You don’t want to miss the foods in Hue - the Imperial City of Vietnam? You want to explore more about Hue's cuisine? Then, don’t forget to eat all of the following dishes to please your stomach!
Food in Hue is absolutely incredible, trust me!
Hue - the Imperial City of Vietnam is one of the significant cities when it comes to politics, economy, and also indispensable food heaven for food lovers. Of course, the cuisine of each region has its own characteristics. Therefore, if traveling there but not trying Hue's cuisines is a big miss for food lovers.
It’s highly noted that due to the regional conditions, local people there always eat spicy food, so if you are the kind of person who cannot eat chili, remember to tell people about that.
Which are the must-eat foods in Hue?
Cơm Hến
One of the most famous traditional cuisines in Hue is Cơm Hến, I mean rice with baby clam. Cơm Hến is originated from a small islet called Cồn Hến (The Islet of Clam). It is a chaotic bowl full of rice or rice noodles, tender stir-fried baby clams, crisp pork cracklings, peanuts, bean sprouts, julienned green apples, glass noodles, fried shallots, and herbs, with a bowl of hot clam broth. Yeah, I know, it’s a lot. But don’t worry, when you eat it, all of them will be melted in your mouth, slowly and slowly pleasing your stomach.
A bowl of Cơm Hến is from 15.000 VND - 50.000 VND and you can find it everywhere there, from a small vendor to a luxury restaurant.
Bún Bò Huế
Bún bò Huế is a distinctive dish of the perfect balance of its spicy, sour, salty, and sweet flavors. Outside the city of Hue and some parts of central Vietnam, it is called bún bò Hue to denote its origin. Within Hue and surrounding cities, it is known simply as bún bò.
The dish is commonly served with lime chili sauce, thinly sliced banana blossom, water morning glory, red cabbage, mint, and Vietnamese coriander. Of course, this is one of the most popular dishes that people want to eat.
Bánh bèo, bánh bột lọc
Bánh bèo (Bloating Fern-shaped cake) is usually served in small bowls, with rice flour, shrimp paste, fried onion, and fish sauce. The fish sauce for Bánh bèo is quite sweet and not so salted.
Bánh bột lọc (Rice dumpling cake) is covered with banana leaves. On each cake, there is a piece of shrimp and pork. The fish sauce goes with Bánh bột lọc is different from Bánh bèo. It is saltier, therefore, it is served on a very small plate.
Cơm âm phủ
It is literally translated into “rice from hell” or “purgatory rice” which makes people always think that the rice is made for dead people. Well, it’s totally wrong. When you really eat and enjoy it, you might feel yourself in heaven, not in hell.
This rice dish usually consists of a heap of white, usually cold, leftover rice, surrounded by julienned vegetables. These are usually pickled cucumber, carrots, and daikon. Most barebone versions of the dish only have shrimp floss as the protein component. This is made from tiny shrimp from Vietnam’s central coast; the morsels might look underwhelming, but are salty, full of umami flavor, and could entice you to eat an entire bucket of rice in one go.
Variety of Chè
The base of chè is usually coconut milk, while toppings include sago pearls, mung beans, kidney beans, tapioca, sweet potatoes, and glutinous rice, as well as fresh fruits such as bananas, jackfruit, durian, and mango.
Bánh canh Nam Phổ
Actually, you can eat Bánh canh everywhere in the South and the Central of Vietnam. But in Huế, bánh canh is quite different from other places.
This originates from a small village called Nam Phổ in the suburb of Hue city. Bánh canh Nam Phổ is recognizable by its red muddy soup with rice noodles mixed with cassava flour and small shrimp-and-pork cakes. Unlike other versions of bánh canh in the central region, bánh canh Nam Phổ is generally shorter and round in shape. The broth is made from fish bones.
Bánh Khoái
At first, you might think it is Bánh xèo (usually known as Vietnamese pancakes). Well, it’s not totally wrong as they are the same. I have asked some of my friends from Hue, they said the difference is quite small that not all Vietnamese can recognize.
Bánh Khoái is the uniqueness of Hue. The size is smaller than bánh xèo (in the South of Vietnam). The other differences are the sauces and the materials to make bánh khoái.
Bánh khoái in Hue is always served with a fresh salad of figs, starfruit, and cucumber to cut the grease, as well as a thick dipping sauce made from peanuts and pork liver.
Bánh Ướt Thịt Nướng (Steamed rice rolls with roast pork)
Steamed rice rolls with grilled pork are a favorite dish to many tourists when traveling to Hue. The soft rice paper covering the moist grilled pork and vegetables deep in the special sauce will give you a scrumptious taste at the very first bite. The sauce is made of minced pig’s liver, chopped garlic, roasted sesame, and a little oil and salt. The combination of rice paper, pork, vegetables, and sauce brings to eaters a sensation of taste.
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