Speaking of Vietnamese noodle cuisine, people will immediately think of Pho. However, an equally popular and favorite type of noodle is Vermicelli. However, the bid plus of vermicelli is that each region in Vietnam has a way of combining with different ingredients to make noodles become a specialty of the whole region.
Bun thang – Hanoi
Bun thang has contributed to the food culture of Hanoi for a long time, become a Hanoi traditional food one of dishes from noodle which you must try if traveling Hanoi. Bun thang is previously made from preparation to processing because you have to use about 20 materials to make a bowl of noodles. Broth, spices, vegetables, meat, or noodles must also be carefully selected.
Especially, what makes noodle flavor is aromatic Essential oil of ca cuong (Lethocerus indicus). Just a little bit of the essential oil will make bowl of bun thang fragrant, difficult to resist. However, ca cuong become extremely rare nowadays, so people have used essential oil instead of ca cuong, but it is difficult to compare with the taste of traditional bun thang Trang An.
Bun moc doc mung
Originating from the village of Mang (Nhan Muc), Nhan Chinh, now Thanh Xuan district, Hanoi, now bun suon moc doc mung (vermicelli with ribs) has become a very popular dish for breakfast. The main ingredient of this dish is moc (minced meatballs), so also called bun moc.
In Hanoi, bun moc doc mung has appeared from the pavement to the luxury restaurant. The vermicelli is made from very simple ingredients but attractive to all customers in four seasons which include vermicelli, minced meatball, ribs and doc mung (Colocasia gigantea). A bowl of bun moc with thin pieces of meat, sliced pig legs, along with fresh green Colocasia gigantea, lemon juice, and a little pepper will make anyone captivated when mentioning this dish.
Bun dau mam tom
A dish considered as the most typical in capital when talking about vermicelli is bun dau mam tom (vermicelli with fried tofu and shrimp paste). Although it is a bit difficult to eat with people not familiar with shrimp sauce, if you try once, you will hardly forget this dish.
Comes from a Hanoi street food with simple ingredients: vermicelli, fried tofu, and shrimp sauce. Nowadays, shrimp paste noodles have appeared in luxury restaurants, food shops with various toppings such as richer pork legs, cha com (young rice meatballs) pork chop, fried pork viscera. The key making the success of this dish is shrimp sauce. Shrimp paste must be delicious, fragrant and not too salty, tofu must be fried crispy, sliced pork leg, cha com must have the flavor of Hanoi. Do not miss this opportunity to try when you go to Hanoi!
Bun rieu cua
Bun rieu cua (vermicelli with tomato broth and topped with freshwater crab) is a familiar dish, especially in the northern provinces, originating in Hanoi. Bun rieu cua is attractive for visitors on street food tour in Hanoi by the delicious taste of crab, the sour taste of tomatoes. Rieu cua is made from broth made of crab fat, Colocasia gigantea, tomatoes, salt, Tamarind, and scallions.
To make bun rieu cua more flavorful, people often add shrimp paste into the noodles, add tofu or beef depending on customer preferences. Bun rieu cua is suitable for eating in the summer than in the winter because of its own light sour taste. Although the origin of the North, in the whole country, bun rieu cua are sold a lot, after the renovation depending on the region.
For more information/details: Vietnam food tours, food walking tour, Vietnam cooking class