Món ngon ngày Tết – Special food in Tet of Vietnamese people

MÓN NGON NGÀY TẾT – Special food in Tet of
Vietnamese people
Posted on 05/12/2009 by tailieudulich






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Banh Chưng and bánh Tét (Boiled rice and pork cakes)
Boiled rice and pork cakes are usually cooked 2-3 days before Tet. Both can be kept for
about two weeks in cool temperature. However, after this time they become hard and must
be re-boiled.
Soak some green beans overnight in water to soften. Drain, rub and clean to remove the
skin, and leave to dry. Next, cook the beans in a steamer and grind. Form into balls the size
of tennis balls.
Soak some glutinous rice overnight. Clean and rinse. Mix with a little salt. Cut fresh pork
meat (lean or fat, according to personal taste) into 2cm strips. Mix with salt, fish sauce and
pepper, and leave for about one hour.
Clean dong leaves (leaves from arrowroot) and place them over each other to form a cross.
Place an amount of rice in the centre of the leaves. Shape into a square (the southern
version is in a circle). Press a “ball” of green bean on top. Then, add 1-2 pieces of
marinated pork, then more green bean, and finally rice. Press firmly into a compact square
and wrap the leaves over to cover the cake completely. Tie with bamboo strings. Place in a
large pot of boiling water and boil overnight. Squeeze the moisture out by placing it in a
colander with a heavy object on top.
To serve, untie and open the leaves. Invert on a plate and cut into pieces using the bamboo
strings, not a knife. Serve cold.
Canh Măng (Dried bamboo shoot soup)
Soak dried bamboo shoots in water for 2-3 days to soften. Boil 2-3 times if necessary. Cut

into 5cm strips. Fry with pig trotters and salt. Add water, bring to boil and simmer until
meat is tender. Garnish with green onion.
Hành Muối (Pickled Onions)
You should make this dish about two weeks before Tet. Clean onions. Dissolve some salt
and sugar in warm water. Add onions, cover and keep in a clean, dry place for two weeks.
Miến (Vermicelli noodles)
Cut mien into lengths and pre-soak for 10-15 minutes in water. Boil chicken innards (liver,
heart, etc), salt and green onions in a fresh chicken stock. Mix with mien and serve.
Gà rán hoặc luộc(Fried or boiled chicken)
Fried version: marinate raw chicken in salt, sugar, garlic, fish sauce and burnt sugar. Fry
chicken and marinade in oil.
Boiled version: served with julienne lemon grass.
Cá kho riềng (Carp with galangal)
Scale carp, cut into steaks and fry. Add finely sliced galangal, fish sauce, salt, burnt sugar
and water (this makes the fish turn dark brown). Cook over a low heat until the fish is hard
and little liquid remains.
Bò kho (beef with cinnamon)
Tie up beef muscle firmly with several strips of bamboo. Break cinnamon into small
pieces, rub into beef. Sear.
Add fish sauce and salt, and cook over a low heat. Only cut beef when about to serve. The
meat should be firm but not tough.
Xôi gấc (Steamed momordica glutinous rice)
Soak glutinous rice in water overnight. Drain. Cut open the momordica (qua gac). Remove
flesh and large black/red seeds. Mix this with a small cup of rice alcohol. Mix rice with salt
and qua gac mixture.
Steam in a rice steamer. During steaming, add some chicken fat and stir through. When
steamed, add a little sugar and stir through with chopsticks. Mound onto a plate and
decorate with the black seeds from the fruit.
Mứt (Preserved fruit)
Prepare a week before Tet. The most important thing is to maintain the shape of the fruit.

Use apple, potato, tomato, plum, ginger, mandarin, or gourd.
Apple: Pierce skin lengthwise, but don’t cut too deep. Place in a bowl of cold water and
lime. Soak overnight. Wash carefully and dry. Cover in red sugar. Stir very carefully in a
dry pan over low heat until sugar melts and solidifies. Take off heat. Press down carefully
on top of apple to make into shape evocative of a seashell.
If using a kumquat, a traditional Tet fruit, use white sugar to keep the natural orange colour
of the fruit. You must also keep the stalk in to keep the shape. You must also carefully
press juice out after piercing skin.
Last, but not least
After indulging in all the above, remember that you cannot throw out any leftovers until the
fourth day of Tet. It would also be highly inauspicious to sweep the rubbish from the house
as all the good luck you have been working hard at will disappear with it