During Tet in the Southern river region, almost every house has three basic dishes: banh tet, rice paper, and braised pork. For people in the South, banh tet symbolizes prosperity from generation to generation. Unlike other regions, people in the South have a dish called banh tet with purple leaves that is both delicious and aesthetically pleasing because it is reserved for important holidays of the year. To have a delicious banh tet with purple leaves, first of all, you must choose the round sticky mu u sticky rice, pick the purple leaves, wash them, and then boil them to get the water. Before wrapping, the sticky rice must be washed, drained, stir-fried with coconut milk, add a little salt, then continue to stir-fry the sticky rice with the purple leaf water. The filling can be banana, green beans, meat, fat, preserved pork leg, eggs, peanuts, shiitake mushrooms, etc. When the cake is cooked, each cut slice has a bit of dark purple from banana, a bit of yellow from beans, white from fat, pink from lean meat, and orange-red from the yolk of salted duck eggs. Whether banh tet is delicious or not depends on the sticky rice. Sticky, soft sticky rice without rice is delicious and rich.
Braised pork belly is also known as braised pork with eggs, braised pork with coconut water and only the Southern people have an attractive way of cooking that no one can compare to. Half lean and half fat pork belly, clear meat juice with a layer of clear fat, fragrant and soft meat that is not mushy... is truly a delicious pot of meat. People cut the meat into pieces about three fingers in size, marinate with spices such as garlic, fish sauce... After the meat is boiled with coconut water, add boiled eggs and season again. Before braising, some people dry the meat in the sun all day before cooking to make the meat more delicious or some people like to braise it with grated coconut water instead of fresh coconut so that the meat juice has a sweet, fatty and fragrant taste. After boiling and peeling the duck eggs, they need to pierce holes all around so that the meat juice can easily penetrate or fry the eggs lightly so that when eaten, they are both crispy and chewy. A delicious pot of braised pork can be left for half a month and still be fragrant. When scooped out onto a plate, the meat is still intact, not broken, but when enjoyed, it is very soft, the skin is firmer and more delicious. The gravy should be slightly thick and naturally golden thanks to the coconut milk. This dish is usually served with pickled cucumbers or white rice.
Another familiar dish on the Tet holiday table is rice paper rolls. Almost every house has delicious white rice paper rolls with shrimp, braised meat, grilled fish, Chinese sausage and various vegetables. The accompanying drink is usually rice wine, the premium wine of the authentic Southern people. The best rice paper is still the one made at home. Houses that have rice paper ovens choose good rice, soak it overnight, grind the flour to make the rice paper.
In addition, the Southern people choose the bitter melon soup stuffed with meat for the Tet banquet table because of its bitter taste, but it is cool and nutritious during the hot spring days. The bitter taste of bitter melon mixed with the sweetness of meat, the slightly bitter broth creates a dish that is both cooling and nutritious. If you miss this soup, the banquet table will be less attractive. Some sweet dishes must be mentioned from home garden specialties such as tamarind jam, coconut jam... and seasonal fruits. In addition, Southern people also love pork sausage, dried shrimp, pickled onions...
Southern people always take care of the Tet banquet table, with all their sincere hearts towards their ancestors and grandparents. A warm reunion dinner with relatives and family in the first days of the new year will be more meaningful, to fully feel the salty, sweet, sour, spicy and bitter flavors in each dish, contributing to the richness and diversity of the traditional Vietnamese Tet culinary culture.
Post:Dung Nhu
