Fine Rice Vermicelli or Steamed Rolls Made Of Rice-flour

Fine Rice Vermicelli or Steamed Rolls Made Of Rice-flour in Vietnamese is Bánh Hỏi - Banh Hoi.

Banh Hoi is one of the most popular vermicelli in the daily lives of Binh Dinh’s residents. The people in Binh Dinh use it every day, and will have it for breakfast, lunch or dinner. However, no one knows how and when it originated, or why people call it Banh Hoi. Some elders say that when it was invented, people asked what type of cake it was so many times it became known as Hoi, which means ‘to ask’ in Vietnamese. Banh Hoi are made in many places in Binh Dinh, but the tastiest is well-known to be at Dieu Tri in Tuy Phuoc.

Generally, making Fine Rice Vermicelli is similar to the process used for noodles, but must be done more carefully. Rice is moistened in water to soften it, then husked and made into a fine powder. The powder is then steamed, then stuffed to become blocks. The vermicelli can be eaten right after it is made, but it has yet to be given any flavor. It is often eaten with oil and fried chives to be more fragrant. Moreover, it is used with fish sauce mixed with pepper, sugar, lemonade and garlic.

Fine Rice Vermicelli - Banh Hoi is usually serving with roast pork.

Fine rice vermicelli or Steamed Rolls Made Of Rice-flour.

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Steamed Rice Pancakes with Grilled Pork Stuffing

Hanoi is famous for its cuisine and it is the place where there are many delicious dishes from different regions in the country. One of them is steamed rice pancakes with grilled pork stuffing.

To make the dish, it is necessary to select high quality rice which is then cleaned and soaked in water for several hours before being ground into batter. A thin layer of batter is poured on a cloth that is tautly stretched and placed on top of the pot which can quickly cook the rice batter.

To prepare the stuffing, slice lean pork into thin pieces and mix it with fish sausage, pepper, chopped onion and garlic, sugar and white sesame. Grill the meat until it becomes brown. Put the rice crepe on a plate and roll it with grilled pork.

The dish is served with basil, papaya pickles and sweet-sour sauce mixed with red pepper and garlic.

Steamed Rice Pancakes with Grilled Pork Stuffing.

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Goi ngo sen (Lotus stem salad)

A refreshing dish for hot days, “gỏi ngó sen” - goi ngo sen is healthy, vibrant, delicious on its own and certainly crunchy. The most special taste comes from the pure flavor and crunchy texture of pickled lotus stem. What is more, it is easy to make. The main ingredients are lotus root, carrot, tender pork, shrimp, shallot, coriander, mint, onion, and roasted peanut with the appetizing dressing being as an integral part of the dish. First, boil the pork shoulder and shrimp separately in water with a little of salt and sugar added; let they cool, then slice the pork as thin as possible, de-shell and de-vein the shrimp. Next, rinse out pickled lotus stem, pickled carrots, cut or slice them into pieces and drain them. Then, coarsely chop the fresh coriander, mint, and cilantro and mix them together with above ingredients with a gentle toss. The dressing poured into the concoction is a perfect combination of hot, sour, spicy, salty, and sweet. Finally, crispy fried shallots, roasted peanuts sprinkled over the dish make it look much tastier with a nutty flavor. It is commonly served with prawn crackers. Enjoy it and you definitely never forget its refreshing flavor and amazing crunchy texture.

Goi ngo sen (Lotus stem salad) - Source: vietnamfood.org.

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Ca kho (simmered fish) a typical Vietnam Food

“Cá kho“ in Vietnam can be divided into two types: "kho khô” ( dry simmering) va “kho nước”. “Cá kho nước” is usually made with sea fish like tuna, salmon, mackerel, garrupa…, its taste is quite light and it often cooked with a lot of water that can be used to souse on steamed rice,“bún” or noodle. On the other hand,” Cá kho khô” is saltier and cooked until nearly all water in the pot evaporates, it usually made with fresh water fish like long-jawed anchovy, carp, goby, mullet and so on.

To make a Ca Kho in both two kinds, we need prepare ingredients carefully. First of all, seasoning includes: salt, pepper, “nước mắm”, sugar and a little ”kẹo đắng” , a liquid made from well-cooked sugar like a caramel syrup, has a bitten taste and dark reddish-brown colour- it is often used to create a sweet, bitten taste and nice colour for dishes. Secondly, we can use some vegetables called "phụ gia” such as small slices of ripe pipe-apple, tomatoes, carambola , jack- fruit and several chunks of sugar-cane. One more and most important ingredient is fish, we should choose fresh fish that will make our dish more delicious. Fish is scrapped off the scales ,then washed carefully by water and vinegar.

After careful preparation, fish is chopped up into small chunks and mixed with spices, vegetables for about 30 minutes before cooking . Then they are put into pot, often clay pot because it increases taste of fish and filled with water and small cup of tea. We simmer the pot for several hours depending on different kinds and sizes of fish. During cooking, we need to care about level of fire and always keep level of water higher than face of fish up to 1-2 centimetres. We stew the pot until fish is well-done and gain a desirable level of water, for “Cá kho nước” we keep quite a lot of water left in the pot but for “Cá kho khô” there is a little of water left.

  Ca kho is often served with steamed rice or “bún” and can be kept up to one week.

Ca kho (simmered fish) a typical Vietnam Food.

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