Hotpot is a popular dish during winter in Northern and rainy season in Southern Vietnam. It represents accurately the cultural interference in cuisine between China and Vietnam.
Hotpot’s origin
The origin of hotpot has been told in many theories. Almost of them claimed that the country of hotpot is Southern China. And, hotpot was present in China over 1700 years ago. Some theories suggested that Mongolian cavalry rode their horse along the land of Asia, so they could not bring the cooking utensils. Their shields were used to stew the meat and their helmets were the soup pots. The way the cavalry cooked their meals spread widely and became the tradition of Chinese people. This tradition has been existing in China for over 1000 years.
Hotpot is varied in different part of China. The northern people ate hotpot to warm their body up, so they often used beef and lamb with hot spices. The southerners like to have hotpot with seafood and vegetables.
However, the way to eat is the same everywhere. The pot is put on the charcoal oven over a moderate heat. The fresh food is dipped in boiling pot during the meal.
Nobody knows when hotpot came to Vietnam, but on every Vietnam food tour, hotpot (or lau) will be one of the top dishes that you should try.
Hotpot in Vietnam – Vietnamese Lau
Besides having lau at home with family, you can find that lau has become a hanoi food tours. There are dozens of lau restaurants in Vietnam.
Lau is the meal in which people can gather together, talk more and share more. Lau is not fast food and of course not a quick meal.
May people from Western nations said that the broth of Vietnamese lau is spiced and aromatic, which makes people cannot resist it. The sweetness from cow or chicken bones and the fresh food dipped into the simmering pot cause the change in flavors during the meals.
Vietnamese have been open to the culinary culture of both Northern and Southern China. Therefore, Vietnamese lau not only has beef but also has seafood and various types of vegetables.
Nowadays, hotpot in Vietnam welcomes the import of hotpot from many countries like Korea, Japan and the neighbor in South East Asia, Thailand. These kinds of hotpot give people in Vietnam more choices in eating.
To manage to have Vietnamese lau is easy because the availability of the food. Just go to any local markets, you will find the things you need. But it is still difficult to you? And you do not know how to prepare for a delicious pot of lau’s broth? Join us in Hanoi cooking class, nothing is impossible.
Other programs for reference: night food tour hanoi, hanoi food tasting tours, food walking tour.