Cuisine

Xoi Hanoi is very rich in categories. There are rustic dishes such as plain steamed sticky rice, areca flower, peanut, mung bean sticky rice, cassava, black beans steamed sticky rice. There are also more luxurious ones such as steamed sticky rice, chicken, braised pork and eggs steamed sticky rice, coconut, sesame, and spiny bitter gourd steamed sticky rice... Each kinds has distinctive flavors and served with particular foods. Plain sticky rice goes with sesame salt, salted shredded pork, pork- pie, Chinese braised pork ... Spiny bitter gourd steamed sticky rice with attractive red color, and sweet taste, is often served with pork pie and peanut and mung bean sticky rice whose elegant yellow- white color normally accompany with sesame salt or salted shredded pork.  The main ingredient of this dish is sticky rice which is divided into two kinds: Nep Cai and Nep Con. Nep Cai Hoa Vang - the best glutinous rice is often selected to cook the perfect steamed sticky rice. We choose the rice having big and even grains, not mixed with ordinary rice, and not broken. Along with sticky rice, some other ingredients are also used in processing such as beans: mung beans, black beans, peanut, starchy tubers: cassava, sweet potatoes, grains: lotus seeds, corn and some fruits: coconut, spiny bitter gourd. Every kind of steamed sticky rice has its own processing. Sticky rice is cooked by steaming that means cooking by hot vapour. Xoi is carefully kept in a bamboo basket which is lined with dried banana leaves, or shepherd to retain heat. It is always served warm when rice grains are still soft and aromatic. Xoi is often wrapped in fresh lotus leaves, if it is not available almond leaves, banana leaves, phrynium are used in stead. Leaves- package is rustic but elegant and clean. It also helps enhance the tastes and retain heat well. For Vietnamese people, steamed sticky rice has become one part of life, one part of spiritual belief. It is rustic, familiar but also divine as well. Anyone of us will enjoy xoi for some times in our life – a delicacy which makes us remember for the whole life. 42 43 HANOI’S CUISINEHANOI’S CUISINE
Xoi xeo (Mung bean coated sticky rice) Just like Pho (Noodle), Xoi Xeo (Mung bean coated sticky rice) is a rustic and popular breakfast food with Hanoi people.  Xoi xeo is favourited by many people not only because it has exceptional wonderful taste but also it is so convenient and unexpensive.   Among different kinds of sticky rice, Xoi xeo requires a sophisticate processing. The cook chooses sticky rice having long and even grains, carefully rinse and soak the rice in turmeric water to dye it saffron. The rice is then drained, mixed with some salt and cooked in a steamer. Mung bean is soaked in water, splitted and peeled off, then brought to steam. When it is all cooked, pour into a mortar and finely grind. People form ground mung bean into small balls. Dried shallots are sliced, then fried in a pan until it turns golden brown. Cooked sticky rice is kept in bamboo baskets lined with straw or dried banana leaves. Sellers often ladle the rice into a lotus leaf, cover it with thin layers of grinded mung beans, sprinkle a little fat liquid, dried shallots and salted shredded pork then wrap it up and we have a pack of sticky rice ready to be sold.  Well-cooked sticky rice has grossy yellow grains, fine mung bean layers, crispy fried shallot and subtle aroma of fresh lotus leaves. Try a spoon of rice, we can enjoy buttery taste of mung beans, tender sticky rice blend with greasy taste of shallot fat liquid.  Xoi xeo is always a favourite dish, esp cially in cold winter days. In some suburban villages as Phu Thuong, Tan Mai, Tuong Mai, selling mung bean coated sticky rice becomes the traditional trade of people.

Recommended places:

Xoi Yen - 35B Nguyen Huu Huan Str., Hoan Kiem Dist.