Morning glory salad - a typical summer dish of Hanoians - Photo: VINH QUYEN
Journalist Vinh Quyen - one of the admins of the group Ha Thanh huong xua vi cu - told Tuoi Tre Online about traditional salads and green salads that are associated with the memories of many Hanoians.
Seeing their mother busily picking herbs, pounding roasted peanuts, garlic, etc., the children will immediately ask "Are we eating salad today, Mom?" Those ingredients become a form of identification to name a familiar dish every summer.
Now, the list of Hanoi's salads has been extended thanks to the creativity and skillful variations of housewives as well as the process of "culinary exchange" between the three regions of North - Central - South. Even if we list them all, we still cannot finish all the Vietnamese salads.
Traditional salads of Hanoi people
According to Ms. Quyen, in the past, Hanoi did not have as many salads as it does now, only about 10. There were mainly a few dishes such as chicken salad with banana blossom, kohlrabi salad, papaya salad with dried beef...
Depending on the season, there is also jellyfish salad, water spinach salad...
Morning glory salad - water spinach salad is simple, but when added with freshwater shrimp, star fruit... it can completely become a dish to entertain guests.
"Hanoi people who have been away for a long time just crave a plate of morning glory and water spinach salad.
Other salads can be found anywhere, but this one usually has to be in Hanoi to enjoy," said Ms. Quyen.
According to her, in the past, salads were not very popular in Hanoi, there were a few types that could be mentioned such as carp/grass carp salad...
Later, with the opening up and exchange of regional cuisines, Hanoi introduced many different types of salads.
On hot summer days, salads become surprisingly suitable because they are cool, refreshing, delicious, eye-catching, and nutritious.
Journalist Vinh Quyen
Cool salads, suitable for summer - Photo: VINH QUYEN
Crazy about salads from three regions
Basically, salads and mixed salads are similar, both have sour, spicy, sweet as the main flavors and do not use much oil. These are easy to make, convenient, not too fussy but still delicious.
The difference is that to make salads, vegetables and fruits almost do not need to be processed and are mixed very quickly. Not all salads have garlic and herbs.
Beef and cucumber salad - Photo: VINH QUYEN
Meanwhile, most salads need to be pre-processed/prepared. For example, to make shredded chicken salad, the chicken must be boiled first; to make banana flower salad or kohlrabi salad, the banana flower and kohlrabi must be squeezed to remove water...
Salads often have garlic, and cannot lack herbs such as coriander, basil, Vietnamese balm, and depending on the dish, Vietnamese coriander… In particular, sesame and peanuts are required to be called salad.
The main vegetable and fruit ingredients to make salad are usually slightly sour, astringent or crunchy like green mango, fig, or fig...
Lotus root salad on a lotus rice tray - Photo: VINH QUYEN
Having had the opportunity to travel to many countries, journalist Vinh Quyen commented that salads are one of the culinary characteristics of our country.
In other countries, they tend to salad. Vegetables, tubers, and fruits are not mixed with spices and processed like us, but mixed with sauce. Even Laos and Thailand - two countries in the region, have salads using sesame and peanuts, sour and spicy like Vietnam but also very different. For example, they do not use herbs...
From top to bottom, from left to right: Fern salad, fig and shrimp salad, beef and eggplant salad, bird salad - Photo: VINH QUYEN
According to her, Vietnamese people are very good at using food to regulate the weather. With salads, we also have seasonal dishes. Like the spinach and water mimosa salad above, it is only available from May to August.
There are dishes that are very skillfully seasoned, even becoming trends. "Last year, the trend was mangosteen chicken salad, this year we will wait and see what trends housewives have," she laughed heartily.
Journalist Vinh Quyen suggests three delicious salads for the summer
1. Water spinach salad
- Finding the first bunch of water spinach of the summer is the best. When boiling, add a few grains of salt, stir the vegetables to prevent them from turning brown, and take them out when they are just cooked. In the past, mothers often put them in bamboo baskets for ventilation. Now, you can put them in a bowl of filtered water soaked in ice for about 5 minutes to keep the vegetables green and crispy, then take them out and drain.
- Next, boil the water spinach. Boil quickly because water spinach cooks faster than spinach.
- Slice green star fruit, squeeze to reduce sourness. Stir-fry freshwater shrimp with a little fat and a little salt. Crush sesame and peanuts, cut herbs into pieces.
- Make a dressing mixture from lemon (better than vinegar), sugar, fish sauce, crushed garlic... Then mix the salad, season to taste, then add sesame and peanuts.
2. Beef and jicama salad
- Cut jicama into thin strips (not as small as kohlrabi). Thinly slice beef, saute garlic, stir-fry meat until cooked.
- Make a dressing mixture from lemon (better than vinegar), sugar, fish sauce, crushed garlic... Because jicama is naturally sweet, reduce the sugar. Then mix with jicama, then add beef and beef sauce.
- You can replace beef with chicken (but add more Vietnamese coriander) or pig ears, pig skin...
3. Melon salad
- Prepare salted melon, wash, slice and squeeze to remove saltiness. Saute garlic, thinly slice beef/pork tenderloin and stir-fry until cooked or boil pork belly.
Pickled melon is salty so you don't need to add salt to this dish. Add sugar, garlic, chili, lemon then mix with meat and herbs and it's done.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nom-rau-muong-va-rau-rut-goi-cu-dau-thit-bo-nom-du-du-bo-kho-vua-thanh-vua-mat-don-he-20240522131914092.htm
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