Hanoians love to eat vermicelli with snails, but slurping up steaming hot vermicelli with snails in the middle of a summer afternoon is too "extreme". Perhaps that is why cold vermicelli with snails was born. It is difficult to answer when cold vermicelli with snails appeared in Hanoi or who came up with this dish. We only know that for a long time, the cold vermicelli with snails stalls on street corners or sidewalks have been deeply ingrained in the subconscious of Hanoians. Even those who work far away from home, when they return to Hanoi, the first thing they do is to find and enjoy a bowl of vermicelli with snails with simple dipping sauce.
Cold vermicelli with snails is simple, plain but sophisticated like the way of life of the old Hanoians. This snack is simple in ingredients but sophisticated in the way of preparation and enjoyment. Not all types of snails can be used to make cold vermicelli with snails. The snails must be the type that eats moss that clings to the rocks so that the meat is not fishy and brings a crispy, fatty taste when enjoyed.
Snails must be cleaned of dirt and slime, then steamed with vinegar to retain the sweetness of the snails. The delicate flavor of this rustic dish lies in the vinegar distilled from Van village sticky rice, the plump white snails, and the small, white vermicelli noodles from Phu Do village.
The unique feature of this dish is the sweet and cool snail soup, with the strong aroma of ginger, but especially the mild sour taste of vinegar. Absolutely do not add tomatoes to the soup because it will be "off-flavor". A rather special thing is that the broth of cold snail noodles is not stewed from bones to sweeten the water, but can only be stewed from a few sea worms. Each seller has their own family secret in making the broth of this dish to attract diners.
When eating, pick up a bowl of vermicelli and dip it in the cooled slightly sour broth, served with some raw vegetables or fresh chili slices. The fatty and crunchy snail pieces blend with the sour and spicy taste of the broth, the refreshing taste of vermicelli and raw vegetables. All of these seem to dispel the hot summer of Hanoi.
Cold vermicelli with snails is not a filling meal, nor is it a choice to satisfy hunger. Each serving has only a few rice noodles with a small bowl of broth, just enough to make you exclaim and regret. Each season has its own dishes, Hanoi cuisine is diverse, even richer than many other places because the seasonality is clearly present in the dishes.
Nowadays, to enjoy cold vermicelli with snails, people can go to Ms. Xuan's vermicelli with snails shop in O Quan Chuong, or the vermicelli with snails stall at the beginning of Bui Thi Xuan intersection, or the famous vermicelli with snails stall of Ms. Giang on Luong Ngoc Quyen street. All the stalls are equally delicious. The price of each bowl is usually from 30,000 to 40,000 VND.
In the book “Hanoi Delicacies”, writer Vu Bang once wrote about Bun Oc: “That is a gift that reaches the goal of Hanoi people’s culinary art”. On a hot afternoon, you should “reward” yourself with some slow-paced moments with a cold Bun Oc dish in Hanoi. Although the dish is simple and rustic, it has been deeply imprinted in the memories of many generations of people who have lived in Hanoi with its unique culinary art.
