Vietnam Overview

Thit Dong (Jellied meat)
Thit Dong is made of meat with skin from pig’s legs, cat’s ear mushrooms, fragrant mushrooms and fish sauce. Served with Banh Chung and salted onions.

Gio lua/ gio thu (lean pork and pork head pie)
Gio lua is a popular dish in Vietnam. The most delicious part of the lean meat pie is the top. The round, white and smooth pie soaks up the aroma from boiled banana leaves. The dish is best dipped into a bowl of pure nuoc mam (fish sauce). Gio thu (Pork head pie) is made of pig’s nose, ear, skin, onion slices and garlic with a suitable amount of pepper, salt, fish sauce. The main difference from Gio lua is the pie is crispier. Gio thu’s mixture is fried before being wrapped tightly in banana leaves. Best served with pickled scallion or salted onion.

Mien (Glass noodle dishes)
Mien, or vermicelli is used to make different dishes, the most popular being Mien ga (vermicelli with chicken), Mien bo (vermicelli with beef), and Mien luon (vermicelli with eel). Mien is also used for stir fried dishes, such as Mien xao thit (Stir fried with pork), Mien xao long ga (stir fried with chicken tripe), and Mien xao cua be (stir fried with crab meat). Vermicelli costs VND2,000 per 100g. Before cooking, the long tiny flour threads are cut into 10cm long pieces, soaked in water for five minutes.

Chan gio ninh mang (pig trotters stewed with bamboo shoot)
This is one of indispensable dishes of Tet. The dish consists of dried bamboo shoot, chopped pig trotters, wild mushrooms and green onion. Before cooking, dried bamboo shoots are soaked and boiled until the bamboo produces no colour.
Normally, it takes about five days to make the dark brown bamboo clean and yellow.
Dried bamboo shoots cost VND70,000- VND150,000 per kilo, pig legs cost VND25,000 a kilo.

Canh Bong (Dried pig skin soup)
This tasty dish with pork, vegetables and prawns, is cooked with a special ingredient – dried pigskin. The dish is considered a harmonious combination between the earth and the sea, between the flora and fauna, between the fire and the water.
Enjoying the dish, you can feel the cooling effect of the vegetables against the pure and sweet taste of prawn and pork, with a kick from the spicy
ginger.

Che kho (Green bean pudding)
In the past, those families had unmarried girls often showed off their daughter’s skills by treating guests with a small piece of Che kho. For a long time, the dish symbolised the skillful cooking ability of Hanoi girls. Today, people often buy it in markets for VND5,000 a dish, but some families still maintain the traditional custom to make themselves. Che Kho is made of green bean, white sugar, chicken fat or cooking oil, fried sesame and vanilla.

Mut Tet/ O Mai
No Vietnamese Lunar New Year party is complete without a tray of mut or candied fruit or vegetables. Mut is made from all sorts of fruit, including kumquats, mandarins, oranges, apples, banana, coconuts, persimmon and plums. Vegetables, like tomatoes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots and squash are also candied.
The most famous variety of mut is made from rose petals or peach blossoms. Cu lac (peanut jam) is another specialty. O Mai is also very popular and is often made from apricots, plums and starfruit. The fresh fruit is cleaned, dried out and then fried with sugar and crushed ginger over a low fire. O Mai is good to eat after a lot of greasy food and treats coughs as well. In Hanoi, Hang Dieu, Hang Duong Streets in Old Quarter are famous for shops selling Mut and O mai.

Hanh Muoi (Salted sour Onion)
Onions in the north and scallion heads in the south are another must for any Tet feast. Usually pickled dishes, or sometimes salted, the onions are prepared a few weeks before Tet. When serving, peel off the thin skin of the onion, cut in half and eat raw with banh chung or any meaty dish. Ready-made salted onion is available at all markets for VND25,000 a kilo.
And that’s all you need to know about what’s on the menu this Tet – so chuc an ngon!

(Source: Tuoi Tre News)