Baoquocte.vn. Hanoi in the early winter days has many "specialties" that easily captivate diners, one of which is dried beef salad.
In the capital Hanoi, there are many areas selling dried beef salad, but when mentioning this extremely delicious snack, surely everyone knows about a street considered the shortest in the city, only 52 meters long, that is: Ho Hoan Kiem Street (Hang Bac Ward, Hoan Kiem District).
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| Dried beef salad is simple but delicious. (Photo: Nguyen Thi Hai) |
On this street, there are several shops specializing in selling delicious dried beef salad that have been famous for decades, making everyone, Westerners or Vietnamese, students or adults..., always like to come here, especially when the weather is cold.
For a long time, there has been a very unique way of inviting customers at the dried beef salad shops here, which is the sound of iron scissors clacking that the shop owners and staff always "clack" so that everyone passing by can hear. And I am also one of the many regular customers of the shops on this street when every time I have the opportunity to pass by Hoan Kiem Lake, just hearing the "clack" sound of scissors makes me crave and stop in to eat dried beef salad...
All year round, the dried beef salad stalls on this pretty little street, nestled on the shore of Hoan Kiem Lake, are always bustling with customers coming in and out to enjoy, but the best time to enjoy this rustic snack is during the chilly autumn and winter weather.
The reason why everyone loves to eat dried beef salad in cold weather is because the sweet and sour fish sauce used to pour over the salad has some hot flavors such as ginger, garlic, and especially hot chili peppers. It is the hot and spicy flavors of these spices that make everyone feel warm, comfortable, and delicious when eating.
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| Customers are always coming and going from morning until late at night. (Photo: Nguyen Thi Hai) |
Along with boiled snails, hot fried dough sticks, grilled corn..., dried beef salad is also considered one of the very effective "cold-busting" snacks in the autumn and winter weather of Hanoi.
That is why during the winter months, not only during the day, but also at night, even late at night, when the cold wind blows, making everyone afraid to go out, some salad shops here are still crowded with customers. Sometimes, due to the large number of customers, the shop is cramped, there are no seats, some customers have to accept buying salad to take home to eat.
Besides the main customers who are young people, students, office workers, women... who like this snack; foreign tourists passing by, seeing the strangeness, they come in to order a dish to try, and then all of them nod their heads and say: Number one (meaning number 1, absolutely delicious)!
I have a German friend who comes to Vietnam every few years for a vacation, and if she doesn’t stop by Hanoi, then that’s fine, but every time she stays in the city for a few days, she invites me to eat dried beef salad on Hoan Kiem Lake Street. My friend said she is really “addicted” to this snack, because it’s so delicious!
Or like a relative of my mother's side, currently an overseas Vietnamese in America, every time he visits his hometown he begs me to take him to eat dried beef salad...
In fact, in the past, some salad shops here only specialized in one dish: dried beef salad. However, in recent years, due to market trends and to meet the diverse tastes of customers, shop owners have opened other salads such as fried bird salad. In addition, they also sell banh bot loc, fried spring rolls, sour spring rolls, spring rolls... Although the shops sell such a variety of dishes, customers still remember the most the famous, delicious dried beef salad.
It is true that the dried beef salad is very simple, not too many ingredients, spices and seasoning is not too fussy, when it is just carrots, shredded green papaya, combined with dried beef cut into small pieces or shredded, a little bit of dried fried pork liver, plus herbs such as perilla, and a little crushed roasted peanuts.
But to make this simple, rustic snack delicious and attractive to everyone, it requires the cook to have a different "secret" in the process of marinating and drying the beef and liver; and especially mixing the sweet and sour dipping sauce so that the sour taste of vinegar, lemon, fish sauce, sugar, ginger, garlic, chili..., blends just enough, so that diners feel delicious and eat to their heart's content.
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| One of the most famous dried beef salad shops on Hoan Kiem Lake Street. (Photo: Nguyen Thi Hai) |
The owner of a famous salad shop named Long Vi Dung on this street told me that the secret to creating a standard beef jerky salad is that, in addition to delicious ingredients, the dipping sauce used to pour over the salad always plays a decisive role. It's the same as at a pho restaurant, if the meat is fresh and delicious, but the broth is not fragrant and sweet, then the bowl of pho will definitely not be delicious...
Hanoi is entering winter. If you have the opportunity to visit the capital, you should go to a small street in the center of the old quarter to enjoy the rustic dried beef salad. I am sure that right from the first time you try it, everyone will be conquered by it because it is so delicious and attractive, you will not get bored when you eat it. If you enjoy this dish in the cold weather, with the monsoon blowing, it will be even more delicious and unforgettable...
Source: https://baoquocte.vn/ngang-qua-ho-guom-nghe-tieng-keo-lach-cach-lai-them-nom-bo-kho-295521.html
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