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During Tet, the arrival of spring brings unique customs to each region, enriching our diverse cultural heritage. Northern Vietnam, considered the cradle of our timeless cultural values, embodies the traditional Tet flavors in every aspect of life, from customs to cuisine. Here are some delicious Tet dishes from Northern Vietnam that contribute to the traditional Vietnamese Tet flavor.
Exquisite Tet Dishes with Rich Northern Vietnamese Flavors
People from Northern Vietnam are meticulous and attentive, ensuring that their Tet feast is meticulously prepared with a variety of delicious Tet dishes. Over the years, this region has maintained a simple, traditional way of life that reflects the true essence of Vietnamese culture.
Traditional Sticky Rice Cake (Banh Chung)
According to legend, Lang Lieu offered Banh Chung and Banh Day to King Hung to express gratitude to heaven, earth, and ancestors. Thus, Banh Chung and Banh Day have become an indispensable traditional dish on Tet holidays in Northern Vietnam. Banh Chung is made from the familiar ingredients of rice and glutinous rice from the villages of Northern Vietnam.
Displaying Banh Chung is considered a traditional custom on Vietnamese Tet | Image: Collected
The harmonious combination of sticky rice, sweet mung beans, fatty pork, and mild pepper creates a round, fragrant, and delicious cake. Especially, the moment of gathering with family, waiting for the Banh Chung pot to be cooked on Tet holiday each year, is a cherished longing for many distant sons and daughters.
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Red Sticky Rice (Xoi Gac)
Red sticky rice (Xoi Gac) is made from glutinous rice mixed with fresh gac fruit and then steamed. When cooked, the rice turns red, creating a visually stunning and warm dish. Ancient people believed that the color red could bring good luck, so Xoi Gac has become an indispensable dish on the Tet table in every family in the Northern region.
The red color of Xoi Gac symbolizes good luck | Image: Collected
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Pickled Onions
'Fatty meat, pickled onions, red couplets/ Bamboo sticks, firecrackers, green square cakes' is a familiar couplet that evokes a vibrant Tet atmosphere of ancient Northern villages. Among them, pickled onions hold a significant position in the feasts of the people here.
Pickled onions are an indispensable dish for Northern people during Tet | Image: Collected
Pickled Onions are pickled with a slightly spicy and sour taste, often served with square cakes or jellied meat. Although not a main dish, the Tet feast wouldn't be complete without pickled onions.
Boiled Chicken
Boiled chicken seems to never be absent from the tables of Northern people at any party. Therefore, it is also an indispensable dish on Tet with the implication of wishing for a warm, plentiful, and fulfilling new year.
Boiled chicken needs to be cooked over the right heat and for the right amount of time so that the skin turns golden, the meat cooks evenly, remains juicy, fragrant, and succulent. These neatly chopped chicken pieces, arranged evenly on a plate, sprinkled with a few thinly sliced lime leaves, truly depict a typical image when mentioning delicious Tet dishes in the Northern region.
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Gio Thu, Gio Nac
Gio Nac is made from minced pork, seasoned, wrapped in banana leaves, and then boiled until cooked. Meanwhile, Gio Thu is made from pork shank, finely sliced, stir-fried with wood ear mushrooms, seasoned just right, then tightly wrapped while still hot. To make the sausage rolls beautiful, the wrapper must also have the technique to wrap tightly and evenly.
The crunchy, sweet flavor from each piece of meat lingering and embracing will make it irresistible. This is not only a delicious dish but also can be a simple and fragrant gift that domestic travelers can give to friends and family during the traditional Tet holiday every year.
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Fried Spring Rolls
While fried spring rolls can be found everywhere, to make it in the true flavor of Tet, it must be northern-style fried spring rolls. All the ingredients for making fried spring rolls are carefully selected, finely chopped, seasoned just right, mixed evenly, then fried until golden and crispy, tempting to the eyes.
The crispy golden rice paper, filled with minced pork, onions, carrots, wood ear mushrooms, all blended with egg, and served with pickled vegetables and fresh herbs, is truly delicious. This is an easy-to-eat dish even for foreign travelers and is an indispensable dish in every kitchen during Tet.
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Soup Dishes
Among the northern Tet dishes, soup dishes are essential, with the most common being water spinach soup and bamboo shoot soup. Although prepared differently, these soups all have a sweet and savory flavor from vegetables and the richness from simmered bones.
These bowls of soup, though not fancy, are still appealing thanks to the colorful vegetables, making the Northern Tet feast more enticing and delicious. Not only are they comforting dishes, but they also carry traditional symbols, symbolizing the wish for abundance and prosperity for generations.
Dong Meat
While people in the South enjoy Tet with braised pork, northern Dong Meat is equally popular. This dish is made from pork belly, pig skin, and wood ear mushrooms simmered and molded into a bowl. The cold winter weather in the North will solidify the meat, giving it a jelly-like texture.
Dong Meat is often served with hot rice and pickled onions or pickled vegetables. The heat from the rice melts the meat, bringing out its rich, fragrant, and delicious flavor, harmonizing with the tangy taste from the pickled onions. This dish, though 'unusual,' is very easy to eat, even for guests from anywhere.
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Thus, Mytour has shared with you about the delicious Tet dishes of Northern Vietnam, which have become a tradition and essence of Vietnamese cuisine in particular and the world in general. If you wish to indulge in these delicacies as well as the Tet atmosphere of Northern Vietnam, why hesitate? Book your affordable Northern Vietnam tours right away with Mytour. If you want to know more about Northern Vietnam travel programs or Tet Lunar New Year 2021 tours, feel free to call the hotline Mytour to receive free assistance and consultation from Mytour staff!
