Enjoy vermicelli with vinegar, banh bo jam, banh te dieu... at 'Hue, remembering my old mother'

Ma Thuong wrapping cakes at the event Hue - Remembering our Mother in the past - Photo: HO LAM

The event took place in Thu Duc City (HCMC) on the evening of June 22.

Guests at the event experienced making traditional cakes and enjoyed 10 Hue specialties prepared by two guests and the Man Moi kitchen team.

These are banh bot loc, banh nam, banh canh tom, bun chua nuong nuoc, mung bean sweet soup, banh bo jam, banh te dieu, banh phu linh and tea moc lien.

Hue people eat vermicelli with vinegar at lunch time.

Ma Thuong left Hue to live in Nha Trang for more than 50 years, but whether in Nha Trang or wherever she goes, she still carries with her the love and nostalgia for Hue dishes.

Even though she is old, she still likes to make Hue dishes for her children and grandchildren to enjoy.

For banh nam and bot loc dishes, she often goes to the market to buy flour, banana leaves and other ingredients, then kneads the dough, cuts the dough, and makes the filling herself...

She said the steps of kneading dough and cutting leaves to wrap the cake are always important.

Knead and cut the dough evenly, and wipe the banana leaves clean. Don't wrap too much so that when you eat it, you will feel just enough.

Dao Huu Quy, a native of Hue, often makes clips introducing Hue culture, cuisine , and craft villages on TikTok, introducing to diners the dish vermicelli with vinegar, a dish he learned from his mothers and grandmothers.

Vermicelli with vinegar is a dish that cools the body and helps reduce heat - Photo: HO LAM

Huu Quy shared that vermicelli with vinegar was considered a precious gift, a dish reserved for the nobility in Hue in the past.

“Con nuoc is a gift from heaven because people can only eat it once a year, during the summer in the brackish water areas of Hue. Therefore, it is also called a summer dish," he said.

According to Huu Quy, vermicelli with vinegar has a cold nature, eating it will cool the body. Therefore, Hue people often eat this dish after lunch.

To make the vermicelli with vinegar more flavorful and delicious, striped shrimp and chewy, crunchy vermicelli feet are indispensable - Photo: HO LAM

The unique and elaborate feature of the dish is the way two types of broth are prepared. One is made from liver combined with soy sauce, peanuts and sesame and the other is made from goby fish from the Huong River.

Hue people combine these two types of broth with vermicelli and ingredients such as: nuoc, hand-pounded crab cakes, shrimp, add a little rice paper, raw vegetables, and Hue's signature spicy chili sauce to create a sweet and sour vermicelli with nuoc dish.

White sesame rice paper with potatoes inside, spread thinly overnight, then fried to get a fatty and rich finished product, eaten with vermicelli with vinegar, extremely delicious - Photo: HO LAM

Make jam with your hands to feel the heat.

At the event, Huu Quy also demonstrated how to make jam cake. According to him, this is a traditional cake often made for family parties or ancestors' death anniversaries.

Dao Huu Quy makes jam cakes for diners to see - Photo: HO LAM

Or simply, when there are many ripe fruits in the Hue garden, and the mothers feel sorry for not eating them all, they will use them to make cakes, or when making jam for Tet, the leftover jam scraps will also be used.

Quy said that to wrap this cake, Hue people will not use gloves but use their own hands to feel the heat of the dish.

Hue people often tie the jam cake by hand and then wrap it in cellophane - Photo: HO LAM

Jam cakes are usually made from six types of jam: three types of dry jam, three types of wet jam... The flour used is the best rice flour from Huong Vinh.

Cleaned flour is roasted with pandan leaves until fragrant and then ground very finely. Depending on the season, use locally available fruits to make jam, the sugar content for each type of jam is also different.

Banh te dieu, banh bo jam, banh phu linh are Hue's specialties - Photo: HO LAM

Cut fruit into strips and soak in sugar for 8 hours, simmer the jam over low heat until the jam is dry, let the jam cool.

Then spread a layer of sticky rice flour, choose the type of jam you like, a little of each, mix the flour and jam while tying it until the jam inside and outside is dry. Let the cake rest overnight then cut into squares, wrap in cellophane.

Huu Quy shared: "The square five-color box symbolizes the earth, and will be placed on the offering tray with a round cake symbolizing the sky...

The cake box is made of six colors, including five colors in the basic color palette of Hue people and a neutral color, white.

The five-color cake box represents the five elements of yin and yang, the harmony of all things in heaven and earth.

The culinary event series "Homeland Flavors" organized and operated by Man Moi restaurant from the end of December 2023 aims to honor and introduce typical dishes from all regions of Vietnam to many diners.

After a series of events: Delicious dishes from rice noodles of three regions, Western cakes, Western vermicelli with fish sauce, Can Gio delicious dishes, Binh Phuoc delicious dishes, Hue - Remembering our old mother is the 6th event held at Man Moi.

Shrimp noodle soup is also a Hue dish loved by many diners - Photo: HO LAM

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/thuong-thuc-bun-giam-nuoc-banh-bo-mut-banh-te-dieu-o-hue-nho-ma-ta-xua-20240622232544068.htm