7. Banh Cau – Hai Phong Sweet Pancake:
This dish has a relatively “strange” name, yet it is also one of the best Hai Phong food that tourists should taste when coming to Hai Phong. Banh Cau, also known as Banh Xi Lien Cau (Xi Lien Cau pancake) and Banh Xi Long Cau (Xi Long Cau sweet pancake) is a yellow cake with the characteristic sweet taste, originated from the Chinese community living in Hai Phong in the past. Today, it is one of the popular cakes in Hai Phong. According to the local tradition, this pancake is usually made in the days before the Lunar New Year and can be stored in cold weather for days yet still remains its special flavor.
Ingredients:
– Rice
– Square sugar (“duong hoa mai” in Vietnamese, brown)
– Sesame
– Aromatic spices (flavouring)
8. Mixed Cassava Vermicelli:
Perhaps this dish is very familiar with Hai Phong people because of its simplicity in processing as well as the flexibility in adding or removing ingredients to suit the individual tastes. The bowl of vermicelli is the totality of the tough cassava vermicelli fibers, the fleshy shrimp flesh, the fresh carrot and large onion, and the attractive aroma of soy sauce. With just some simple raw materials which can be found and bought in any food store or supermarket with ease and some simple processing steps, anyone can make this delicious and nutritious dish.
Ingredients:
– Cassava vermicelli
– Large onion
– Brassica chinensis
– Carrot
– Soft lean pork meat
– Soy sauce
– Some needed aromatic spices (flavouring)
9. Bun Tom – Shrimp Vermicelli:
Shrimp vermicelli (or the full name with the origin is “Hai Phong shrimp vermicelli”) is a characteristic dish in Hai Phong food and cuisine with the main ingredients are seafood (shrimp) and fresh vermicelli. It is shortly called “Bun Tom” (Shrimp vermicelli” but there are many ingredients needed to be prepared to make this dish, and Haiphong people often call it “vermicelli soup”. Sometimes, people can also use red rice noodle to make this dish instead of fresh vermicelli. This is actually one of the best Hai Phong food dishes which people should not miss when coming to visit this beautiful place.
Ingredients:
– Shrimp (big size)
– Bone (pig’s bone)
– Brassica chinensis (or water dropwort), lettuce, dill, raw herbals
– Tomato, wood ear, shiitake mushroom, scallion, fennel
– Vermicelli (fresh kind)
