Porridge soup is a familiar rustic dish of the Central region, especially popular in Quang Tri, Hue and Nghe An. Although it is called congee, in fact this specialty is not congee.
Canh porridge is a typical term of the Central region for banh canh. A bowl of soft, chewy noodles, sweet broth simmered from bones, snakehead fish, shrimp or crab, served with Ram, filtered flour cake, mustard greens and spicy chili fish sauce. Each locality has different variations, creating unique and unpredictable flavors.
People here often use rice flour mixed with a little flour to create toughness, roll thinly and cut into small pieces. The broth is simmered from pork bones or snakehead fish, with corn and fragrant ground pepper. Quang Tri soup porridge is served with mustard greens, especially with a few slices of cinnamon sausage, boiled egg or a small, crispy golden stately part.
In versions, snakehead fish congee is the most popular. The fish is boiled, the meat is removed and stir-fried to enhance the flavor, the bones are used to cook the broth to increase the sweetness. A bowl of fragrant congee soup, blending the sweet, fatty, spicy and sour flavors, creates a rich, unforgettable breakfast of Quang Tri people.
A full bowl of congee soup costs from 35,000 VND, making diners feel warm when enjoying it.
Also in Quang Tri, congee canh is somewhat more popular. The congee fiber is slightly larger, the broth is rich with the presence of purple onions and sometimes shrimp paste to increase the salinity. Quang Tri people like to eat congee soup with chopped fresh chili - a spicy spicy spice that warms the heart every morning.
In Hue, congee soup is known by another name, snakehead fish soup. Hue people use steamed snakehead fish, remove the stir-fried meat with yellow turmeric and onions, then put it in a pot of broth simmered from pork bones. Congee fiber can be rice flour or film flour, eaten quickly, has eye-catching colors and sophisticated flavors. The bowl of hot sticky rice soup with chopped green onions and Vietnamese coriander is a mustard, making those who have tried it remember forever.
In Nghe An, this dish also has its own unique features. The congee noodles here are usually made from dried flour, rolled and then cut like noodles. The broth is usually only cooked with pork bones, not too elaborate but rich thanks to the sophisticated seasoning method. Nghe An people often eat it with fried pork sausage or pork shrimp, add a little pure fish sauce and a tablespoon spicy and spicy saffron.
The common point of the Central culinary congee is its rustic, simple but rich in charm. Although the ingredients are not elaborate and the cooking method is not too complicated, each bowl of congee soup brings the flavor of the hometown, imbued with the culture of each land. Each place has a taste, each bowl of congee soup is a story about the people and feelings of the Central region - rustic, warm and full of love.
