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Hue captivates not only with its serene beauty, the moss-covered citadels, and tombs but also entices visitors with its unique culinary culture!
In addition to the general characteristics of Vietnamese cuisine, Hue cuisine also carries its own distinctive features. Firstly, its diversity is showcased in every meal with a variety of ingredients such as meat, fish, vegetables, and fruits, expressed through various cooking methods including soups, braising, boiling, grilling, stir-frying, and steaming. Secondly, its artistic presentation is evident regardless of wealth; every meal is neatly arranged on the table, tray, basket, or mat in the middle of the house. Banquets pay attention to the arrangement and color coordination of the menus to entice the diners. Thirdly, its communal nature is highlighted as all dishes are laid out, especially during ancestral death anniversaries, and they can be stacked on top of each other, with each meal serving multiple people. Lastly, its refinement and deliciousness encompass both savory and vegetarian dishes, with Hue people often giving their dishes beautifully poetic names to attract diners.
Hue cuisine is divided into Imperial Cuisine and Folk Cuisine.
In Hue cuisine, from rustic dishes to Royal Cuisine, there are hints of the distinctive traits of a Spiritual Land where kings once ruled. Below are some representative names that define the essence of Hue cuisine. Let's experience them firsthand!
Cơm Hến – Harmony of the Common and the Elegant
Perhaps no one is unfamiliar with Cơm Hến – a dish often associated with the poor, yet through its preparation and presentation, anyone can see a harmonious blend of the common and the distinctly elegant Hue style that is hard to put into words. Cơm Hến is presented as cold rice mixed with clams sautéed in oil and spices, clam broth, fermented shrimp paste, water spinach, crispy pork fat, grilled rice paper, crunchy stir-fried noodles, red chili, whole peanuts, cooked oil, pepper, monosodium glutamate, and salt.
Cơm Hến in Hue cuisine is the amalgamation of various simple ingredients.
Apart from cơm hến, there are dishes like clam noodles and clam noodles, but these are not truly specialties of Hue; they are merely variations of cơm hến. You can enjoy this dish at the foot of the Vĩ Dạ Bridge in Con Hen or at eateries along Han Mac Tu Street, gradually savoring the sweet, chewy, and spicy taste of Hue clams.
The sweet, chewy, and spicy linger on the palate, offering a complete sensation of Hue clams.
Bún Bò Huế - The Pride of the Ancient Capital's Cuisine
It's not an exaggeration to call bún bò Huế the soul of Hue cuisine, as this delicious dish has followed the footsteps of anyone who has visited every corner of the country. People adore and become addicted to the sweet and savory taste of Hue's bún bò, once tasted, never forgotten.
Bún bò Huế captivates with its appearance alone.
When it comes to bún bò Huế, one must mention the broth simmered from bones to achieve a sweet and uniquely fragrant taste, not too overpowering but enough for diners to clearly appreciate. Next come the slices of beef shank, a piece of pork hock, and thin slices of beef filling the bowl, adorned with the beautiful green color of finely chopped spring onions. Bún bò Huế is served with various fresh vegetables, dipped into the steaming hot broth right in the bowl; just the thought makes one crave it immensely.
No delicious bowl of noodles is complete without an array of tempting fresh vegetables.
Cơm Âm Phủ - Unusual yet incredibly delicious!
At the mere mention of Cơm Âm Phủ, it's enough to make others startled, but for the people of Hue and those who love Hue, after visiting Hue a couple of times, this dish is nothing new. This is an extremely famous dish in Hue, sold everywhere in eateries in the city. A portion of food is neatly arranged on a plate with seven colors, symbolizing the seven first steps of the Buddha. White rice is placed in the middle, surrounded by various accompanying foods, the most typical of which include pork belly, Hue-style sausage, shrimp, grilled pork sausage, cucumber, fried eggs, etc. Travelers can customize the ingredients according to their preferences.
Cơm Âm Phủ - a unique dish found only in Hue.
Various Hue cakes - Indulgent and satisfying!
Hue is also known as the land of simple yet incredibly delicious cakes. If you're a fan of cakes, you'll definitely never be disappointed by the variety of cakes in this land... Hue has cakes like Bánh Nậm, Bánh Bèo, Bánh Bột Lọc, Ram Ít, especially Bánh Khoái, which if you try once, you'll never forget its taste.
Hue is also a haven for cake enthusiasts.
The cakes in Hue are all made from very basic types of flour in Vietnamese culinary art: rice flour (bánh bèo, bánh ướt, bánh khoái), glutinous rice flour (white and black bánh ít), tapioca starch or known as cassava flour (bánh bột lọc, bánh phu thê). The fillings are also extremely diverse and common: minced shrimp, a few pieces of fatty pork or simply mung beans, grated coconut. Yet they suffice to provide enough snacks for the people of the Ancient Capital.
Bánh Khoái, golden and fragrant, is extremely beloved both in and outside of Hue.
Chè hẻm - Not every place has it!
If Hanoi evokes nostalgia with its '36 streets and guilds,' then Hue stirs longing with memories of 36 varieties of sweet soups. Sweet soups in Hue seem to have existed forever, often sold in small alleyways hence called alley sweet soups. This dish has a rustic charm, ubiquitous yet carrying the sophistication of Hue cuisine.
Hue cuisine wouldn't be complete without the delightful experience of alley sweet soups.
Each type of alley sweet soup in Hue has its own unique flavor, from simple sweet potato sweet soup, bean sweet soup, corn sweet soup to lotus seed sweet soup, and 'posh' grapefruit sweet soup. Travelers can try each dish to savor every flavor or mix them all together for a unique sensation as they chew on various seeds in their mouth.
A myriad of flavors and colors for you to choose from.
Vegetarian dishes - Like second nature!
Hue boasts around 108 pagodas and over 300 Buddhist temples, with Buddhists being the majority in Hue, which is why vegetarian dishes in Hue have thrived and been preserved to this day. These dishes are prepared with ingredients mainly from the starch group such as rice, cassava, sweet potatoes...; various green vegetables; soybeans, peanuts, sesame seeds, and various mushrooms, but when processed, they become exquisite delicacies.
Eating vegetarian is also a distinctive feature of Hue cuisine.
Quickly glancing over, you can learn about many romantic specialties of Hue cuisine, but it may take a lot of time to fully appreciate the artistic flavors of this cuisine. In Hue, one easily gets lost in the distant memories of kings and queens with culinary creations originating from folk dishes. There's something intoxicating about it, those who have enjoyed and experienced the dishes of this land will carry within them an unforgettable feeling, longing to relive it many times over.
Ms. Ngoc Anh
