ABOUT XOI
There are many options for tourists to choose for their breakfast in Hanoi Old Quarter. Just take some steps from your hotel, move around and you will see a group of people with a woman in the middle of the crowd sitting with a small basket, continuously serving some strange food onto the banana leaf. That is “Xoi” – one of the most popular Vietnamese foods.
What is Xoi?
Xoi or sticky rice can be found in many Asia countries, particular in South East Asia Areas. To cook Xoi, the Vietnamese often soak sticky rice for hours until the grains have absorbed enough water then the chef will drain and steam dry so that the grains can remain as the whole, soft but not mushy, sticking together in a lump.
Xôi – Hanoi Local Food Tours
Nowadays, in the modern life, people sometimes can cook Xoi by using an electric rice cooker, with the same process when cooking regular rice. However, it will take less water as usual. You can enjoy any time of the day in Vietnam but the Vietnamese often choose it as a cheap and appetizing dish for their breakfast.
Typical types of Xoi
With the same cooking method and the main ingredient as sticky rice, there are many types of Xoi which are just different from each other by adding some different ingredient: corn, peanut, mung bean (black and red mung bean is included)…In breakfast, the local often enjoy Xoi with Ruoc, a type of stringy, salty and dried pork, or Muoi Vung, salty sesame, and peanut; or even with only deep fried shallots and a tablespoon of vegetable oil. Sometimes people enjoy Xoi with braised egg, braised pork, Chinese sausage, Vietnamese pork pies or chicken breast.
Xôi – Hanoi Local Food Tours
Each region has various kinds of Xoi with the distinct taste. In the mountainous area of Northen Vietnam, “Five-color Xoi” is very popular with the ethnic minority. They cook Xoi with special local herbs which originate the colors of red, black, purple, and yellow. All of them are natural and good for your health. Otherwise, Hanoi is famous for its Xoi Com – a type of young green sticky rice. This delicacy is made only in the autumn. In the southern of Vietnam, coconut milk and pandan leaves are also added to Xoi to make it a sweet dessert fitting perfectly for supper.
Where to enjoy Xoi?
Previously, Xoi is a very convenient and popular breakfast dish but nowaday most of the time, Xoi can be purchased in small roadside vendors. The seller just needs a small vendor that is a bamboo basket fully packed with Xoi kept warm by a thin blanket and some small bottles containing Rouge, Muoi Vung, deep fried shallot… to meet all demands of customers. You can find the sellers at any corner every day like: in front of the school or office gate, in a small street…
Watching people buying “xoi” in the street is far more than interesting. The seller is in the middle, with all the customers standing around, waiting for their turn. Customers can check on their portion while the seller serves, noticing whether the seller diminishes the size of the portion or not, or trying to have more “xoi” with the same price. They express their requirements directly with “extra this”, “no no no not so much of that”, and the sellers magically always meet their satisfaction.