Hanoi cuisine is not only created from elaborate dishes or old restaurants, but also from simple gifts, associated with the memories of many generations. Tofu and egg porridge is one of them.
This rustic dish once followed street vendors creeping through the streets, becoming a familiar memory of the people of the Capital, especially the 8x and early 9x generations.
Porridge is made from easy-to-find ingredients such as rice, eggplant, tofu, green beans or black beans. In addition, the dish can also be combined with salted eggs, ca la thầu (salted radish)...
To cook a pot of smooth porridge, Ms. Vo Thi Kim Oanh (64 years old), owner of a coffee bean porridge shop in Hanoi, said that the first thing to do is to choose good rice.
During cooking, the cook must keep the heat moderate, if the heat is too high, it is easy to make the porridge sizzling. When stirring the porridge, you must stir gently in one direction, so that the porridge does not stick to the bottom of the pot, the rice grains will be soft and mushy, not mushy," she said.
According to Ms. Oanh, the two types of beans are processed in different ways. Black beans have hard kernels, so they must be simmered separately from before, simmering over low heat for many hours until they are really tender, with a shiny black color and smooth consistency.
Conversely, green beans cook faster, so they should be cooked directly with rice from the beginning. A pot of porridge that reaches a smooth consistency needs to be cooked for at least about 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Besides porridge, fried tofu is considered the "soul" of the dish. "I prioritize choosing tofu with thick flesh, fatty, fried over high heat so that the fried tofu pieces are golden brown on the outside but still soft and porous on the inside," Ms. Oanh recounted.
After being taken out, the tofu is sprinkled with scallion oil, creating a rich aroma. When enjoying, the hot tofu pieces blend with the cool taste of the porridge, bringing a feeling of both rusticness and fullness.
Salted eggplant is indispensable to eat with it. Cookers should choose medium-sized eggplant that is not worm-eaten or bruised.
Ms. Oanh added that many diners also choose to eat it with salted eggs and ca la thầu to enhance the flavor of the porridge.
The result is a bowl of porridge with eye-catching colors, looking very attractive. Yellow-fried pieces of tofu, salted eggs and eggplant are skillfully arranged on top.
When enjoying, diners should mix porridge well with fried tofu, pickled eggplant and salted eggs to harmonize the ingredients.
The dish has the refreshing taste of tofu porridge, the rich aroma of fried tofu.The eggplant when bitten will feel the crispness, sourness, and harmonious saltiness.That is why tofu and eggplant porridge is very easy to eat and light on the stomach, especially on hot summer days.
