Traditional countryside delights of Binh Dinh tourism

Spicy squid with garlic and chili, fermented fish, or coconut water rice paper are the rustic gifts suggested for travelers to enjoy when visiting Binh Dinh during the upcoming holidays.

Traditional countryside delights of Binh Dinh tourism

Below are the famous, locally flavored dishes that can be enjoyed immediately or purchased as gifts.

Spicy squid with garlic and chili

Finding spicy squid with garlic and chili is not difficult as they are sold at most seaside stalls or in the city. To make this dish, dried squid, after being lightly grilled, is marinated with various spices such as sesame, chili, garlic... to absorb evenly. This dish, with its spicy, salty, and sweet flavors, carries the rich taste of Quy Nhon sea, perfect for gifting or as a snack during gatherings with friends.

Bamboo Delight

Along the national highway 1A, passing through Binh Dinh land, numerous charming little 'brooms' are hung along the road. In reality, these are special bamboo delicacies from Binh Dinh land.

The ingredients for this dish include pig ears, pork belly, along with unique spices like ginger, sesame, chili, garlic, young guava leaves... all mixed together and wrapped up. When enjoying, simply peel off the outer layer and it's ready to eat. This dish is often rolled with rice paper along with various fresh vegetables, dipped in fish sauce.

Coconut Rice Paper

Different from other regions, Tam Quan coconut rice paper in Hoai Nhon district is larger and thicker. It consists of ground rice flour mixed with coconut milk, shredded coconut, sesame, pepper, thinly sliced purple onions, and sea salt, then spread onto large molds.

After spreading, the rice paper is sun-dried. When ready to eat, the piece of paper is grilled over charcoal, encountering flames, puffing up, turning golden and emitting a fragrant aroma.

Fish Cake Noodle Soup

Fish cake noodle soup is a quite famous specialty in Quy Nhon, sold on many streets. The uniqueness of this dish lies in the way the noodles, fish cake, and broth are made. The fish cake here is made entirely from fresh fish with various spices. The noodle strands are made from a mixture of rice flour and wheat flour, when cooked, they are chewy and have a unique translucent color. The broth is mainly cooked from fish bones, fish heads creating a sweet and refreshing taste, leaving a memorable impression on diners.

Unlike noodle soups in other places, Binh Dinh's fish cake noodle soup has two types of fish cake that tourists can choose from: fried fish cakes with a strong aroma and steamed fish cakes mashed by hand with various types of fish, making a rich and sweet taste. Diners of fish cake noodle soup sometimes don't need fancy, luxurious restaurants, they just sit on the sidewalk to enjoy.

Châu Trúc Snail

Châu Trúc snail belongs to the eel family, similar to snails but much larger, often found in estuaries, sea entrances, and waterlogged depressions. However, Châu Trúc snails are only found in the Trà Ổ estuary, also known as the Châu Trúc lagoon in Phù Mỹ district. It's called Châu Trúc snail because it is as black as ebony wood, famous for its delicious fragrance and very high nutritional value. There are many ways to prepare Châu Trúc snails, the most common being roasting, cooking in curry, or stewing with Chinese herbs...

Châu Trúc snails cooked with bamboo shoots or cooked with betel leaves are dishes with a characteristic flavor of alcohol. When cooked, use little water and stew thoroughly to bring out the sweet taste from the snail's bones. Just putting a spoonful of soup on the tip of the tongue, diners can feel the delicious, sweet taste of Châu Trúc snails.

Sugarcane Bird

Visiting Binh Dinh, travelers will be introduced to the quite enticing sugarcane bird dish, abundant in the Tây Sơn region due to its extensive sugarcane cultivation. Some local residents still practice bird trapping in sugarcane fields, supplying restaurants with fresh sugarcane birds. Therefore, Tây Sơn sugarcane birds are usually fresh, delicious, whether grilled or roasted whole, they are all very sweet.

Jumping Shrimp Pancake

As a popular folk dish loved by many, shrimp pancake is made from rice flour mixed with a bit of turmeric and coconut milk. The filling includes small but meaty freshwater shrimps. The pancake plate is served with the yellow color of turmeric, the pale white of bean sprouts, the red of shrimp, and the green of herbs, creating a visually appealing dish.

Eating this dish correctly involves placing the pancake on a piece of rice paper, rolling it with bean sprouts and sour mango, then dipping it into a bowl of fish sauce. Taking a strong bite, one can taste the richness of oil, the freshness of shrimp, the spiciness of chili garlic fish sauce, accompanied by thin rice paper and various green vegetables that make it unforgettable for travelers.

Liver Porridge with Rice Noodles

Banh Hoi, a specialty of Binh Dinh, is best enjoyed in Dieu Tri. Travelers will see countless signs for pig offal porridge and banh hoi when they arrive in this area. In fact, banh hoi and pig offal porridge are two different dishes but are combined by locals to create an interesting dish. Banh hoi is a variation of fresh vermicelli. As for the porridge, it is cooked quite thin, with blood broth simmered from bones and pig offal. The porridge is both sweet and fragrant, eaten with a plate of skillfully prepared pig offal, making this dish unusually delicious.

Grilled Nem, Spring Rolls

Market spring rolls are delicious due to the way they are prepared, but the main factor here is still the meat processed from free-range pigs. Nem can be eaten with herbs, rolled with rice paper, or just eaten alone to enjoy the unique flavor of this specialty. Nem, when dipped in fish sauce or soy sauce depending on each person's taste. However, the most preferred dipping sauce is still a mixture of fish sauce diluted with crushed peanuts, sugar, garlic, and chili, making the dipping sauce thick and flavorful.

Grilled Octopus with Sauce

Grilled octopus with sauce is a favorite street food of many people in Quy Nhon during the summer. This popular dish is prepared quite simply. Dried octopus, after being lightly grilled, will be marinated with various spices such as ginger, chili, garlic... for the octopus to absorb evenly, creating an enticing dish.

Jellyfish Salad

Jellyfish Ear Salad and Jellyfish Foot Salad are dishes that many travelers to Binh Dinh enjoy. Jellyfish Ear Salad is made from jellyfish ears lightly squeezed then mixed with various spices, peanuts, green bananas, thinly sliced bitter gourds, shredded green mangoes, and aromatic herbs like coriander and basil.

Making Jellyfish Foot Salad is more intricate as it has to be mixed with thinly sliced chicken or pork, along with various chilies, chopped mangoes, roasted peanuts, and some other aromatic herbs. This dish is delicious when dipped in fresh shrimp paste.

Thorny Leaf Cake

As a simple, rustic cake, but the sweet flavor of thorny leaf cake always attracts tourists. Thorny leaf cake is used on memorial days, festive occasions such as weddings, showcasing the skillful steadiness of women. The cake is made from glutinous rice flour with thorny leaves and cane sugar, the filling is made from mung beans or grated coconut. Thorny leaf cake is chewy, fragrant, not sticky with the sweetness of sugar, the aroma of glutinous rice, the richness of mung beans, and the strong spicy scent of ginger creating a flavorful dish of Binh Dinh's countryside.

Source: Vnexpress