa and is rarely found in eateries serving this exotic dish. When visiting this land of natural wonders, you cannot miss out on rice porridge soup. The porridge is made from rice flour, rice cake, pork ribs, peeled shrimp... when eaten with a sprinkle of pepper, chili powder, and fresh vegetables, it becomes incredibly delicious and appealing.

A bowl of thick, hot rice porridge soup always leaves a lasting impression on travelers. To enjoy rice porridge soup, head to the side of Vườn Hoa market, where stalls start selling from 2 p.m. The stalls are always crowded, and by 5 p.m., they are sold out. Prices range from 20,000 to 30,000 dong per bowl depending on the customer's request.

This is a dish you'll be introduced to first by the locals of Thanh Hoa. Because this dish is only found in Thanh Hoa city and is very rare in neighboring districts. The way to enjoy tasty shrimp pancake is 'make as you go, eat as you make'. The main ingredients include ground rice flour, washed and chopped water spinach, shredded cabbage, and delicious fresh shrimp. The rice flour is spread on a cast-iron pan, then water spinach, cabbage, and shrimp are added and flipped until the pancake turns golden and crispy in the mouth.

The pancake maker must know how to regulate the firewood fire appropriately so that the pancake is not burnt or too soft. A cracked egg in the middle of the pancake creates a vibrant yellow color, appealing to both the eyes and the palate. A dipping sauce of fish sauce and chili lime water is enough to enchant the diners. You can find these at stalls on Đào Duy Từ street, Hàn Thuyên... to enjoy this enticing tasty shrimp pancake!

Seashell Delight is the name given to a delicious type of sea snail, often hard to find. Restaurants usually source them in large quantities from coastal areas of Thanh Hoa province and some other locations. To ensure top quality, upon purchase, the snails are soaked in a large container of water with fresh chili peppers for 1 - 2 days to purge any mud residue. After thorough cleaning, they are sun-dried gently to rid them of any remaining earthy scent.

Chua Thanh Ha, located in Ben Nghe Street, is a well-known spot for enthusiasts of Seashell Delight and various other snail dishes. The rich flavor of the snails, marinated meticulously with spices, combined with the fragrant lemongrass and chili, promises an unforgettable culinary experience, particularly for first-timers. The intense, savory spiciness of the dish is sure to leave a lasting impression.

For as long as anyone can remember, this humble treat has been a specialty of Thanh Hoa province. Sesame rice crackers are made primarily from rice, sesame seeds, and cassava starch. Additionally, salt, gac fruit, and sugar are used as additives. These simple and natural ingredients contribute to the distinct flavor of the crackers.

Despite its rustic charm, creating these crackers requires considerable effort. The process demands skillful techniques, from soaking the rice, grinding it into fine flour, evenly spreading the mixture, meticulously sprinkling sesame seeds, carefully sun-drying the crackers on both sides, to grilling them over charcoal until they turn golden and crisp. It is this meticulous craftsmanship that yields the delicious and enticing sesame rice crackers.

Cake of Joy may look small and simple, but making delicious and beautiful cakes requires skill. A tasty Cake of Joy has a chewy texture without sticking to your teeth. When you take a bite, you immediately taste the sweetness of sugar, the aroma of glutinous rice, the richness of coconut, or the nuttiness of green beans, along with the fragrant scent of banana leaves. Each cake must be carefully wrapped; otherwise, if poorly wrapped, they won't stand upright and will look unappealing. However, a skillfully wrapped cake not only looks good but also tastes delicious. It is made from chewy dough that's not overly sticky, giving a sweet taste of sugar, the aroma of glutinous rice, the richness of coconut, or the nuttiness of green beans, along with the fragrant scent of banana leaves.

However, those who wrap the Cake of Joy must also pay attention to every corner. Poor wrapping will result in uneven cakes that don't look aesthetically pleasing. The cakes are round, filled with a mix of shrimp and pork, served with sweet and sour dipping sauce, soft, and delicious. With just 7,000 VND, you can enjoy 2-3 pieces. This dish is widely available in Vườn Hoa Market, Tây Thành Market, or some sidewalk stalls on Đinh Lễ Street. The Cake of Joy always entices diners and is a popular dish for tourists visiting Thanh province.

Tứ Trụ Thorny Cake is a product of Mia village, an ancient village that has existed for thousands of years on the banks of the Chu River in the former Dien Hao district, 9km from the center of present-day Tho Xuan district and 40km west of Thanh Hoa city.

The main ingredients used to make Thorny Cake are glutinous rice and green beans, but the soul of the cake is the thorny leaves. Without these leaves, it cannot be called Thorny Cake; it would simply become another type of cake. The thorny leaves are harvested by the people of Tho Dien commune deep in the forest or planted on the riverbanks of the Chu River. When harvested, only the fresh leaves are selected, with the stems removed, and every vein and fiber is meticulously stripped before sun-drying until one side of the leaf turns a dark purple and the other side becomes slightly grayish-white. The dried leaves are then carefully packed and stored in jars until special occasions such as death anniversaries, full moon festivals, or the lunar new year, when they are taken out to make cakes. The filling is made from green beans, lean pork, and various spices such as sugar, salt, fish sauce, and banana oil.

