Traditional feasts in Thăng Long

Illustration photo

A feast in Thăng Long-Hà Nội is a lively picture of bright colors from all over the spectrum, arranged harmoniously. Hanoians pay a lot of attention to the arrangement of different dishes to create a precise combination of colors and tastes. It is true to say that a traditional feast in Hà Nội is a multi-sensory experience, exciting the sight, smell, taste, and touch.

In the past, a traditional feast included 5 plates and 5 bowls. The 5 plates included: a pink plate of giò or pastes (either lean pork paste, beef paste or pig’s head paste); an orange plate of roasted cinnamon pork; a pinky-white plate of boiled pork; a yellowish plate of boiled chicken (or goose’s meat or duck’s meat) garnished with sliced lemon leaves; and, a brown plate of fried spring rolls. The 5 bowls included: a bowl of “miến” (cassava vermicelli) cooked with broth of boiled chicken or duck, cat’s ear flowers, chicken or duck’s liver, blood, and gizzard, and green onion; a bowl of dried bamboo shoots cooked with pig’s legs, green onion, and broth of stewed chicken or pig’s bone; a bowl of dried pig’s skin scented with wine and ginger and cooked with kohlrabi, carrot, field mushrooms, dried shrimps, and broth of stewed dried shrimp; a bowl of fried dried cuttlefish cooked with chayote, bitter melon, sliced fried eggs; and, a bowl of simmered birds which include a dove (or bantam) stuffed with chopped pork, cassava vermicelli, field mushrooms, cat’s ears, lotus nuts, and green onion.

Nowadays, a special feast has some more delicious foods such as swallow, fin, black coot, swimming bladder, holothurians, and abalone. After the feast there is a tray of desserts including different kinds of chè (sweetened porridge): bà cốt-sticky rice porridge, con ong-beer porridge, đậu đãi-beans porridge, long nhãn-longan porridge, hạt sen-lotus seeds porridge, etc.), jams (sugar coated lotus seeds, dry preserved squash, preserved kumquats, etc), or fruits.