Not only impressing with its strange name, but the famous Kim Son spring roll dish of Ninh Binh land also attracts diners because of its coolness, the effect of “relaxing”, and its distinctive aroma. .
In the land of Kim Son (Ninh Binh province) there is an extremely famous dish, loved by both locals and tourists near and far. It’s a famous dish (also known as nem Chao).
Unlike traditional spring rolls made from lean meat or pork skin, Kim Son Chao is made from pork leg meat, combined with some other ingredients such as galangal, lemongrass, green mango, sesame, and herbs like leaves. cloves, fig leaves,…
According to Ms. Le Thanh – a local, to make delicious Chao, you should choose to buy the pork leg first, the right size. The meat of the forelegs often has many tendons, so it is more crispy, if you want to buy it, you have to go to the market early to get it.
Pork legs after being bought are shaved, washed, kept intact, and then taken away to collect straw. Ms. Thanh said you have to cook with sticky rice straw to make the meat smell good. “If the kitchen is dry like in the city, it will ruin the food, but the newspaper will cover the smell of newspapers,” she said.
This woman further revealed, that if there is no straw, it can be replaced with charcoal or bagasse, but the new glutinous rice straw meat is still more delicious and fragrant. When broiling, you need to rotate your hands so that the meat is evenly browned and not scorched. After that, remove the pork leg, scrape off the black layer on the skin, then filter the meat, remove the bone, and cut it into pieces the size of your hand.
Continue to marinate the meat with galangal juice. Galangal must choose fresh tubers, just dug up from the soil to be fragrant and watery. Then, take galangal to pound by hand, do not use a blender to obtain the juice and help the dish smell better.
In Kim Son, people often marinate pork leg meat with a special spice that is the leaves of the watering plant (also known as orchids, rosemary, orchids). Irrigated sage leaves are washed, drained, put the linings on the bottom of a thick cast iron pan and then place pork leg meat on top. The frying with this leaf helps the meat to have an easy-to-eat aroma.
Depending on the habits and preferences of each family, one can put the pork leg into a pan with lemon leaves and lemongrass lining the bottom, until the meat is dark yellow and fragrant.
After being pan-fried, let it cool and then cut it into very thin pieces, including meat and skin. Green mango and sour star fruit are similarly sliced. Marinate pork leg with mango, galangal, lemongrass and a little salt.
Depending on the place, people add star fruit to make the dish acidic. Wait for the pork leg to absorb the spices, then add sesame, sliced lemon leaves, … and mix well to be able to enjoy immediately.
Mix all the ingredients with the crushed galangal that has been squeezed dry, then sprinkle with roasted sesame, and seasoning to taste. Pan-fried meat has a slightly pink color, when squeezed with galangal, it will be a little more cooked (because galangal is a hot spice).
In addition to the above ingredients, Kim Son Chao is even more delicious when enjoyed with “divine” soy sauce. Depending on preferences, people can mix different thick or thin soy sauces, even eating with sweet and sour fish sauce is also attractive.
Like many other spring rolls, Kim Son Chao is also enjoyed with fig leaves, herbs with slices of green banana or star fruit, adding pork leg meat in the middle, then tightly rolled, dipped with soy sauce.
Pork leg meat has a soft, fragrant, and strangely chewy skin, combined with the rich taste of soy sauce and the sour taste of green mango or the cool, acrid taste of fig leaves and raw vegetables. All blend together, forming a delicious specialty of the land of Ninh Binh.
If you have the opportunity to visit this place, you can search for and enjoy the famous specialty of Kim Son or at some restaurants and eateries in the city center. Each serving of spring rolls for 2-3 people costs about 100,000 – 120,000 VND.