At first glance, many might mistake it for the traditional Vietnamese rice cake, a rustic gift from the locals. Sauce-Infused Rice Cake is the unique specialty of Thanh province. Its most distinguishing feature is its beautiful green color. The cake batter is made from plain rice flour cooked with lime water, augmented with fried shallots and a bit of fat. The green color of the cake is achieved by using the juice of water spinach or mustard greens. The cake is cooked over low heat, constantly stirred to prevent clumping. When the cake is almost cooked, it becomes thick like porridge, emitting a delightful aroma.

Sauce-Infused Rice Cake is incomplete without mung beans. The peeled mung beans are cooked separately, then mashed until smooth, similar to making filling for square sticky rice cakes on Tet holiday. When serving, scoop the cake into a bowl and sprinkle mung beans on top. On a cold day, inhale the fragrant scent of rice flour, savor the slightly nutty taste of mung beans, and feel the warmth spreading in your belly.

After being caught, the Silver Carp is cleaned, removing the slime, and the meat and bones are separated. The fish meat is thinly sliced, squeezed with fresh lime juice, then drained and placed in a large bowl. Quickly marinated with spices and mixed with crispy rice flakes. The fish skin is fried until crispy to be rolled with the salad. The fish bones are ground into a paste to be cooked as a soup base.

The fish salad is served with various types of fresh herbs, but it must include: lime leaves, water mimosa leaves, Vietnamese balm, perilla leaves, and spearmint. In addition to enhancing the flavor of the salad, these herbs also help balance the cold nature of the Silver Carp. In Nga Son, the fish salad is also enjoyed with fresh pennywort leaves, which grow abundantly in household gardens. This also adds a unique flavor to the dish.

While other places serve the salad with shrimp paste or fish sauce, the highlight of Nga Son Silver Carp Salad is the fish soup. The fish soup served with the salad is the secret ingredient that sets it apart, made from ground fish bones, sour broth, and other distinctive spices. The fish soup is presented in small bowls, deep red in color, thick and rich, with a layer of fat and a tantalizing aroma.

If you have the chance to visit Thanh Hoa, you'll hear a lot about the traditional Nam Ha baguette on Truong Thi street. There is a chain of bakeries here that sell baguettes, always bustling with customers. They are beloved for the consistent taste of Nam Ha baguettes over the past 20 years. The fillings are diverse, with options like baguettes filled with fried sour fermented pork, dried beef, roast pork... The most delicious ones include baguettes filled with fried sour fermented pork, dried beef, roast pork... Every ingredient is carefully selected and prepared, along with the distinctive traditional sauce.

Phu Quang Bamboo Tube Sweet Soup from Thanh province has a unique taste with a crispy texture at the tip of the tongue and a gentle sweetness. Phu Quang used to be Phu Quang Hoa, consisting of some central districts of Thanh province, with its capital near Vinh Loc town today.

Making this delicacy requires skill and experience to achieve the perfect balance of ingredients including glutinous rice, sugar, tapioca pearls, sugarcane molasses, ginger, peanuts... Glutinous rice with uniform grains is ground using a stone mortar, sifted, and filtered through coarse fabric. A small portion of glutinous rice is roasted until golden and fragrant, then spread out to cool quickly. After roasting, peanuts are crushed, fresh ginger is finely chopped.

The key to perfecting the sweet soup is Kim Tan sugarcane molasses from Thach Thanh district, a neighboring area known as the sugarcane land of Thanh province, with its distinctive rich sweetness.

The most unique dish to mention is the trấu-marinated goat, a specialty of Thanh province. Before being marinated with trấu, the goat is thoroughly cleaned of its fur and stuffed with lemongrass leaves. Trấu is applied all over the goat's body and set on fire. After the trấu-marination process, the entire goat becomes tender, with the meat still slightly pink and the skin golden brown. This creates a truly rare dish, where the meat is not fully cooked, and is sliced into curls. This can be considered the secret, the most unique aspect of the Nga An mountain goat dish, as not every place has the same method of preparation as the locals here.

Also known as a dish brought to Thanh by the hands of the people of Hue, clear tapioca dumplings are beloved by many for retaining the flavors of the ancient capital. In Thanh Hoa city, one can find this dish on Dao Duy Tu street, Vuon Hoa market, Tay Thanh market... for around 15,000 VND per plate.

Clear tapioca dumplings are made from cassava flour, although nowadays people mainly use tapioca flour. The filling consists of shrimp mixed with spices or finely ground lean meat mixed with wood ear mushrooms, shallots, bamboo shoots, etc. The dumplings are wrapped in banana leaves and steamed or boiled until cooked, then quickly dipped in cold water. When cooked, the dumplings appear translucent with a noticeable red hue from the shrimp, making them visually appealing. They are typically served with delicious dipping sauce.

Steamed rice cakes originated from the dreamy land of Hue, but when they arrived in Thanh Hoa, with skillful hands and the creativity of the locals, steamed rice cakes became a famous dish in the city, loved by many young people. Steamed rice cakes consist of 3 parts: the cake made from rice flour, the filling sprinkled on top of the cake made from finely ground shrimp, and the dipping sauce. Unlike rolled cakes or shrimp pancakes, the dipping sauce for steamed rice cakes is poured directly onto the cake without dipping. People often add a little bit of fried shallots and crushed roasted peanuts on top of the cake to create a distinctive aroma and rich flavor.

In Thanh Hoa, steamed rice cakes are slightly modified to suit the taste of the locals by adding some fried shallots and dried shrimp. This dish can be easily found at many street vendors on Dao Duy Tu street, Vuon Hoa market,... with prices ranging from 10,000 VND to 20,000 VND per plate.