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Although simple, a typical Hanoi home-cooked meal must still meet certain "basic yet strict" standards.
Hanoians often enjoy boiled pork, thinly sliced with skin and fat, dipped in shrimp paste and crispy pickled eggplant. Adding a few slices of sour starfruit makes it perfect. Also worth mentioning is the soft, smooth tofu bought from Mo Market, fried until golden brown and seasoned with onions and fish sauce – a dish anyone who has lived in Hanoi will remember. The most elaborate dish is crab soup; though simple, the proper recipe requires the crab roe to form a thick layer, and the broth should smell delicious.
Home-cooked meals are usually prepared by women. They do housework with love for their families, so even though they are simple, adults or those who live far away always remember the meals cooked by their grandmothers and mothers.
Ngoc Tran
