HOI AN OLD TOWN CUISINE

[Nguyen Ngoc diep]

Hoi An is a small town but the culinary is extremely rich. Walking around the town, you can enjoy most of its specialties. In spite of affection from Chinese and Japanese cuisine in the past, Hoi An people still find the way to make the food instinctive about its flavor and ingredients. The following dishes are the most outstanding pieces ofHoi An cuisine.

1. Chicken Rice

The rice for this dish should be the good type which is fragrant and supple, and carefully selected and marinated and then cooked with chicken broth, pandan by oven. The chicken is the small Vietnamese chicken, which has soft flesh but not too loose, thin skin and fragrant meat.

Once cooked, the chicken is shredded into small pieces and mix with onion, deep fried onion, pepper and laksa leaves. The rice then is served on the plate with chicken, onion, sour papaya, soy sauce and chili sauce.

You may enjoy the most delicious dish of Hoi An Chicken Rice at “Com ga Ba Buoi” (Ba Buoi Chicken Rice), “Com ga Ba Huong”, “Com ga Ba Minh”.

2. Cao Lau

Cao Lau is said to be dated since 17th century during the developing merchandise in Hoi An. This dish was affected by Chinese cuisine and partially from Udon noodle from Japan. However, Hoi An Cao Lau still owns its distinctive and outstanding features that are possible to be made by Hoi An people.

This dish is the mix of noodle, some deep fried lard, herbal vegetables, bean sprouts, shrimp and pork, and a special sauce. The noodle is especially made from fine rice mixed with the ash of a special wood in Cu Lao Cham, which makes the noodle special golden color.

Cao Lau can be found almost every corner in Hoi An. Yet the most well-known restaurant is Ba Ba Restaurant andTrung Bac restaurant on Tran Phu street.

3. Dap Cake (Breaking Cake/ Rice Crackers) and Stir Fried Mussel

Dap Cake is the baked cake which is round-shaped and crispy made from rice. The mussel is stir-fried with onion and laksa leaves. The dish should be enjoyed by breaking the crackers into smaller piece and put some mussel on.
The best place for the dish is Cam Nam where exists series of restaurants.

4. Quang noodle

Apart from Cao Lau, Quang Noodle is the most well-known dishes in Hoi An. Quang Noodle is usually served with marinated shrimp, pork and egg. Rice crackers and vegetable is the additional ingredients that make the noodle more exceptional.
Enjoying Quang Noodle is said to be best served in the street by the mossy ancient road.

5. Wonton

Wonton is originated from Chinese cuisine while Chinese merchants were trading and living in Hoi An. However, this is modified by Hoi An people to fit Vietnamese preference. Wonton has many versions, such as: soup wonton, fried wonton, noodle wonton, each can be served with shrimp, pork, beef or chicken.
Best Hoi An wonton can be found in Van Loc restaurant on Tran Phu street and Thanh Cao Lau on Thai Phien street.

6. Beo Cake

Beo Cake is made from rice, the inside filling is made from shrimp and pork. Once ordered, the cake is irrigated with oil, chili sauce and deep fried onion. People use bamboo knife to eat, this manner makes this cake more special to tasters.
Beo cake can be found almost everywhere in Hoi An but the most popular is in the suburb area such as Cam Chau, Cam Nam where locates the small family-run restaurants with nice view and fine atmosphere.

7. Sweet Corn porridge

Sweet Corn porridge becomes well-known in Hoi An because of its renown corns grown Cam Nam. The porridge is sweet and naturally fragrant from its own corn milk. Hoi An corn sweet porridge is different from Southern sweet porridge because it is not cooked with coconut but keeps its own corn flavor. Corn season is also the most flourished time for sweet corn porridge.

8. Xeo Cake

This is a typical dish of Hoi An which is made from rice, marinated pork and shrimp. The cake is cooked on a small and shallow pan, which is put on an oven. They first pour the liquid rice powder in, then pork, shrimp and bean sprouts are added. The cake is served with spicy fish sauce and some herbal vegetables.

The best Xeo Cake in Hoi An can be found in Gieng Ba Le restaurant on Phan Chu Trinh alley and Bale Well on Tran Hung Dao street.