Colorful mushroom dish
The dish “moc van am” is a dish using pork skin as a jelly, covering the ingredients inside. In ancient times, this was a spring dish eaten on the first day of the year with the meaning of wishing for a new year of prosperity, fullness and roundness like the beautiful piece of “moc van am”.
First, the minced pork is ground very finely with the hot pork (which is the freshly cut part of the meat) and mixed well with fish sauce, pepper, wood ear mushrooms, and shiitake mushrooms. The housewife gently greases the palm of her hand and forms them into small balls, places them in a steamer and steams them with boiling water.
Moc Van Am is the Tet version of meat jelly.
Next, the good pig skin is rubbed to remove the hair, washed many times and simmered in water until soft, then put the steamed meatballs in, let cool and then turn upside down in a bowl. The pig skin is like a cloud covering the meatballs, so the dish is called cloud-covered meatballs. For many families today, this dish is not really popular and is at risk of being lost.
Fried spring rolls require skillful craftsmanship.
Everyone knows fried spring rolls, but today's fried spring rolls have many more versions depending on each family's taste. Fried spring rolls in the past, during times of scarcity, often had more vermicelli and vegetables than meat. But to be the most delicious, spring rolls always had ground pork shoulder, vermicelli, jicama or bean sprouts, shiitake mushrooms, wood ear mushrooms, carrots and eggs to help the filling blend together. Fried spring rolls seem simple but are a challenging dish for many brides.
Crispy fried spring rolls to test the bride's talent
To roll the spring rolls firmly without breaking the rice paper, the filling must be mixed just enough to be wet and flexible. If the filling is dry, the spring rolls will be loose, but if the filling is wet, the spring rolls will break when fried. Fried spring rolls with a little fish sauce mixed in will not be delicious. Many families are tired of eating meat, so they often replace it with crab.
Take a rice paper, sprinkle some cold water, rub it evenly to soften it and then quickly roll it tightly with a spoonful of filling. The best fried spring rolls will be as big as two knuckles and the same length. Too big or too small is not "proper". When frying spring rolls, it is almost mandatory to use lard for the spring rolls to be fragrant and crispy. The fat boils, the spring rolls are quickly put in so that the skin can catch the heat and become crispy quickly. When the spring rolls are boiling, turn them over, the daughters-in-law stand next to them and watch their mother-in-law fry each spring roll until golden brown, the filling is cooked but not dry, the skin is crispy but not burnt.
Fried spring rolls served with a plate of herbs, raw vegetables and a bowl of sweet and sour garlic fish sauce makes the Tet tray beautiful and luxurious.
Sticky rice with gac fruit is eaten for good luck at the beginning of the year.
Xoi gac is a sticky rice dish that every family tries to cook a pot of to offer to their ancestors and to eat for good luck when the feast is served. Xoi gac has a shiny red color, each grain of sticky rice is plump and round like a wish for a lucky new year.
High tray, full food, also cannot lack sticky rice dish for luck at the beginning of the year
To cook delicious sticky rice, the sticky rice must be carefully selected. Golden flower sticky rice or upland sticky rice are all fine. The rice is soaked overnight, the gac pulp is soaked and then squeezed with sticky rice wine to get a bowl of shiny red water. The gac is peeled off, the silk skin is used up, only the shiny black core is discarded. Mix this gac juice with the rice, a little salt and when cooking the sticky rice, add a bunch of pandan leaves tied with string, the pot of sticky rice is so fragrant.
Beautiful red sticky rice dish
Cooking delicious sticky rice is sometimes a matter of skill. Some people cook mediocrely, but steaming sticky rice is delicious. The sticky rice is steamed, fluffed, and mixed with chicken fat to make each grain shiny. Sticky rice with gac fruit is always molded to create a beautiful, formal shape. Sticky rice is cooked slightly salty and has chicken fat to eat with pork sausage to make it more delicious. Many families who want to cook a sweet version will mash green beans and mold them with sticky rice, as well as always mix the sticky rice with sugar, roasted sesame, coconut milk, and shredded fresh coconut.
The ball drop is elaborate and delicate.
Tet feasts in the past, especially in Hanoi, could not lack the dish of ball soup. The ancient ball soup was elaborate with many ingredients such as balls, tenderloin, quail eggs, shiitake mushrooms, dried shrimp, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, ginger, pork paste, peas, etc.
Early in the morning, when the pot of bone broth, chicken broth and dried shrimp from the night before is ready, housewives take it out and prepare to cook soup. This chicken broth must be clear, without any fat and simmered on low heat to avoid cloudy water. Dried shrimp, pork bones and chicken broth make the pot of broth sweet without the need for MSG or sugar.
Canh bong is similar to moc van am, but modern meals rarely make it because it is too complicated and time-consuming.
The belly part needs to be prepared the most carefully. Newly arrived young daughters-in-law or daughters are usually in charge of this part. The belly is soaked until it expands, then washed in wine to make it fragrant, then cut into diamond-shaped pieces or egg rolls, and marinated with chicken broth.
Deep-fried boiled quail eggs, fragrant grilled ginger, beautifully cut carrots and cauliflower, soaked and trimmed shiitake mushrooms, and round shaped minced pork. Bring the broth to a boil, cook the above ingredients quickly until just done, then scoop them out into bowls. Add a few spring onions and coriander. When ready to eat, pour the hot broth over the top.
Above are some delicious and unforgettable Tet dishes that require the skill and sophistication of the cook. These dishes all play an important role in our country's Tet culinary culture and are traditions that need to be preserved. Travellive wishes all readers a new year filled with abundance, good luck and "deliciousness" like the feast on the occasion of reunion.
