Thai Thuy Jellyfish Salad
Thai Thuy is a coastal district of Thai Binh province. This place is famous for two specialties: eel salad and jellyfish salad. With an annual output of tons, it is easy to understand why jellyfish has become a typical dish of this land.
Thai Thuy jellyfish has the characteristics of being soft and transparent like glass, very suitable for making jellyfish salad. Although it is just a rustic dish, jellyfish salad is very rich in nutritional value. Thai Thuy people always tell visitors from all over the world: "If you come to Thai Thuy and do not enjoy jellyfish salad, it is as if you have not returned home."
Nem Chao Vi Thuy
From the name, we can guess the origin of this specialty. That's right, Vi Thuy fermented pork roll originates from Vi Thuy village, Thai Thuy district, Thai Binh province. Because it is made from raw meat, this specialty is also called Nem song. Normally, only experienced people can make this type of spring roll because the process of processing raw meat is very elaborate to avoid stomach aches.
Like other common types of spring rolls, the pig skin is shaved, boiled, and thinly sliced. But the special thing about Vi Thuy spring rolls is that the freshly cut hot pork is not washed with water but minced within 1 hour. At that time, all the bones, pork meat, and marrow have reached the point of being flexible, sticky, and intertwined. All these ingredients are mixed with garlic, chili, fish sauce, MSG, and roasted rice bran to create the final product.
Nguyen Village Fish Cake
In the past, the famous fish cake of Nguyen village, Nguyen Xa commune, Dong Hung district was a product offered to the king. Today, the people of Nguyen village still maintain this unique dish as a way to preserve its ancient value.
The ingredients to make banh cay definitely cannot lack sticky rice, gac fruit, gardenia fruit, peanuts, sesame, carrots, ginger, tangerine peel, etc. The finished banh cay will have a thick layer of sesame on the outside and a fragrant layer of sticky rice flour on the inside. It is usually cut thinly and enjoyed with tea.
Quynh Coi Fish Soup
Quynh Coi fish soup has long been considered the pride of Thai Binh people. And although it is called fish soup, this dish is eaten with rice paper, not rice.
The fish used for this dish is boneless, cut into pieces, marinated, grilled until cooked and then fried until golden brown. The remaining fish meat is removed from the bones, minced with shallots, pepper, chili, then shaped into balls and fried until golden brown. The head and backbone of the fish are simmered to make broth. All of these things create the characteristic delicious taste of Quynh Coi fish soup.
Guava
This guava with a very cute name is seedless, sweet, crunchy, slightly sour and has a size of a fist. However, due to low productivity and economic benefits, the area of bo guava cultivation is currently gradually shrinking. Therefore, not always diners coming to Thai Binh are lucky enough to enjoy this fruit.
Eel salad
Nhech is the name of a type of fish that has a shape and characteristics similar to eels. That is why, right at the initial processing stage, people have to use ash to clean the fish slime. After cleaning, the fish is sliced thinly, mixed with rice bran while the bones are chopped finely and cooked into a fish sauce. After cooking, the sauce is mixed with garlic, chili, ginger, lemongrass, and pepper to create a unique sauce. The fish skin is separated and fried until crispy.
The taste of this dish also depends a lot on how you eat it. The eel salad with some crispy fried fish skin must be rolled in fig leaves, dipped in fish sauce, and served with lemongrass, basil, and perilla to create the best flavor.
Bun bung
Bun bung is one of the most popular dishes in the North. But the special thing about Thai Binh bun bung is that it is not served with elephant ear but with banana flower instead. For this reason, Thai Binh people also give bun bung another name, banana flower bun.
Bun bung is usually made from pig's feet, meatballs, water spinach, perilla leaves,... and of course, banana flowers. The astringent taste of banana flowers, the aromatic taste of perilla leaves, and raw vegetables combined with the fatty taste of meat create a dish that diners will never forget.
Ben Hiep rice cake
Banh gio is not a strange food to many people, especially people in the North. But in Thai Binh, this dish continues to be honored for its simplicity, ease of eating, not boring, can be eaten instead of rice, as a snack or as a main meal. The most famous in Thai Binh is Ben Hiep banh gio with excellent quality and beautiful design. It seems that everyone who comes to Thai Binh has to bring back some Ben Hiep banh gio as a gift.
Turmeric cake
It can be affirmed that no place in Vietnam can make golden, fragrant and rustic turmeric cake like in Thai Binh, this is also the sharing of many people who have enjoyed turmeric cake of the "rice homeland". The cake is made from rice, not sticky rice, so eating a lot does not cause heat or weight gain. The combination with turmeric also increases the nutritional value of this dish. It should be noted that turmeric cake is best eaten hot because when it cools down, the flavor will no longer be attractive.
Dai Dong sticky rice cake
Dai Dong sticky rice cake has a tradition of hundreds of years and has become a specialty not to be missed when coming to Thai Binh. Sticky rice cake has a chewy, fragrant and sweet taste that makes everyone feel what a real rustic flavor is.
