Bun ca Co Thuy

Bun ca is a simple and familiar, yet unneglectable dish of Hanoi cuisine. The delicious dish is the favorite of many people. The ingredients comprise of snakehead, some herbs and rice vermicelli from Phu Do village. The snakehead is a good choice as the main ingredient, for the meat is firm, tough, sweet and not fishy. A fresh fish is scaled, cleaned with salt, filleted and sliced into smaller pieces before being seasoned with fish sauce, black pepper, chopped dill, crushed ginger and turmeric. When the spices have been fully absorbed, the pieces of fish are covered in rice flour and then deep-fried until golden brown, crispy on the outside, but soft and tough on the inside. The fish’s spine and head are simmered Bun ca (Rice vermicelli with fish soup) 22 23 HANOI’S CUISINE HANOI’S CUISINE A frugal delicacy thoroughly, crushed and taken out from the stock be- fore pork ham bones are added and simmered so that the stock turns clear with a natural sweet taste and a strong taste of fish without smelling fishy. Depending on the time of year, the vegetables for the dish can be bean sprouts, mustard greens or celery, blanched and let dry. The rice vermicelli is blanched and put in a bowl. Some pieces of deep-fried fish, vegetables and herbs are placed over the rice vermicelli. The owner then adds some stock with pieces of tomato into the bowl, present- ing the customer with a steaming dish with a nice, attrac- tive aroma. Customers can add a few drops of kumquat or lime juice or some pepper paste to increase the sour- ness and spiciness to taste and serve with such herbs as lettuce, water mint from Lang, coriander, Vietnamese balm and perilla. In a small fish place in Trung Yen alley, Dinh Liet Street, they also sell a very attractive and unforgettable dish, called nem ca, which is pork and wood ear mush- rooms rolled in fish. Together, the sweet taste of fish and the aroma from the meat create a wonderful taste.