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As the first monsoon winds arrive, bringing with them the distinctive charm of Hanoi, the streets suddenly become gentle and inviting. It's also the time when comforting, heartwarming dishes appear from familiar street vendors, creating a culinary map of memories that the people of the capital have cherished through countless winters.
Without fanfare, quietly radiating warmth, these scents become familiar signals heralding the arrival of the cold season, even earlier than weather forecasts. The faint aroma of mugwort, the pungent scent of ginger, the rich, nutty flavor of black sesame seeds, or the smoke from burning charcoal roasting potatoes and corn at the end of the alley... all blend together to create the simple yet endearing breath of Hanoi's winter.
Enjoying a hot bowl of sweet soup in the middle of winter.
Hanoi's cold-weather cuisine is inseparable from the trio of hot Chinese desserts, creating a distinctive "sweet street" in the heart of the Old Quarter: black sesame sweet soup, glutinous rice balls in sweet soup, and mung bean sweet soup. Essentially a thick black sesame sweet soup popular in Cantonese cuisine, the bowl of soup is smooth, fragrant with the aroma of finely ground black sesame, and provides a warming sensation, especially during the monsoon season. Places like Hang Giay Street, where artist Pham Bang worked for nearly three decades, selling only these three desserts, have become cherished memories for generations of diners.
These plump, glossy glutinous rice balls (usually black sesame and coconut) float in a thick, syrupy ginger-infused sugar syrup. Just a small spoonful of fresh, spicy ginger touches the tongue, warming you up in the cold. Although shops sell them year-round on streets like Hang Can, Hang Ngang, Hang Dieu, and Ngo Thi Nham, these stalls become unusually crowded only when the monsoon season arrives.
Sharing a similar sweet and spicy flavor is sủi dìn – a sticky rice cake filled with black sesame or mung bean paste, sprinkled with sesame seeds, and topped with hot ginger syrup. Many sources indicate this dish is popular in Hai Phong and Northern Vietnam. To make a delicious, authentic "winter" style sủi dìn, vendors must select fragrant sticky rice, fresh ginger, and combine it with molasses or palm sugar to achieve the perfect consistency and aroma for the syrup.
Rich, traditional flavor
While "sweetness" warms from within, braised fertilized duck eggs with mugwort, porridge, and rice cakes offer a feeling of fullness and a rich, familiar flavor. Braised fertilized duck eggs with mugwort is a unique blend of bitterness, pungency, and warmth, making it a natural craving for many Hanoians when the weather turns cold. This dish typically uses young, washed mugwort leaves and shredded ginger; the eggs are boiled first before being simmered over low heat for 2 to 3 hours to allow the flavors to blend. Many restaurants have their own "secret recipe," such as simmering with bones to create a richer, more warming broth.
Pork rib porridge with fried dough sticks seems to have become an indispensable dish this winter. A familiar dish enjoyed from early morning until late at night. Finely ground rice flour is simmered with pork ribs, creating a smooth, hot bowl of white porridge, often topped with shredded pork, crispy fried dough sticks, and sometimes cartilage ribs. The pork rib porridge stall on Hang Bo Street, open from 6 to 7 am, was once a "sidewalk legend" for over thirty years. The feeling of holding a steaming bowl of porridge, blowing on it to cool it down in the biting cold outside, is a warm memory for many generations of Hanoians.
A dish that anyone far from Hanoi will miss – hot rice cake (bánh đúc nóng). Rice flour is continuously stirred by hand over a fire until smooth and pliable, topped with a fragrant filling of minced meat, shiitake mushrooms, and wood ear mushrooms. Poured over with hot, sweet and sour dipping sauce and sprinkled with scallions and cilantro, a bowl of hot rice cake is full of flavor, aroma, and warmth. Traditional eateries meticulously describe the process of selecting the flour and controlling the heat to prevent lumps, ensuring the cake "melts" on the tongue.
Must-try street food
As evening approaches, street food snacks take center stage, most notably boiled snails and hot snail noodle soup. Eating boiled snails is the perfect way to enjoy them in Hanoi's cold weather. The snails are usually selected according to the season (from October to around March are the best), boiled with ginger, lemongrass, and lime/grapefruit leaves, then dipped in a ginger fish sauce made according to each vendor's own recipe. Gathering around a steaming pot of snails, inhaling the aroma of lemongrass and ginger, and adding a crunchy, slightly tart fig is a truly exhilarating culinary experience.
A refreshing alternative as the weather gets colder. A bowl of snail noodle soup has a light, mildly sour broth, garnished with chili paste that warms the throat, and the snails are crunchy. Long-standing establishments like Ms. Hue's on Nguyen Sieu Street or some shops in the Dang Dung - Nha Chung area are always mentioned. A steaming bowl of noodles, full of fresh vegetables, fried tofu, sometimes with added banana blossom or beef, is enough to dispel the chill of a cold, rainy afternoon.
Finally, one cannot forget the image of the glowing red charcoal stoves under the shop awnings, in Tam Thuong alley or in front of Hang Be and Hang Da markets, where roasted sweet potatoes and corn are sold. The golden-brown sweet potatoes, broken in half and emitting smoke, or the corn cobs brushed with butter and sprinkled with onions and a hint of pepper, create a unique "seasonal aroma." The vendors say that during the cold season, they sometimes roast until their hands ache because customers buy continuously. At affordable prices, these simple snacks bring a feeling of warmth, from numb hands to the depths of the heart.
As the monsoon arrives, the fleeting chill of Hanoi, though brief, evokes a profound and complete feeling. With just a gentle touch of a spoon to a steaming bowl of food, visitors seem to have captured the essence of winter in their hands. It is in this cold that Hanoi becomes more endearing than ever, not with glitz and glamour, but with small yet magical flavors, encapsulated in gentle warmth and captivating aromas. These dishes not only warm the body but also soothe the soul, stirring deep nostalgia for an ancient, peaceful Hanoi.
