9 yummy must-try dishes in Hue

(VNF) – Hue food is a must when you visit the ancient capital of Vietnam. On occasion of the Festival Hue 2018, we would love to introduce to you a series of exotic cuisines that have become the symbol of the city.

1. Bun Bo Hue

Bun Bo Hue (source: la-residence-hue.com/)

2. Com Hen

Com Hen (Clam Rice) (source: la-residence-hue.com)

Unique and true to the Hue region, com meaning rice and hen meaning boiled mussel, this is a must-try dish. First, place the fresh star fruit, fish sauce, cabbage, onion, pepper, grilled peanut and chilli into your bowl, and follow it with the boiled mussel and broth into the bowl, over the ingredients. It is tempting to enjoy this bowl of savory that is Hue clam rice.

3. Bun Thit Nuong

Bun thit nuong (source: la-residence-hue.com/)

This is a popular cold Vietnamese rice noodle dish, topped with tasty grilled pork, fresh herbs such as basil and mint, a fresh garden salad, bean sprouts and deep-fried spring rolls. Pour the famous fish sauce and pickled carrots over the noodles and top off it with some peanuts for a little bit of crunch. In the North, this dish is called Bun Cha and instead of pouring the fish sauce over the noodles, one would dip the noodles into the sauce before eating.

Nem lui (photo: bachuaviahe)

Instead of using skewers, this kebab-like dish combines lemongrass sticks and marinated pork giving it a one-of-a-kind flavor. When eaten with the special paste made up of finely chopped shallots, garlic and topped with peanuts, this combination infuses the pork with an unforgettable lemongrass flavour.

5. Banh Khoai

Banh Khoai (source: la-residence-hue.com/)

With its translation meaning “happy cake”, a bite of Banh Khoai truly makes all food lovers’ heart melt. This delicious bright yellow Vietnamese crepe is made of rice flour fried until crispy, with pork meat, egg, and shrimp to eat together with fresh lettuce leaves, herbs and special hoisin dipping sauce. Who would have thought a simple cake such as Banh Khoai is so tasty and will leave you wanting more!

6. Banh Beo

Banh Beo (source: la-residence-hue.com)

The literal translation of Banh Beo is “water fern cake” as its shape is similar to a water fern. Each Beo Cake is a one-bite piece which is round and flat. It is purely white because its main ingredient is rice flour. The topping includes minced shrimps, fried pork skin, and scallion. People eat Beo Cake with mild sweet fish sauce. Since Banh Beo is very small, we often eat it as a snack, not for full.

7. Bánh bột lọc

Bánh bột lọc is a transparent chewy dumpling made from tapioca flour and filled with minced pork and shrimp. The dumplings are then topped with fried shallots and served with sweet chili fish sauce.

Of course, you can enjoy this snack without the cumbersome process of wrapping each dumpling in banana leaf. This ain't-nobody-got-time-for-that version is called Banh Lot Loc Tran. The differences between the two types are the consistency in the batter and method of cooking.

Banh bot loc (source: phunu.net)

The batter for Banh Bot Loc Goi La Chuoi is thinner so that you can smear it on the banana leaf. The filling is then added, everything is wrapped up in a neat bundle and then steamed. The batter in Banh Lot Loc Tran is thicker so it becomes more like dough for easier handling. The dough is flattened, filling is added and the dough is folded over like any other dumpling. The dumplings are then boiled instead of steamed.

Banh ram it (source: Quan Hue O Xuan)

9. Bánh canh

Bánh canh is thick Vietnamese noodle that looks quite like Japanese udon which has the thickness of a chopstick, more or less. The Vietnamese word bánh refers to items such as noodles or cakes that are made from flour, and canh means "soup". In some countries you can buy dried or precooked banh canh noodle at the Asian store.

Banh Canh (source: danviet)

If you can't find it, you can use Japanese Udon as a substitute. Banh canh is apparently the most versatile dish among all Vietnamese noodle soup dishes. The soup base (broth) can be cooked from pork, crab, fish, and the toppings can be with fish cake, mushroom, Vietnamese ham, shimp balls, etc./.

( VNF )