When the first monsoon winds arrive, bringing with them the typical features of Hanoi, the streets suddenly become gentle and inviting. That is also the time when the “warming stomach, warm heart” dishes appear following the footsteps of familiar street vendors, creating a culinary map of memories that the people of the capital still preserve through many winters.
No noise, just quietly radiating warmth, those scents become familiar signals of the cold season, even earlier than the weather forecasts. The lingering smell of mugwort, the spicy smell of ginger, the rich, fatty smell of black sesame, or the charcoal smoke of roasting sweet potatoes and corn at the alley entrance... all blend into the simple yet familiar winter breath of Hanoi.
Enjoy a bowl of hot tea in the winter
Hanoi's cold season cuisine cannot be separated from the trio of Chinese hot desserts, creating a unique "sweet path" in the heart of the old town: black sesame dessert, banh troi tau and luc tau xa. Essentially a thick black sesame dish popular in Cantonese cuisine, the bowl of dessert is smooth, fragrant with the smell of ground black sesame, and feels warm when eaten, especially when the monsoon season comes. Places like Hang Giay, where artist Pham Bang was associated for nearly three decades, only sell these three desserts, and have become memories of many generations of diners.
The shiny banh troi tau dish has two balls of filling (usually black sesame and coconut), swimming in a thick, sticky ginger syrup. Just a small spoonful of the spicy fresh ginger touching the tip of the tongue can warm the whole body in the cold. Although there are shops selling it all year round on streets like Hang Can, Hang Ngang, Hang Dieu or Ngo Thi Nham, it is only when the monsoon winds blow that these shops become unusually crowded.
With the same sweet and spicy flavor is Sui Din – a sticky rice cake filled with black sesame or green beans, sprinkled with sesame, and served with hot ginger juice. Many sources say this dish is popular in Hai Phong and the North. To have a delicious bowl of Sui Din with the standard "dong" flavor, the seller must choose fragrant sticky rice, fresh ginger, and combine it with molasses or palm sugar to make the sauce have the perfect consistency and aroma.
Rich traditional flavor
If "sweet sugar" warms from the inside, then duck eggs stewed with mugwort, porridge, and banh duc bring a feeling of fullness and a rich, familiar flavor. Duck eggs stewed with mugwort, this dish is a very unique blend of bitter, strong, and warm flavors, making many people in the capital naturally "crave" it when the weather turns cold. This dish often uses young mugwort leaves washed clean, adding shredded ginger; the eggs are boiled first and then put into a pot to simmer for 2 to 3 hours to blend the flavors. Many restaurants also have their own "secret" such as stewing with bones to make the broth deeper and warmer.
Pork rib porridge with fried breadsticks seems to have become an indispensable dish this winter. A familiar dish from early morning until late at night. Finely ground rice flour is simmered with ribs, creating a bowl of smooth, hot white porridge, often sprinkled with shredded pork, crispy fried breadsticks and sometimes cartilage ribs. The Hang Bo rib porridge stall, open from 6am to 7am, has been a "sidewalk legend" for more than thirty years. The feeling of holding a bowl of hot porridge and blowing on it in the "biting" cold outside is a warm memory for many generations of Hanoians.
A dish that anyone who is far from Hanoi will miss - hot banh duc. Rice flour is continuously stirred by hand over a fire until it becomes smooth and sticky, topped with minced meat, shiitake mushrooms, and fragrant stir-fried wood ear mushrooms. Drizzle with hot sweet and sour sauce and sprinkle with onions and cilantro, a bowl of hot banh duc has enough flavor, enough aroma, enough warmth. Traditional restaurants describe in great detail the process of choosing the flour and watching the fire so that the flour does not clump, ensuring the cake "melts" as soon as it touches the tip of the tongue.
Delicious street food not to be missed
When evening comes, street snacks "reign", notably boiled snail culture and hot snail noodles. Eating boiled snails is "right" for the cold season in Hanoi. Snails are usually selected according to the season (from October to about March, the snails are fat), boiled with ginger, lemongrass, lemon leaves/pomelo leaves, then dipped in ginger fish sauce mixed according to each shop's own recipe. Sitting around a pot of steaming snails, inhaling the smell of lemongrass and ginger, and adding a piece of crispy fig is an awakening taste experience.
A "change of pace" option when the cold gets worse. A bowl of snail noodle soup has a clear, mildly sour broth, dotted with "warming to the throat" chili sauce, and crunchy snails. Long-standing addresses like Ms. Hue on Nguyen Sieu Street or some restaurants in Dang Dung - Nha Chung area are always mentioned. A hot bowl of noodles, full of fresh vegetables, fried tofu, sometimes with banana, bean curd or beef, is enough to dispel the feeling of a cold rainy afternoon.
Finally, the image of glowing charcoal stoves under the store's porch, in Tam Thuong alley or in front of Hang Be and Hang Da markets, where grilled potatoes and grilled corn are sold, cannot be missed. Golden-brown potatoes, broken in half and emitting smoke, or corn cobs smeared with butter, sprinkled with onions and a hint of pepper, create a very unique "seasonal scent". Sellers say that in the cold season, there are days when they "get tired of grilling" because customers keep buying. With only affordable prices, these simple snacks bring a feeling of warmth from numb hands to the depths of the heart.
The moment the monsoon arrives, although the chilly moment of Hanoi does not last long, it brings a deep and complete feeling. Just a small spoon gently touching the steaming bowl of food, visitors seem to have "captured" the whole winter in the palm of their hand. In that cold, Hanoi becomes more lovely than ever, because the city does not invite with its flashiness but with small but magical flavors, wrapped in gentle warmth and seductive aroma. Those dishes not only warm the body but also soothe the soul, evoking deep nostalgia for an ancient, peaceful Hanoi.
