HCM CITY – Foodies who love the authentic flavours of Xứ Nẫu or Việt Nam’s south central coastal region were delighted when they experienced the best of Nẫu cuisine, exquisitely handcrafted and elegantly prepared during a special culinary event recently held in HCM City.
Titled Fascinating Delicacies of Xứ Nẫu, the event at Thảo Điền Residence is a part of the ongoing Vietnamese culinary series Taste of Home which Mặn Mòi, an authentic Vietnamese restaurant, has designed to celebrate and promote specialty dishes of each region across Việt Nam.
Cá ngừ cuộn cải xanh or roll of raw tuna and green mustard is a specialty dish of Phú Yên. VNS Photo Thành Chương
Food artisan Bùi Thu Sương said that aside from specialty products as well as special herbs and spices only raised in the region, such as pepper, turmeric, galangal, red onion and chive, the event highlighted a selection of traditional tasty delicacies that are famous in the three south central coastal provinces of Bình Định, Phú Yên and Quảng Ngãi.
Among the highlights were tasty rolls - cá ngừ cuốn cải xanh (raw tuna rolled with green mustard) and bê hấp chấm mắm mực (roll of steamed veal and herbs, dipped in octopus sauce), specialties of Phú Yên.
Other must-tries included nem chua (fermented pork pie) and tré trộn (fermented pork mixed with pepper, garlic and sesame), popular dishes of Bình Định, and cá bống Sông Trà kho khô (tiny fish caught in Trà River and braised with caramel) and gà nướng tiêu sả (grilled chicken with black pepper and lemongrass), fine delicacies of Quảng Ngãi.
Sương said that foodies should not miss bánh canh hẹ (noodle soup with fish cake and oriental garlic on top), a typical dish of Phú Yên. Fish for making the tasty fish cake and the juicy broth of the soup was caught in the waters of Phú Yên, and the oriental garlic, harvested from the area, also helped make the soup especially tasty and aromatic.
Most impressively, almost all dishes of Xứ Nẫu were served with sesame rice crackers, a specialty of Phú Yên, and they made the food tasty and unique.
The food artisan said, ”When it comes to desserts, lovers of Xứ Nẫu cuisine must try bánh hồng, which translates as pink cake though it is not pink at all."
Made of sticky rice, sugar and coconut threads, the traditional cake is considered Bình Định’s best dessert and used to be served at special events like weddings or family gatherings in the past.
Food expert Chiêm Thành Long (left) presents stories about how to preserve the tradition of cooking in Xứ Nẫu families. VNS Photo Thành Chương.
Meanwhile, food expert Chiêm Thành Long joined the event to share with guests stories of preserving the tradition of cooking in Xứ Nẫu families as well as “the art” of perfectly using ingredients and spices to make food in their daily lives tastier and stunning.VNS
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