In addition to lychee, rice paper, green beans, and thorns are also considered the soul of Hai Duong.
Although not famous for tourism, Hai Duong still attracts tourists with the delicious dishes below.
Lychee
As a famous fruit of Hai Duong, lychee is especially associated with the countryside of Thanh Ha. Each fruit is small in size, weighs only 18-20g and is not too difficult to recognize.
The pulp of the lychee here is white, thick and sweet with a special aroma. There is nothin brown film between the pulp and seeds, acrid taste like other types. In addition to the fresh fruits, visitors also have other options such as dried lychee, jam and even lychee vinegar.
Green bean cake
Referring to Hai Duong, most thoughts about delicious gifts focus on mung bean cake. This dish was born in the early 20th century and although it does not have an eye-catching appearance, the uniquely delicious taste of mung bean cake still holds the interest of many travelers.
Ingredients for this dish include green beans, sugar, lard and pomelo flower oil. Experienced people often choose thin green beans, dry them, roast them until golden brown, and then grind them into a fine powder.
As for the fried lard, simmer on low heat so as not to burn, then filter and take only the transparent part. The diameter of water also continues to filter clean. These three ingredients and grapefruit flower essential oil are mixed together. It sounds simple, but bakers have to calculate skillfully according to a reasonable ratio to produce delicious cakes.
Finished products are usually packed into 10 small pieces squarely arranged in two rows. Enjoy the mung bean cake, and sip more tea. The bitter and acrid taste will add to the sweet feeling of the cake.
Black rise cake
Appearing in Hai Duong from the 12th century, Gai cake quickly became famous near and far and exists to this day. This is a simple cake, made from farmland ingredients but still makes diners remember it forever.
Gai cake ingredients are divided into two parts, including the shell and the filling. In particular, the shell only consists of glutinous rice and hemp leaves, while the core is lard, green beans, coconut and lotus seeds.
The most sophisticated processing in the filling. In it, lard is marinated in sugar so that it is crispy like pumpkin jam. Lotus seeds, and green beans are simmered, finely ground and mixed with lard, fresh coconut, and sugar.
Gai cake is wrapped in dried banana leaves, and steamed within 2 hours. The special thing about this dish lies in its natural sweetness and richness, which is rarely found anywhere else.
Dong perch vermicelli
To have a delicious bowl of vermicelli, the maker must choose fish with firm, soft meat and a sweet taste. After preliminary processing, the fish is boiled, then marinated with spices, and turmeric powder and fried with onions and garlic.
In some places, this fish meat is also fried so as not to be crushed when eaten with vermicelli. In addition, the broth is also an important part, used from fish broth with tomatoes, pineapple added… A bowl of vermicelli with perch is usually served with water spinach or celery, hot pepper… and some vegetables. other spices such as lettuce, and banana flower.
Rice paper
Unlike ready-made dishes, Hai Duong rice paper is dry and can only be processed when purchased. Typical in Hai Duong is the soft, chewy rice paper, which is not crushed when soaked in water for a long time.
To have such rice paper, people here reveal that they only use Q5 rice. Customers who buy this specialty can be processed into many delicious dishes such as stir-fried pork, cooked with fish, chicken…