For nearly 20 years, in the middle of a small street corner of Hanoi, there has been a simple cartilage rib porridge shop with a few old plastic chairs, which is still on fire every morning. That is Mrs. Hoang Thi Loi's rib porridge shop. The pot of porridge has helped her raise three children to study at university.
Recalling the early days of opening the restaurant, Ms. Loi said that everything was difficult and still confused. At that time, she could only cook two or three small pots of porridge a day, and three of the seven pots had to be thrown away because the porridge was broken and not available.
From the initial failure, she learned how to adjust the heat, choose rice, simmer bones, meat and cartilage to make them authentic. She started to figure out how to cook better and season better.
Just like that, over the years, her porridge pot became more and more flavorful and smooth, customers remembered it once. Thanks to that genuine and simple flavor, her small porridge shop has gradually become more crowded and has been maintained regularly for more than ten years.
At that time, there were many customers, the porridge was left for a long time, so it was so hot and not delicious. Later, I learned that if there are regular customers, the porridge will always be delicious and delicious, she shared.
What she concluded was not any special secret, but the experience accumulated after many trials and mistakes. Cooking porridge seems simple, but each step such as choosing bones, cartilage or meat must be fresh and clean, because just a little carelessness will damage the whole pot of porridge.
From early morning, she woke up to choose fresh ribs and cartilage. Then wash and prepare thoroughly so that when simmered, there is no bad smell. At around 10pm, she starts simmering and stewing overnight until morning, so that the meat and ribs when served to customers will be both light and soft, rising up with the characteristic aroma of the hot rib porridge pot.
"Just a little recklessness is ruined, it stinks, customers are scared, people are shy, and then they don't dare to come back," she said.
Each step of cooking porridge must also be carefully calculated. Cooking the porridge too thoroughly will make it chewy, but if it is cooked too quickly, it will melt and not be able to reach it.
A standard porridge pot must be cooked for more than an hour, if cooked quickly, it will all fail. When making finished porridge, it must be smooth, creamy, shiny, and have a clear crust. That is how the porridge is cooked, when enjoyed it, you will feel it delicious and have a unique aroma.
I dont have any special recipes or family traditions. Cooking porridge is like cooking rice cookers and vegetable soup cookers. I cook with my heart. As long as you do it honestly and take care of it, any pot of porridge will be delicious, she said.
Nowadays, rib porridge is gradually being varied to better suit the taste and way of enjoying modern cuisine. Many shops have added all kinds of side dishes such as sausage, mushrooms, eggs... However, Mrs. Loi Cong's rib porridge still retains the old flavor. A small bowl of porridge and fried dough sticks, a little shrimp is a dish that is added later at the suggestion of the customer to make the dish more flavorful.
"My porridge retains the old flavor, the porridge is sweet, flavorful, the cartilage is stewed thoroughly, sticky and fragrant. The rib porridge of the old people was simply like that. Now people sell many types, so the original rustic material is gone, she said.
She can't count how many pots she sells a day, every time one pot runs out, another one is brought out.
Most of the customers coming to the restaurant are long-time customers, some of whom have been with her since the early days of her business. What keeping them is probably not only the hot, fragrant bowl of porridge with the smell of cartilage or the simple, rustic, and familiar flavor, but also theoiish, approachable personality and gentle smile of the restaurant owner.
Many regular visitors even call her by her familiar name "bu". For more than ten years selling porridge, she has always kept the habit of being affectionate with each customer, whether they are regular customers or new visitors.
The restaurant is open regularly from 6:30 am to 5:30 pm. The price of each bowl of porridge is about 25,000 - 30,000 VND, depending on the side dishes. In addition to cartilage rib porridge, the restaurant also sells pig cakes, balut, and iced tea.
