These days, Ho Chi Minh City suddenly became crowded and unusually cramped. Partly because tens of thousands of tourists from the four countries come here to attend the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the South and the reunification of the country. But most of them are because the people excitedly poured into the road to see the parade training.
Excitation, cheering, cheering for hours from afternoon to night makes people very hungry and eager. Therefore, after the parade parties ended, people often went out to eat dinner and dinner, causing the shops to be crowded, serving at full capacity.
But that is not the reason why the congee club on Nguyen Tri Phuong Street (now still in District 5) that I accidentally saw was as crowded as the crowd sitting watching the parade at Notre Dame Cathedral or Le Duan Street. Because "there is no such thing as the Nguyen army" is a regular situation of this congee restaurant.
Honestly, although I have been to eat congee all over Vietnam, I have never been "loving" such a crowded congee restaurant. From the time the shop opens around 5pm, until late at night, there are always crowds of people going to eat congee.
The congee restaurant has a large space like a garment factory, with dozens of tables, each table can seat 4 - 6 people, inside it is packed with diners, outside it is crowded with buyers or food delivery shippers. On the outside, there is only a large sign, with a prominent red line attached: Co Ut's blood cockle porridge.
Therefore, unable to contain my curiosity, I immediately went into the blood cock congee restaurant to taste how crowded the congee was, even though I didn't " covet" it much because the weather was hot and sweat so much. Then there was no regret for stepping in.
I thought there was only blood cockle here, but it was not so, because there were dozens of types of congee. Of course, congee oysters are still "signature", which is the "nail" of the shop, but besides that "full of pink, thousands of purple" the shrimp, minced beef curved, congee scallops, curved squid, oysters, curved fish, curved fishing ...
Then from each of these types of congee appeared dozens of other variants. For example, curted oysters will have more minced cow's blood cockle, shrimp oysters, oyster oysters, abalone blood oysters, oyster oysters, oyster oysters, fish blood cockle, chorus oysters ... It is "unconscious coma", wanting to taste all must eat for 2 weeks, "easy to puncture wallet, account fire" as play.
It was thought that thanks to that diversity, there were many restaurants, because there were many options for diners. But that is just a side reason, because what makes Ms. Ut's blood cock congee restaurant always bustling with people coming and going is simply: The porridge here is very delicious, light but full of delicious fresh ingredients.
The congee boat soup is very simple, just a bowl of thin congee, leaving behind the rice grains that have not bloomed or broken, leaving behind dozens of pieces of blood cockles with fried onions and chopped onions. However, the congee bowl gives off a seductive aroma of rice and blood cockles. Served with congee is a plate of bean sprouts, pennywort, and corn on the grill.
Seeing the rice grains in congee bowls is immediately known as the way of cooking congee of Saigon and the West because the rice is not grated or ground, but left whole, after being clean, it is roasted until golden brown and then cooked. Thus, no matter how long the rice grains are simmered, they will still retain their shape, only bloom slightly, not thicken, and have a fragrant aroma.
And the soul of the congee is the fresh, sweet, crispy taste and the characteristic aroma of blood cockles. Other seafood such as shrimp, squid, oyster, and scallops must also comply with the principle of being absolutely fresh and carefully selected, because if a shrimp is left behind and is rotten, it will be enough to damage the entire congee flock because of its smell.
Overall, seafood in Ho Chi Minh City is always the freshest in the country because of its abundant supply from the waters around the city and because of the great consumption, the most delicious things are always focused here. Therefore, the shop always has a lot of blood cockle to cook.
After being carefully selected, the blood cockles are boiled and peeled. The blood cock meat remains intact, not seasoned. When eating, congee is scooped into a bowl first, then blood cockles and the secretion are released while boiling cockles with fried and fried onions and corn. Thus, blood cock meat when cooked overheat should be crispy, sweet, not tough.
Customers conveniently add pepper and chili and eat with the raw vegetables. For other seafood such as squid, shrimp, snakehead fish, the congee bowl needs an additional bowl of homemade dipping sauce. When eating, remove the filling separately to increase the richness. If you want more flavor, add a plate of fried dough sticks or a boiled bowl of blood to... taste the dipping sauce.
Just like that, but congee makes us feel "dorous" from the first piece to the last piece. The spicy and aroma of pepper further enhances its deliciousness, even though it pushes each drop of large sweat out of the body. But how can we do it for free?
Mrs. Ut's blood cockles porridge is popular for its original delicious taste, as well as its simple, pure preparation, taking the rusticity to enhance the quality of fresh ingredients. In addition, this is a congee that is not only delicious and popular but also nutritious for health.
This is the factor that contributed to the formation of congee restaurants. Ms. Ut, the owner of this congee restaurant, is a woman from the Western region, who came from Hau Giang to Ho Chi Minh City more than 10 years ago to take care of her father and treat him for chronic kidney failure. During the care process, she often cooks blood cockles to nourish her father.
From here, she came up with the idea of cooking blood cock congee to sell to earn more income to make a living in the capital and cover her father's medical expenses. So, from a congee parked on the sidewalk, Ms. Ut's blood-throated congee has gradually won the sympathy of diners, increasingly crowded.
Then, after only 3 years of pushing congee cars to start a business, Ms. Ut opened a congee shop "as big as a garment factory" on Nguyen Tri Phuong Street, creating more joy and dining habits for gourmets in Ho Chi Minh City.
