Sweet and fragrant sticky rice
Bamboo rice is a popular rice dish in the Northwest and Central Highlands because of the unique mountain-forest-style preparation that is not available everywhere. Bamboo rice is made from sticky rice - a type of yellow-flowered sticky rice, round grains, milky white color and fragrant smell. After selecting the sticky rice, it will be put into fresh bamboo tubes and grilled over a fire until fragrant steam comes out, meaning the rice is cooked. At this time, the shell will be split and removed, leaving only a thin layer of bamboo on the outside to keep the rice hot until eaten.
Sticky bamboo rice, strange taste, in addition to the aroma of sticky rice, also has the aroma of bamboo, will be very delicious when eaten with sesame salt. In some places, bamboo rice will be grilled more thoroughly so that when breaking the shell, you will immediately see the golden rice layer, crispy in the mouth. The hot crispy rice contains so much affection of the mountain people.
Rich rice with mussels
Coming to Hue, you can skip beef noodle soup but definitely should not miss banh nam and especially mussel rice. Mussel rice is rich and rustic like the way of life of the Co Do people.
Mussel rice is not an easy dish to prepare, because of the sophistication in the way of preparing the ingredients of the dish. To make delicious mussel rice, you must maintain the harmony of spices, each spoonful of rice must have the sweetness of mussels, the pungent taste of ginger, the spicy taste of chili, and the indispensable sour taste of star fruit, the spicy taste of herbs. Mussel rice is not only delicious but must also be beautiful, the bowl of rice must have many eye-catching colors. Although the rice dish is elaborately prepared, the cook must be skillful so that the rice still retains the frugality and simplicity of the people of Hue.
The characteristic of mussel rice is a bowl of cold rice, mixed with vegetables and many spices, served with a bowl of hot mussel soup. Depending on the user's preference, some people mix the rice and eat it dry, others mix it well and then pour the hot soup in.
Burnt golden rice in a clay pot
Since ancient times, Vietnamese people have had the tradition of cooking rice in clay pots. Because nothing is more delicious than white, sticky, sweet rice grains mixed with the aroma of the soil. Clay pot rice and pounded rice contain the quintessence of Vietnamese culinary culture. Clay pot rice is white, soft, sticky, and fragrant, while pounded rice is skillfully cooked, hot, and golden brown.
Clay pot rice or simply called clay pot rice. This rice dish requires meticulousness in the cooking method and skill in removing the rice from the pot. Cooking a delicious clay pot of rice is not simple. From the stage of choosing the rice, washing the rice to watching the fire, it must be meticulous and strict. When the rice is cooked, the cook will lightly tap the pot, the broken pieces of clay will fall down, leaving only a golden crispy rice loaf. When eating, just pour a spoonful of scallion oil on top of that golden crispy skin, and you have a delicious rice dish full of the flavor of the homeland.
Cool coconut rice
The people of Ben Tre are very skillful in turning a simple rice dish into a local specialty. Cooking this rice dish requires meticulousness, as it takes nearly two hours to make a delicious dish. Coconut rice is cooked from sticky rice and coconut water, and the coconut shell is used as a pot.
Unlike bamboo rice which is grilled directly on the fire, coconut rice is steamed in a large steamer. When cooked, the rice turns slightly yellow and has a fatty taste. When tasting coconut rice, you will find that the aroma and sweetness of the coconut are retained in each grain of rice. The special feature of this rice dish is to enjoy it directly in the coconut. That is the way to keep the rice hot and not lose its natural flavor.
If you want to make the coconut rice more complete, you must eat it with fried shrimp in coconut milk. Take a bite of rice with a crispy shrimp to feel the delicious, fatty taste of the dish and especially the cool taste of the coconut rice.
Crispy burnt rice
One of the specialties of Ninh Binh is the delicious and unique burnt rice dish. Good burnt rice has a light yellow color, even grains, crispy but still sticky, the aroma of new green rice carries the meaning of alluvial love. Good burnt rice, up to standard, must be carefully selected rice, usually fragrant and sticky rice. To create a burnt layer, people often use a thick cast iron pot to cook rice. When the rice is cooked, take it out, leaving only the part stuck to the bottom of the pot and continue to put it on the stove to get a burnt layer. While cooking, it is necessary to rotate the pot to heat evenly, the thin layer of burnt rice will peel off the side of the pot. Only then take it out to dry, when eating, put the slightly burnt rice pieces into a pan of boiling oil to heat up.
To get the special flavor of Ninh Binh burnt rice, diners need to combine rice with side dishes. Such as skillful combination with delicious sauces, fish sauce with scallion oil, minced shrimp, and pork floss. Usually, Ninh Binh people will eat it with meat or heart, kidney stir-fried with onions, straw mushrooms and tomatoes to create unique flavors.
Article: Bao Khuyen - Photo: Internet
